Seven Months!

Baby girl is 7 months old today!! So smiley and happy and snuggly

This month was big for her - she took her first plane ride, learned how to be silly and laugh when others laugh, started pulling herself up, grabbing everything, eating some foods, playing peekaboo,  falling asleep on her own (sometimes), and sleeping through the night more consistently. Such a perfect age

She continues to get such a kick out of jack. She loves when he reads to her, sings to her, jumps in the crib with her and plays in the tub with her! There's not much that doesn't make her laugh!

Happy 7 months sweet baby Elisabeth! We love you! 

Albuquerque!

Stefanie, Oliver, Elisabeth and I flew to New Mexico last weekend to visit Amy and Zhenya! We had a wonderful trip, so much memorable sister time and a chance to be with Amy on her 30th birthday! A weekend I won't forget! 

The flights were perfect. No delays, cancellations, no feeling rushed, no long layovers, no crying babies, and an open seat between us the way there and back - wow!

Elisabeth really liked the flights - she giggled much of the way and even got a seat to herself to stretch out her legs!

The weekend was spent relaxing at the Zhupikov's home, hiking volcanos, visiting Sante Fe and Madrid, NM, meeting their friends, lots of sister laughs and back massages, and loving on the littles 

O and E got to meet Uncle Zhenya for the first time and they loved him! 

Sister time without the toddlers made for really nice quality sister bonding!

I found it so special to spend days alone with Elisabeth - rare with baby #2 to get days of uninterrupted snuggles and attention! 

Sante Fe and Madrid were such great towns and everything was the way I expected New Mexico to be.

Thank you Amy and Zhenya for a wonderful weekend away!! You are great hosts and we miss you already!

Great Start to 2016!

We have started off the year with lots

Of silly playtime, exploring the indoor activities and spending time

With friends! 

The children's museum has a wonderful story time with a very captivating story teller/singer. The kids could NOT take their eyes away - it was perfect! 

 

 

Jack not only enjoys dressing himself up in costumes but also his sister. Through Christmas presents and items collected from around the house, We have quite an impressive dress up box already!

 

And sometimes I'm busy with Elisabeth so jack has to take care of himself and get creative with his food. Always makes me laugh when I come downstairs and see what he's gotten into!

 

So many wonderful, cozy winter days spent with my babies! Jack is starting to involve Elisabeth in his games more. Jacks favorite things to play right now: hide and seek, "where's Jack," trains, building with blocks and Legos, dress ups, cars and trucks, the candy land boardgame, and anything he can turn into a rocket ship. His imagination has taken off and I love it!

 

 

 

 

Happy New Year!

Joe and I were so grateful to my cousin Ellie for babysitting New Year's Eve so we could get out to celebrate at The Rick's house with some of our friends! We had a great night together celebrating the many blessings of 2015!

 

This year I woke up early on New Year's Day morning to join a few running friends for a 12 mile run downtown to represent the upcoming 12 months of 2016 - it was a beautiful, special run! And like always New Year's Day started off with an awesome hike with my family. My family has been taking a hike New Year's Day morning for as long as I can remember - a tradition I love.

 

We have been blessed with such beautiful weather this winter with many days still allowing us to enjoy the outdoors 

 

2015 was a perfect year full of so many blessings and memories - these 2, and their growing relationship, being by far my favorite! Happy New year!! 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas 2015

This year we got to spend 4 full days around Christmas in Cleveland with the March Family. It was very relaxing and memorable! 

The weather was so nice and warm for this time of the year so we enjoyed

Time outside hiking, feeding the birds at the park, running and visiting a beautiful light display.

We missed Aunt Alex and Uncle Genio in Cleveland this year but we had a wonderful time with The rest of the family.  Jack was very into Christmas this year which was adorable and made the entire season so exciting! I haven't felt that excited for Christmas since I was a kid! Everything to Jack was "amazing" "so cool" "Jack be excited" "Santas COMING!" And "happy birthday Jesus" was sung over and over. Everything about Christmas this year was so special and perfect. 

Christmas morning Jack and Elisabeth were spoiled by Grandma and Grandpa and all his aunts and uncles! We were so thankful to everyone! 

Thank you to the March family for

Making our Christmas so memorable and special this year! 

The Sunday before Christmas we celebrated a small Christmas with our family and invited Mom and Bill over for a delicious and fancy dinner! I wanted a chance to celebrate around our tree and a chance to cook a yummy Christmas dinner!

We first visited the Live Nativity at Krohns Conservatory with Oma and Opa, mom and Bill and our family. It was beautiful as always, Jack was in heaven and singing "awAy in a manger" loud and clear for all to hear! Kids are the best!

I unfortunately didn't snap any pictures of our house that evening but Joe and I were proud of our fancy dinner - steak, potatoes, green beans and a beautiful salad all served on our China with wine and Christmas cookies for dessert! I loved getting to host Mom and Bill and it felt special to kick off Christmas week at home with our kids!

The Monday before Christmas, the kids and I made sure to visit Oma and Opa since we would be missing Christmas Eve at their house this year and we wanted to make sure to spend some special time with them and of course eat Oma's Christmas cookies!! 

Following Christmas in Cleveland we spent the Sunday after Christmas celebrating with the Wetterau side (except we really missed Tante Amy and  Uncle Zhenya) My Mom made a delicious brunch and we all enjoyed exchanging gifts. Mom and Bill and the Meyer family were so generous to our kids and we are again so thankful!

We value time with our families so much and we had the perfect dose of each family over the last few weeks - it's a good reminder of how truly blessed and loved we are!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from the March Family! 2015