Catch up!

I'm not quite sure where to begin! So much has happened since the last time I posted. I have some major catching up to do. Part of the reason for my lack of posts is that we've had some disarray with our computer and our pictures. One of our hard drives died and we lost several months of pictures. It was very sad. Fortunately, several of the pictures we had lost I had posted on my blog and we were able to get those back. So, sorry to those who still read my blog, but this will be a very, very long post. :)

Christmas

Christmas Eve PJ's.

Milk and cookies for Santa...

The kids woke up around 7, which was actually sleeping in a bit for them!

The very first thing Ellie did when she saw her stocking was to dig into her candy and she didn't stop until every last piece was gone! That girl is obsessed with chocolate! Once she was done with her's she tried to steal the rest of ours!

One of Jake's favorite toys was a little bus.

Matching piggy banks.

Jeremy and Jake worked on this little kitchen for Ellie together. I think Jake might have been more excited to give it to Ellie than he was about his own presents. It turned out really cute and Ellie loved it. The very first thing she did was put her brand new baby doll in the microwave with its feet hanging out. :)

After opening presents at our house we headed over to my Mom's for breakfast and to talk to my brother Jeff who is on his mission in San Jose, Costa Rica. It was so good to hear from him. He's doing great and we're so proud of him!

Jake got his very own camera that he carried around all day. He took at least 100 pictures!

Christmas at Grammy and Grandpa McLerran's house. Jeremy's brother, Josh, was able to come for Christmas this year. It had been quite a while since we had all been together, so it was very exciting.

Jake and Ellie were totally spoiled this year. By the time we headed back home, our entire trunk was full of gifts! It was ridiculous! We are so blessed to have such generous and loving family and we were grateful to celebrate this wonderful season with all of them!

Ellie's 2nd Birthday

Our little Ellie is 2! She has grown up so fast and she is as crazy as ever! At least once a day I find her in something that she shouldn't be in. She definitely keeps us entertained! She loves her baby dolls, her favorite foods are strawberries and fruit snacks, she loves to be independent and has to do everything on her own, she talks incredibly well, she adores her big brother and wants to do everything that he does, she wakes up at the crack of dawn EVERY SINGLE DAY, she makes us laugh, and we love her bubbly little personality! Happy Birthday Ellie! We love you!

Because the kids got so much stuff for Christmas, we kept a few things in the packaging and reused it for Ellie's birthday. Is that bad? She didn't seem to mind. :)

Cutest little 2 year old!

Anything sweet Ellie loves!

We went to Jump On It with family. It was a blast. Ellie loves to jump!

Lola Jane

On February 1st at 2:18pm, Lola Jane McLerran was born! She weighted 7 lbs 8 oz and was 20 in long. Everything went perfectly with the delivery and she has been the sweetest, most content little baby. Right after she was born I was concerned that something was wrong because she wasn't really crying. The nurse said she was breathing well and everything was fine. She just didn't care to cry. We love her so much already! Jeremy and I were hoping for a chill baby that is just easy going, and I think we may have gotten our wish!

She has tons and tons of thick dark hair! Jake and Ellie both had hair, but not nearly this much. So cute! At first I thought she looked a lot like Ellie, but as time has passed she's developed her own little look. I think she still fits in with our family though.

The kids absolutely adore her! I'm pretty sure that Ellie thinks Lola is just another one of her baby dolls to play with. I have to watch that girl around Lola! One of the very first things she did was to poke Lola right in the eyeball!

Jake loves to hold her and is such a sweet and loving brother!

My 30th Birthday

I turned 30! My birthday was the day after Lola was born, so my big day was spent in the hospital, but I couldn't have asked for a better birthday present! I'm excited in few years to be able to do a birthday weekend with just my girls since our birthday's are all so close together.

1 Year Without Dad

It's been one year since my Dad passed away and oh how I miss him. I miss laughing together, I miss his phone calls just to say hi for no reason at all, I miss seeing him wrestle and play with my kids, I miss watching sports with him, I miss his presence at home, I miss him at family reunions and seeing him joke around with his siblings, I miss his strength and testimony. I miss everything about him. It breaks my heart that my little Lola won't know him. But then, I'm reminded that she was just with him and perhaps she still remembers a bit of heaven and those she knew there. I know that we will all be together again someday and that he is still watching over our family and is still part of our lives from the other side. Love you Dad!