Happy Valentine's Day

We had a really fun day with the girls. After church, they got to open some Valentine presents filled with candy, books, stickers, and a Cinderella dress for our upcoming Disney World trip.

Ella wasn't taking any chances that someone might eat her candy. She made sure to gather it all up.The girls enjoyed their balloons and candy from Grandma and Poppy and their puppy and monkey from Nana and Papa. Our girls are blessed with such wonderful grandparents.

Tonight we had a special dinner with a special brownie and a cupcake from Grandma and Poppy. Addison declared to Ella that this was "the best night ever."

Valentine Party at School

Addison had a Valentine's Day Party at school this last week. She was so excited about this party. I think it was because it involved pink sparkley things and candy. What more could a girl want!
They all seemed to enjoy passing out valentines, eating cookies pops and candy, and playing fun games.

Ella had a great time, too. She loved playing with all the toys in Addison's classroom.

Papa also came to visit that day, so he got to go to the party with us. This was a VERY special treat for Addison.

Ella loved being everywhere with Addison. She didn't want to miss out on a thing.

Dance Class

Addison started her first dance class last week. She does tap, ballet, and gymnastics during the hour and loves every minute of it. I think one of her favorite things is getting to wear a leotard and tutu. She also loves her ballet and tap shoes.

I love this picture because it shows her pure excitement about going to dance class.

Daddy's Birthday

We celebrated Daddy's birthday when we went to visit Nana and Papa several weeks ago. My parents had this cake made for Daddy and then the girls got to decorate it. They put sprinkles, candy, and extra icing all over it.

Ella ate more M&Ms than she actually put on the cake.

The finished product - the top layer

Addison helped Daddy blow out the candles, except they were "trick" candles and kept relighting. Addison thought it was hilarious that they couldn't blow them all out.
Happy 30th birthday to a GREAT daddy!

Playing at Home

The girls have enjoyed playing together so much lately. I think it is so sweet how they share and they just always want to be together. They are teaching each other so much. I feel like they are truly becoming best friends. It brings me joy when they are getting along and playing with one another, which definitely isn't always the case. I hope their friendship continues to grow throughout their entire lives.
Here are some fun things we have been playing at home, especially since it's too cold to go outside most days.
Addison is reading her Bible to Ella. They actually spend a lot of time reading together.
We brought snow inside since it was too cold to go outside to play. They had so much fun eating the snow, throwing snowballs at each other, and then putting their feet in the snow.

Ella loves dressing up in the dog costume. Anytime she finds it, she wants to put it on. On this particular night, she wanted to wear both the chicken and dog costumes at the same time.

One of the girls' favorite things to do is to play tea party. We have several tea parties every day.
Just a sweet little picture of Ella. I can't believe she is almost 18 months old already.

Addison's Half Birthday

Last Tuesday, Addison got to celebrate her half birthday at school since her birthday is in the summer. She celebrated her half birthday on Andrew's real birthday, so she thought it was extra special.

We made "healthy" apple cupcakes for her class at school. Addison loved helping me make and decorate these for her friends.


Her teachers gave her a balloon and special birthday tiara for her to wear all day. She still talks about how much fun she had.

Show Week at the Little Gym Gymnastics

Last week Addison had her last gymnastics class and they did a performance for the parents. It was really cute.
Here she is in the middle of her floor performance.

She got a medal at the end. She is so proud of this medal and loves to show it to everyone.

All her friends from her class.


Addison loved her gymnastics class and all her friends in her class. However, this week she is switching to a dance class with ballet and tap. We'll see how that goes. I think she will enjoy this a little more. We'll see. I'm sure I'll have a post soon about this new adventure.

Christmas Time

I know it's kind of late to be doing a Christmas post, but here are some pictures from our Christmas season.
Addison had so much fun at her Christmas party at school. They made ornaments, played "snowball" games, followed the star to find Baby Jesus, and had special treats. I had a lot of fun meeting the parents of her friends in school and watching her interact with all of the sweet little kids.


The girls had fun playing in the snow. We didn't get much snow but they loved being out in it. Of course we had to build a snowman, but he was pretty small. They didn't care though. Ella thought it was so funny to run over and knock the snowman's head off. She would just stand there and laugh and Addison started getting really frustrated with her. The joy of having an ornery little sister.
Of course, Addison had to have a purse with her.


We did a lot of Christmas baking this year. Both the girls really enjoyed baking and decorating. Ella got into it a lot more than I thought she would.

This is Addison's finished gingerbread man masterpiece.Both girls really enjoyed making a gingerbread house with Daddy.

Then we celebrated Christmas at our house with just us.
Ella's stocking is almost as big as she is, but she was determined to get everything out of it.
Addison loved her new fancy Nancy dress. She is very into dressing up these days. She wears some sort of fancy dress every day at home.
Ella started hugging her new baby doll as soon as she got it out of the package.Here is Addison with her new presents inside her new bounce house. The bounce house is the best gift we have ever given. We set it up in the basement and the girls and friends have spent so much time in there burning up all their extra energy.

Addison and Ella are decorating cookies again, this time with Daddy.
Daddy let Ella get really messy. She loved it.
Then we had Christmas with the Wheelers. Addison truly loves her cousins and loves having them over.
Matt is one of the cutest little guys I know.

All the kids wanted to sit on Poppy's lap while he was reading the Christmas story from the Bible.
After all the presents were opened, Grandma and Poppy had a very special gift for the kids. They had to cover their eyes while the daddies brought the gifts in.

Addison and Ella got a Barbi Jeep and their cousins got a gator-type car.
Then we had a birthday cake for Jesus.The girls are loving their Barbi Jeep. We think it's really funny that Ella has never even thought about driving. Even when she is the first one in, she automatically just gets in the passenger seat. It's like she knows not to even go there. I'm sure I'll have a post in the future about when it occurs to Ella that she wants to drive too. :)

Then we had Christmas in Bolivar with the Woods family.My grandpa is so sweet to the girls. He loves playing with them and they love him so much too.

Papa and EllaLater that afternoon, Nana decorated cookies with the girls. Addison made very fancy cookies.

And Ella enjoyed eating them.
Thanks so much to both our families for such a wonderful Christmas. We truly enjoyed getting to spend so much time with everyone.