S N O W .

Last Thursday (20 jan 2011) we got a lot of snow here in St. Louis. Since I had no where to go I was excited and decided to center our day's activities around snow. Brie and I had a great day...

She walked around in the snow while I took pictures from the door. I currently don't have a coat or snow pants big and warm enough to play out in the snow :0( But that's OK, tis the season. Next winter!

(the snow suit or "Snow Snoot" as Brie says, is from Mémé)


Next we colored "Frosty the Snowman"


and made paper snowflakes.
That took me back to elementary school :0)




I made snowball cookies for our afternoon snack


we played with gel snowflakes (from Mémé) on the back sliding glass door


Awesome Kate took Brie outside to really play in the snow (not just watching from the door). Thank you, Kate!



We finished it all off with hot chocolate.

What a fun day! I remember when I was little... the first good snow of the season my family would go play out in the snow and then warm up inside with a mug of hot coco. I loved those times and hope to carry them on with my children.

Do any of you have fun S N O W traditions?

Baby Bump: 27 weeks.

27 Weeks.

Here's what the baby bump is looking like these days. Our little guy has gotten to be quite active and it's SO fun feeling him move! I got home from our Christmas vacation and went into nesting mode. I still have about three months to go, but we ran with it and got closets organized, baby supplies out, clothes washed and tucked away in little drawers, etc. I am definitely getting more and more excited about meeting this little guy. So fun!

**I couldn't help but smile while Bry took this picture--I had asked him if he could take a few shots so he snapped away like the paparazzi so that he'd get a good one the first time round and wouldn't have to take more. He knows that I always need at least 3 pictures of something so that I have options to choose from :0)**

Baby Bump: 24 weeks.

While I'm sorting through trip pictures maybe I'll post a few
Baby Bump pictures.

Here's Week 24.

It's About Love.

Some of our good friends are hoping to adopt a baby, and since most adoptive parents are found through word of mouth...I'm spreading the word!! I love these two and will be SO excited for the day when they adopt a baby of their own. They will be such wonderful parents! Click here to view their online profile...and spread the word. Thanks! Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and are doing well :0)

Crèches and Carols.

For the last six years or so, 3 LDS stakes have collaborated to put on a weekend of Crèches and Carols. I ended up going twice (once with Brie, Myriam and Esteban and another time with Bry, Brie, Kate & Steve) and was SO glad that I did! It was fabulous and very well done! I loved seeing the myriad of nativity scenes from around the world. It was SO impressive. AND, I loved their "Christmas Card" room---with a nativity back drop, a whole line up of costumes, and a photographer to take your picture. Anyway, here are a few pictures from the second night when we went as a family.




I especially love this last one of Brie. What a cutie. And really, most of the time, she is an angel.

Anyway, we're finishing up the last final details for our trip then heading to bed. We head out tomorrow morning for 3 weeks of family-filled fun. YAY! In any case, we hope you all have a VERY Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Take care!

Sweet Girl.

This morning I was sitting on the landing, trying to get suitcases packed for our upcoming trip and feeling pretty frazzled. Brie was obviously lacking attention and kept buzzing around and getting into things. A little bit frustrated, I told her to please move and go to her room to play. She finally went. A few seconds later I looked into her room to see her smiling at me. I was a little puzzled. Then she stood up, walked over (still with the smile on her face) and gave me a kiss on the cheek. It was the sweetest thing and melted my grumpy mood. She knew just what I needed. What a sweet girl. Anyway, just had to share.

Supermarket Sweep.

For Brie's main Christmas present this year we got
her a little kid shopping cart (from good ol' Aldi's)...


She quickly filled it with everyone else's presents, including the little newborn froggy outfit we bought for her baby brother (to wear home from the hospital).

Currently, she loves her cart, especially pushing her baby up and down the hall. Cute, cute.

Vichyssoise.

Have I mentioned that since we've been married, Bry & I have had our own Christmas Eve and Christmas morning before the actual holiday? (So that we can start establishing our own little family traditions...our families have their own fun traditions and we typically celebrate with them on December 25th.). Typically on "Christmas Eve" we have a special dinner with Vichyssoise (a yummy potato and onion based soup that his Mom and Grandma would traditionally make this time of year) as the main dish.

Last night (19 Dec. 2010) I was setting the table extra nice for the occasion. I had only set two places because I figured that Brie would just sit in her high chair, like normal. She came into the room, saw the spread (and a little bowl of peanuts and M&M's on the table :0)) and started saying, "booster chair, booster chair!" Meaning that she wanted to sit WITH US at the table. I thought that was cute. Bry grabbed her little blue booster chair and we made room for our little bug...she was very excited! :0)


It was a nice evening. We ate dinner by candlelight (battery-powered since Brie was at the table), had Christmas music playing in the background and enjoyed each other's company. Afterward, we read "The Night Before Christmas" and sang a few Christmas hymns. Before putting Brie to bed we read her "Polar Express" (she loves trains!), a little board book on the nativity and ended the night by singing "Silent Night." This is the first year that Brie is starting to figure Christmas out. She still doesn't understand most of it, but it's starting to fall into place and it's cute to see. Anyway, YAY for family traditions :0)

Visions of Sugar Cookies danced in their heads.

