S'Moores

Under construction

2010-09-26T16:14:00.002-06:00

Hello long lost friends and followers! No I have not completely abandoned my love for blogging. Yes I AM still alive...barely :) But as my title suggests...we are under construction. I am making a renewed effort to start blogging again after being absent for almost a year! Holy cow, how has it already been a year?!! It will be awhile before this site is "functional" again, and I fear even longer than that until I am completely functional, honestly! So much tearing down, planning and rebuilding going on around here...physically, spiritually, emotionally. Whew! Are you ready for round 2? I'm not sure if I am, but here goes nothing! Thanks for hanging in there with me in the meantime. Hopefully it'll be worth it ;)

Daddys and Puddles...

2009-09-06T15:39:00.005-06:00

There are two things Adri loves more than just about everything else...water and playing with her Daddy. When the two come as a package...well, life just couldn't get better.

This little light of mine...

2009-08-18T22:15:00.008-06:00

I realize that it has been 3 months since I last blogged, but considering that many of you reading this have yourselves been in this very same situation, I will not judge myself or go on and on about why it has been so long. You all KNOW why it has been so long! I really want to just honor my precious Ella Kay who turned one this month.

It's funny how I sit here and try to organize my thoughts about this sweet girl and what all I want to tell you about her, and yet all I can do is just sit here and smile. She has that effect on people. They just smile around her.

She has this way of bringing peace and joy and laughter to every situation. I love that about her and I know this is a God-given ability that He will use in a mighty way in her future. And it is, therefore, no coincidence that in Greek her name means "torch, bright light". She is most certainly our little bright light.

I was uncertain when I found out I was pregnant again how I would cope having two so young together (Adri was just 6 months old) but I always had this indescribable joy inside of me concerning this new little life.

This joy just grew and grew with each passing month and the first moment I held her in my arms that joy bubbled out of me in uncontrollable laughter. I remember with Adri that moment was so surreal for me that I felt like I was watching a hallmark movie or something, and that it really wasn't me, my baby or my life. And maybe the second time around is more "real" because you know what to expect and you can really just look forward to that moment instead of wonder what it feels like. But this time I was so VERY aware of the moment...each second of it. And the minute they put Ella in my arms I knew I was holding my baby, my daughter, my joy.

And no matter how exhausting the next hour, day, month or year became I could not stop smiling when I was with her.

When ella was growing inside of me I would often wonder how she would fit into the puzzle that was our life, and how she would fit into Adri's life. Adri had SO much energy, needed so much affection and attention and being the only girl in my family...she got it! And at the beginning there were definitely periods of time where that was a challenge! But as God knows best, he knew this bubbly, cheeky, smiley, happy baby would be the perfect fit.

He made Ella even faster than Adri (which I truly thought was impossible) so that Adri would always have someone to chase and be chased by. Ella is already so silly, and she can entertain Adri better than anyone or anything I know.

He gave Adri a built-in playmate, wrestling partner, snuggling buddy, and an experimental guinea pig :).

They fight like cats and dogs at times (as most sisters do, I'm sure) but they already have a bond between them that is indescribable. Adri has blossomed into such a giving, loving, mothering little girl and it blesses my heart to know they will spend SO many years of their lives taking care of one another, teaching one another, growing one another and completing one another as only sisters can.

Ella has brought new wonder, curiosity, and love to Adri's little life and I feel overwhelmed that I get to be a witness to that every day.

Ella, you have made me into a more patient, giving, and joy-filled mother. With one smile from you the worries and cares of my life melt away.

You must have spent many days laughing with the angels because when I hear your little giggles I feel as though I am hearing God's heart.

I pray that the gift you have to bring an anointing of joy and peace to the darkest places of my life will be used to bring God to the darkest places on this earth. I pray that he covers you on every side and that He makes your light shine so bright for others that you would be a beacon of hope to those who need it most. Thank you Lord for this most precious, beautiful, amazing little one you have given us. Bless her every year with more of your presence, more of your grace, love, and wisdom. I love you my little Ella Bell! Happy 1st Birthday

Our boo is TWO!

2009-05-08T20:49:00.017-06:00

This ones for my boo...

Since the day we found out she was growing inside me I couldn't wait to see her, to touch her, to smell her, to hear her...

As my tummy grew, so did my love, my anticipation, and my wonder...

When the day finally came to bring her into the world it felt like Christmas morning... and the first day of school...

It was the most difficult thing I ever had to do, but also the most rewarding...

She was so petite, so fragile, so incredibly beautiful and so very heavenly...

Our whole world changed the minute she arrived, and I'm so very glad she did.

How can I sum up all that she has become, all that she has accomplished, all that she has meant to us in these past two years? There truly is no way.

But I sure hope that as she grows into the woman God has called her to be, that she will always know how incredibly special she is. How deeply loved she is. How beautiful she is. How smart and yet so silly she is.

