Christmas dresses!

This year I got to pick out dresses for sisters!!

I have very fond memories of my younger sister, Gretchen, and I in matching dresses. They were usually dresses that my Mother had made. But I've come to realize that making dresses isn't always cost effective. Plus I'm learning to factor in the cost of my time.

So anyways...I was delighted to find Jenna's adorable bubble skirt and a similar style dress for Leah!

Here they are after Church today

Little sister Leah- 4 months

Big sister Jenna- 5 1/2 yrs.

The sparkle tights go perfect with her personality

Daddy and his girls

Moms turn :)

Our December thus far

Before December started I had a great plan to help eliminate or lower the amount of Holiday stress. Well... unexpected things came up, as they so often do. And they weren't necessarily bad things, just a little more than what I wanted to handle. So I began narrowing down some of the fun activities this area has to offer. Here is what made the cut:

Every year during the first weekend of Dec. our stake puts on a large Christmas Creche. The gym is filled with nativities, local and from all over the world. There are musical performances and fun activities for the kids. This year we had the opportunity to be a part of the live nativity inside the gym. It was only an hour, but it was such an amazing experience. I don't know if I can fully explain it. It was so nice to slow down, and just sit there thinking of that glorious night when our Savior was born while listening to the children's choir sing. It took everything I had not to become emotional. Leah was perfect, she played for the first half and then fell asleep. We had a lot of people ask if she was a real baby or not.

The Creche was the calmness I was looking for to start this Christmas season. We have looked forward to this event every year since living here.

Another activity our family enjoys this time of year are the Garden d'Lights in Bellevue.

It looked like it might not happen this year with the nonstop rain we have been receiving. But some friends invited us along for FHE and we took the risk. And it paid off! The rain stopped just long enough for us to walk around marveling at the lights and then enjoy a treat of doughnuts and hot chocolate (thanks JoLynn!)

Jenna and the squirrel

Chad and I with Leah, nice and snuggled :) Jenna was our photographer

Jergensen, Gustin and Greenwood children-minus Ellie and Leah

I loved watching Jenna's excitement. You'd thought it was her first time seeing Christmas lights!

Then Jenna took over the camera, here are some of her favorites.

Palm tree

The alligator

Flowers in the trees

It never ceases to amaze us how much the Seattle area has to offer during the Christmas season. If you really wanted to do, you could find something different for every night of the month. Well, almost every night :) But this is where I can get a little crazy with planning. So for this season we are making the most out of our short list!

So much to be Grateful for

We had a terrific time visiting my family over in Spokane for the Thanksgiving holiday. There was a lot of snow to enjoy, including sub zero temps at night and single digit highs. Other highlights included shopping with my Mom and sisters, the ever popular Jump and Bounce for the kids, the delicious Thanksgiving feast followed by the traditional trip to see a movie, and last but not least black friday shopping!

I must admit that I am now having family withdrawls. It was pretty much a party everyday up at my parents house. All of us siblings were able to be together for the holiday. Leah got to meet her Great Grandparents for the first time and the rest of her aunts. Leah is now Miss Smiley Pants, she had the biggest smiles for her Grandpa M. And on the day before we headed home, Jenna said, "I am going to be really sad to leave" She had a lot of fun with all her cousins and her uncle Connor. We also brought our dog, Emily, along and she was in dog heaven. She has never seen so much freedom or snow! I'm sure she is a little depressed coming back to our small yard and misses all of the attention.

Thanks so much Mom and Dad for letting us stay for so long and for putting up with Emily!! We love you guys :)

3 Months!

Leah is 3 months old!

Likes--her beauty sleep. She is sleeping 7-8 hrs through the night (I am so grateful!)

--Playing under her toy bar. She's got quite the swing and even better kick.

--Rolling side to side. She's hasn't rolled over yet, but it doesn't look too far away.

--To be where the party is. Which is wherever Jenna's playing.

--Snuggle time! I'm hanging onto this for as long as I can :)

Dislikes--The Bumbo. Go figure after searching Craigslist for a killer deal. She'll sit for less than a minute and then try to arch out. She'd rather lay and play on the floor.

--Getting dressed. This takes just a few minutes, but for those minutes she lets me know how unhappy she is and then when its finished is as happy as can be!!

