Father's Day and family time in June

Caelyn and Aliyah are lucky girls to get to call Jason their Daddy. He is an amazing father and loves both the girls so much! Caelyn is a "Daddy's girl" all the way...she loves to be with her Dad, especially outside "working" in the yard. They have this little way of communicating...if she wakes up and is calling for us or crying he'll go "Ba-ba-ba" and she'll holler back "Ba-ba-ba" (it's like a little song)...so today he had to go run to get propane for our grill and he told her he'd be back in 5 minutes, she stood at the garage door the whole time while he was gone going "ba-ba-ba". I love it when he comes home from work (for many different reasons :) ) it is always fun to hear the giggle and squeal of excitement in her voice as she sees her Daddy. I love J for so many reasons but especially for the kind of father that he is.

Mommy and Caelyn have wild hair when we are playing in the red ball!!

Aliyah's first time in the pool! She loved it!!

These are our miracles, we are so blessed to be given the opportunity to love them!!

playtime :)

June 19, 2011 - Father's Day

Caelyn Elise- 22 months old & Aliyah Noelle- 5 months old

Some pictures from June and Memorial Day 2011

Aliyah is 5 months old!!! I can hardly believe it! She is trying to roll from her back to her tummy, laughing, loves to grab her feet, drooling more than ever, loving the jumperoo....she could jump all day, enjoying the swing on the patio, and my favorite- taking her two tiny hands and holding your cheeks in them (it is a heart warming moment everytime we are face to face). She has a very sweet disposition and is really easy going. I don't know if you can read her shirt but it says "Mommy's Little Sweetie" and she is every bit of that!!

Daddy was quick and able to get a picture of all 3 of us after the bubbles!

We were able to spend Memorial Day with the McAlpin side of the family! We are thankful for all the men and women who have served (and those who are currently serving) in the military. What a blessing to live in this great county with all the freedoms we enjoy, especially the freedom to worship our Savior! We are grateful for your service...and to all those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice we remember you and your family with heartfelt gratitude.

the Buss girls with their Gma

sisters and cousins...I love you girls

Here is a little video of Aliyah talking to her Daddy :)

Naomi Rose Paradis

Our niece Naomi Rose Paradis entered our lives on May 20th 2011

(which is exactly 10 years to the day of Greg and Alyssa's first date)!!!!

She is so precious and so so so tiny! She weighed 6 pounds and 11 ounces on her birthday! Pure perfection...the handiwork of the Creator!

This is my favorite picture that Jason took of Naomi on their kitchen table during her first week of life!

Gma and Pop and their three grandaughters! Oh what fun these little girls will have growing up together!!

Uncle J and Auntie Ang

Here are some more recent pictures of my sweet niece, she will be 3 weeks old on Friday!

oh how I love her

the three cousins- our free entertainment, never a dull moment once you have kiddos that's for sure!

Naomi and Aliyah are only 4 months apart in age, I hope they will be close friends!

Naomi and her lovely momma! All snug as a bug in her moby....yea she likes it!! I prayed for her while I was sewing it, now it's so fun to see her in it!!

Naomi Rose I love you so much!! I was so privileged to watch you enter this world, and it was amazing...words can't even express the miracle that it was. I was nervous I would pass out, I do better as the patient most of the time, but this time I wasn't the one on the hospital bed! Your mom is amazing, simply amazing. She was so focused and so so so strong. She couldn't wait to see you. Neither could your daddy. He was a wonderful support to your mom during the entire labor. They love you so much. I didn't cry when either of your cousins were born (probably because I was just so relieved that I had lived through the experience:)) but I cried when I saw you. Tears of joy. Your daddy was emotional too, so proud, so in love with you and your mommy, the two women in his life. You are so lucky to be placed in the family that God has chosen for you. They love you and the Lord with ALL of their heart. I just want you to know that I feel so blessed that I got to stand by them when they said I do, and 6 years later in the moment that they welcomed you into their hearts forever!

The backyard, red ball, and bathtime

The weather has been really beautiful this spring giving us extra time to work on our backyard, and if you could remember what it looked like when we bought this house you'd be able to really appreciate all the hard work and sweat Jason has put into making it a beautiful place for us to enjoy (I help too which is a shock to my family because I never liked yard work growing up....but it is different when it is your own, plus I love being with J, who doesn't :))! The girls love being outside too, if the sliding glass door is open Caelyn is searching for her shoes so she can go "outside"! We have been busy pulling weeds, planting in the terraced flower beds, putting together our waterfall, tending to our vegetables we planted- tomatoes and snow peas, and of course there is always time to play!

Aliyah really likes the swing!! YEA because her sister was never fond of it!!

If Daddy is working up on the top of the hill a little red head will not be far behind...she can now scale the grass steps all by herself! I know the girls will love it when we are able to build their playhouse up there. (The rocks are part of the waterfall J created)

Dig, dig, dig

Oh how I love her

CHEESE...

There are our snow pea vines

Here is some dirt, we have moved a LOT of dirt in the past 3 years we've owned this home

Two of the loves of my life.

Caelyn likes sliding with Daddy!