Adrianna Eileen Moore, you bring instant sunshine to everyone around you with one smile. You continually amaze me at how quickly you learn, how inquisitive you are, and how much wonder you have for the world around you. You bless my heart more than you will ever know with how much you already love Jesus. You are our special girl, our Adri bean, our boo. You made me a momma first, and there is no better day to celebrate YOUR Birthday than Mother's Day. I love you.
-Love your momma

"We are all born for love... it is the principle existence and it's only end." --Benjamin Disraeli

2009-04-21T21:00:00.014-06:00

Ever since the day that I got the call from my best friend Tawni she was pregnant, knowing what she did not...that I too was pregnant, I realized that God would have a mighty plan for our two children. It really wouldn't have mattered what sex they ended up being, whether both girls or both boys, or one of each, it would not have changed the fact that they would be great friends all their lives. Just like their mothers. So once we found out that she was expecting a son, and I another daughter, we just assumed that they were destined to spend the rest of their lives together. And so, naturally, the majority of our conversations about these two go something like this:

Tawni "Micah is so much like my dad. He likes to just sit back and take in the scenery and just observe the world and people around him. He has to be really comfortable with the people he's with and his surroundings to really let his personality come out."

Me "Ella is such a people person. She just wants to talk to everybody and be held by everybody. She just loves to be around people."

Tawni "They are totally opposite aren't they?"

Me "Yep."

Tawni "but that is SO good to have in a relationship. You really need somebody who will challenge you and balance you out."

Me "That is SO true! She could totally help him break out of his shell just like Aaron does for me!"

Tawni "and she will need somebody to keep her home sometimes to just snuggle and have a quiet night!"

Both of us at the same time "See, we knew they were meant to be!"

And I'm sure none of our hopeful planning and increasing respect of arranged marriages has anything to do with the fact that we'd like to be legally related :) But who knows...they might end surprising us with what we hoped for all along! We just might have to do a little convincing Micah that having an aggressive wife would be good for him :)

Poor Micah has NO idea why he is being assaulted and Ella just thinks this is GREAT fun.

She says "Shhh...you had me at hello Micah" and he says "when do the beatings stop?"

Ella:"I may be little but I can take you DOWN!" Micah: "Dear lord get me out of here!"

See, she'll make a great wife! She's already checking for unwanted ear hair!

After all that she's hoping he'd still like to be friends.

"Well...you are pretty darn cute..."

"Come to think of it...how do you feel about mountain living?"

"Would I have to wear boots like these?" "Well, yes, yes you would. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Well, let me see what color your eyes are"

Such a handsome boy :)

Yep, they already make a cute couple :)

The beginnings of a beautiful relationship...

Oh man... :) Daddy better have a talk with that boy soon.

Hair today...gone tomorrow

2009-03-31T21:44:00.006-06:00

So a couple weeks ago I decided to go ahead and take the plunge and chop all my hair off. I cut almost 12 inches off!! Thanks to my great friend Tawni who always has and always WILL talk me into ANYthing. But I really have been thinking about cutting my hair for over a year now, and considering that it has been long since before I was pregnant with Adri, it was about time for a change. So I thought I'd post some pics of my hair changes throughout the last six years and end with what I've got now. I figure, enough blogs about my kids...here's one just about me ;)

Long and bleach blonde! I really liked it like this and almost did this to my hair this time instead of cutting it (but this time I wanted to add deep pink streaks throughout!) but the upkeep is too much for me in this busy season of life, so we went with practical and easy to do!

Then when I graduated from college I chopped it all off for the first time since I was a little girl! I remember that I went in to get it done after getting about 2 hours of sleep trying to finish my senior thesis and I vaguely remember telling the stylist to just cut it all off. She was like "are you surrre you want to do this?!" and I was like "um, yeah, whatever." She probably thought I was drunk :)

I kept it short for a while, but went more caramel colored. Not sure it's my fav look on me.

K, so I really hate this one...it's in between long and short and my roots are SO nasty! I also decided to cut bangs...something I hadn't done...um...ever I think.

This I think was cute...medium length, bangs and a good rich brown color. Defintely an improvement from the hairstyle above!

This is when I was a few months prego with Adri. This is just about as natural as my hair gets in color and texture (some wave to it).

Then I decided to do something "drastic" again and I cut bangs once more, LOTS of layers and dyed it red. I liked it for something different but I don't think I ever got used to the red.

Then when adri was about 6 months old I dyed it eggplant. I really, really liked this all around. Good cut and I loved the color.

And this is what my hair looked like right before I cut it. It was actually another 2 inches longer, but you get the idea :)

And that brings us to the most drastic one yet....(drum roll please)....short and jet black!

So what's your vote peeps? What "shannon" look does everybody like the best? And isn't it funny that I started out with LONG platinum blonde hair and ended with really short jet black hair? I've cycled through almost the entire range of length and color combos you could have! Who knows what I'll do next?! :) Maybe I'll dye ALL of my hair hot pink....

My cup overflows

2009-03-03T20:26:00.009-07:00

This blogs for Thea...she blogged about being grateful, and wondering what we are all grateful for in our own lives. And I think that's a good word. We have SO much, TOO much to be grateful for and we don't take nearly enough time to think about that. So, here's my top 5 of what I'm grateful for today and then some pics to keep ya'll updated on my life since it's been nearly 2 months since I've blogged!

