A Day I've been waiting for!

Finally a day I have been waiting for. It was so nice and beautiful outside today so Evelyn and I headed out. I got out her stroller from the garage that was covered in dust since it hasn't been used since October and took a walk. Evelyn, just as I, loves to be outside and go for walks. She loves to sit there and look at everything. It is a great way to calm her down and make her happy. I also love to be outside and enjoy some fresh air, it just makes me feel good to see and feel the sunshine. I hope there a more days like this to come.

Family Escape to Florida!

This past weekend Kyle, Evelyn and I escaped the winter cold and headed south to Florida. It was really so nice to get some sunshine and enjoy some relaxation. Most of our days were spent on the beach, taking walks, and playing in the sand. Evelyn wasn't too sure of the sand but she did seem to really like watching the waves and did take a couple good naps in the shade. I loved being able to walk out the door without getting all bundled up or having to turn the heater on. It was like Evelyn rediscovered her arms, legs and feet since she hasn't seen them in so long since they are covered up all the time. She would sit there and suck on her arms and her toes cause she thought it was a fun new toy. Kyle and I managed to get a bit sunburned since our skin hasn't seen sun in so long, but in a way it feels good. I love going on trips and having the three of us hang out together all day. I know Evelyn misses hanging out with her daddy while he is so busy with school. It is nice to get away every once-in-a-while and just focus on each other and spend good, quality family time. Here are a few pictures of us hanging out on the beach, hopefully it won't be too long before we get to see warm sunshine again.

The Warmth of the Sun

I just really like this picture of my grandma of her at the beach since it is one of my favorite places. I can just imagine standing on the sand and the rocks letting the water run on my feet and just feeling so relaxed while taking in the warmth of the sun, oh how I long for the summer to come quickly.

Days like Today

It's days like today, snowing and freezing, that make me look forward to my trip to Florida in February and my trip to California in March!

8 months old!

Evelyn is 8 months old. I can't believe how big she is getting and for some reason all this growing is causing her to need some extra feedings during the night, we'll see how long this lasts. We couldn't be more proud to have such a wonderful daughter and spirit in our home.

Fun-Filled Holiday!

Well we have made it back home after an awesome Christmas break with all our families. We seemed to fit in a lot of fun in such a short amount of time. The trip started off with a days drive to Georgia to enjoy some visiting with Kyle's family. The next day was my birthday, which I can't believe I'm already 28 years old. It was so fun, we went to the Aquarium in Atlanta which really was awesome. I love the water and loved seeing all the animals. It is the largest aquarium and you could see just about any water animal you could think of. Later I got to go and get a nice manicure and pedicure.
I think Evelyn enjoyed seeing all the fish as well, though she wasn't into the fake ones. That weekend Kyle and I got to have our own little getaway while Evelyn stayed with Grandma and Grandpa. Our first plans were to go to New York but when we saw the big snow storms and delayed airlines, we said never mind and had Delta fly us to lovely Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. It was so warm and relaxing. It was a nice 80 degrees. Kyle and I spent just about all day on the beach soaking up the sun. We sure did miss Evelyn it was the first time I was away from her that long, but it was nice to have a short break and to have a few uninterupted nights of sleep.

Here's Kyle eating some huge crab legs.
Christmas at Kyle's parents house was really nice, it was fun to see everyone and enjoy the time together.

Christmas morning was my favorite. I just loved watching Evelyn open her presents and see her reactions. I'm sure I was more excited than she was but we did have fun with her. She is just such a cutie and growing so fast, she came home with 2 teeth. Lucky for us she is such a good traveler and had fun visiting with all her aunts, uncles and cousins.

Here we are headed to California. Evelyn got to enjoy a nice seat in first class. I mean I don't think she thought she would travel any other way, hopefully the guy next to her was able to enjoy his first class experience with a 7 month old next to him.
Evelyn was so excited to see her cousin Chloe, they had so much fun together.
We went and visited my sister, Dr. Judd, at her office. Evelyn was just glad to know this doctors visit didn't include any shots.

For New Year's my brother's family had a party at their house which was a lot of fun. We ate a lot of good food and enjoyed bringing in the New Year together.

We really enjoyed the time we had with our families and friends and were sad to leave but we do look forward to another fun semester with our Michigan family.

The Koester Dancers

Well the Koester dancers are back from last year and we have added one more member to the group. So pause my music that's playing down at the bottom and then press play to enjoy the show.