Random Pictures and Thoughts

Today, as I stayed home with the girls during one of our many snow days, I wanted to share some pictures and some thoughts about the girls and our family.  First, some pictures and then some random musings.

In the first picture it is Charlotte just being Charlotte.  She is all over the place and as you can see sometimes that involves getting a ride from the dog.  I am quite sure Jersey probably doesn't like it, but is happy for the attention.  The other pictures are Drea painting with the art easel.  Drea is such the little artist.  She enjoys coloring, cutting, pasting, and any other art type things.  She usually puts all her effort into her art work and Stacey and I enjoy the results.



Here is Drea at her birthday party, she is such the fashion queen





Drea working the runway

These were all taken at Drea's birthday party.  She had such a wonderful time and she was so happy.  Stacey did a great job planning and organizing her party.  Drea is lucky to have such a wonderful mother and I am lucky to have such a great wife. 

Swimming at FSU


This picture was taken at Fairmont State University.  Drea's friend Madison turned 5 and celebrated her party there with swimming and ice cream.  We had a blast.



Making snow cones on a snow day









Say, "Cheese!"

 

Drea and Momma




Dancing Queen




Pretending to nap

Stacey was talking to someone recently and they were saying to her that when you have a sister close to you in age you will always have a friend.  We both couldn't agree with that statement more.  Drea and Charlotte love each other so much it is obvious.  They both have their own unique qualities that make them special.  The thing that I am impressed with is how much Drea loves to laugh at and with her sister.  Charlotte is a little comedian and Drea thinks so, too.  On the other hand, Charlotte looks up to everything Drea does and is constantly following her in her footsteps.  Stacey and I are extremely blessed to have such wonderful girls and we are glad that we can share them with all of you. 


Finally Christmas

So like most people we had a very busy Christmas.  We had before Christmas, Christmas parties, during Christmas family gatherings, and of course the very popular after Christmas, Christmas party.  However, even though we were busy I never felt like it was too much.  We enjoyed our time with coworkers, friends, and family getting the right amount of time with all. 

Santa came to visit at Stacey's Aunt and Uncle's home on Christmas Eve

 

Oh, family traditions....singing and acting out the 12 days of Christmas





The girls sitting in the wagon Santa bought them.



Our children are extremely blessed.  It seemed they got presents everywhere they went.  We really appreciated all the gifts that we received over the holidays and it was a joy to see how excited the girls were when they got something.  It was also great to see Drea starting to understand to be more grateful for the presents she did receive and how to act when she got something she may not like or already have. 



Stacey, Charlotte, and Drea enjoying Christmas morning



Andy and Stacey at the Bilotta's on Christmas Day



Jody and Chad



Brianna, Jeremy, and Nunnie

 

Uncle Tony and Danielle



Aunt Kareen and Uncle Ben



The girls enjoying one of their Christmas gifts



During our Christmas break we went to a friends to go sledding.  Drea appears to look like she was having fun, but really she felt more like Charlotte looks.  It was just too cold for Charlotte and Drea was scared going so fast down the hill.  I'm sure Drea will grow out of it and enjoy sledding.  She never really liked staying outside in the snow until this year and now I am ready long before she is to go in.

January 7th, 2011 - Drea turned 5

As I said in the previous post, Drea turned 5 on Friday. We enjoy making our kids feel super special on their birthdays...probably because I love feeling special on my birthday. In fact, I was telling Drea that the best part about your birthday is that it's one day when all the people that love you are thinking about you and you get lots of attention. I knew she would care about that as much as I do!

I left work a few hours early and took her for a special trip to the library. I know some of you may think, "really, the library?" My little reader loves books and adores the library. How could you not...all of those rows and rows of organized books...it's like book heaven. When Charlotte joined our family, trips to the library have been close to null. It's hard to go with a baby in tow and now at the toddler age I imagine her ripping books off the shelf faster than I can put them back in their place. I digress...I picked Drea up from daycare and left Charlotte there (which was her naptime anyway.) She loved it! It was a little surprise I knew she would enjoy. It was very special to her. In fact, this excursion made me realize that I should do this other times with her so she gets more one-on-one with us.

We let her choose the birthday dinner spot. Cheddars was the pick! Yay, no Burger King this year! She also asked to go to Cold Stone Creamery after that...with no objection from us. It was delicious and she really enjoyed the evening. We gave her a couple gifts from us...a Fancy Nancy book (which she's really into) and tickets to go see Sesame Street Live with us (which is this weekend!) The only thing that could have made the evening...if Charlotte's milk cup would NOT have busted open and dumped milk all over her and I and if Charlotte's nose would NOT have bloodied after bumping it on the table.