1. Jesus' death and resurrection....I know it sounds so "christian trite" but it's true. Because he took my pain, my failures, my frustrations, my sicknesses and sin to the cross I can get up everyday and face it with a new measure of grace, a new dose of life, and a new outlook. I've been freed from envy, from fear, from unbelief and bitterness. Thank you Jesus.

2. This country and the blessing it has been to live in a place that allows me to serve my God, tell others about Him, worship Him freely and pursue every opportunity I could possibly hope to have in a lifetime. It is by God's grace that we are allowed that freedom, and it is His grace and mercy that this country needs more now than ever.

3. My health and the health of my family. Like so many others, I was so very moved by little Cora's story and it has made me grateful EVERYday that my girls are healthy and whole.

4. My hubby, Aaron. He truly is one of the most genuine, caring, sacrificial people I have ever met. He makes every day more exciting, more fulfilling, more peaceful. He LOVES life, helping people, and giving me every desire I could possibly have. There just isn't enough words to describe how proud of him I am, how MUCH he means to me and how incredibly blessed I feel to be able to share my life with this man.

5. How fervently and relentlessly God has pursued my heart and my mind. This season of my life has been the most revealing and utterly-life changing of any other time in my life. He has taken me to places that I never thought I could be in my relationship with him and I am so grateful for it.

So here are some pics from the Moore household the last couple o'months:

Well, once again, I couldn't get a "good" family pic where everyone looks great, is looking at the camera AND smiling, but it's worth a try anyway :)

The only way I get dinner made before 10m? Stick one in a sink full 'a bubbles and put the other one where she can see all the action :)

Our little Ella Bella, the sweetest most content baby I've ever known. She's SO captivated by everything and anything around her and so personable. She loves NOTHING more than being held close to somebody's face so she can inspect with her eyes and hands every inch of what's in front of her. And I've never seen a baby that smiles SO much!

Our little Adri bean. She's incredibly energetic, meticulous, curious, animated, so smart for her age, and amazingly helpful and maternal. She's becoming quite the caring, loving big sister. It's hard to believe she'll be two in a few months!

She's got as much personality as the outfits she picks out :)

There is nothing more she loves than "i-sheeem"...

....or doing ANYthing with Nana

And on a final note, here's a few pics from our a-new-all, uh, I mean, annual "Valentines Day getaway" with our dear friends Mike and Becky. A day with them and we almost forget we're parents!

The day started with an amazing, relaxing horseback ride through the mountains. It was a beautiful, crisp winter morning with not one other soul to be seen (except for our group of 5) and only the sound of the horses feet treading through the dirt. Aaaaahhhh it gave me some MUCH needed peace and quiet. :)

The four amigos

This sheep and these two goats lived at the horse ranch and they also participated in the "ride". They literally followed us the entire hour and a half that we rode and we just couldn't stop laughing at our little entourage.

Then we headed to Denver to this tiny, hole-in-the-wall vineyard where we tasted over 20 wines and had one of the most relaxing, romantic, fun 3 hours of my life. The wine wasn't so bad either :)

Then, to sober up (jk) we feasted at Rodizios Brazilian grill. It's literally endless, all-you-can-eat meats of EVERY kind...so the guys were in heaven.

To finish up we burned some of those calories by laughing a ton at the improv comedy show at Impulse Theatre. It was one amazing day, and for sure one of the more memorable "Valentines" we've ever had...good luck beating us next years boys!!

She's His

2009-01-04T14:58:00.009-07:00

We dedicated our little Ella Bella to the Lord today, and what a special day it was! It is always so incredibly overwhelming as a mom to know that your baby has been prayed for, prayed over and brought to the Lord's feet in total dedication to Him. It marks such an awesome start to their future relationship with Him. And it moves me to tears realizing the incredible responsibility I have as her mother to be an example each and every day of the love her Father has for her. It's my job to lead her in wisdom, in truth, in humility and total and complete surrender to Him and his will. And it definetely reminds you that it's really not about you as a parent, but it's about Him and what He has planned and destined for your little ones life. We were so blessed to have Ella's Nana, Pop, Granny, Aunt Heidi, Uncle Toby, cousins Abbey and Audrey, Uncle Kerry and Uncle Dys all there to celebrate her life and our commitment to the Lord to raise Ella for Him.

This is the dress that I was baptised in when I was a baby and this is also the dress that Adri was dedicated in as well.

She was bathed in prayer!

From left to right: Adri, my mom, Dyson, Me, my Dad and Ella, Aaron, Kerry, and Wanda

Grandmothers and granddaughters...it's a beautiful thing :)

Adri and Audrey looked so cute in their Christmas dresses

This is how Adri fell asleep on the way home...she was just a little tired, poor thing!

And in the miscellaneous picture corner...here's Adri and Granny cookin dinner one night

She just LOVES to help, and it's a good thing Granny didn't mind all the extra flour in her recipe :)

Over the weekend we took Adri to the Dinosaur Experience in Woodland Park, CO. She is fascinated with dinosaurs right now, so she thought it was a pretty darn cool place.

She just loved this stuffed dinosaur and kept hugging it and trying to "give" it things

In front of a 25 ft prehistoric Great White Shark

Touching the real dino bones

She carried her babydoll through the whole place and was "explaining" things to her the whole time. :)

The loves of my life

Her awesome hair on the way home after she tried to pull her pony out.

