Moving West

The house is sold and the boxes are in the moving truck headed for Denver! 

We are a huge mix of emotions right now (needless to say) and can't even begin to wrap my head around any of this right now.

Why leave family and friends in an area where people rarely move from, you ask?

#1 the j-o-b

#2 Because Colorado is an awesome place to live (lived there before without kids)

3# My hubby can use his 4-wheel drive in the snow...hopefully

(contrary to popular belief it doesn't snow there like people think)

For privacy sake, I will not say exactly where we are but I can tell you that all the houses look alike! I feel like I am in an Edward Scissor Hands neighbor.

We are renting a house because buying something is just too permanent for us. We really need to relax and feel out the area.

More to come when we actually get moved in and get the net up an running...

until then please wish us luck.

Avery Anna

I don't know how to start this post. I have been sitting here looking at my computer in grief unable to think clearly.

Avery Anna is no longer with us.
She was born in early December and on Sunday she passed away in a New Orleans Hospital.

She was a fighter.

Everyone did everything they could to help her.

Avery Anna is our niece I wrote about here in this post.

The sadness our family is feeling is so great and heavy.

"A life so brief,
A child so small,
you had the power to touch us all"

We love you Avery Anna. You will always be in our hearts.

Our little Cowgirl!

 

Granny & Grandpa took Madeline to the Livestock show last week. 

I just had to share this precious picture from that trip.

Kissing Cousins

John Paul loves on his cousin Anna Kate

(what is with the double naming in this family)

 

The 3 musketeers!

 
 

I didn't want to leave out the new baby cousin coming next month...if Nanny Kate lasts that long :-)

 

Granny singing to the girls. Madeline, I believe, is directing her.

Big News in the Green house: 

Anna Kate FINALLY is growing teeth-3 teeth to be exact and 1 on the way.

She is almost 15 months!

Hooray! I thought I might have to get her some baby dentures.

She is covered in my lip gloss, the picture below does not show it that well. 

I found her this morning in my make-up area. It's funny how mommy finds out that her child is growing up, literally, when weeks ago she could not reach into that drawer.

I could not get her to open her mouth for the teeth reveal

Congrats child, now you get your own tooth brush!

American Press

Most parents get so excited when their little baby doll is in the paper.

Well, we are just that type of parent. Here is our little Madeline in the American Press on Sunday (bottom picture).

She went to the Livestock show with my parents and saw all types of animals. Loving it!

Even the goat is wearing Saints colors!!!

In the spirit of the Who Dat nation and a quote from some guy on ESPN Sunday night:

Hell is frozen over, pigs are flying and the Saints won the Super Bowl!

Projects!

Project: Christmas Train before the mold starts growing

Nanny Kate & Madeline happily completed the "Christmas Gingerbread Train in January".

Madeline is still eating from it. I figured with swine flu and the stomach flu going around a little ol' candy can't hurt.

To be honest, the gingerbread train follows the fate of our lovely Christmas "2012 Gingerbread house" (click here for those pics). Those things are not that easy to make it look all on-the-picture-box pretty.

 

  

  

John Paul, Madeline and Anna Kate love the taste testing portion!

Project: Handmade Cards

Madeline's class is needing Valentine's exchange cards. Instead of buying the Disney Princess cards (or Garfield/ Snoopy cards,  in my day) I was in the mood to be creative and make handmade ones. I have construction paper, glue, a printer and google- to steal look up ideas! I can do this!

I told my hubby, Steven, usually women blog about their projects but I was not going there because I am not all Ms. Creative. Steven said "oh yeah, well, I'm still going to take pictures of the creative mood."

Don't worry people I made a my appointment to get my roots and the hair cut next week! Geeze!

With Madeline's "help" (handing objects to me) here are her 1st Valentine's Day cards for the classmates.

Actually this is not my favorite. Toward the end I started "getting it".

 

Project: Shopping with babies

Anna Kate loves to be pushed around in anything! Strollers, carts, you name it...look closely

..the wheels are a bit in distress! All the milk & carbs will get to you eventually child, learn that fact young! 

70 degrees in January...a complete 180

For those of you who don't live the south it has been warm! My a/c kicked on today, I was sad to say the least. For those of you who know me, know I enjoy the cold, maybe because it is such a luxury in this neck-of-the-woods.

We have decided to embrace the southern air and have little artists at work with sidewalk chalk:

A serious artist at work: do not disturb

"I draw someting for yooouuu mama."

Too bad I can't cut out the concrete and save all my drawings from Madeline.

Ohhh soooo sweeeet, sisters hugging!

...and it turned a little ugly toward the end of the death-grip hug :-)

Pee-pie! (never spelled that before)

Anna Kate's eyes match the color of the playhouse door. Love it! Our blue-eyed, blonde hair sweetheart. I had to throw this in the post.

Like father, like daughter...eating her favorite thing, apples!!! To be completely honest, I think her favorite thing is chips but, her 2nd favorite is probably apples.