Happy New Year!

Well, I have some catching up to do.....so here we go! December was a very busy month. My family has lots of birthdays and we had something on every single weekend. My niece Millie turned one already and her little birthday party was a huge success....her and Stella are such good friends....most of the time :)

We headed down to Indy for our anniversary. We stayed at a great hotel downtown. We ate a Harry and Izzy's....great food....and had a chance to relax! Being pregnant and nauseous doesn't really help set the mood too much, but Brian was very understanding as I needed to nap and relax....a lot. We did walk down to the circle to see the famous Christmas tree of lights.

And I did get the chance to catch a good nap Saturday afternoon after lunch.

Sunday we headed to the Colts game!

Christmas is more and more fun each year as we begin to create our family traditions. Christmas Eve we spent some time at the mall in the morning before it got crazy busy. Stella rode the merry go round and some other little rides. We ate lunch in the food court and then headed home for naps....for all of us! After naps we got up and later that evening we baked some Christmas cookies.....the easy kind. Stella got to lay them out on the cookie sheet and take them to the oven...she loved it!

Christmas morning was here before we knew it and I hardly had time for pictures! We got one in the beginning and then the craziness began!

Christmas night we headed to the Butcher's where we had a great meal and a great time. I was actually feeling half-way hungry and was able to eat a bit and I was sure glad I was! I would have hated to miss out on the ham, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, and those yummy desserts! As the evening was winding down Stella decided to hang out with Grandpa for awhile on the rocker.

The day after Christmas we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Ringger's house where it was declared PJ day! I LoVeD that idea! It was so much fun seeing all the little ones (and adults) in their PJs. I am so mad I didn't get a single picture of them in the PJs...so if my sisters got one, I hope they share :) Once we got home Stella couldn't wait to try out her new hat and tea set!

Aunt Micki has been helping out this week as I had couple doctor's appointments. I came home and found a blanket tent and a camera full of pictures :)

After all the Christmas excitement, Stella and I have been relaxing. She made herself a pillow bed and hung out for awhile...I am sure she was watching Elmo. I love the way she propped up her little foot :)

November Came and Went!

November flew by. I really don't know where it went. I remember at the beginning of the month thinking Thanksgiving would be here before I knew it....but wow, now it is already gone! We started celebrating Thanksgiving the Sunday before Thanksgiving....well I started celebrating. Brian's Engle side has their Thanksgiving gathering this day. We got up, got showered, and started getting Stella ready.....and then he was back in bed. Sick. Ugh. So Stella and I headed to church and then down to visit the Engle family and enjoy some great food! We were stuffed (felt a little guilty because Brian was home sick sipping Sprite and enjoying saltine crackers) but I didn't really feel guilty enough to stop eating! Since we weren't able to attend family gatherings last year this is the first time his extended family got to see Stella in quite some time!

We enjoyed Thanksgiving Day with my Everett family. So fun. Lots of laughs, stories, and again....great food! I don't think I was hungry a single moment this weekend. Then I was able to play some Super Mario Brothers on Wii with my nephew and sister....yes we are little obsessed...but I LOVE this game!

We spent Saturday evening at my Grandpa and Grandma Ringger's 65th Wedding Anniversary party. Wow. 65 years! That is amazing! They have enjoyed many years together and that was clearly evident on the slide show at the party. So many pictures from so many years. It was a lot of fun.

And finally we were able to stay home on Sunday. We got up and went to church. We caught up on laundry. Watched the Bears win. And decorated for Christmas. We bought our first actual big tree at the end of last season, so we have officially put up our first big Christmas tree! It was a lot of fun. Stella loved the decorations and so carefully kept touching the tree. I cannot wait until Christmas morning!

December is only days away. I looked at our calendar. Yikes! So much to do and so little time.

Busy Weekend!

We got some last minute tickets to the Notre Dame game on Saturday, so off we went! They were calling for rain late afternoon, but we didn't care. We took advantage of the day and went for it. It was just Brian and I. It was fun actually having fun to walk around the campus and check out the bookstores. We actually made it into the game early and got to see way more of the pregame than we usually do! We started off our morning at our favorite bar, Between the Buns, where we got some free breakfast and helped ourselves to their wonderful vodka mixer bar :)

When then checked out the bookstore and walked around campus. It was perfect weather. As you can see below right before they open the gates people were anxiously awaiting the entrance of the players. The helicopter came, then the police sirens, and then the players!

Not positive at who we are looking at here, but I checked out their roster pictures online and I think it is Armando Allen, Woods, and now I can't even remember the others....but we identified most of them.

lol....this guy was taking pictures of the people taking pictures of him...

Dedicated tailgaters! This was taken from the top of the stadium.