One other thing I wanted note. Lately she is not liking her paci and moving to her....thumb!!! Well right now its more her fist. She gets her thumb and a few fingers in at the same time and gags. Then she'll try both thumbs and gag so then resorts to sucking the side of her fist. I haven't given up on the paci just yet, but Chad's rooting for the thumb. We'll see who, I mean what wins out :)

Bonus sister pic.

(this was on the first take!!)

G & G Jergensen gave the girls matching pj's during their last visit. I normally have of a rule of no Christmas until after Thanksgiving. But I couldn't resist posting this pic. of the girls!!

I could squeeze and kiss those two all day long :)

Calling all girls

Another genius idea from my favorite craft site!

No more searching trying to find where your daughter has left her hair flowers or bows.

And you can customize it to match your bathroom decor. I had a lot of fun with the girls Jungle theme.

I made mine a little diff. than the tutorial. I spray painted some old frames and covered the inside mat with fabric. Then added the rows of ribbon for the clips to attach to.

Once these are both full of clips the fabric most likely won't even show! We have A LOT of flowers/bows and I keep making and buying more :)

But I am so excited to have them all in one place, and displayed in such a cute way!

Always listening

Recently it seems that nothing gets past Jenna. She catches everything we say, good and bad.

Here is part of the conversation she had with my Mom today. We had just finished dinner:

Jenna-"Grandma, we are eating dirt and worms! My mom can send an email with the directions to you. It is on our best bites!...Can you let us go so we can finish eating?"

(Jenna may have said things a little differently, but I got the main points)

I was laughing so hard at her recommendation of the site Ourbestbites, I have been just a little obsessed with it lately. Especially for fun Halloween food ideas! It must have rubbed off :)

While I'm on the topic of Jenna here are a few other moments I want to remember--

*A couple weeks ago, she came home from school with a project that she had made. Right when she walked in the door, she grabbed the camera and began taking pictures of her project. Then told me, "Mom, I'm taking pictures for you to put on the blog!" Chad got a good laugh at this one. I guess I spend too much time on the computer.

*We all know Jenna loves to dance. I decided we would take a break from her ballet class this Fall. With Jenna starting Kg and having a new addition to our family, I felt it might be too much. So I have told her that she can start up again after Christmas. Out of the blue the other day, she came up to me and said, "What do I have to do to dance on a stage again Mom? I really want to get back on that stage....Oh thats right I have to go to ballet class. After Christmas right?!"

*I really need to start keeping a Jenna journal, or just a journal in general. Jenna is growing up so fast, and is asserting her independence quite often. Again this has been good and bad. Like when she helps herself to the Gogurts in the fridge. Normally she will ask first, but the other day she took one bite of lunch and said that she was full. This isn't too unusual of her, but I had a feeling something was up. I asked her how many Gogurts she had eaten. Imagine my surprise when she started counting out on both hands!! Silly girl said she ate 8 (I could only find 6 wrappers)! So now I know what she does when I'm upstairs getting ready.

*Her mischievous side has really come out more since Leah was born. But on the other hand she continues to be a big help. Leah just loves being by Jenna and will just watch her with a big smile on her face. Just today, I can't remember why but I told Jenna that she was not in charge. She responded, "Yes I am, I'm in charge of Leah!" That should be fun to watch when Leah gets older.

Ok, I think that is all that I have been trying to remember and not forget. Which, even though our sweet Leah is pretty much sleeping through the night, my brain is still a bit off.

I sure do love Jenna and her moments. And am so grateful that she is my daughter :)

Trick or Treat!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween Sneak Peek

I spent a good part of last Sat. putting the finishing touches on our Halloween costumes.

Here is a little sneak peek-

Even Chad has been a good sport the last few years. His shirt was inspired by a pumpkin he carved, during our early years of marriage.

On her third year of being a Disney princess (1. Belle 2. Snow White)

I wonder what she'll be next year :)

And last but not least, our little witch in training

Thanks to our good friends for throwing an awesome pre Halloween party. Giving us more wear of our costumes. Especially with Halloween being on a Sunday this year!

Pumpkin Patch

According to the weather forecast, our sunny days will soon be replaced with rainy ones. So we decided to head on over to a nearby pumpkin patch while the ground was still dry.