And I just couldn't help but post this because it is just so funny to us...Adri is potty training and we put a bunch of her own books on the toilet to read, but she refuses to read them while she sits there. She instead insists on reading Aaron's "Entrepreneur" magazines. I guess we have a little business enthusiest on our hands!

A rare moment of sisterly love :)

We've also discovered that she LOVES to play the drums, but notice the tiara? She always has to look like a princess :)

And last but not least, we tried rice cereal with Ella for the first time. Needless to say...it did not go over very well. I don't think I've ever seen anybodys nostrils flare out that far or that much! :D

How many endless Christmas blogs can one person read?

2008-12-31T08:43:00.023-07:00

I guess the answer is one more if you’re reading this! Well, as much as I'd like to go on and on about everything we did over the holidays, I'm guessing that you have better things to do with your time than sitting here and reading all of that. So you can just waste your time by sitting here and looking at my thousands of pictures instead! But I will just say that packing up to take our two under two for the two-family, three-day marathon of gifts, birthdays, eating and drinking till we were about to pop and shopping was quite an undertaking. We literally rented a moving truck so that we could fit all the presents, clothes, baby equiptment and food that we had to take with us. Long gone are the days when Aaron and I could hop in the car 10 minutes after we woke up at 11am on Christmas eve with our handful of presents for the week. Now we start packing the car for Christmas on Halloween. And by the third day of loading and unloading all our crap I could actually SEE the angry comment bubble over Aaron's head as he thought "If I have to do this one more time this week I'm gonna hitch a ride to wherever they don't celebrate Christmas". But I think we’re just about recovered now, and I'm happy to say that Aaron will be with our family for one more year...as long as we don't celebrate Christmas.

She's already a Bronco's fan :)

It's a little blurry but I LOVE how sparkley the tree looks! This was an awesome "Christmasy" night when we built a fire, wrapped presents, drank a little too much Baileys ;) and watched Christmas movies.

We took Adri and Ella to see Santa full of unrealistic hope that we'd get a SUPER cute Christmas card-worthy picture of our girls giggling on Santa's lap...well, let's just say that I literally had to pry Adri's fingernails from my neck muscles just to get her turned around enough to get some of her..ANY of her, in the picture with Santa.

Here's Adri when she first saw Santa. She was pointing and saying "Sanna!" with great anticipation and excitement....

Then, once she realized we weren't just innocent bystanders, but were actually going to SIT on his lap, the crying and gnashing of teeth began. At least we caught the beginning of the terror...if you didn't know any better you'd think she was actually going to smile.

So we opted to try our luck at getting some cute shots NOT sitting on Santa...and still no smiles.

And here's the best we could do for our "Christmas Card" shot...hey, at least they're both in it and dressed. Beggers can't be choosers.

I love the progression of these next "attempts" at a cute pic...poor little Ella risked her life for these.

Our "three Christmases" started at Heidi's house. Ella really enjoyed her presents.

Poor Audrey was such a trooper...she had to "share" almost all of her presents with Adri because we didn't do Adri's presents at Heidis. Audrey got this little stroller and I guess their compromise was for Audrey to ride and Adri to push :)

Cousin Abbey looking like a little princess in the dress Auntie April got for her. She was just beaming and humming all morning :)

Adri LOVED this car that Audrey got. I think this is a little foreshadowing of what life with girls is going to be like...lots of bling and fancy cars.

Audrey tried to give Ella this babydoll bottle. It's so sweet how even at such a young age they are just inherently "little mommas". And Ella just looks like this hungry, ready little bird.

The girls in their Christmas bling.

Ella is such an irish baby...her hair is red-tinted and her eyes actaully look a little green!

Such a smiley little munchkin :)

This dress was actually my Christmas dress as a baby. My mom had just found it the week before and I was SO excited that Ella could wear it. Of course, being as cheeky as she is I had to leave the top button at the neck undone : D

The uncles

I love this one...Ella almost disappears in all the food, presents and dishes!

She got a front row seat for all the activity

Nana and Pop with their girls

Adri got this little table from my parents and she felt SO big sitting at it. She's growing up so fast...too fast actually :(

We got to celebrate Dan's 31st birthday with my fam "adults only" thanks to our sweet friends Mike and Becky who volunteered to babysit for us. It was an awesome night out of dinner at P.F. Changs, and drinks at The Elephant Bar. I look like a dork in this one, but my camera died right after this pic so we couldn't take another one. But whatev...you take what you can get!

And I just had to post these because they are just too darn cute not to! :)

As a follow-up to one of my past blogs...here is Adri with her finger in her bellybutton and folding her ear...what could be better?

And on a final note...in case anyone is curious how people with mulitples or two children under the age of two get things done...like your PILES of laundry....

.....you won't have to wonder anymore. Thanks Baby Einstein videos!

It's the most wonderful time of the year...

