Snuggle Puppy

Kate loves to snuggle. We love it, too. She also loves Curious George. She has been known to wake us up at 3 a.m. if George has fallen off the bed or if, God forbid, we didn't put her to bed with him. She was watching Bolt with Annie and requested all her cuddly stuffed favorites, her loveys and a blanket. How can you say no?

Our Family

Annie drew this picture of our family the other night on her dry erase board. It's all of us--including the baby. And, if you're wondering why I only post pictures of Annie wearing that purple dress, it's because it's the only thing she wears. She stalks it out of the laundry as soon as it's clean and demands to wear it.

That's Kate, Matt, Baby, Annie and Kerri. Aren't we beautiful? :)

Baby Stuff is Fun

We finally got out all the baby clothes and gear this past weekend. Annie and Kate were very good helpers with washing all the clothes and trying out the gear to ensure its continued safety for their baby sister.

The car seat is good to go, according to Kate.

Bouncy seat: comfy and cozy.

(As side notes, can you believe Kate ever fit in these seats at all?! And, we wish she was as excited about them back then!)

We officially have less than two weeks until my due date (February 7). We are now all ready for baby's arrival. Matt and I have not yet agreed on a name, but Annie and Kate have continued to insist she is Baby Buttercup. Kate calls her Baby Cup-Cup, which sounds so cute when she says it. Annie also suggested "Shmoo" as a name, which is not quite as cute but we appreciate her effort.

For the curious, here we are at 38 weeks. I think Matt actually found the most flattering angle possible--not quite totally sideways-- because I certainly feel larger than this photo reflects.

Anyway, she has a brand new nursery, already tired parents and two very excited big sisters just awaiting her arrival!

Happy 4th Birthday Annie!

Anne is four years old today!

She is hilarious. She loves to dance and dress up and bake and snuggle. She loves preschool and her lovey and kitty. Her best friend is Jack--they go to preschool together and every day when I ask she says, "I played with Jack." She's a wonderful big sister to Kate. She calls her sweetie and plays with her all the time. She's so excited for her new baby sister and still wants to name her Buttercup. She's such a good helper and we love her so much!

Annie and Jack at Annie's little birthday party last week.



Annie and her Bolt birthday cake. She loved it.

Baby It's Cold Outside

On one of our outdoor excursions, I actually remembered to bring my camera. These photos pretty much sum up how things go when we play in the snow (or at least when we play in the snow when Daddy's not around).

 Both girls love to shovel. We attempt to capitalize on this while it will last. They can actually do a pretty decent job if there isn't too much snow.

 Annie loves to make snow angels, throw snow, run around and jump into big snow piles.

Kate decides being cold and wet is not fun at all and sits on the step in the garage, waiting to be let into the house. She must have been feeling particularly patient this day because there was no crying or pounding on the door.

They both eventually find something fun to do together in the snow! (Like the Cozy Coupe we were too lazy to put in the basement in the fall!)

Then we go inside and drink hot chocolate and eat 400 marshmallows :)



Chicken Little

I don't even know where he got it, but Matt has had this chicken hat forever. It always seems to pop up, despite all his other ridiculous possessions that have happened to have gotten lost in our many moves. Anyway, Kate found this lovely headpiece the other day and would not take it off. She got mad when I said it wasn't warm enough to wear outside!

Trains

Last year, Annie got a train starter set from Santa. We've slowly added to her collection over the year, and my parents set them up recently with tons of track and some new, battery-powered trains. The girls LOVE them! And so does their dad, who was certainly happy to engineer different tracks.

Matt said he wasn't entirely happy with his construction this first time around, but I didn't take any pictures of their later feats. They were quite impressive.

Lollipop, Lollipop...

On our way back to Michigan, we stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch and to get a cute little rocking chair for Kate (thanks Papa and Aunt Ruthie!!). On the way out, we couldn't say no to two cute little girls begging for giant lollipops!

Hello 2011!

Well, we are officially in the right year for our baby girl to arrive. That was the most exciting part of New Year's Eve for me this year. Just less than five weeks left! In honor of that, I dragged my giant self out to celebrate with Matt and the girls. We were too lazy to pack up our stuff and drive home as planned, so we decided to stay in Westlake and take the girls to the ball drop at Crocker Park. They Skyped with people in Tralee, Ireland. As the clock hit midnight there, Westlake dropped their own New Year's ball at 7 p.m. Perfect for the kids.

Getting ready to go.

Kate got a ride over to the little town center.

Annie's turn for a ride. She usually hates riding on Matt's shoulders, but it's amazing what a little peer pressure will do!

Grandma Ralls, Carol, Brady, Ella and Maddee came, too. We had fun watching the ball drop and the kids loved the fireworks. It was fun for them to get their own little NYE party.

After we got back to my parents and put the girls down, Matt and I continued our annual tradition of making a NYE lobster. Matt said that Giant Eagle's lobster selection was small this year, so we got two. Pinchy and Pinchette.

I felt a little bad, but they were delicious, as always!

Happy New Year!

A Very Ralls Christmas

We had to miss Christmas Eve at Matt's grandparents again this year because Matt was working. So, we got together with his parents, siblings and kids once Matt could get some time off and get into town. As usual, his parents house was bursting with food, gifts and kids!

Kate really got into the opening of presents this year. She's a pro now.

A new princess Barbie!

A small shot of the chaos.

Mallory and Annie trying to figure these little gadgets out. I had a few more really cute photos, but I accidentally deleted them.

I'll make up for with this video:

Christmas1 from Kerri Ralls on Vimeo.

This video is funny and cute for a few reasons, not the least of which is Adam in the background. Don't miss him. Here we all were hoping he'd take more after his mom ;)

Let's Go Cavs

After Christmas, we went to Cleveland to visit family and friends. One night, I took Annie to the Cavs game with my mom, Jackie and the O'Malleys. It was the first Cavs game for Annie and Owen, and they had a blast. They liked eating junk food and running around more than the game itself, but they are only three years old. :) At one point, Owen chanted, "Let's go Cavs! Let's go home!"

Annie and Aunt Jackie

Gigi and Annie

Annie and Owen

After the game, we ran into Officer Gary working outside. I don't think Annie had ever seen him in his uniform before. She was a little more reserved than usual. It was cute!