Valentine's Day and Snow

Updates on the fam:

Zac got a promotion at work and is a programmer and a senior linux systems administrator which he is excited about. It's a lot more work, but it keeps him busy and learning new things all the time. He also keeps very busy with his Church calling in the Elder's Quorum and loves meeting new people. Watching him really makes me appreciate his tremendous sense of generosity. When he's not busy with those two things he gets to be home with us! He loves playing with the girls and snuggling with Mama :) He also recently got his Ham radio liscence which we are hoping to put to use on our hunting trip this year as well as adding a radio to our emergency preparedness supplies.

I am keeping busy with Mom things, lots of stories, cuddling, playing, cleaning, organizing, and all that fun stuff. I'm trying to take Anne to more social settings so she can work on her shyness so we go to Stake Aerobics every Tuesday, playgroup every Wednesday, and storytime and joyschool on Thursday. So along with Anne I get to socialize as well and am having fun making new friends. I also am part of a book club and we meet every month and discuss what we read. Our last book was "Rebecca" and what a crazy book that was! As part of my Church calling, I keep score every Thursday for stake men's basketball which is.....eventful. Other than that I do a lot of excercising and some sewing.

Anne's new favorite interests are Winnie the Pooh and playing in the snow. We borrowed a winnie the pooh movie from our friends and Anne has been obsessed with it ever since. Luckily I loved winnie the pooh when I was little too, so I enjoy watching it over and over with her. She is also starting to help read stories with me. She fills in the missing rhyming words and points out the letters. She also likes to count to two and holds up two of something and says "two!". She is just as sweet as ever and wants to "help" more and more around the house and with baby.

Rachel is getting so big! My friends all say she's tiny, but she seems big to us :) She is so active these days and has started rolling again! She also scutes forward and to the side. We think she's going to start crawling here in the next couple months. I think her main motivation is wanting to run around with her big sis. She's doing really well with sleeping and loves to give us great big smiles. She's laughed a couple times mainly when we tickle her chin. I think the main thing people comment about her is her eyes. She has such big bright blue eyes that just shine, especially when we're outside. We love our little cutie!

I think this year was my favorite Valentine's Day yet. The day started out making heart cookies for my visiting teachees and buddies with Anne. Very cute to have her help stir and sprinkle...then taste test.
Then we had heart-shaped sandwhiches (I love my big heart shaped cookie cutter :)
Someone commented earlier in the day how it must be fun to have little girls on Valentine's Day because you can dress them up...and yes I agree. My girls were very pink and heart-y.
Zac got off early from work and we all went out for Sushi (which Anne loved again, ate an entire Hawaiin roll by herself). Then we came home and Anne ate a Valentine cupcake she had gotten from a buddy. In the process, she had kicked her highchair back and gotten stuck like this on the table. We thought it was pretty funny :)
Then we exchanged Valentines. Anne got a big monkey helium balloon which she loves to play with.
Rachel got a balloon wand that she humored Mama and held for a second.
(Random cute shot of Rachel, I liked this shirt)
And I got these from my handsome hubby (and also a chocolate carmel apple which was already gone before I could take a picture.) We didn't take a picture of it but Zac got some cookie dough and Reeses...and some kisses ;) from all his girls. What a cool day to show people how much we love them.
An example of Rachel's mobility. I laid her down in her crib for a minute.....
And this is how I found her. Pants off and everything.
Our ever-growing toddler.
Helping Mama make some brownies for FHE.
And of course helping clean the utensils. Just look at that tongue!

One of the sewing projects I have been working on. A nursing cover for my sister-in-law since they just had our new nephew Benson! Congrats guys and sorry you had to see this first on the blog..as soon as we're not sick, we'll come give it to you! It was actually pretty fun to make and not hard at all. My next sewing goal is to make matching Easter dresses for the girls....
We got some snow this last weekend and Zac had a day off work, so we went sledding! Anne loved it! Except Walmart was all sold out of sleds, this was all they had. So tiny, but it worked.
The snow was mostly melted by time we could get out in it, but it worked.

I love this picture. She kept saying "again! again!" when she got to the bottom of the hill.
Playing in the backyard. Rachel joined us for a couple minutes.


Our snowman...the next day.
Best sound in the whole world.

So close!

Yellin'

Playin'

"Treat"

Sledding

Go Packers!

My ninja hubby. Thanks to my friend, who let me borrow her Mobi wrap to trace, I was able to make this one for $5.00! It is extraordinarily handy especially when going shopping and Rachel stays nice and warm and content. It is very simple to use and I am a huge fan. I've even used it when excercising which lulled Rachel to sleep. The only drawback I guess you would say is that I get a lot of stares when I'm out places. I just try to tell myself that they're all just staring at my adorable little bundle inside :)

A nice grocer at Smith's saw Anne staring at the balloons on the seafood isle so he cut her one. It was a huge hit for about a week till it died. And...it was the cause of Rachel's first real belly laugh! Anne was hitting it up in the hair right in front of Rachel's face and Rachel let out a huge laugh. I still think baby laughs are one of the best sounds in the world.
So our big event recently was watching our Packers win the Superbowl! We have been fans through thick and thin over the years and it was fun to see them actually playing well this year. So of course we had to celebrate and have a Packers Party! We had a ton of yummy food and lots of friends to share it with :)

Our buddies Alexis and baby Averie on the couch and little Maija, Anne, and Brooklyn playing and watching the game. We were so proud of Anne that she only had one little freak out over the cheering. She is getting so much better with lots of people and loud noises.
This was how the two of them looked pretty much the entire game. Rachel was very content to sleep through it all.
Our friends Stephanie and Ben and their kids Justin and Brooklyn (sorry if any spelling is off ).
The first of the food pictures. We tried to do as many green and yellow foods in honor of our team colors. So even though you can't see it, there's a yellow cake underneath the frosting. I know it's not the prettiest thing...someday I'd like to learn how to frost cakes and maybe even get some frosting tools.
All our yummy food. We tried to add some healthy items as well like the pineapple boats (which were actually all gone by time I took the picture). Zac made his famous salsa which is absolutely delicious (and I don't even normally like salsa) and yummy wings. Alexis added some yummy homemade pretzels which I am also excited to learn how to make.

I love this picture! Go Packers! (That's what she's thinking.)
This is my favorite family picture to date. It is very "us". I love my family :)
This is how Rachel likes to sleep 99% of the time. It must have been how she was in my tummy. She's actually pretty good about not poking or scratching her eyes. She just likes to shield them so it seems.
And the cute "Big Sister".
Our cuties in their Okinawa wear. The one Anne is wearing is actually from when my family lived in Okinawa before I was born.

Lots of love.
Sharing the love...amongst other things. Anne got some fun stickers from her Aunt Jennifer and she liked putting them.....
....here. Rachel didn't seem to mind. Coming from a youngest of three sisters, she had better get used to being dressed up and decorated. :)
Anne's fun new skill. It took her a couple tries...

But then she got the hang of it.