2008-12-11T21:16:00.010-07:00

Can I just say...I LOVE Christmas!! I know this comes as a shock to many of you, but I almost literally live for Christmas :) I am almost overwhelmed with excitement by the snow, the lights, the festivities, and joy-filled music that becomes a part of every day. This year, we got the festivities started with the Festival of Lights Parade downtown last weekend with the DeYoungs, the Prescotts, and the Kenneys. It was so fun to be out with all our kiddos sipping hot chocolate (that was a little spiked!), breathing in the fresh, cold winter air and watching all the brightly lit floats go by. Adri was just enthrawled with it all and we were so delighted that it held her attention for 1 1/2 hours!

Aaron and Tob cartin around the girls

Some of the girls

Heid and Abbey

"Little" Micah isn't so little anymore!

Ella Bella...our little Christmas Elf!

The next day we had a wonderful day in the mountains searching for the perfect Christmas tree with my family. I wasn't sure how a full day hiking in the mountains with a 21 lb toddler and an 11 lb infant strapped to us was going to go, but we actually had a very successful, fun day! Thank the Lord for many willing backs to help lug our load around all day! Thanks Mom, Dad, Dys and Kerr!

The guys with the trees...and a little love from my Dad for Aaron

My sweet baby girl

Adri found the tree she wanted :)

With all the grear we brought there just wasn't much room for little Ella to stretch out. Poor little thing...

Smoochies from Nana...Adri obviously hates them :)

I've also been doing a lot of baking lately, in spite of the fact that I have an inquisitive, unstoppable toddler and a 4 month old who is increasingly becoming more attention-needy. Thankfully, I can combine my drive to cook with the necessity to entertain Adri by having her "cook" with me. But while I was busy measuring out some ingredients I failed to notice exactly what Adri was doing to help me cook. Apparently she found the butter, poked her finger into it with great curiosity and did what every toddler does with what ends up on her fingers...she tasted it...and LOVED it. A 1/4 a stick later, I decided she had "helped" enough :)

Something else that has captured Adris attention lately is her babydoll. She has started carrying her little doll around everywhere she goes, kissing her repeatedly, "checking" her diaper, giving her bottles and wrapping her up in blankets. I guess she makes a pretty good study :) I got a video of her "mothering" her baby...so hopefully I can upload it here for you all to enjoy :)...it's pretty cute. Of course, before she could give her baby the bottle she had to "test" it for herself.

Adri pushing around a babydoll...gottcha! That's actually Ella...but she sure looks like a babydoll!

And I'll end with a few shots of our Christmas decorations...I'm just so proud we actually got this much done with 2 under 2 demanding our attention!

It doesn't get much better than this

2008-11-30T15:50:00.011-07:00

I think this has been the most relaxing Thanksgiving I've had yet. Who would think that with two kids under the age of two, and two seperate Thanksgiving dinners to attend in two days that that would be the case....but it's true! Here's what we did over our Thanksgiving "weekend" (which was actually about 5 days): Wednesday: A pie and wine party at a friends house...yes the combo sounds gross, but it was actually a lot of fun! Thursday: a full day of eating turkey, homemade rolls, a chocolate mousse toffee pie, chocolate rum balls, and pecan pie accompanied by plenty of laughing and sharing at Aaron's sisters house. We all cooked our food on Wednesday and used only disposable serving trays so there was virtually no work to be done on Thanksgiving! So for once the women got to lay around on the couches and enjoy the time off! Friday: Aaron went to a gun show with the men in my fam and my mom and I and my girls went to lunch and did some shopping. Then we all met back at the house where we got to feast on another incredible "thanksgiving dinner" of filet mignon, spinach salad, apples and sweet potatoes and 4 different kinds of dessert! Then my dad built an awesome fire and we all sat around discussing our Christmas plans and watched "The Grinch". Saturday: Aaron and I and our girls took a loooong almost 2 hour nap in the morning, ran some errands in the afternoon and then snuggled up on the couch to watch "Polar Express" while it snowed outside. Sunday: We built another fire, watched "Elf" made cinnamon rolls and then we all took another hour long nap! When we got up we all bundled up to go play in the almost six inches of snow that had fallen. It was Adri's first experience with playing in the snow...and I think she would've stayed out there all night if we had let her! Then we came back in to warm up with some homemade baked potato soup. So, now, I'm sitting here watching the snow as it still piles up outside and I realize that pretty much all we did in five days was eat, watch Christmas movies and sleep! What a perfect holiday it's been!! And now I don't know how I'm going to go back to doing dishes, cleaning, getting up early, and actually having to watch what I eat again! But I am SO very thankful for the awesome time we have had to be with our families, spend time with our girls and start anticipating the most wonderful time of the year...Christmas!! I hope you all had a relaxing and fulfilling Thanksgiving as well.

Here's some pics from the holiday:

Playin the piano with Uncle Dave, and her cousins Sam and Brock...she loves them to death!

April and I actually looked presentable on Thanksgiving since we didn't have a bunch of cooking and cleaning to do! :)

Granny and April talkin to our little elf Ella Kay

Auntie April has lots of pretty things to play princess in

Adri especially enjoyed in the fabulous shoes :)

Gettin all bundled up to go outside

Her first "taste" of snow...she wasn't too sure about that

Our pretty little snow angels

They love to snuggle :)

Poor little thing could barely walk in her puffy snow suit...and consequently had a few face plants :(

Overall, it was a fun day in the snow!

