I really meant to blog....

It didnt seem like a whole week went by without a blog, but I guess that's because time flies when you're having FUN!

I love weeks like this....no fabulous vacation or exciting trips anywhere extra special.  Just a regular 'ol week with regular stuff and some visits with very cool people :) 

First, I want to share some pics with historical ties.  Whitney is seen here standing in front of a bookcase/hutch my mom's uncle Ben made for her when she was little.  My parents keep a lot of Whitney's toys on the shelf in their family room and its fun to see Whitney enjoying something that was made with so much love and care :) 

Here I am in front of the hutch when I was a little girl: 

And here is my mom (aka "Mac") in front of the hutch when she was a little girl :) : 

Pretty cool, huh?

We were blessed to spend some time with family this week! Eric's dad, brother, sister-in-law, and our nephews came to our town for some shopping and we all met for lunch.  Whitney was looooving Dean as he read her Nemo book to her....repeatedly....at lunch :) 

After lunch and a run home to grab warmer clothes, we headed to a Christmas parade close to Eric's hometown.  We went last year when Whitney was itty-bitty, so it was fun to see her watch the parade with her big cousins this year.

Holding Kyle's hand as the parade starts...precious :) 

These boys are INCREDIBLE with Whitney! They look out for her, play with her, read to her, and just keep her entertained for hours! She ADORES them and asks about them when we havent seen them for a while.  She will be sooo excited to see them a lot in the next few weeks ;) 

Love her. 

She thinks he moves the earth. 

I mean, really?? How much cuter does it get folks??

FINALLY, and picture of the THREE of us!! We have been sooooooo bad about that lately!  Even though Whitney isnt looking, it still counts!

We had such a fun night spending time as a family, and making memories for our kids. :)

The next day, we headed to my parents' house so Eric could get to work making this:

into this: 

Whitney will LOOOOVE this kitchen on Christmas morning!  I am SOOOO excited to see her face (and may have tried to sneak her a peek.....but my plan was foiled when Mac and Gramps yelled at me!)  She is reallllly into pretending lately.  Such a FUN age! 

While Daddy built the kitchen, Mac, Gramps, and I were charged with keeping Whitney occupied and oblivious to the work going on in the guest room.  Whitney was happy to play with a bowl of paperclips she found on Mac's desk.  She could've sat here and played for HOURS if we let her.  Dump them.  Count them.  Clean them up.  Dump them again. Count them again.  Clean them up again. Repeat. 

Another day this week, Whitney was playing with her baby doll.  This doll from Target is seriously awesome. When you give her a bottle, she "drinks" and gulps and then falls asleep and snores.  She cries and laughs and says "mama" (Whitney's favorite!) when you press her hands or feet.  Whitney really likes her :) 

It was so cute when Whitney started to put the baby in her travel high chair that was sitting at our kitchen table.  She couldnt quite reach, so I moved the high chair to the floor.....where the cuteness was growing by the second.

"HIII-eeeee BAY-BEEEE!!" She kept talking to the baby sooo sweetly :) 

I moved the high chair to her table in her playroom since Bailey was a little too interested in the pretend food Whitney was feeding the baby. :) 

She asked the baby "Yummy in tummy?!"

 Then it was time for the baby to have a bath!  Whitney was sooo funny! She wanted to wash the baby's hair, but sorta knew something wasnt right. (This baby's hair is drawn onto ther head....try explaining that to a toddler.)

"Mommy, Wash baby's feeeeet!!!" 

One of my best friends has a blog called "Life just keeps getting better and better", and she is soooooo RIGHT! Each day brings new funnies and new laughs and smiles! This is such a FUN stage and I cant wait to go back and read these entries when Whitney is screaming teenage nastiness and slamming her bedroom door :) 

As the week went on, the fun grew and reached almost scary levels.  Eric had a competition with his coworkers.  All of their employees were asked to bring in donations for the local Ronald McDonald House.  The Team leader who's employees brought in the fewest donations had to dress like Ronald for a day.  Although his team only lost by a handful of items, Eric was a good sport and followed through on the competition.

