Fun week at the Giere's

I probably shouldn't have taken these pictures (and I probably shouldn't be posting them), but I just couldn't resist...this is Ellie trying to, well, you know...do her "business." She turns beet red and it's just so cute!





A happier time in the bath tub!



This is Hannah with her new "ballerina"/"dressy" shoes. I was looking for a pair of shoes for her that she can wear to church until it gets warm enough for sandals and I caved in when we saw these sparkly ones at Target. I think it was a good purchase...she's been wearing them every day to "dance" in! :o)

More CA pics

Brian and I took the girls to San Diego for a day. It was absolutely beautiful. The next 4 pictures are from our time at the beach.













Pretty sisters!



Hannah is contemplating her next move...snack time, more swimming, sitting by grandma, or more swimming...




No teeth yet, but TONS of drool!!



Family Photos on our last night in Palm Springs

Swimming & Mini Golf

Ellie loved being a part of the action!















Snack Time!


Relaxing with Grandma


Hannah's first time playing mini-golf! She loved it except that she couldn't decide whether to hit the ball right-handed or left-handed.

The Living Desert

The Living Desert (or Living "Dessert" as Brian calls it) is part zoo, part botanical garden, part historical museum located only 30 minutes from my parents. The highlights of our visit there were feeding the giraffe, which each kid (except Ellie) got to do and petting/brushing the stinky goats.











Here we are enjoying our lunch...thankfully, we picked the "coolest" day to go to "The Desert"...it was in the 80's. :O)

Fun in the sun

We were absolutely spoiled out in California this year. Every day we woke up to beautiful blue skies and the temp rising to over 90 degrees. I guess I'll start at the beginning of our trip w/ a few highlights and fun moments.

Hannah and Ellie did really well on the flight out to Palm Springs. Hannah thought it was a real treat watching Cinderella with Taylor on the plane. Taylor is obviously a little more into the movie than Hannah. :O)



As we were landing in PS, Hannah exclaimed, "We're in Palm Trees!" It was too cute not to chuckle a little and kindly correct her. She later changed our destination to, "Palm Strings" which was equally as cute. By the end of the 2 weeks, she had it down...Palm Springs, California!

The kids could not get enough of the pool. They probably would have been in it from sun up til' sun down if we would have let them. We would have had to bribe them to get out, except for the fact that they were always working up an appetite, so they would take a "snack, lunch, snack" break throughout the day. Ellie enjoyed the water a few times, but really loved watching her sister and cousins.









The time change was a bit of a challenge when we arrived, but we knew what to expect...the kids were all asleep by 6pm (pacific) the first night and up by 5 the next morning (yikes!). That too got better each day. They were always exhausted by the end of the day, but we were able to keep them up until 8 and they learned to sleep in until 7 or so.

Ellie napping at my Mom and Dad's


Hannah just couldn't stay awake...she fell asleep after swimming one afternoon.


Okay, that's all for now...I'll add more pictures soon.

California Dreamin'

We're home!!! After 2 fabulous weeks in CA, it was time to come home. We weren't thrilled to come back to cold temperatures, but it does feel nice to be in our house again and sleep in our own beds. Even Hannah exclaimed last night, "Doesn't it feel great to be home?" :o)

I'll post more pictures when I can and tell a few stories, but for now, here's a beauty of the girls.

6 months old!

We cannot believe that it has been 6 months since Ellie was born!! Time goes by so quickly (when you have a newborn that's usually a good thing). She is bringing so much joy to us. She's laughing, talking ("Ba, ba, ba, ba, wa, wa, wa"), rolling, and eating like a champ. Seriously, about a week ago, it was like a light turned on and she figured out how to move the baby food to the back of her mouth and swallow. Ever since, she has shown that she REALLY loves food! ;o)

Here are her current stats:
Height - 26 3/4 inches
Weight - 16 pounds 3.2 ounces

She's growing beautifully and we are so thankful! (for two healthy girls)

6 month old beauty!



She loves to bounce and sway in her jumper!



This is Hannah pretending to be 6 months old!



Ahhh, to be 3 again! :o)



Brian took this Sunday afternoon. It was snowing like crazy and I looked outside and saw that we had some visitors! Poor things! They didn't stick around too long...By the way, we had a thunderstorm last night! So bizarre...you have to love weather in the Midwest. (p.s. California here we come!!! :o)