Leah's 1st Birthday

I can't believe Leah is already one year old! And I can't believe how much we love her. She is the sweetest, happiest baby and she brings so much joy into our lives. Happy Birthday Leah Lou!

Disney on Ice

On Friday night, the four of us went to Disney on Ice: Princess Classics. Annie loved dressing up and joining the hundreds of other little girls dressed as princesses to watch the show. It was so cute. They told the stories of Jasmine, Aurora, Snow White, Mulan, Ariel, and Belle during the first half of the show. Annie was absolutely mesmerized and wouldn't take her eyes off the stage. Leah was pretty into it as well, dancing to the music and clapping her hands when everyone else clapped. During the intermission, Annie turned to me and said, "I didn't see Cinderella." (Cinderella has always been her favorite.) We were excited to soon find out that the whole second half of the show was devoted to Cinderella. It was a great night with our two little princesses!

Graeter's Ice Cream

What causes an ice cream parlor to be PACKED when it's 20 degress and snowing outside? On the day of the season's first ice storm and when we are under severe winter weather warnings? What causes all these Ohioans to say, "Mmmm..... let's go get some cold refreshing ice cream!"

Could it be the famous ice cream they've been making since 1870? (Many will claim it's the best ice cream you will ever taste.) Their signature flavor: Black Raspberry Chocolate Chip



Or could it be the fun play place they have providing kids hours of fun while burning off all those calories they just ate?









Or is it just because all the schools were cancelled for the day and let's face it, there just aren't that many options when you want to get out of the house on a cold winter's day?



Whatever the reason, one thing is for sure: Ohioans LOVE their ice cream as much in the winter as they do in the summer. Which only means one thing: We fit right in!

Photo Shoot

Here are some pictures I took of Leah the other day. Thought I better post them before she gets too big and doesn't look the same. (Hope you're not sick of pictures of our girls. I guess that's what you get for browsing our blog.) She stood on her own for a few seconds today. We'd like to get her walking before her first birthday, but that's only five days away, so I'd say it's unlikely. I'm sure we'll keep you posted, though.

Valentine's Day

Dan did the cutest thing for us girls on Valentine's Day. He's so good at things like this. Each of the girls woke up on Thursday morning to a Valentine balloon in their room, which they were both extremely excited about. Leah had flipped on her light (yes, the light switch is right by her crib) to get a better look at the strange new object floating by her crib, and was standing and pointing saying, "ooooohhhh!" But the real fun began when we read the big red heart that was hanging from Annie's balloon: "This is a Valentine's Treasure Hunt! Look for hearts like this to find clues to get to your Valentine's surprise! Here's you first clue: When you're really dirty, this is where you go to get squeaky clean." Dan had already left for school, so he missed the three of us running around the house, reading clues, and looking for the hidden red hearts. Annie was so into it, and to tell you the truth, so was I! The hunt finally ended when a clue led us down to the laundry room and we found our Valentine's surprise on top of the dryer. A dozen red roses (for me), treats, gifts, and cards. Inside Annie's card Dan had made up some tickets letting us know he's taking us to the Disney Princesses on Ice show this coming weekend. We're so excited!!



I love this picture. Annie was proudly showing us her new pony, while Leah was feeling triumphant over the tiny piece of wrapping paper she ripped off!




The girls were being just so darn cute, we ended up snapping way to many pictures. Here's a few of our favorites:




This is the "where's Leah" part of peek-a-boo.


Leah loves to live on the edge. Here she's practicing her hand spring somersault with a half twist off the couch.


This is Leah's irresistable "hold me" look. It's hard to ignore.

Grease

This was a greasy pot left to soak overnight. The color wasn't enhanced at all. (Sarah will probably not endorse this post, but I thought it looked cool.)

Dry Pack Canning

Dan and I have been on a food storage kick lately. Well, actually, we've finally decided that it's about time that we START our food storage. We have no excuses any more . . . . our house has plenty of storage space, and we can no longer just drive to our family's house in an emergency. We had a great emergency preparedness enrichment night last Thursday, which I left with an overwhelming realization at how unprepared we really are. So I was excited to find out that some women from our ward were planning a trip to the dry pack cannery. It's time to get prepared!



We went on Saturday and canned food for over 3 hours.

Kandice was a canning machine!

Nollie and I show off some of our finished cans.

We canned a lot of food, and although it was exhausting (those flour bags are heavy!) we all felt like we had accomplished something good. It's great to see those cans on shelves in our basement. Our food storage is still nowhere near what it probably should be, but we've gotten a good start and it feels good.

Fire Museum

Today the girls and I met up with a group of friends from our ward and visited the Central Ohio Fire Museum. It was a fun little outing. The museum is housed in a restored 1908 fire station. I love old buildings and I wish I would have gotten a picture of the outside. We took a little tour and got to see some really cool old firetrucks.

But for the kids, the highlight of the trip was dressing up like firemen and playing in the children's play area!

Annie loved sliding down the pole!

Even Leah was loving it! She loves being a part of all the action.

Playing in the firetruck with their friend, Nessie.

Martina McBride Concert

We had a great weekend. Friday night we went to the Martina McBride concert at the Nationwide Arena, thanks to the free tickets we got from some ward members. We met up with Dave and Laurie Gustafson before the concert for dinner at Buca di Beppo . . . . yummy! Ater stuffing our bellies full of delicious bread, salad, and pasta, we walked across the courtyard to the arena. The concert was so fun!! She has such an incredible voice. Even Dan liked it, and he is not a country music fan. Although his favorite part of the night was the encore when she sang Don't Stop Believin' by Journey and Hit Me with Your Best Shot. My favorite songs of the night were This One's for the Girls, In My Daughter's Eyes, and My Baby Loves Me. Thanks to the Christensen's for watching our girls (we owe you one . . . . I mean, two!) and thanks to Emily Johnson for the pictures! It was fun to see you guys there.