Randomness

Not a whole lot has been going on in PA as of late, but I thought I would post some pics just for an update.

Last week, the weather was in the 50's and 60's and we were loving being outdoors. We played in the yard, went to see the ducks by the river, and took some nice walks as well. Our "walks" have taken a little bit of a different look this year as Brielle has now decided she wants to do the pushing of the stroller as opposed to sitting in the stroller. Needless to say, we're not breaking any speed or distance records on these walking excursions.
Although Brielle doesn't have her grandparents or great grandparents in the area to love on her, she does have our 84 year old neighbor Birdie...who is so great to have around. She loves Brielle, but I have to say that Brielle probably loves her even more. (This is a HUGE change from when Brielle was an infant...she would start freaking out at just the sight of Birdie) Birdie has been such a blessing for us out here...I don't know what we would do without her!

And here are just a few more pics of Brielle playing outside with us.

I don't think Chad would qualify this pic as "playing" outside as this was his fifth grab of getting Brielle to stay away from the street.

This has been Brielle's expression with everything lately...the snow, the oven timer going off, Elmo on TV...you name it...its like something she's never seen or heard before!

Apparently redoing one bathroom this year wasn't good enough for Chad, so he decided to tackle our master bathroom this winter. Once again, he did a great job...new coat of paint, new flooring in, replaced the old vanity and medicine cabinet, and replaced the light fixture as well. With some help from our personal electrician Larry (as well as some help with some finishing touches) the bathroom is complete. Here is a before and after pic.

New Addition

Last week Tuesday we were introduced to our newest nephew, Peyton Randall Carlson. This little goober decided to wait a week and a half after his due date to make his arrival...but he was worth the wait...he is the sweetest thing!




Chad's mom, myself, and Brielle took a trip up to the hospital to see Jeff, Shawna, and Peyton and I was real interested to see how Brielle would handle me holding a little one. Well, she certainly didn't have a problem with Mom holding a little baby, but when Grandma held the little one...that's when Brielle had a little bit of a problem. No need to worry though, Grandma had plenty of room for both grandkids.

Rejoicing...

Rejoicing with the Angels in heaven and hearing every sweet melody being played.

You will be so dearly missed here on earth Grandpa, but what a celebration for you in heaven!
Love you always and forever! Chad, Kathi, and your sweet little Brinelle! :)

When Daddy's Away...

...the girls must play! Chad was gone all day on Saturday so it left the two of us with the whole day to ourselves...no boys allowed!

Part of the day was spent playing in Brielle's new tree fort. We put stuff in, took stuff out...she's quite picky about how she wants to decorate it.
And Saturday was the perfect day to be outside. It wasn't too cold, the snow was falling...it was great!

We even went sled riding (Pennsylvania term for sledding) around the neighborhood. Brielle loved getting pulled in the sled...until I took a corner too sharp and turned around to see her faceplanted in the snow! Oops.

In Other News...

Brielle has been very busy reading through books lately. Normally her books of choice would be Goodnight Moon, Silly Splashers, or Monkey See Monkey Do...but she has since changed to books of baby names because she has been on a mission to find the perfect name for her future brother or sister who is planning on arriving around June 18th!

Can you see how seriously she is taking this task?
Here's the most current prego pic we have on our computer...me at 18 weeks...and already lovin' the stretch pants!

Sidenote: I do apologize for the delay in posting this. It is merely due to sheer laziness on my part! I'll try to do much better in the future!

Christmas Season

Wow...a lot has happened since we posted last! We had a great break spending time with family and friends in Michigan. Here is just a glimpse of what went on in those two weeks!

The Carlson gift to each other this year was a stop at a water park on the way back to MI. We had such a great time watching Brielle enjoy the water slides and water spouts (and Dad too). It was a great start to the Christmas holiday!

So this picture is from Thanksgiving, but I had to throw it in there because I thought it was so stinkin' cute!

Brielle did such a good job of only touching the ornaments this year...of course that was until she watched her cousin Brookie yanking them off the tree...this opened up a whole new world of excitement for Brielle then!

Brielle had her first experience (of many!) with Christmas cookie decorating with the Carlsons. Thanks to Grandpa C being the judge, Brielle won the "Rookie of the Year" award (along with every other cookie decorating category!)

As you can see she was really intent on painting her cookies...until she realized it was edible...then she wasn't quite as efficient at the decorating

Brielle learned some new dance moves with Grandma C over break...move over Sharon, Lois, and Brahm...Michael Buble is Brielle's favorite now!

Brielle showing off her purse and grocery cart from Uncle Jeff and Aunt Shawna

Brielle found a lot of new playmates back in Michigan...mainly her older cousins Seth, Andi, and Elli. To say she loved playing with them would be an understatement.

Brielle wasn't very interested in opening her gifts this year, but she had plenty of volunteers to help her

While in MI, I got together with some friends and their kids. This was the best we could do for a picture even though there were 3 other kids in attendance. Pictured is Leah Stefanko (Nienhuis), Brielle, and Isaiah Williams (Kerkstra). Not pictured is Kenlee Copeland (Taylor), Caleb Martin (Corey), and Jesse "Bobby" Williams (Kerkstra)

And a post would not be complete without a picture of the cousins: Brooke, Brielle, and Grant. My goodness...Brielle just loves these 2! Grant is such a great older cousin and is so gentle and sweet with her and anytime he's around she just smiles and follows him wherever he goes! And Brookey just loves taking Brielle by the hand and showing her how to do things (whether Brielle is interested or not!) A trip to MI would not be complete without several stops to play with them!

And we're so anxious for Brielle to have a new cousin on the Carlson side in a couple of weeks! Come on Shawna...get that baby moving! :) We only hope Brielle can be as good an older cousin to little Carlson as Brooke and Grant are to Brielle.

The Grotenhuis clan (unfortunately we didn't get one of the Carlsons!)

We made a trip to the Holland Aquatic Center...again Brielle was in her glory playing in the water.

And our holiday wrapped up with a New Years celebration at the Kleinheksels and little Ellie. Our group was a little smaller this year as one couple was in labor and another couple had the flu. So we rang in the New Year with Craig, Charlie, Abby, Ellie, and the three of us. Great ending to a great vacation.

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Can you tell who is copying who?