"Lemme esplain...no there is too much. Lemme sum up"

2008-11-24T20:21:00.022-07:00

So, I just uploaded the pics and videos from my camera to my computer and realized that the entire month of November in pictures was on there. So, I'll do a little less talkin, and a LOT more postin of pictures (with a few descriptions). I apologize ahead of time...but this is gonna be a long one. Guess that's the problem with trying to catch up on a months worth of activities!

Our little elf

This is how Ella prefers to sleep...totally covered up. We'll tuck the blanket down and she'll wiggle and wiggle until it's up by her face again. And she absolutely has to have some of the blanket tucked up between her arms so she can snuggle it to her chest.

On to Adri....

She's a dancin fool...and thanks to her daddy she can shake that thang! I love when she stomps her little leg in the video, and then a little bit later she throws her arms up in the air and waves them around...it's so darn cute!

Daddies are the best....

One of the BEST parts about living close to our families....COUSIN time!!

Fall means Football! A friend of ours, Joe Kenney, plays for UNC and we got to go to his last home game in Greeley, CO. It was COLD but it was a great time anyway!

For Aaron and Mike it was pretty serious business...

And Beck and I enjoyed some girl time :)

And to end....ever since Adri was born I was counting down the time until she'd be old enough (and interested enough) to start "art" projects. For those of you who know me well, you know art is VERY important to me...most specifically....painting!! So, Heidi and I got Adri and Audrey together one day to try finger painting on christmas ornaments and construction paper. It was a big hit! Then I tried it again today with Adri and this time she painted not only the paper but her highchair and her body...a girl after my own heart! :) Because, you know, it's not great art unless it gets everywhere!

The finished product :)

Chocolate for my soul

2008-11-18T20:51:00.004-07:00

I'm not sure when the switch happened. It seems like one day I was still wishing and hoping that it would happen, and the next day it was. I assumed it was just a fluke thing, that it wouldn't be like that the next day, but I was wrong. And I'm glad that even if it's for a short time (or maybe not a short time) that it's here. It's truely chocolate for my soul. It's simple really, but as a mother it gives your every day purpose. It makes all the hard days worth it. It redeems the days you lose your temper, the days you just don't "feel" like being a mother anymore....and it gives even the word "mother" more meaning than it ever had before. What is it that has this much meaning, this much effect? It's Adri yelling "mom, mom, mom" from her crib when she wakes up and clapping her hands and jumping up and down and saying "Hiii!!" when I come to get her, it's when she gets her shots and she wraps her entire body around mine and just needs me to snuggle and kiss her as long as I possibly can, it's the times she stops what she's doing and crosses the room just to come over and lay her head in my lap and snuggle me for a minute, it's the times when she needs me to comfort her after a fall or "protect" her with my body when something/someone is a little scary even if "nana" is right there, it's the smiles and hugs she gives me while we read a book, it's the wet little kisses she gives me when we're rolling around on the floor in a tickle fight, it's just unconditional, unexpected, pure love. Love that I didn't ask her to give me, love that sometimes I probably don't deserve, but she gives it none the less. I know she's always had a connection to me simply because I'm her mother, but these things show me that she knows that. They tell me that no matter who else is her "favorite" relative to be around that I will always be her mother, and no one else can fill that role quite like I can.

I know this all sounds simple, it sounds like things that I shouldn't be so surprised about, but Adri has always been a very independent child. And she's always been very attached to her nana...which I love and am eternally grateful for...it gives me a lot of freedom! But deep down inside I always felt like I was missing out. I'd watch her smuther my mom with kisses and hugs and watch her cry when I had to take her home with me. I have to tell you that it made me a little sad, a little unconnected to her. But somewhere the switch happenend. Like within the last 2 weeks. Maybe it's the fact that she has a little sister to fight for my attention. Maybe it's that she's getting old enough to understand relationships a little better. Maybe it's that she's starting to view me as more than just her mom, but also maybe a friend too. Whatever the reasons, it warms me from the inside out, it brings tears to my eyes, pride to my heart, and indescribable joy to my days. It's evidence, it's fruit from all the hard work and attention I've tried to put into my relationship with her since the first day she arrived. And now, in a small way, I feel like I've finally arrived. I'm needed. I'm important. I'm special. I'm a true mom :)