Drea is into having matching things with her sister. I have indulged her lately because I'm sure one day they will never want to look alike at all. I realized I hadn't taken pictures of them in their cute matching stuff and everyone's always saying how cute they are.

Seeing improvement helps

My oldest little princess turned FIVE on Friday. Who knew that this time would go by so fast? Oh wait, everyone does and they tell you that. I should have listened better because it really does…it really does.

I will post some birthday pictures later probably along with Christmas pictures and all kinds of other catch-up posts. So beware, we may have a new post ever day this week. Yeah, that will be funny.

I have to tell you how proud I have been of Drea. We are certainly watching her turn into a sweet, little lady right in front of us. Our focus lately during our teachable moments has been on gratefulness and for good reason. We were seeing a lot of “gimme, gimme, gimme” attitude and not much thankfulness. I tend to get extremely concerned about this issue especially this time of year with the present extravaganza that is Christmas and a birthday two weeks later. So we were doing multiple exercises to encourage the behaviors we expect in our household.

On Friday, we took Drea out to dinner and ice cream for her birthday. I picked her up from daycare early and took her for a special trip to the library before dinner. We had a wonderful time doing all of these things and we kept noting how much she was thanking us and genuinely appreciative. The next day I was preparing for her party and she jumped on the computer and started "coloring" pages her favorite website. After printing many of her creations, she asked me to make a list of her party guests. Then she wrote each name on a drawing, folded it up, stuffed it in an envelope (and by "stuffed", I literally mean some of them look stuffed in the envelope.) and then wrote their name on the envelope also. She was so diligent about it. In fact, I kind of figured she would only make a few and then get interested in something else but that wasn't the case. We even made her stop for bedtime and she woke up to finish them in the morning. My brother was at my house on Saturday night and asked me if I told her to do that for everyone. I hadn't. I hadn't a thought about it in my head at all. I was so proud of her for thinking about her guests. She even stuffed all of their goody bags for the party and decided which color each person would like and instructed me to write their names on the bags because she wanted them to have the bag she put together for them. She was so excited for them to receive it. At the party Sunday she seemed more interested in her friends getting their envelopes than what she was getting. Well...at first...once the party got into full swing and her entertaining gene kicked in, some of the guests that got there later also received their envelope later.

This may not seem like much to some but to us all the little things all week helped me see the fruits of the lessons we have been teaching. I have seen her completely grateful for all that she has been given and has really learned how to express it. And maybe it's just due to the excitement of her birthday but I don't think so. We have struggled with the "more presents, more presents" thing for a while and to watch her seem happier to be near her family and friends during her brithday was a huge win for us. Her "thank yous" for simple acts we do for her has increased. Her general attitude seems to not be as much "give me" anymore.

We are very pleased with what we have seen lately and we do know that its no time to slack off now. We need to be persistent and continue to work on this. Andy and I tend to not be very consistent so my goal is to continue to work on this area even if we start a new focus.

Beware, we have so many posts to catch up on from the holidays, birthdays and winter fun that there might be quite a few back to back here this week.

Random Thoughts from both of us

Both of the girls seem to be picky eaters right now. There regular diet seems to consist of pasta and dairy. They would choose to eat cheese and yogurt or drink milk over pretty much any other food with the exception of cookies and candy. The most they get of any other nutrition is the bite or two they are forced to try of other foods.   ~ Stacey

We try to teach the girls to not call people mean names and use general terms that aren't nice like stupid, dumb, fat, etc. It's funny to hear them correct you even when you are using the term in a manner that's not necessarily calling someone dumb. Drea corrected Pappaw during the bowl game when he referred to a play as "dumb." She said "Pappaw, that's bad manners." I figure if she reminds us not to use the words even in a different manner it will simply help us sound more positive about situations. Another funny aside to this thought...tonight at the dinner table, I said my piece of meat had a lot of fat on it and Drea said "Mommy, that is not a very nice word."   ~ Stacey

Charlotte is like a little old Italian lady, she is always trying to feed you, ever if you are not hungry. ~ Andy

One of my favorite things Charlotte is doing right now is at bed time.  After we leave Charlotte in her crib, she has been screaming I love you, to whoever laid her down.  She doesn't stop until you finally tell her it's night, night time.  ~ Andy

