My M&M's

1/28/10

Happy 2nd Birthday, Mishayla!

Enthusiastic birthday party guest, Ginger!

Sick girl. Very sorry to have to wait 2 more weeks until her birthday.

The party - fewer participants than anticipated secondary to illness.

We had salad, oven stew and bread.

Balloon party favors - a big hit. Mishayla likes to rub the balloon and make a lot of noise. It drives Melania absolutely crazy...

New doll from June

Monkey card from Gpa and Gma

Dishes from Great Gma, Great Aunt Barb and Great Uncle Duane

New kitchen for the "playhouse / loft" from Mommy

Family picture...

Typical Mishayla!

Chocolate cake and frosting - Recipe from Tonya.

"I know it's my birthday, but I don't have to smile with my cake!"

Caroline was my foster daughter for a little over a year. Here she is celebrating her 11th birthday! Today, Caroline is 13! Happy Birthday, Carolina Girl! We are thinking of you and hope you have the best year ever!

12/14/09

October 2009

I decided I did not want to deal with mud again this winter.

So, the old step was hauled away.

The Bobcat was employed, much to the girls delight and entertainment.

And a sidewalk was installed. Along with new steps, a railing, and some more sod.

Sorry, no actual pictures of the completed project!

One afternoon, I was missing Alfy's. Last summer, I brought home a menu.

Here is my "pirated" version of Alfy's Chicken Alfredo pizza.

As good as the real thing!

A friend of mine from high school was visiting, and was even kind enough to call! We spent the evening with her family.

The kids had a great time playing together.

She has twin girls and a little boy.

Jeannie

Jeannie's dad with Melania and Mishayla.

Melania will never turn down an opportunity to snuggle!

Sylvester has not made an appearance on the blog lately.

However, here he is. Just as long-suffering as ever!

We celebrated Grandma's birthday at Hugh and Carmen's completed house!

My birthday was a couple of days earlier, and Carmen graciously saved me some pumpkin cheesecake.

The "birthday girl"!

The kids did a great job singing to Grandma with great enthusiasm!

Kaitlyn has been coming over to play periodically.

I was not home for this game, which seems to involve a swimming pool in the living room.

Mishayla's 23 months!

Kaitlyn is 20 months old.

Potty training with Dora!

Mark, Brenda and family were out to visit.

Was great to see you again!

We were invited to a Halloween party at Philip and Alisha's.

The kids dressed up, ate pizza and went trick or treating. A good time was had by all!

Kaitlyn and Kenzie (both very close to Mishayla's age! )

Lars H.

Somewhere between 19 and 21 kids total!

Mishayla was a pink butterfly.

Melania was Princess Aurora. (Her favorite!)

I can't believe I'm raising a princess.

10/5/09

Summer Pictures by Chelsea

A friend of mine from out of town came over to my parents' place to shoot the girls on location! It was impromptu, fun (except for the mosquitoes!) and resulted in some great pictures. I've been horrible about taking the girls in to get their pictures taken, and have relied on opportunities such as this to get more "professional" photos.

What happened to summer?

Nap time - someone ended up in the wrong bed.

Someone thought she was very funny!

Another someone liked it too!

How long has it been since a bath shot? The girls are still using the sink, however, they have a new "showerhead" installed by Mommy a couple of weeks ago. Wow!

The carousel. A favorite spot for a birthday party!

Princess and Flower (link on the right) invited us for Princess's 5th birthday celebration.

Thanks! A great time was had by all.

We went last year as well, but Mishayla wasn't quite big enough to ride all by herself yet.

My, what a difference a year makes!

Quilt for "Baby Henry" by June. Pattern by Wanda.

Family picture attempts are often thwarted.

As is the case here,

and here.

Everyone is accounted for; even if you can only see the back of Mishayla's head.

At least for now... My sister Wendy and her husband, Blaine, are homestudy approved, so it's possible that M&M's will have some adopted cousins soon! Most days, Melania happens to think another "chocolate baby" would be nice, but, like the rest of us, she loves all babies.