Christina's Winter One-derland 1st Birthday Party!

Today we celebrated Christina's first birthday with a Winter One-derland theme party! The party was a success and we were so happy to have family come into town to celebrate with us along with some friends from Tulsa.

I love the way the invitations turned out! We got a few inches of snow in early January so I thought it would be a great time to get some photos for her invitation as I had already decided on the theme. 

Our dining room. 

Dining room centerpiece. 

The kids table for arts & crafts and lunch.

The kitchen and birthday girl's seat. 

Our little photo shoot before guests arrived. I can't believe our baby girl is 1! 

The best one I could get with all 3 girls. 

Enjoying lunch -- pizza for the kids and homemade chili for the adults.

The cupcake cake. It turned out so cute! 

Our Little Snowflake's smash cake. 

Yummy!

Love this one! She tore into the cake. We had to pull it away and she was not happy about it.

Destroyed :)

Later we opened gifts up with family. Christina received some wonderful things. She is a very lucky little girl.

Riding the car she got from Uncle Tommy, Aunt Danielle and Vinny.

With Aunt Danielle.

Cousins!

Our family.

Below are pictures with the Hardys before they left on Sunday. 

The girls with Grandpa. 

With Nana.

With Aunt Bridget & Aunt Megan. 

Thank you to our family who traveled from near and far distances and to our friends here in town who celebrated Christina's first birthday with us. We are very blessed, especially our sweet Christina Mary!

Happy 1st Birthday, Christina!

Happy 1st Birthday, Christina Mary! I cannot believe how quickly this year went by. I know I say this when each one of the girls celebrates a birthday, but this one really feels like it went by faster than the others. In one moment I feel like she was born a few months ago, and then in next moment I feel like she has been part of our family for years. It's hard to describe, but either way we are completely and totally blessed! 

Christina, you are the absolute most patient and relaxed little one. You are nearly up for anything and you love your big sisters so much! Your favorite and most happy time of the day is in the evening when we eat dinner together around the table. You beam with excitement and babble and giggle. You love having us all together and you let us know. You are an absolute joy and remarkably tender and lovable. You stole our hearts a year ago today and we just all adore you! 

Just a few moments after she woke up. Happy Birthday, Sweet Girl! 

Waiting for her breakfast with a big smile. It's fun to be one! 

We all got a pleasant surprise when we found out G-Pa would be in town recruiting on Christina's birthday. G-Pa is now the
Offensive Coordinator at Iowa State University and we are so excited that he and Nonna will be much closer to us! G-Pa joined us for dinner and cake and stayed the night with us.

Singing "Happy Birthday!"

Christina actually knows how to blow air out of her mouth. She does it when I put food on her tray. (She likes to mimic what I do when her food is warm.) When I brought the cake with the candle close to her,  I told her to blow and she did. We didn't quite catch the moment with the camera but it's on video. It was adorable!

G-Pa surprised Christina with a stuffed dog and balloon and this cake. We had a yummy vanilla funfetti and chocolate cake to enjoy. Thanks, G! 

Go get it, girl!

A little help opening gifts. 

The Birthday Girl playing with her new toy with her big sisters. Christina is lucky girl...she has the best big sisters in the world. They just love her and think everything she does is so cute. After school, they greet her with hugs and kisses and in the morning they can't wait to talk to her at the breakfast table. It's so very sweet. 

Happy Birthday, Christina! It's been a very fun and enjoyable first year. You melt our hearts daily and we can't imagine our family without you. We love you, tonies!

Feticks' Visit

Last weekend the Feticks came down to visit from St. Louis. We had such a great time. Fay and I went to college together -- sorority sisters and college roommates. Her husband, Jeff, and David have really gotten to know each other well since our days in college so it's always fun to get together. Their 18 month-old daughter, Nora, is a doll. The girls played together non-stop, which was really fun to watch. We spent Saturday afternoon at the zoo. We were lucky and had great weather. Here are some pictures from our weekend:

Christina's first time to the zoo. She loved the animals and was so patient in her stroller.  

Getting up close.  

Nora and Christina just hanging out watching the very large tortoises. 

Sweet girls!

We had a great time with the Feticks and hope to see them again soon!

Gabby's First Dance Competition

Gabriella is competing this year as a jazz soloist. It all began last spring when Gabby's dance teacher approached me about working with her privately and going to competitions as a soloist. David and I talked it over and decided it would be something Gabby would most likely enjoy. She loves dance and we knew the competitive side of it would be appealing to her. 

This new adventure officially began in the summer when she learned her 2-minute routine and has been working on it since then…meeting a couple times a month with her teacher and practicing at home. 

She competed the first time last week and did very well. She was the youngest soloist at the competition and was the first to perform. The other girls in the petite category were at least 2 years older than her. Each dancer was judged individually and then one award was given to the top performer in the category. Individually, she did very well, earning gold. (The girl who won the overall petite category we learned will be 10 years old soon - Gabby will be 7 next month.) The judges really enjoyed her routine and provided good feedback. She has things she will work on of course, but she nailed all her "tricks" which included a back walk-over. We are so very proud of her and look forward to her next competition in February. Keep up the good work, Gabby!

   

Warming up before her performance on the stage. 

With her gold metal after the awards ceremony.  Way to go, Gabby!

Christmas in Kansas City

Last weekend we went to Kansas City to celebrate Christmas and exchange gifts with Nana, Aunt Bridget and Aunt Megan. We had a good time visiting. Here are some photos from our visit.

The girls with Nana, Aunt Megan and Aunt Bridget. 

Gabby and Adriana decorating memory boards given to them by The Tadtmans. 

We had a good yet short visit to Kansas City! 

Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas! We love this time of year for so many reasons, but the most important being that the Jesus, the son of God, came to Earth to live among us! It was a memorable Christmas as it was Christina Mary's first Christmas. We had Nonna, G-Pa, Uncle Tommy, Aunt Danielle and Vinny come to Tulsa to celebrate. It was a full house and we had so much fun! 

Early Christmas Eve morning, Christina had an ear tubes procedure. She did so well and by the end of the day was feeling good. We went to Mass in the late afternoon and then had dinner at The Summit Club. Afterward, we came home and opened gifts from family. 

Before surgery. Sweet baby girl.

At The Summit Club.

All of us before dinner.

Nonna and G-Pa with their 4 grandchildren. What a special photo! 

Santa was there, too!

Vinny excited about his toy.  He is such a sweet boy!

I think she had fun. Who needs gifts when you have wrapping and bows to play with?!

Saying good-bye to Mr. Elf before he heads back to the North Pole for the year. 

Treats for Santa and his crew.

Checking out her new desk Santa left for her Christmas morning. 

Doc McStuffins check-up clinic. Adriana loves this show. 

Nonnie helping Christina feed her baby doll.

Oh my! What cuties! The grandbabies and furbabies. :)

Merry Christmas to you all!

Adriana's Christmas Program

Adriana's preschool had their annual Christmas Program. She was a gift - Myrrh. It was so sweet to see her walk in with her friends and then sing Christmas songs. She is growing up so quickly. It's hard to believe she will be in PreK next year and then off to school. I read recently how when you have young children "The days are long but the years are short." A perfect way to describe my thoughts when I get a chance to reflect on how quickly they are growing up. 

That smile melts my heart.

The first time we've ever had a child cry on Santa's lap. Christina did well last weekend but was not so sure of it this morning. She is battling a cold and going to the doctor to check for another ear infection. She is getting tubes next week which I think will make such a difference. 

More Christmas memories were made today. We are looking forward to Christmas spent with family.