Here's our little pumpkins

The girls

Daddy with his girls and their pumpkins

Jenna helped pick out Leah's for her.

Next adventure, pumpkin carving! That won't be until next week though. We're trying to have the pumpkins last until Halloween :) Hopefully Jenna can make it until then. She's a little excited to create her Jack O Lantern.

At it again!

More food and craft fun at the Jergensen household.

Here is our take on Monsters Jaws (www.ourbestbites.com)

Jenna can't get enough of these, the mini marshmallows play a big part in that :)

I got this idea from a Pottery Barn magazine last spring. Then helped a friend make some for her daughter and knew I had to have them in Leah's nursery. Now I'm in search for the perfect shelf to display them on.

And lastly, for the time being, I learned a new technique for making flowers (tutorial can also be found at www.makeit-loveit.com).

My obsession for making hair accessories has returned after a long hiatus. And this time around I get to make 2 of everything so the girls can match. Maybe I should make 3 so I can join in on the fun as well? :)

And the fun doesn't stop here. I've still got lots of projects on my list.

Stay tuned!

It's that time of year again

What is it about Fall that makes me want to be crafty?

I have not completed this many projects in one weekend in a long time. Well, it was an extended weekend with Chad gone for a section diving (you can view his latest dive video in the prior post).

Project #1 --was a family effort. Jenna, with a little help from her dad, covered most of these adorable jars. I bought the little battery powered tea lights to put inside the jars, super cute!

Can you tell Jenna's special image request?

Want to make your own, visit www.ourbestbites.com

I'm assuming you all guessed right! :) She has asked if this could be here night light!

Project #2 - A tutu for Leah's witch costume

Project #3 - Autumn leaf table runner. Idea found at www.makeit-loveit.com My plan is to make 3 total. I've only made one thus far.

The vinyl was on clearance at JoAnn's and the leaves I found at the dollar store. Very cute and inexpensive decoration. I just need to get some mini pumpkins now to fill the center

Wishing everyone a Happy Fall Ya'll :)

Hoodsport, WA

Here is one of two videos from a recent dive of Chad's. He went out to Hoodsport, WA with a couple of friends. Click the dive flag to view the other videos. Enjoy!

2 months old

2 months old and I finally caught that precious smile!

Here are Leah's stats:

Height-24 in. (off the charts!!)

Weight- 12 lbs 8.5 oz (95%)

And it all equals to one happy little girl!

Leah is starting to coo and make other little noises. I especially love it when she smiles for Jenna. She loves to just watch her big sister. Jenna is just itching to teach Leah things, dancing of course being high on the list.

We sure are having fun with our big little girl :)

Something to smile about

Jenna continues to be a wonderful big sister. She is always looking for ways to help/entertain her baby sister. Here she is carrying Leah to her room for bedtime stories. Pretty darn cute if you ask me :)

Leah (and I) are loving the quilt Gma Lonna made for her. It's exactly what I was wanting. If you look close you can see Leah's dimple!

Just like when Jenna was a baby, Leah can be a tough nut to crack. Everyday she is smiling more though and it just melts my heart. Leah has two big dimples one on each side! But of course I haven't been able to capture the full smile yet on camera.

But we are close...

One sided smile, almost there :)

On another note, Leah's room is finally coming together.

Chad and Jenna painted Leah's room today.

Jenna was so excited that she got to help.

Here she is writing her name!

It'll take some time but hopefully I'll have finished nursery picks to share soon.

Leah's Blessing Day

Here are some pictures from Leah's blessing today.

Gpa and Gma Jergensen

Gpa and Gma Moore

Sisters...poor Leah was done having her picture taken :)

Sweet little Leah

A little back story about the blessing gown--this was the same gown that Jenna was blessed in. I made it for a YW's project. I sent the yoke of the gown to my Great Grandmother (who has since passed away) to add her signature roses on it. I love that it's been worn twice now!

Uncle Connor taking his turn holding Leah

Mother daughter bracelets--my sister Gretchen made these for us, I just adore them

We had a wonderful time having both parents visiting. Leah and Jenna were pretty spoiled. I am so grateful that our families made the trip to share in this special day with us.

Go Seahawks!

Chad has a new rookie :)