Happy Birthday and Happy New Year!!

Aunt Susan's birthday is New Year's Day so we always like to celebrate together. We rang in the new year at our house, watched a little IU basketball and ate some birthday cupcakes! I helped mommy make them and I requested pink icing for Aunt Susan since that is MY favorite color! Austin and I helped her eat the icing!

We played a little dress-up, too!

Austin and I watched in the background as Aunt Susan popped open the champagne bottle.

Welcome 2012!

Dinner date with the Murray's

We went to our favorite mexican restaurant with Kaylee and her family. Uncle Mark and Aunt Kari also met us there. It was a lot of fun! I wanted to go to the bathroom four different times and told everyone I had to "poop". Then, in the bathroom I kept talking to everyone that came in while I was on the potty. I said "Mom, is that Kaylee? Is she pooping, too?" Oh my! Everyone who came in just laughed. Silly girl!

I cuddled on the couch with Aunt Kari when we got home! She likes to share my sleeping bag with me!

Daddy's Fixin Helper

Santa brought me this "handy" helper kit so I am prepared to help daddy when he is fixin!

Pretzels in the Christmas Tree??

Our tree was starting to dry out and lose all of it's needles, so mommy took it down, piece-by-piece...and found some "extra" pieces! She didn't know it but I added my own decorations while the tree was up and she didn't see them until dis-assembling it!! ha! Don't you think half-eaten pretzels make the best ornaments?

Dinner with Paul, Dena and Great Uncle Jerry

We had to come back home before cousins Paul, Dena and Great Uncle Jerry got to Wells County. However, we still wanted to see them. They drove down and met us halfway with Grandma Betty. It was great to see them. Paul lives in San Fransisco and just got a job with Google. Dena lives in Rhode Island and just got engaged to her long-time love, Mike. We are looking forward to a wedding on the East Coast in 2013!! Uncle Jerry lives in North Carolina.

Uncle Rex even spent the night at our house the night before he drove back to Denver. Yay!!

Lieurance Family Christmas 2011

This year we spent the actual Christmas holiday at Grandma Cindy's house over a 5 day period. It was great! Uncle Rex made a surprise trip...he drove straight through 20 hours to get there. Vivi got to meet him for the first time and I got to see him for the first time since I was a baby at Christmas 3 years ago. Yay!

There were also other special visitors this year, Aunt Luann, Jackie, Aunt Jan, Uncle Jason, Grant, and Emma. It was so great to have Jackie and Emma read me bedtime stories and help with Vivi and my bath's each night. Enjoy the pictures...there are quite a few!!

We also got to spend some quality time with Great Grandma Betty. She seemed really good and was so happy to be around family. I really loved seeing her and Grandma Cookie. I just hugged and hugged on them while saying "This is my grandma! Awwww! Hi Grandma", over and over again. It was soooo cute...says mommy. ;) Both Great Grandma's spoiled us very much this year!!

On Christmas Eve, after church we went to Great Uncle Sid and Great Aunt Susie's to celebrate with Great Grandma Cookie's side of the family. I got to see and play with Bella, Sydney, Ayden and Owen. So much fun! We had two kinds of yummy lasagna, homemade tomato basil soup (by Zach) and lots of other yummies.

Christmas morning was a lot of fun, but the coffee maker stopped working. Great Uncle Sid saved the day by letting us borrow his. Thanks! It was so much fun to open all of our presents at Grandma Cindy's house with our cousins and family we don't get to spend time with all together very often. Grandma Cindy and everyone else spoiled us too. Vivi and I got pillow pets from Grant and Emma. Vivi got a homemade blanket from Jackie like the one I got for my birthday...so cool! We also got some new artwork supplies, new clothes, some elbow and knee pads to go with my roller skates, a new swing for our playground set, some new movies, a card game, etc. Thank you everyone!

Later in the day we went to visit Great Grandma Betty at her new place. She was just sitting in her room with the door open waiting for us. We visited for a while and then took her down to the eating area to eat and most of us sat with her. She was so happy to show all of her guests off.

I even shared my new pillow pet...which was definitely my favorite gift!

Emma's birthday is the day after Christmas so we were icing her cupcakes with Grandma to enjoy the next day. They were banana cupcakes!! Yum!

Here is one of the super, duper hugs I gave to Great Grandma Cookie!! Love her!

Happy 13th Birthday, Emma!!! She is now officially a teenager!

Before we hit the road, I got to help Jackie decorate a gingerbread house that I had been begging to do the whole time we were there.

I even tried the icing!! :D

Thank you for having all of us, Grandma, and for all of your hospitality!! We love you!