New Year Happenings

We've had an eventful couple of months so far in 2018.  The Virginia Beach area got a big snowstorm in January and Dan and Emma's school had four snow days!  The last day was warm enough to go outside and enjoy playing in it, so we went sledding.  Emma loved it and Hallie hated it, which was exactly they way they each felt about snow in general.

Dan and Emma on their first run down the slope

I took both girls down together, thinking Hallie would enjoy it more if Emma was sledding with her. Nope! She fussed the entire way down the hill, because there was WIND in her FACE. Oh, the humanity!

After our sledding adventures, we went to the playground and Hallie had a much better time.

Hallie has a new babysitter, Jessica, who attends our church.  Jessica has two boys who Hallie enjoys, usually. When she's not being "toughened up" by them!

They do have their sweet moments each day.

Dan and Emma have had some good times together after work & school.  They were trying each other's shoes on for size one night and cracking up about it.

Dan broke his "no slimy mess" rule to make homemade slime for Emma. She absolutely loved it!

 Emma taught Hallie how to play "Hide and Seek". They were counting before they tried to find Dan. Heh! Kids are so much fun!

I celebrated my 40th birthday in January, and my sweet coworkers, Denise and Lori, made a cake for me to share with our coworkers.

We also had a birthday party for me with our families. This was a picture with my candle blowing helpers.

Hallie loves cake as much as her mom.

She also loves making messes

Playing dress up

And getting into everything that she sees us doing

The biggest news this month is that Hallie finally decided to walk! At 17 1/2 months, she certainly took her sweet time.  Once she finally started, she really took off! We knew she had the skills for months before she believed she did.  She's struggled these past two months with colds and a couple of fevers, so she may not have had the energy to make the jump to walking until recently. Also, it's much more fun to be carried everywhere.

We had a fun play date with Emma's friend, Elisha, and his mom, Jenna, at the Portsmouth Children's Museum.

Emma and Elisha played with giant bubbles in the bubble room

Went fishing from the ship

Hallie brushed enormous teeth in the Human Body room

 And Emma pretended to be a mistreated Cinderella in the Fairy Tale room

My parents were kind enough to babysit the girls so Dan and I could have a Valentine's date the weekend before the holiday.  We celebrated on Valentine's Day, too, with cards and gifts from Grandpa, Grandma, Papa, Nana, and each other.

Last weekend, we got together with Dan's parents, his sister, Robin, and the youngest Jester cousins for a day of swimming and playing. Left to right: Josiah, Miriam, Naomi, Emma, and Hallie. We absolutely love being close enough to share these fun times and watch the kids grow up together!