Madness!

Well, mommy only added to the chaos and madness of staying at home by getting a puppy! What was I thinking?!? But, I must say it has definitely made my days go by even faster, not that they were lacking in that area much. Daisy sleeps quite a bit still right now, so just an hour of some good ole outside play time leads to hours of napping. She has had minimal accidents so far in the house and has already shown knowledge of going to the back door to go out and potty....thank goodness! And her and Brooklyn wear each other out!! Again tonight, they were both snoring by 7:30.

Cayleigh wasn't the biggest fan of Daisy at first, but has really come around. However, those baby razor-sharp teeth and playful jumps can make a smile turn into an "ouch" pretty quickly from the two blondes. We ended up buying some plastic chicken wire type fencing to line the bottom portion of our iron rod fence that we have, since Daisy is still small enough to slip through. I am way too paranoid to leave her out there by herself for any extended time; this makes for a sad puppy since she likes to bask in the sun.

Madness.....just straight madness!

A, B, C, E and now D!

We are so excited about the newest addition to our family..... Daisy, our 8 week old German Shorthair Pointer! She is just precious and Brooklyn is absolutely OBSESSED!

Little Sister

This "little sister" creates about as much mess as a tornado! 

But she sure does bring a smile to my face!

Good Weather

The weather the past few days has been unseasonably warm, so even though Mommy and Cayleigh have been struggling with the sniffles, we headed to the zoo yesterday! It was fabulous and what a beautiful day! Now that Cayleigh is practically running places, Brooklyn has really taken a liking to having her sissy follow her and help her get around to see things. It is really sweet to watch.

Of course, I forgot the camera, but managed to take a few with my phone. They were both plum wore out after seeing all the animals together and eating our packed lunch outside; falling asleep almost immediately on the way home.

Bad Day

Today marked Brooklyn's first "bad" day at school. She did not get a sticker in her folder for the first time this school year :(

When I came in to pick her up, she was actually asleep, so I know she must have been tired because she never naps anymore. Ms. Shirley began to tell me about how she tried to place B in a different area (since another student was absent) and Brooklyn told her she did not want to do that. She had a span of behaving defiantly and therefore they removed her sticker from her folder, which in turn made B cry. I was both saddened and NOT surprised at the same time, sadly. Sometimes, B lives up to her nickname!! Unfortunately, her teachers finally saw that side of her today. When she is tired, she is another child.

After waking her and briefly speaking to her, she refused to apologize to her teachers before we left and cried out to the car. On the way home, she screamed about how she wanted to say bye to Ms. Misty and Ms. Shirley, give them hugs and apologize.....go figure. She lost the privilege of going to the park (which we had planned on doing since the weather is gorgeous) and was not able to go play in the backyard when Cayleigh and I went. Of course, this was a whole other crying session. Just a bad day for Brooklyn today; so sad.

Newest Hein!

On Monday, January 7th, my newest nephew, Sullivan Grey Hein, joined the family! Aaron's older brother Dan and Amanda had their second son weighing 7lbs, 11oz and 18 inches. He is such a handsome boy and we are so excited to have another cousin to play with! I got to see him and mommy at the hospital on Wednesday night and literally just hold him for an hour.....heavenly!!

Happy birthday Sullivan!

Time to Wake

Brooklyn has always been a great sleeper, but during the summer months, especially, when the sun would be shining in her room, she would be up early. I am fine with it because she goes to bed so early, but its nice for Daddy to be able to sleep in a bit on the weekends too! (Now, that it is winter, she doesn't get up nearly as early.) Consistency was mostly what I was searching for and while browsing the internet I found this "OK to Wake!" Owl Nightlight and Timer.  

For Christmas, I asked Nana de Wolfe to get Brooklyn this and it has been great so far!! It lights up green when it is time to get up, the time you program. And if its not time yet and B presses the button, it will tell her a phrase like "It's not time to get up yet, go back to sleep," and play a melody for a few minutes. Same thing at bedtime.....phrase and melody to fall asleep. And B loves the owl! I am keeping my fingers crossed as daylight begins to come earlier, she will continue to stay in her room until the owl "wakes up!"

A Very White Vacation

Christmas Eve morning came very quickly and off we flew to Pittsburgh to visit the de Wolfe Family. Uncle Jason, Aunt Jen, Addy, Kate, Nolan, Nana and Papa were all waiting for us to arrive and get to spend an extended Christmas vacation with them. Thankfully, the weather remained tame on our traveling days to and from and brought TONS of snow on the days we were there!!

Bubs (Nolan)

That evening, the girls dressed in their matching pj's and played before setting out milk and cookies and reading T'was The Night Before Christmas with Aunt Jen and scriptures from the bible about Jesus' birth with Papa.

On Christmas morning, everyone woke to see that Santa had left lots of wonderful presents and goodies in every one's stockings. Both Addy and Kate got an American Girl doll, Nolan got stacking toys, Cayleigh got a new animal farm and Brooklyn got the Princess Bicycle with basket that she had asked for! The girls separated all the gifts under the tree and loved opening all their new gifts from everyone. It was quite the scene.

Looking through all the stockings

Fried turkey, prime rib, homemade pizzas, meatballs, squash soup, stuffed mushrooms, pumpkin cheesecake, chocolate pie.......oh my!!! The endless amazing food was absolutely TO DIE FOR! And the snow fell and fell and fell some more. Much indoor time and movies since the weather was  so cold and we passed around the sniffles :(

Frying the turkey on Christmas Day

Jason and Jen's new house

This was the daily scene come the following day and there after.....SNOW, SNOW, SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!

We did get out play and the "big" girls went sledding one time with Daddy and Uncle Jason!! (No pictures, unfortunately, because Mommy forgot to send the camera with Daddy) A trip to the mall and doctor were squeezed in there. And two adult nights out with Jason and Jen thanks to Nana and Papa staying with the kiddos.

Brooklyn would stay in the snow forever

B and Katie Roo

Brooklyn on the slide

Kate thinking about it

Addy sliding into the mound of snow she put at the bottom of the slide

Taking turns helping shovel

It was totally exhausting and wonderful at the same time!! What a blessing it is to be able to make memories like these!!

Hein Christmas

The Saturday before Christmas, we celebrated with food and a kids gift exchange with the Hein family. It is always entertaining seeing the kiddos together since they are all pretty close in age! It was a wonderful and relaxing time with lots of wonderful goodies and delicious food!

Gamma made Brooklyn and Sydney their very own coats and matching hats

Dinner time at the kids table

Gamma and Gampa with all the grandkids (except Charlie, who was sick)