Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Birthday, Dillon and Davalie!

The Birthday Boy and Girl

 This past year we have had the amazing experience of our kids spending their days with an in-home caregiver. Annie is actually a very old friend of mine (a Sorority Sister) who recently moved back to Moscow so that her husband could start law school. Her family was at our house last summer for a barbecue and she mentioned she was thinking about going back to work. I joked that she should be our nanny. And there you go, a match made in heaven! Annie has four amazing kids, twins Alli and Dillon (8), Aiden, (5) and Abby (2). Dan drops our kiddos off at her house in Moscow on his way to work. Alma and Hadrian spend the morning with Annie and Abby, and then Aiden comes home from Kindergarten at noon. They all load up to pick the twins up from school around 3 and then head to Genesee to play at our house until I get home. It has been such a wonderful experience for our kids - it is just like having a whole bunch of siblings to play with. The big kids love to entertain the little kids and if you ask Abby she will tell you "Alma and Abby are best friends!" We invited their family out for a birthday party in honor of the twins 8th birthday and had a fantastic pizza/wii/pedicure party. Happy Birthday twins! We love you all!


Alma, Dillon, Alli, Hadrian, Aiden and Abby having a pizza party.  



Our Handsome Hadrian

Chowing down.

We can't get over how fast our little Hadrian is growing up. He is such a sweet, happy little guy. He really, really loves his Mommy and wants me to be with him ALL the time. He likes to mimic his Daddy, especially recently when Dan has been re-bricking our dining room fireplace. He wanted to get into the plaster sooooo bad, and was succesful more than once. He spent lots of time with his toy hammer that Aunt Mandie sent him pounding on the wall next to Dan. Now that he can do stairs we have to watch out, because every time we turn our back he is heading up to the family room. He especially likes to sneak up the stairs after bath time when I am trying to pull both kids out of the tub. Then he sits at the top of the stairs, naked, and feeling pretty clever. We love him, and all the goofy smiles he gives us!

Who, me?

Helping Daddy re-brick the fireplace.

A toy-box barricade.

Sneaking up the stairs, naked!

Play time.

"AAAAAAH"

Story time with Daddy!

One of Alma's favorite things in the world is books! It is so sweet when she comes scooting your way holding up a book. She has a few favorites, including The Wheels on the Bus, In My Nest, Mommy Hugs, and Barnyard Dance. Uncle Matt gave Alma the awesome froggy chair for Christmas and she loves to snuggle up in it for a bedtime story. We are so excited she inherited my love of reading.

Family Photos

The entire Graves-Funke, Funke and Schenck Family

For Christmas this year we bought Dan's parents a family photo shoot! The entire family came out to their house and we brought in a wonder photographer - Ileia McCall to do photos. They turned out awesome!

Typical Alma, trying to gouge out Hadrian's eyes.

Another typical Alma, on the go!

Merry Christmas!

Hadrian checking our Dan's new computer.

 This year we had a wonderful Christmas! A few weeks before Christmas I hosted a "Candy Cane Tutu" party for several of my girlfriends. We got together and made tutu's for our kids. Alma got a beautiful red and white candy cane striped tutu with a "gumdrop" onesie to match. I had so much fun doing it that I made one for my niece Audrey as well! Dan finally got the computer of his dreams that he has been talking about for years, so he should be happy for the next four or five Christmas mornings to come. We bought Hadrian a handsome three piece suit for his first Christmas, and he was so incredibly handsome! The kids wore matching pajamas on Christmas morning and spent more time playing with wrapping paper and boxes than toys. The one big hit was Alma's new ball pit. We bought 200 plastic balls and filled up our pack-n-play. Alma will stay in that thing for hours, which is a beautiful thing! We spent Christmas Eve at home as a family and went to visit Dan's grandparents on Christmas Day. It was a lovely way to end a wonderful year.

Handsome Hadrian in his 3 piece suit.

Alma got a new tricycle for Christmas.

Watching cartoons!

A nice family photo.

Ball pit.

Christmas morning.

So many fun toys!

Alma and Hadrian posing for Christmas Card pictures.

Hadrian had a couple of packages as big as he is.

Alma and Mommy.

Thanksgiving

Grandpa Denton with Alma and Hadrian.

 This year for Thanksgiving my parents decided to drive up North and join us. It is the first time I have ever cooked a big dinner for a lot of people and it went really well (with help from my Mom, of course.) My parents got to enjoy lots of snuggles with Alma and Hadrian. My Mom and I did some quality after-holiday shopping, and we all went swimming for an afternoon. We also drove down to Lewiston to enjoy the Christmas lights. Over-all, it was a very enjoyable Thanksgiving at home.

Helping with the dinner dishes.

Everybody needs a pre-holiday snuggle.