Christmas at home

We had a great Christmas at home this year. Becky had fun opening her presents. Even got a picture in front of the tree in her pajamas. I got her to finally look at the camera by having her say "Hi Mommy"

Look at what Santa brought. Wow! She was really excited when she saw it. I didn't get a picture though ~ I was videotaping!



As always, for more fun-filled pics, click the Shutterfly link!

Christmas in Spencer

Can't go anywhere without my new baby!
opening presents

This is pretty fun! Bode and Becky in their new pajamas!

How cute am I?

We had a wonderful time in Spencer celebrating Christmas. As always, we felt like we were at our own home. Thanks to everyone who helped us celebrate!

Dad's hip surgery

For those of you who didn't know, my dad had hip replacement surgery on Monday morning. He got to go home from the hospital yesterday. It is absolutely amazing to me how fast he was up and walking around in less pain than he had been in for a long long time. He said it was the best he had felt in 10 years!! We are praying for a speedy recovery as he plans on being back up in Des Moines to begin the legislative session in three weeks. So far, he's right on track and doing very well.

Christmas in Des Moines

Here are a few of my favorite pics from Christmas this past weekend in Des Moines with my family. To see more of the madness, click on the Shutterfly link to the side. What a wonderful day it was! I am so blessed to have family that gets along so well and enjoys spending time together around the holidays and always. Love to you all!





Becky just plain pooped out after everyone left. She fell asleep watching Elmo! That is definitely a first!!!

playing in the snow

What a pretty evening it was! When Becky and I got home for the day, we decided to go play in the snow. She really didn't want to put on her snowpants or her coat or her boots or keep her mittens on, but after we got her all decked out, she seemed to at least like the snow this year! She even asked us for a shovel to "help" Daddy shovel the snow. Be safe on the roads, everyone! Gotta love winter in Iowa!

bear, hats, and books

Becky and the bear. Instead of my usual 5 pictures, she only sat still for this one. But I thought it was pretty cute. She has gotten so big!


Found a new hat to put on her head! I think Elmo was on TV so she wouldn't look at me, of course!
Another hat
Reading a story to Mommy

Two years old

Hard to believe how fast two years can go by now that I'm not a child myself! Had a nice day with Becky. We did what she wanted to do (mostly, I think) although she wouldn't nap by herself so I got to take one with her, okay by me. Now she is fighting going to sleep terribly and it's already an hour past her bedtime. Guess she is just having too much fun with Mommy and can't stand it! Got to go outside this afternoon and enjoy the beautiful weather. Wow! Played on the playground at Gray's Lake for a while. Could not believe how nice it was outside! Played in the leaves a little bit when we got home. Opened presents. All in all, a pretty good day. Just hard to believe sometimes that she's not so much my baby anymore!

Go Buccaneers!

Thanks Brenda, Stew, and Bode for the cool jersey. Becky really loved wearing it on Saturday. And they won!

Becky also liked being able to eat some more of her Elmo cake. Yum!

Becky's birthday party

Had Becky's birthday party on Saturday. What a fun time that was! Becky was pretty tired, but she still managed to be happy and silly. Here are a few pics. I will post all of them on Shutterfly if you want to take a look!

Kaitlyn and Becca helping Al put together Becky's stroller

Becky's first haircut

Took Becky to get her hair cut for the first time last week. She did such a good job! She didn't really want to sit in the chair by herself, but she sat on my lap and did great. She really just got a trim, but her mullet is defintely gone!

She wanted it put up the morning before we got it cut, so I put it in pigtails. It sure was cute, but she had them pulled out before we got to daycare!

first ponytail!

Becky was playing with my ponytail holders tonight and acting like she was putting it in her hair. So I did. It only lasted long enough to show her Daddy how pretty and for me to snap one picture, but I thought it was pretty cute. It's getting longer than I thought! I might have to have her get a haircut before her birthday!

The power of candy

Becky wasn't crazy about putting her costume on, but when I told her she could get more candy if she would put her Halloween costume on, she let me put it on her without any fussing at all. She thought it was pretty fun to go trick or treating too. We just walked up and down the street, hitting about 10 houses. Then we came back home to hand out our candy. She really didn't like me giving candy to other kids. She kept telling me, "No. My candy!"



Can you believe how she was posing? She knew exactly what Mommy wanted. . . except she wouldn't put the part over her head. Oh well . . . it was cute anyway, and I took what I could get at that point!

Mom and me

I have this picture of Mom and me in a frame in my living room. While it is not the most flattering picture of either one of us, it is how I remember her. I think the picture was taken the fall of 2000. Today was a rough day for me emotionally. I think the fact that today was a Monday made it even that much more difficult. It seemed I just kept reliving that day 6 years ago every time I turned around. It was such a beautiful day. The sunshine and breeze was perfect. I kept thinking how much she would have enjoyed a day like today. I was also reminded of how nice it was the week she died. It really felt more like spring than fall. I was feeling pretty sad when I got home, so Al, Becky, and I raked a pile of leaves and took turns jumping in them. It was really just what I needed. I know Mom would not want me to be so sad that she's gone and would want me to continue to have fun in my life and enjoy the little things. I guess when I miss her so much, it really is a tribute to her. She was such an amazing person. I can only hope I am the kind of wife, mother, and friend to those in my life that she was to so many people around her.