Denver this winter

Three year old Denver is like a Mission Impossible movie - non-stop action. (If we're being honest so was 1 minute old, 1 year old, & 2 year old Denver).

He's spent most of his days playing with his best buddy Mosi - they divide their days crashing toy cars, chasing each other, wrestling to the ground, seeing who can get dirtier...

His favorite place is "Cowboy Town" which he has made up as a fictious place that he visits in his dreams that strongly resembles Papa's ranch.

And why wouldn't it be the place he goes in his dreams? He absolutely loves it there and has visited (without Mom & Dad) twice this winter

As has always been the case for Denver and is no different now he is either in full blown jackrabbit mode 

or passed out

His ornery little smile is almost too much for his mama's heart

and his free spirit and strong will keep that same mama and his dad on their toes (also known as dog tired by the end of the day).

That being said, the fun and laughter he brings to our lives makes us happy to wake up and do it all again every day.

Annie update

Annie had some fun activities this winter and has continued to thrive as she navigates the world of school, friendships, and being a big sister.

A little buddy of hers had a paint your pet party

and since we don't have a pet she painted her dog cousin Jacey

her artistic talent continues to amaze me because I am well aware she did not get one ounce of from me.

She also went to dancing with Daddy which we've already covered her love for in previous posts and this year was no exception.

Her school field trip to the Science Museum was a good time

Lucky for her she got to ride on the bus with Nenny, which I must add, she has found being at school with her to be such a treat this year.

She had another visit from Mary her tooth fairy

and was recognized at school for displaying the life principle of the week espirit de corp.

First grade has brought some challenges but we couldn't be prouder of the sweet soul she continues to be.

Growing like a weed

Babies are tricky

at times it seems like they grow overnight. 

Throughout January & February Lily grew a lot & passed some milestones.  She acquired 2 teeth 

started on table food

began to crawl

which wasn't good enough apparently because she started pulling up quickly after.

Her personality has blossomed & she likes smiling

playing in the water

and being around her bestie

Her precious spirit is a reminder every day that God knew she was exactly what our family needed even if we didn't.

Holiday fun 2016

There was a lot of excitement with three littles this Christmas season.  The two oldest could hardly contain their joy & anticipation of all things Christmas while everything was a new experience for Lily.

A few of the things we did -

We went to the church Christmas party which was a birthday party for Jesus.  We played games, ate cake, and gave gifts for orphan children in the Congo.

We also rode the Polar Express 

The kids had their parties at school which was a first for Denver 

We went and met Santa one night - maybe it was the hour of the night or just the busy time of year for him but Santa's expression pretty much sums up his thoughts of our herd of kids...

Denver made a pole to celebrate Festivus - don't worry we put it in the crawl space for safe-keeping. (See Seinfeld circa 1994-96ish for better understanding of this reference.)

Christmas Eve we were at the Kouba side of the family for a celebration that has just become packed full of kids of varying ages making it just a fantastic evening of chaos & joy.

The next morning the kiddos were up early & Annie was relieved to see Santa found her name on the nice list. Denver, on the other hand, had already acknowledged he was going to just have to see how the cards fell but was not going to let that worry him & apparently the cards fell in his favor.

Of course with all the fun I didn't get many pictures because well at some point you have to make the memories instead of document them but even without photographic evidence I do know this - we had an outstanding Christmas and it becomes clearer and clearer every year how abundantly fortunate we are.