Kids make everything more fun

2008-11-01T19:01:00.005-06:00

As a kid you count down the months, days and hours to holidays...Christmas morning, Halloween, Spring break, Fourth of July....any excuse to be out of school, stay up late, and eat food you normally aren't allowed to have. But as adults those things aren't really novelties anymore...I mean you can choose not to go to school anymore, you stay up late (but it's not usually because you WANT to), and you eat whatever you want on a daily basis. So it's nice that once you have kids of your own, holidays once again are filled with anticipation, excitement and that childlike joy. Last year at Halloween, Adri was too little to really have any comprehension of the idea of "dressing up". Of course we dressed her up anyway and took her trick or treating because hey, even if she was too little to eat the candy, Aaron and I sure weren't going to pass up the opportunity to get some for ourselves by taking advantage of our childs cuteness! :D But this year, although still too little to understand the idea, Adri is old enough to enjoy dressing up. So, when my parents pulled out a little bee costume for Adri that they had, she immediately wanted to wear it (and only that) for the entire day. She even wore it down to the park and made a point of "buzzing" at everyone there. So, last night, we dressed our girls up and took them to New Life Church's "Fall Fest". It was SO much fun to watch Adri just totally overwhelmed with all the games, jumping houses, music, kids, candy and animals that filled the church. She got a little pumpkin full of candy, petted and fed a bunch of farm animals, and could barely decided which game to play first! She was SO tired by the time we were done. And as for little Ella? Well she just layed quietly in the stroller and watched all the activity around her. Her little strawberry costume was so warm that when we took her out of it she was all sweaty...poor little thing! Now we we're looking forward to Christmas! Here's some pics from our evening:

Adri getting her face painted by Granny

Adri and Aaron in the petting zoo feeding the animals.

Me and Tawni are just LOVING the fact that we have our babies so close in age. We get to share these special memories together.

Me and Ella (as a strawberry), Danielle, another one of my friends from High School and her 10 month old son Asher (as Pooh bear), and Tawni and Micah (as a little owl).

And I also have talk about my little piece of heaven....my weekly "girls night out"! Just recently my girlfriends and I have started getting together every wednesday night for dinner, coffee, or drinks and just good uninterrupted girl talk! We're calling ourselves "The desperate Moms club" because we all have recently had babies and desperately need some adult time by the middle of the week! So our sweet and accomadating hubbies watch the kiddos and we girls get to spend time together without having to chase kids around, change diapers, clean up messes or speed through our food and drinks because we're carrying around ticking time bombs! And I feel entirely blessed that the Lord has provided me such a great group of girlfriends who are in the same "season of life" as I am and a husband who helps me keep my sanity and sense of self. Here is a pic of tawni and I from last weeks night out before we met the rest of the girls. Don't we look so excited and relieved to be getting a break for a few hours?! :)

I'm sure there will be more pics to come of these great nights out :)

The art of communication

2008-10-21T21:23:00.007-06:00

Eventhough it's fairly difficult to stop and truly enjoy every minute of everyday with your newborn, it's impossible not to stop and just melt the first time you see them smile, and EVERY time they do it after. Ella seemed to smile the first day we met her, and we SWEAR she smiles in her sleep continuously, but lately she has been deliberately smiling at us and we are SO in love! She is a much more smiley baby than Adri ever was, and we just eat each and every one up! The minute she wakes up she just opens her tiny mouth big in wide with complete joy. She smiles when Adri leans over her and she smiles the MOST when her daddy holds her and talks to her. So, I just had to post a few of my favorites we've been able to capture so far...

She's also been trying VERY hard to communicate with us. She is such a social baby and sometimes she will just cry until someone picks her up and talks to her for a while. She makes the sweetest little noises and I just couldn't resist posting a video we took of her talkin to her daddy :)

Randomness

2008-10-17T23:05:00.002-06:00

So I have also been "tagged" by Danielle Finzel to write six random things about myself....so here they are Dan:

1. I have a biting fettish. Only people who are truly close to me know this because they have been the victims of my biting.

2. I've always been self-conscious of the size of my two front teeth and I actually had them filed down some in High School. (hmmm, maybe this has something to do with my biting fettish)

3. I always loved the song "My Pretty Little Adrianna" by Vince Gill, and ever since the first time I heard the song I wanted to name my little girl Adrianna. (Good thing I had at least one little girl!)

4. I have a strange fascination with Sharks...though I am DEATHLY afraid of them...and I look up videos of shark attacks online which only feeds my fear. I know it's really sick...but I just can't help it!

5. I swear I'm a descendant of Santa Claus or something because I LIVE for anything Christmas. I start listening to Christmas music in October (or any day that the temps drop below 50 degrees) and my absolute FAVORITE day of the year is Christmas eve! I have more Christmas decorations than I could possible put in my house, and I make Aaron string hundreds of lights on our house until all our outlets are ready to ignite. (it's a good thing he loves me so much and can appreciate my love for Christmas.)

6. I did fashion modeling for some department stores as a child. I think I even got to keep the clothes, but I don't really remember.

So there you go...six random things that you probably could care less about knowing about me. Now I tag Tawni DeYoung and Thea Smith.

Earlobes, bellybuttons and pacifiers

2008-10-15T15:34:00.006-06:00

It's funny the things we get attached to as kids, the things we get so attached to that sometimes they're the only things that would calm us down, put us to sleep or reassure us when we were afraid. For some it's blankets, some it's stuffed animals or bottles. My child seems to need quite a lot of assurance. Her vice? Earlobes, bellybuttons and pacifiers. First she started with the pacifiers. Although, to be quite fair here, I should say we started her on the pacifiers.

She just ran with it, I guess.

Then we noticed one day she was constantly pulling at her ears. Ear infection? Nope. Just a random realization that her ears felt reeeeeally nice. Can't blame her for thinking that....they are really soft.

