Science Center

We visited the science center in Des Moines. Everyone had a great time, and it was nice that there were activities for all different ages.

Girls' Night!

I went with some sweet friends to see a Christmas program led by Beth Moore. We had such a fun night!

Early Bird

Seriously, I have no idea why I wake up this early.

When I look back on our vacation, one of the things that immediately comes to mind is this: I am SO thankful for a father-in-law who is used to waking up very early. About a week before our trip, Lily started waking up around 5am. That is definitely NOT the norm for me and Lily, but it seemed like she was making a habit of it! Well, Grandpa Corning offered to get up with her all week, so I got some much needed rest. Thank you, Randy!

Since coming home from our vacation, Lily has usually been waking up between 6:45 and 7:15. Much better. Maybe she was just excited for our trip. Or maybe it was a growth spurt (she does weight 23 lbs now, which I know doesn't sound like a lot for her age, but for Lily it's huge). I don't know why she was doing it; I'm just glad it seems to be over.

Goose!

Here you go, Uncle Jason, I have a birthday present for you.

Just what I've always wanted...

hahaha... GOOSE!

Snow in HOUSTON!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

How funny that the last post I did was about snow in Iowa... We woke up yesterday morning to some very chilly temperatures - only about 35 degrees! It was just kind of a cold and gloomy day outside, and Lily had to bundle up in Khyean's red coat from Iowa to go to playgroup. That in itself was hilarious - If I had known we'd need it in Texas, I would have bought Lily a girly pink or purple winter coat! Then, later in the day, we had to go out to run some errands. Lily and I were out for about two hours, and it snowed the entire time! And it was still snowing later in the evening when we were sitting in the living room... So it was at least four hours of snow. None of it really stuck to the ground, but it was so much fun to see it. As we went in and out of the stores yesterday, Lily would say, "It NOWing, it NOWing!" I didn't get to take any pictures because it was dark by the time we got home.

Ironically, though, Lily was wearing her snowflake sweater...

Here's a picture of us being goofy before bathtime.

SNOW!

During the first two weeks of our vacation, I kept saying that I hoped it would snow. Well, it finally did! Unfortunately, it was right when Dusty was driving up to Iowa, so he had to deal with slick roads and low visibility the last part of his trip. But he arrived safely, and we went outside to play in the snow when all the kids were together for Brayden's party. Dusty made the smallest snowman I've ever seen! I'm glad Lily got to play in the snow, but I was also happy that it didn't keep snowing for the rest of our vacation. Just a little bit of snow was exactly what I wanted.

Birthday Boy

We usually miss our nieces' and nephews' birthday parties, but Brayden turned 6 while we were in Iowa.

Dusty arrived on the day of the party, so he got to play Guess Who? with the kids.