Yesterday we were letting the kids play at the Morgantown Mall play area and Andy sat and talked to a man sitting beside him who is a stay-at-home dad. He is always jealous of stay-at-home dads and thinks he would love to be one. They apparently got to know each other really well because Andy knew his life story and told me all of it on the way home from the mall. All I have to say is...don't get any idea, Andy. ~ Stacey

While I sitting with the stay-at-home dad, I was watching Charlotte and Drea play.  So this 4 yr old girl that was there all of a sudden starts getting in Charlotte's face.  I feel like its a good idea to let the girls handle things on their own.  Anyway, so I just sat back and watched.  Apparently, Charlotte did not like it, she grabbed the girl by her hair and the little girl started to cry.  I am not condoning pulling hair and being mean, but the girl deserved it. ~ Andy 

Drea has been so excited about turning 5 but I have to admit it seems unreal to me. I remember when my friend's child turned 5 and I thought I wonder what it will feel like to have a 5 year old. Well, I'll let you know next Friday when my baby turns 5.  ~ Stacey

Stacey and I take turns putting each of the kids to bed.  One night I put Drea to bed and the next night Charlotte and vice versa because Charlotte doesn't sit well for Drea's long stories yet. For some reason, when I put Drea to bed, she always wants to kiss me good night like a dog. I thought Charlotte was the one that wanted to be a dog, I guess it is both of them. ~ Andy

Drea's three favorite phrases:" I promise ya," "Here's the rule," and "Daddy, I got an idea." ~ Andy

Organizing my new planner every year is one of the most satisfying things to me. I'm not sure why I love it so much maybe it's the way I try to write super perfect and in the beginning of the year the planner still looks neat and pretty. Maybe it's transferring all of my addresses and phone numbers. Maybe it's filling in all of the pre-scheduled doctors appointments and such that had been penciled in the year-at-a-glance section and waiting to get on the next real, full calendar. So, I'm not sure if you can understand how I feel about my new organizer but just know it brings me great joy. ~ Stacey

The gateway connector is finally finished.  It is really nice and convenient for us.  We really like it.  Now we are just waiting for a 6 digit offer from some business to want to build here. ~ Andy

I wasn't going to mention it...but I could so be a stay-at-home Dad.  The girls and I have had so much fun for the past 8 days I have been off of school.  If I can only get them to double Stacey's salary. ~ Andy

Thanksgiving

Some of you may know that Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday.  I love the fact that family gets together and spends time together.  I know sometimes when family gets together it doesn't always go as planned, but it's family and no matter what it is wonderful.  That is one of the best things about being married to Stacey.  Not only do I get to be with her, I get her family as well.  However, this year instead of being in WV for Thanksgiving the Niessners piled in the car and headed to NJ to spend time with my family.  We missed everyone back in WV, but it was great to see my family and spend time with my sister and her family.



Drea and Brynn playing Disney DVD bingo



Charlotte and Lydia playing, too.

 Brynn, Drea, Lydia, and Charlotte had a great time seeing each other and spending every possible minute together.  I don't recall talking to Drea in the five days we were there because all the kids did was play.



The girls jumping on Noni's bed

 Now I would be lying if I didn't say I love Thanksgiving because of the food.  Who doesn't, Thanksgiving food is the best and then there is leftovers.  It doesn't get better than that.  Charlotte would agree.

 

Could Charlotte have more plates in front of her





Cousins: Lydia, Charlotte, Brynn, and Drea

 We had a wonderful time at Thanksgiving and it was great seeing my family and spending the holiday with them.

September Photo Session: The ones that wouldn't make it

A friend of ours took some pictures for us of the girls in September. You can see one of these photos as the header of our blog. While looking through them to decide what to order I noticed that I love a lot of them...most of them, because the girls look so sweet and many just because my friend (Marci Cochran) is an exceptional photographer. Then I started to realize how many I love that wouldn't necessarily end up framed on the wall. They are the ones that wouldn't quite make it but I think they are great because they capture some great family moments. Below are some of those shots. The ones that I might not put up on the wall but I can't wait to have a photo book made that can have the good shots and the shots it took to get to the good shots. ~ And they are still great shots to me.

This is a typical day in our house. Drea usually tries to love on Charlotte
and Charlotte always acts like she's annoyed.

Charlotte trying to get on my lap, I think.

My girls climbing all over me. I seem to be a human jungle gym and most days
it makes me giggle...not every day...but most.

Attempts to get the kids set-up in the grass for a picture ended up in a tickle match because that's what usually happens in our house when Daddy lays down on the floor.



I think Charlotte wants to see what Marci is seeing.



Attempts at another family shot but Charlotte has the same face in every one of them. She was not enjoying herself.