Then everytime we changed her diaper we'd notice her bellybutton was getting more and more red inside. Bellybutton infection?! Nope. Just another realization that there was a creavace that could be filled with a fingertip. Strange, I know. But as all parents know, once a kid is stuck on something, they literally are STUCK on it. Gosh, I hope that when she's on her first date she doesn't go rummaging through her purse, pull out a hot pink passie, shove it in her mouth, then pull up up her shirt, stick one finger in her bellybutton, and another in her ear. I guess we'll have to work on that. Anyway, the other day, Adri was snuggling on the floor with Ella, passie in mouth, one hand pulling away at an innocent earlobe, when much to my horror does she reach over and use the other hand to play with Ella's ear!!

I thought she had enough body parts of her own to keep her preoccupied that she'd leave her sister's alone. Nope. And I just realized that mabye all this started with us innocently encouraging a very fussy newborn named Adri to please go to sleep with this wonderful thing called a "passie" so her mom and dad could sleep. And maybe we'll be to blame if the first guy she tries to date is mortified as the young woman before him suddenly turns into someone resembling a psyche ward patient. Well, at least there is still hope for our innocent little Ella.

Oh wait....

Pretty sure this is a little weird...

2008-10-05T22:18:00.002-06:00

Trying your own breastmilk...weird, yes? I'm so used to just sucking out a tiny bit of milk out of Adri's bottles which are pure cows milk bottles to test the temperature, that I've done the same thing with Ella's bottles which are purely...you guessed it...ummm my milk. Then it hits me what I've just put in my mouth and though it actually isn't half bad, I literally feel my stomach turn. It's all I can do to keep it down. And yet, without fail, every time I make a bottle for Ella, I systematically screw on the top, stick it in my mouth, and give it a little temp check. So, someone please tell me I'm not the only one who has done this...or that I'm not really freakin weird. Motherhood...it sure keeps life interesting.

What did I do before kids?

2008-09-29T09:08:00.032-06:00

Well, the answer is a whole lot of stuff that revolved around me! You certainly realize (within the very first few minutes of labor contractions) that it is absolutely, hands-down, NOT about you anymore! Since Adri's birth, I cannot tell you how many times Aaron and I or my family has said "What did we DO before kids?"

Here's what I didn't do: I didn't have to spend at least 3/4 of my days naming everything under the sun as Adri endlessly shoots her little finger into a point, looks up at me with expectant little eyes and asks "dat?!" I didn't ever watch the same animated movie two times a day for at least 2 months straight. I didn't know that mustard mixed with lemon yogurt is actually kinda good. I didn't remember how much fun simple things like bublbes and playing in the sink was.

I didn't remeber how much fun pets are.

I didn't spend days holding a sick baby, praying, worrying and feeling wholly responsible for their wellbeing.

I didn't like it when my house was messy, hadn't showered for more than a day, or couldn't go out to eat more than a couple times a week. I didn't realize those things were luxuries of my more selfish life of the past.

But most of all, I didn't get tiny wet kisses everymorning.

I didn't know the absolute joy and peace I would feel holding a little person that I made.

I didn't spend hours just watching two beautiful girls grow and learn and explore. I didn't thank the Lord everyday for making me a mother. I didn't think that even though it would be the greatest challege I would ever have to face, that I would acquire patience, self-control, flexibility, and faith. So in the end...what did I do before kids? Well, I kept a clean house, I looked great, I did whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and probably missed a lot of the "simple" pleasures life had to offer. So, I think I'm ok trading that for the messy, chaotic, busy, stressful, selfless life I have now. They have certainly been worth it.

A little bit Moore

2008-09-26T15:18:00.006-06:00

So much has happened in our life the past 2 years including half a dozen job changes for Aaron, 2 pregnancies (and births!) for me, a potential move (that left our house half empty and my parents' basement completely full), and too many other "life changing" moments to want to go into. The most recent event, the birth of our second daughter Ella Kay, was truly one of the most chaotic and yet special days of my life. I was 36 weeks pregnant and going into my doctors office with severe contractions that I thought would result in Ella being born right there in the waiting room! Our local hospital was literally on the throws of picking up and moving halfway across town, and the thought of delivering a baby in the midst of that was a little scarry to say the least! I was praying that whole day that Ella would be a little more patient and wait about 10 hours until the new hospital was open. But by the time I left the doctors office, having just been informed that I was 4 cm dialated and 70% effaced, I knew that I would have to brace myself for a very eventful evening. And I was right. At 2 am my water broke, and by the time we made it to the now closing hospital 25 minutes later, I was ready to push! The nurses didn't belive me that I was that far progressed, and with all too chirpy voices asked me to wait patiently until they could "check" me. Fast forward 20mn after my arrival and we have Ella's arrival! There was no time for drugs, no time for hours of pushing, no time for even my doctor to make it! Don't get me wrong, I was GREATFUL for a super fast delivery, but let me tell you...it was painful! Of course since the hospital was moving that night we couldn't stay there. So two hours after Ella was born she and I were strapped to a stretcher and moved to the new hospital via ambulance (yes, a first for both of us!). Needless to say, by the time we were finally in our permanent room and all back together again, Aaron and I and Ella were exhausted. But it sure makes for a great birth story I guess! So here are some pics of our sweet little Ella.