I made his shirt and did his hair and make-up.  Hot, right? I thought Whitney was going to be afraid of him, but she just acted like it was a normal thing for Daddy to dress up like a scary clown.  Nice.  

Such a good sport :)  

Whitney was lucky enough to have her Gramps join us at her gym class this week! Unfortunately, she took a tumble within in the first 5 minutes, and we were outta there.  She was crying (i think she was more embarrassed than hurt), and just unable to get back into the swing of things...so we bagged it and went to see Mac at their house.  

See the bright red cheek? She bonked it on a metal pole as she fell from about 2 feet up (not a big drop....unless you're only 3 feet tall).  She is fine now :) 

And Gramps joined us for a "do over" class on Thursday, where Whitney was the star of the show :) She was doing her usual routine of "teaching" the class during circle time, when she turned around and caught a glimpse of Grampa walking onto the scene.  She threw her arms up, yelled "GRAMPS!!!" and ran into his arms :) Everyone made the appropriate "awwww" comments and Whitney ate it up. :) She went right back to class and introduced herself for the first time, yelling "WHITTEY!!" when Miss Heather asked her name.  Everyone laughed and another Mommy said "I think we all know Whitney is a fan favorite at My Gym!" :) She is just such a HAPPY kid, that I think people and other kids are naturally drawn to smile at her as she hops and skips and jumps through life :) 

Last night, we had a nice evening with my parents, some of their best friends, and their friends' son, daughter-in-law, and granddaughter.  David and Janice live in Texas, but come back to visit for the holidays.  We've been getting together with them through the years and it just keeps getting better, as we now have kids the same age.  We got together at my parents house for a little bit and then headed to dinner. The girls were both SOOOO well behaved (one of those "you'd never know there were two toddlers at that table over there" kinda dinners) and adorable as they ate up all the love and attention from their grandparents :) Eric and I were thrilled to eat hot meals when they were still HOT, and enjoy grown-up conversation at our end of the table while the grandparents loved on the little girls at the other end of the table!

We were all surprised impressed when Whitney willingly shared her snack with Allison.  She isnt a "bad sharer", but it is something we work on daily. :) Mission accomplished!

Both girls looooved the cot at my parents' house.  

I wish you all could hear the extreme gigglefest these two were having....TOOOOO CUTE!

They were both so happy and funny!  :) I wish Allison and her parents lived closer so we could all get together more often :)

Eric was thrilled to show off his handy work from earlier in the week :) David and Janice bought the same kitchen for Allison!

She's either looking Whitney up on Face.book or sending her an email with her contact info :) 

Whitney was BEYOND excited to get an ICE CUBE from Mac.  We bought this kid a top-of-the-line KITCHEN for Christmas, but she would be just as happy with paper clips and ice cubes.  Figures. :)

Janice and David....just move here, mmkay? mmkay. 

All of us at dinner :) Whitney is behind Eric....promise.

Ummm, how cute is this?!?!

She was soooo smiley and proud of herself ;) 

Whitney getting some attention from her grandparents at dinner....I didnt take too many pics of them since I was busy gobbling up my WARM MEAL!

Allsion was happy to share her meal with her Grandpa :) 

Grandparent love....doesnt get much better!

How cute are they!?

A mom or dad might not get away with this.....but GRANDPAs can get away with ANYTHING!

The girls saying "see ya later!" at the end of dinner.
It really was such a great Friday night and we look forward to their return visit soon!!

So there ya have our week in pics :) We dont have anything fabulously exciting planned for this weekend, but we are going to try a new church that is right up the road.  Our friends Julie and Jonah told us its a great church that they have LOVED so we are excited to try it out! Julie is working in the nursery and her daughter Emma will be there, so Im hoping the familiar faces will help Whitney spend time there while I get to hear the sermon.  Fingers crossed!!

Lots of fun next weekend, as we host a bunch of family here for an engagement party for Eric's cousin, Devin, and head to Disney for the day.  We are also going to Eric's sister's house for the annual family Christmas with that part of the fam!  CANT WAIT!! Such a FUN week ahead!!