Playing Catch-up (part 1)...

Since the last blog post, I've been thinking about calling it quits on the blog. The more I think about it, though, the more I realize how much I love looking back through all the pictures and stories of our life with Laura. It is amazing how much she has grown since we started this blog, so I've decided to keep it going:)

So here is a quick preview of what has happened since Thanksgiving...

On December 1st we celebrated our 3rd Family Anniversary. It is so hard to believe it has been 3 years since Laura joined our family...time flies when you are having fun:) Our good friends from Richmond came down for the party and Laura was thrilled to see her friends and show them around our new town!
Shawn, Laura, and I went to see Christmas lights on a hayride. Laura told everyone on the ride at one point that we celebrated Christmas because it was "JESUS' BIRTHDAY!!" We were very proud of her, but also a little embarrassed at her loud proclamation!

We kept busy in December making gingerbread houses...Decorating the apartment for Christmas...
And going to Virginia to visit Nana, Granddad, Gigi, and Auntie...
We all went on a horse drawn carriage ride...
We had a wonderful time, but unfortunately, shortly after this ride, Gigi fell and broke her hip. She spent the rest of our Christmas visit in the hospital so we are short on pictures from this visit. Gigi has since made a full recovery, and after her 3 month stay with my parents in Virginia, she is back home in Missouri doing great!

We were able to visit Nana, Granddad, and Gigi several more times over the winter...here are a few of those pictures.

Dr. Laura checking out Gigi's ears...Dr. Laura...
One visit we were lucky enough to get some snow...
Shawn and Laura went to a Daddy/Daughter dance in February. They started off the night with a dinner date at MissDonalds (the way Laura says McDonalds:). They learned a really neat dance they have dubbed "the flip" and still do it all over the house!

And the last update for Catching up (part 1) is the exciting news that Laura made a new friend this winter! His name is Colton and they are in preschool, church, and AWANA together. I have also become very good friends with his mom, and Shawn and Colton's dad are becoming friends, as well. New friends are very exciting when you are new to an area! We had a really, really, really mild winter here. This last picture is Laura and Colton on a February afternoon riding bikes:)

Check back soon for Catching up (part 2) to see pics of Laura playing soccer, visiting family, our new house (yay!!), and Easter!