The weather kept getting a little cooler. So I HAD to buy myself a new sweatshirt at the bookstore. It was still pretty comfortable out....

until the rain came and the temperature dropped. Then it got COLD! I seriously curled myself up into my poncho and sat perfectly still. But we toughed it out. It stopped raining during the second half, but we were wet and that made it very cold! I kept my seat warmer on the entire way home. But behind was FREEZING from sitting on wet seats!

We got home Sunday afternoon and decided to rake some of our leaves. Stella had a blast....jumping in them, running through them, throwing them, and helping "rake" them as you can see below (she is holding a broom)....

And I thought this was just a cute picture :)

Lots of Updates!

These pictures are from awhile ago, but they were pretty cute. We visited a little gym Halloween Party in Indy. The kids had so much fun and Millie and Stella made a pretty cute kitty and bunny :)

So big! I don't know where time went, but Millie is almost one!! She thinks she is big stuff and is starting to stand....

Stella's newest favorite....posing with her babies and saying "chheeessee1"

You know a little girls has her dad's heart when this happens....Stella insisted Brian sit on the little itty bitty stool and play with her.

And the biggest news of the weekend.....my little brother is a dad!!! Mom, Dad, and Madeline are all doing great and I think she is already melting his heart. I mean, I asked to take this picture and he said, "sure".....that never happens! He never likes pictures. But I think he looks pretty good here with his little princess :)

I did have a picture of all three of them together....however, I had to think about it....I would not be happy if someone posted a picture of me post-baby in the hospital....although, I have to say.....Emily looks FaBuLoUs for just having a baby and c-section! I will look forward to pictures on her blog :)

Busy Weekend!

Last year we took pictures with Stella and her friends....but they were much more cooperative! This year they wouldn't sit still! We had a Hannah Montana, 2 bunnies, a shaggy pupppy, and a Piglet!

We went trick-or-treating. Stella got a picture with her great grandma ringger :)

Stella also got to hang out a little bit with her cousins, Caden and Eli. They take such good care of her and love her so much....actually all the cousins love each other so much. They play so well together!

A quick family picture :)

Lakeside Park

We skipped church today. We have lately started attending a new church, Grace Gathering, with my sister's family....and we love it. However, our household has been hit with coughs, snotty noses, head colds, and whatever else comes our way. So today we decided to get out of the house a little bit and be around nobody else. So we headed to Lakeside Park for some fresh air Sunday morning. It was perfect. Stella had total choice of whatever playground equipment she wanted, went on a walk around the lake, and caught glimpses of two weddings.

Lately Stella has started thinking she is big stuff, and has been loving the big girl swing.

She has absolutely no fear of slides! Ready, set, go....and she is off!

She can go a lot higher on the little girl swing...and loves it!

She even enjoyed the tunnel slide!

From the pictures, it looks like we were there for a quite awhile. However, it was a brief visit. Stella started yawning, so we got her snack and we were on our way. It was a fun, quick outing....hopefully got rid of some of those germs! We all need a good, restful night of sleep!!

Fall Fun

The weather is definitely telling us that fall is here! And I love it! I love cozy weekends, bonfires, football, and so much more. Our weekend started off Friday night at Bandidos where we celebrated Brenda's birthday. Stella wasn't to sure about the bull....well, really....she hated it. But she LoVeD chips and salsa! Off course she did....we love anything we can dip!

We came home Friday evening and our neighbor's were having a bonfire and the kids were playing outside. Stella went over to check things out through the fence, and we ended up passing her over the fence and spending the evening over there....it was a perfect relaxing evening that included peanut butter pie, smores, and good company.

Saturday started with shopping, shopping, and more shopping. We got so much done! I really couldn't believe it! Then our friends called last minute and we met them at Red Lobster....this made Brian very happy. Stella and I enjoyed our steak and chicken.

We headed to church Sunday morning followed by a busy "at home" day. I made and froze salsa...it was a new recipe and very yummy. We went down the street to a local pumpkin farm where we got our pumpkins for the year. Stella had so much fun running from pumpkin to pumpkin and loved all the little gourds. The first one she picked out probably weighed twice her body weight, but she insisted on trying to pick it up....

I couldn't resist plopping her on the wagon with all the pumpkins :)

And she loves smelling flowers.....

She finally picked out a white one and insisted on sitting on it, riding it, hopping on it, whatever she could come up with!

Then we came home and Stella napped while Brian and I painted our pumpkins...

Stella was very excited to paint her pumpkin and could hardly wait once I put the brush in her hand. She loves it.

And here is the final product....

And that pretty much concluded our evening....well except for the football games and the several loads of laundry!! We are finally getting back to normal around here and Brian is getting back on schedule as well. Nice to all be home as a family after two weekends without him!!