One shopping trip to Costco we saw this big red ball that you air up and kids can climb in it and roll around! So after 2 hours of pumping all the air compartments it was ready to go and why let kids be the only ones have all the fun. We have exceeded the weight limit, but it is holding up just fine. In the beginning Caelyn wasn't sure what she thought, she'd climb in and climb out. Now she LOVES her dad to push her as fast as he can across the yard. She yells "mo, mo, mo" when he stops. She looks like a little piece of laundry tumbling in the dryer as he rolls her back and forth across the yard, and if she can find someone to get inside the ball with her it is double the fun!

The red ball

Pop has even been in the ball with Caelyn!

Fun Fun Fun, that is how we like it at our house!

Daddy and Caelyn in the ball

Uncle G in the ball

And here is the best picture, it makes me laugh everytime I see it!!! :)

Aliyah, like her sister LOVES the water! So this past month they have started taking a bath together (as long as J is home to help since Aliyah can't sit up by herself yet). Aliyah loves it! It is pure joy on her face the entire time. I think she loves sitting up, watching her big sister, trying to grab a toy as they float by, just about the whole experience. Caelyn loves bathing her sister too, especially pouring water on her!

She is growing up so fast!! I love snuggling with her.

And Caelyn still loves the bubbles! She runs to the bathroom the minute the water comes on! We are looking forward to swimming this year too once it warms up!!

Springtime is a wonderful time

So as I am sure you have noticed it has been awhile since I updated the blog! Life is really busy these days around our home, when the girls are napping I am usually trying to keep up with the normal household chores, cleaning, laundry, making sure bills get paid, meal planning, cooking, you get the picture...and updating the blog just isn't at the top of my list!! But I have had a chance to load the pictures off the camera onto the computer so here are a bunch of pictures of what has been happening in our life! I am happy to say that after all of us getting sick (Caelyn-cold, Aliyah-congestion and ear infection, Jason-cold and me-strep throat) we are now all healthy, and I think that I take that for granted most of the time!! Caelyn is learning so many new words, she never ceases to amaze me at what she is retaining. The other morning I went to get her up (at 10:30 am...happy mother's day to me, trust me this isn't an everyday routine), she wanted to look at her book "A Basket Bed for Baby Moses", she opened up the first page and said "Hebrews"...one of the lines on that page says "The Pharaoh King of Egypt said the Hebrews have too many sons." She loves to be outdoors and work with her Daddy in the yard, rock her baby dolls, and walk around the house wearing my shoes. Aliyah is laughing, cooing, and getting really strong holding her head up. She has started grasping toys with her tiny hands, and has a very sweet disposition. She is also sleeping really well...going most nights between 8 and 9 hours!! I love these little girls, they bring so much joy and laughter to our home.

Baby Shower for my sweet sister Alyssa and niece Naomi who will be arriving sometime this month and I can't wait for that phone call!!

two of the three loves of my life

Our first batch of snow peas...please don't notice Caelyn's mismatched outfit :) she wanted to wear her cat sweatshirt! Jason planted the peas from seeds and the vines are growing really fast. This is the first batch we picked! Greg's grandparents always plant them and they seem to do really well so we decided to try growing them this year. We also have planted tomatoes so I am really looking forward to these fresh vegetables this summer.

Playtime at our house, what is more fun than sitting in an empty diaper box with as many stuffed animals as possible while Daddy pulls you around the tile???

Checking out baby chicks at Tractor Supply, she liked looking but didn't want to hold one.

Our first batch of homemade playdough...Caelyn would pull off little pieces and say "crumbs"

tummy time

I was switching out some of the clothes that she had grown out of to give to cousin Naomi and Aliyah was just chatting it up with the duck, the next thing I know she fell asleep on the changing table...don't worry she isn't rolling over but I moved her to her crib!

Wearing the dresses Grandma Buss got her great-granddaughter's from Hawaii!

Caelyn's Easter basket, she was very excited about the phone!

making a phone call

Aliyah's first Easter basket

A quick picture in the preschool wing after we picked the girls up from the nursery Easter Sunday. Jason had gotten home the night before after being gone on a mission trip for the whole week. Caelyn was VERY glad to have her Daddy back home, and I was too!!

Easter Sunday in our backyard which Jason has literally transformed. I never liked yard work growing up, but now I enjoy working out in the yard with him!!

The sun was too bright to open her baby blues, and Caelyn was to busy playing to stop for a picture!

Mother's Day 2011

I am blessed beyond measure

Uncle Mike and Caelyn sharing a seat on the little bench! We are looking forward to introducing Caelyn and Aliyah to all Uncle Mike and Aunt Lisa's grandchildren one day.

Pop and his littlest granddaughter

Love these women, it won't be long until we can hold Naomi too!

Happy Mother's Day Aunt Alyssa, you are precious and going to be a wonderful mom!

Caelyn is a sweet big sister, if Aliyah is crying Caelyn is quick to alert us and want to help give her her "paci"! She has been wanting to hold her lately, but it only lasts for minutes so you just have to take as many pictures hoping for at least one good one...

Sisters- I pray their bond will be as strong as the bond I have with my own sister.

May 8th 2011

What two incredible blessings to be thankful for, and an amazing man that I love so much.

Caelyn- 21 months Aliyah- 4 months