Paloma Rae

Paloma is also enjoying her stay in the Midwest.

Bonding

Mattea is definetly enjoying the quality time she is spending with her cousin Bennett.

Computer Time

Mattea was more than willing to show Grandpa how to use her new computer after settling in at Aunt Kim's house. Did I mention that it is really really cold here?

Waiting, Waiting

After waiting and waiting at the Boise airport, the girls and I were finally able to board and head off to the frozen tundra! A fly by lunch at Dairy Queen and a quick sprint in the MSP airport, we safely landed back in the Coulee Region on time. It is really cold here!

3 Going on 13

Today was Mattea's 3 year old photo shoot. She was so excited and has been practicing her smile for days. I can't believe how much she has changed since her 2 year old pictures were taken. Where is my little baby?

Bath Time

The Little Things in Life

Before I started blogging, my friend Merranda had told me that she uses blogging as a way of seeing the "little things" that happen during the day and being grateful for them. I now know what she was talking about. Sometimes I truly feel like my life has been reduced to cleaning, laundry, chores, and mindless errands. Some days I'm completely overwhelmed with all the "stuff" I need to do. But then in those fun free hours of the afternoon when the girls and I pull out the camera, I am reminded of the "little things" such as Mattea's funny faces and the infrequent smiles of my little Paloma that make up my day. Being a parent is hard and being a GOOD parent is even harder but it is the smiles of these two little angels that make it all worth it and I thank God daily for them.

He's My Cousin

So Miss Mattea is absolutely in love with her new cousin Bennett - or should I say she is in love with the idea of her new cousin since she has yet to meet him. She runs into the computer room, sits down and says "I want to see Baby Bennett." We then run the slide show and she comments and narrates on each picture. At the end she proudly exclaims, "he's my baby cousin - that's my baby." She can be naughty sometimes but that little girl has such a big heart.

Need a Ride?

Paloma loves when her big sister takes her for a ride - and Mattea just thinks it is so cool to be able to "drive" her little sis around. My thought - whatever keeps them happy and quiet during dinner preparation is fine by me.

My Little Princess

Lollipop

I love the lighting on this photo. Can you believe my sweet little Mattea captured this picture of Paloma enjoying her very first lollipop - under close supervision of course.

It's A Boy!!!

The day has finally come - I am officially an aunt. A huge congratulations to Ryan and Kim as they welcomed little Bennett Gregory Rieber into this world on 1/14/08 after over 12 hours of labor. Arriving in at 6 lbs 5 oz, he is as beautiful as they come. I can't wait to meet you sweet boy! Both mom and baby are doing well - sleep deprived but doing well.

Is Anybody Out There?

The Love of My Life

I love that between diapers and diarrhea, teething and tantrums, we are able to steal away for a second of silliness.

Teething

Poor Paloma. She is teething a tooth or two and has been absolutely miserable. She has been so grumpy lately. My little Mattea captured this photo the other day of Polly Rae using her crib as a teething ring despite the dozen that I have laying around the house.

My Little Photographer

Here is a sampling of pictures taken by Mattea. She loves taking pictures. We sure are going through a lot of batteries though - time for rechargeables.

It's Santa

Mattea was walking around holding the phone this morning waiting to "talk to daddy." She then began dialing some numbers. I heard the operator come on and give the prerecorded message. She then tried again. Still got the operator. She turned and looked at me and said, "that was Santa Clause."
She doesn't even know Santa Clause?????

A Look Back....

This posting is simply a look back one year ago when my little Paloma was born. Dave and I are very confident this will be our last (in less of course 'someone' else has different plans for us). Although we are very excited for the upcoming stages, it was still a bit sad to look back and see the change that has occurred during the last 12 months. Knowing this was going to be our last, I made unreal expectations about how I wanted everything to be. Needless to say that all of those expectations have been eliminated. Many of you may know the challenging year that we have had with Paloma. It has turned out to be nothing of what I had expected or wanted. But as I look back, I realize that I was being challenged. I was being forced to change my way of thinking and adapt to what life was being thrown at me. It has been hard but rewarding at the same time. I have learned a lot about myself and learned a lot about being a parent.

Flashbacks to the 80's??

Mattea came upstairs to see me looking like this. I asked her who did her hair. Her response, "Daddy did." Who does this style anymore? I don't think dad will be doing her hair in junior high.

Bible Study

I caught Mattea doing her "Bible Study" this morning. She was a bit surprised.

Such is Life

This would be my LAZY dog Kody. I snapped a couple of pictures of him sitting back and enjoying life. This dog does nothing but lay around all day. He especially likes resting by the fire. What a life!