(Saturday, 19 December 2010)

Back in November Bry and I (during our drive home from Ohio) planned in all the Christmas festivities we wanted to make happen this year. One of them was Sugar Cookies. Brie is getting more interested in helping me in the kitchen so I tried to include her in as many steps as possible. She spilled a little flour here and there, but that sounds just like her Mom :0) Bry even took a break from all his school work (he's been so busy and has tried to balance school with as many holiday activities as possible.) to help Brie cut out the cookies, get them on the sheet and frost them later.

(the adorable little apron and hat are
from the Gublers. Too cute! Love 'em!)

Sunday afternoon we bundled up and dropped off a few plates of cookies. It was so fun to do it as a family...and hopefully brought a little Christmas cheer to others too!

We love Park Forest.

Yep, it's true. We love our complex! And another to reason to love it here...the awesome Christmas Party they threw last weekend in the clubhouse. A lot of the residents showed up so it was pretty cozy in there...with few tables or chairs, BUT they had dinner and dessert, at least a dozen door prizes (AND they gave away an IPad), Santa Claus for the kids, and carriage rides around the complex.


We didn't win anything (maybe next year :0)), but we enjoyed the food, mingling with friends, seeing Brie meet Santa Claus for a second time this year, AND a cold but fun carriage ride. It was great! Anyway, I love the feeling of community that they create... it's something you don't find in your typical complex. We're happy to have ended up here.

A Gospel Christmas.

(Thursday, 16 December 2010)

Last month I was looking through Christmas concerts and came across a Gospel Christmas Concert, featuring vocalist Wintley Phipps. I thought it'd be a fun Christmas celebration here in St. Louis...with a twist that was more unique to the area. We saved up our date night money for December and bought the tickets. We're so glad we did. What a wonderful and uplifting occasion! Plus, it was so fun to get all dressed up for another evening out on the town with my sweetie :0)




Powell hall itself was amazing and beautiful, all decked out for Christmas! And the music was so upbeat and performed with so much heart. I commented to Bry afterward that I don't think your typical Christmas concert would have been so focused on Christ as this one was. The highlight was definitely hearing Wintley Phipps sing....his love and admiration for Jesus was so apparent in the way that he talked and sang...I really felt inspired while listening to him. (If you have never heard of him, check out his renditions of "It is Well with my Soul" or "Amazing Grace" .)

Afterward we came back home and enjoyed "Snowman Soup" (Hot chocolate + M&M's + Hershey Kisses...stirred together with a candy cane), thanks to my cute visiting teachers. What a great evening!

Baby Bump: 22 weeks.

(I need to just ask Bry to take a picture of me, instead of turning the camera to auto, self timer and putting it on the stairs!)

Here I am at 22 weeks. I thought it was probably time to put up my first baby bump picture. It's not a great one...the outfit doesn't really emphasize my tummy so it's hard to tell how big I really am. Let's be honest...having never slimmed down after Brie's pregnancy, I feel like I'm starting to show a lot more and a lot sooner. But that's OK. I'm just going to be happy with however things go and be grateful to have a sweet little son growing inside of me :0) In any case, I've been feeling him move more and more and it's so exciting to be reminded that he's there with me...alive and well!

Let it Snow in St. Louis.

Last Sunday (12 Dec.) we got our first real snow in St. Louis. I didn't pull out my camera that day, but here are a few from the day after.

Brie coming up our walk after helping me deliver Christmas cards. (Mind you that we got all bundled up because it was only 10 degrees outside!!)

Oh that girl, what a joy!

A view from our bedroom window.

As much as I don't like COLD weather, the snow definitely makes it feel more like Christmas time.

Countless Cupcakes.

(Saturday, 11 Dec. @ 11 AM)

Well Brie's bday party has finally come and gone! Since my Mom, Em and I started brainstorming for it back in September, it feels like it's been in the works for a long time! Plus, all week* I was working on little projects and preparations to get ready---making mini cupcake boxes (so the kids could take their decorated cupcakes home), hanging banners, making cupcakes, mixing frosting colors, making party favors, etc. Brie helped me with several little tasks here and there and it was fun to have her working by my side, getting ready for her party. Needless to say when Saturday came it was fun to see the party come to life with all the little kids and their moms :0)

*It was nice to do things little at a time, without the stress of procrastinating or doing things last minute. This is something I need to remember for future projects! :0)



Have I mentioned that back in September my Mom sent me home with all sorts of fun cupcake paraphernalia? (cupcake liners, tins, sprinkles, napkins, etc.) AND that Em let me borrow who giant cupcake pan from last year? So, much of the FUNness of the party is thanks to their thoughtfulness and generosity :0)

(Each toddler had a cupcake decorating station---4 mini cupcakes and 5 different kinds of sprinkles. There were 6 different colors of frosting on the table to share. We had to switch out stations a few times since all the kids couldn't fit at the table at the same time. It got a little crazy and chaotic, but I think the kids had fun!)

Thanks to all you who came to celebrate with Brie AND thanks to everyone who sent cards & packages for Brie's special day! What would a birthday be without GREAT friends and family?!

Pink Polka Dot Tights.

I didn't document Brie's birthday like I did last year, for everyone's sake :0) But here are a few pictures of her first day as a TWO year old!...


Some of Brie's birthday moments...French toast with strawberry syrup for breakfast, cute new outfits and swimsuit from Bompa and Mémé, story time at the library, a Hello Kitty shirt from Esteban, YUMMY lasagna lunch made by Myriam, marshmallow suckers with Mom, Pizza for dinner and cupcakes for dessert, getting fun BLOCKS* from Kate & Steve, and getting a giant cupcake (filled with plastic toy treats) from Mama & Dada.

*Before she unwrapped her present, Kate & Steve jokingly told her to shake it to see what it was. She shook it and said, "blocks." And sure enough they were blocks. Lucky guess? :0)


We went to story time at the University City Public Library with our friends Myriam and Esteban. Afterward, I sat her down on the chair to get her coat on and realized what a GREAT chair it was. Many pictures naturally followed :0))

(I love all of her different facial expressions.)

What a great day! I was grateful that I had gotten things done earlier in the week so that I could just enjoy the day with Brie. That little cutie. Up next, pictures from her Cupcake Birthday Party :0)

Carols & Goodies.

When I was in high school, one of my good friends' family (the Swims) had a Christmas tradition centered around the First Presidency Christmas Devotional. They would invite friends over to go caroling then everyone would meet back in their warm and beautiful home for an assortment of Christmas goodies (which were always amazing and delicious, knowing them!) while watching the devotional. Good memories! Almost a decade later, I decided that I wanted to try their tradition with some friends and families in our complex...

We had about 5 families join us to brave the cold and out we went caroling to some of our neighbors (battery-powered candles and printed out carols in hand). It WAS cold, but it was SO fun to see the faces of the people we caroled to...it totally made it worth it. Now THAT's where the true spirit of Christmas can be found, eh?...as we sacrifice to bring joy to those around us!

Afterward everyone met back at our place for hot wassail, cocoa and goodies (potluck). We didn't watch the devotional together because most kids needed to get home for bed time, but it was such a delightful evening. I hope to keep up this tradition!

Here comes Santa Claus...

A little over a week ago (4 Dec. 2010) our ward had a Christmas breakfast--pancakes, egg casseroles and oranges. Yum. The best part though was getting to better know some ward members, singing Christmas songs AND watching Brie meet Santa Claus for the first time :0)...

She was a little hesitant at first (I don't blame her), but seemed OK with a little reassurance from me and Bry.

(I LOVE that far right picture of Brie & Bry, oh my sweeties :0))

Brie's Big Début.

Two years ago yesterday our sweet Briana Joyce joined our family. We sure love you Brie!!! Lots and lots :0) More to come later on her birthday...

To Ohio We Go.

We spent Thanksgiving this year in Ohio with my MTC companion and her cute little family. It was so wonderful spending several days with them in their beautiful home. Some of the highlights include: chatting, making/eating good food, watching the kiddies play, doing craft projects while the guys watched football, watching "A Christmas Story", more chatting and catching up, more eating of good food :0), etc...We had a delightful time!

(Cute, cute, cute!)

On Thanksgiving Day, while the kids (Mel, Brie and Geni) played, Mark, Britta, Bry and I pitched in to bring about a delicious and beautiful dinner. I couldn't help but comment over and over again how fun it was to work together. I love collaboration, team work and synergy!! Anyway, here is what was on the menu...

Thank you, Ropers for such a
wonderful Thanksgiving vacation!!!

(Bry was a champ and drove there and back. Thank you, Sweetie! On the way there it rained the WHOLE time (I looked through 2 whole baby name books and started compiling a list of possible names for our little boy.) and on the way back it was sunny and beautiful! It was about a 9 hour drive each way and I thought that it was going to be horribly long, especially with a toddler, but it wasn't bad at all.)