Retrospect

I could be doing many things right now, I probably should be doing many of those many things rather than blogging but Katelyn just fell asleep for her nap and Rowan is playing and singing to himself happily. So even though there are many "to dos" I figure quite a few of those many can be done with baby on the hip, unlike blogging. So here I am. Inspired by the new year and Rowan's Godmom's "2010 in pictures" post I've decided to play copycat (I hope you don't mind Linds!!).

Here is a little glimpse into the Godsiff's adventures of 2010.
We had a great year of...

visiting our "goatey" friends,

meeting new friends from far away,

getting Dad back from far away,

welcoming our sweet little girl, Miss Katelyn Hanna!,

diggin holes,

roasting marshmellows with some of our most favorite friends,

home improving!,

foam noodle wars,

familiy hikin',

kickin' back,

posing for mom's camera,
(This one was for Logan's birthday. Katie sportin' one of Logan's favourite bands, Iron Maiden, on her tee and Rowan representin' with Ironman, a.k.a. his dad)

field trips! ,
(this was at an aviation museum close by)

bowling,
(for the first time!)

gettin the biggest jump Rowan's ever seen,

having fun on our vacation to Laramie, WY
to visit Rowan's godparents,

embarrassing the kids,

testing out Gremmy's new stroller,
(Rowan is a spitting image of Logan!)

picking pumpkins,
(and missin Dad)

going to Disney On Ice,

bein' in Aunty Courtney's wedding,
(Rowan was a ring bearer, I was the matron of honor, and Katie was just cute!)

enjoying holidays and new foods,

spending time with the "gang",

learning new skills,
(drinking from a sippy cup because she doesn't like bottles)

warmin Goddy's heart with a glance,

hangin' out with cousin Wyatt,

and sticking together through it all!!

We may not have the "dad doll" in this last shot but he's in our hearts, thoughts, and prayers daily! Can't wait until I get to post a new, REAL, family photo!! :)

We live a crazy life but we love it, I wouldn't trade this for anything!

busy season

Whew! It's been a while. I didn't realize how busy I would be these last couple months! I never thought adding one little girl to the mix would make life so busy. We've been having a pretty good time, all thing considered. Most recently we've been traipsing around Oregon visiting family. We just got back to Portland from Sisters where Rowan learned to play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on the "violin" (or the mallets from Don't Break The Ice if you want to be technical) and Katie finally got excited about bath time :)






Lil miss Katie's been perfecting her wave for about a month now and it seems like she's been standing holding on to things for at least that long too (maybe longer). She is becoming more adventurous and mobile every day! She can stand on her own and though she hasn't taken many unassisted steps I just know that one of these days (very soon!) she'll be toddling around here after her brother and cousins. My baby girl is growing so fast!!!

Rowan is still as sweet as can be... most of the time ;) He is definitely three years old! He's a good big brother. He loves Katie and often wants to hold, hug, and kiss her. He doesn't always want her to touch him or to share his toys but we're working on that ;)

I love my kids so much. I am truly blessed!! Here are a few photos of what we've been up to the last few months. I'm kinda bummed I couldn't keep up on the blog so I could've shown more and had more opportunity to show off my fantastic kids... ah well, c'est la vie :)

Rowan's first cape
at the Puyallup State Fair

Halloween parade time in Sisters
Katie was a Panda and Rowan was SUPER ROWAN! :)

Rowan's 3rd birthday

My 25th birthday
(at the nail salon with my Mom)

Aunty Coco's wedding
Rowan was a ringbearer and I was Matron-of-Honor

Katie was just cute

Thanksgiving in Portland

Katie's bib said "I'm thankful for my Daddy" :)

and finally, our most recent trip to Sisters!
the weather began a little mild but we got to see and play in some snow and I understand they've now got even more!
I think our travel timing was spot on! :)

A new season

Oh man, so much going on. Well not really that much, just many many many projects, to-dos, concerns, and such running through my mind lately. Logan deployed and though I expected it would be different with two kids adjusting to semi-single parenting with a husband away at war really threw me for a loop! My motto right now is "Keep calm, carry on, and smile", it's tough but I've got a plan... sort of... and I've got support for sure!

So, I've finally gotten through all my vacation pictures and have narrowed them down to a mere 400 that I will put into two photos albums. I'm not sure yet if that's still too many but it's less than half of what I started with. We'll see I guess...

Anyway, I picked a small sample of our fantastic adventure :) The three photos that have all four of us in them and a few others just for fun!

Heading out from Portland to Sisters at the beginning of the trip.

Left: What most of the west looked like, beautiful! :)
Right: My 3 brothers, 4 sisters, me, and my nephew Henry (not looking)

On the porch swing of our KOA kabin in Mountain Home, ID
(I kinda wish we could have stayed there longer, Rowan really liked it)

Left:One of Rowan's favorite things! (I'm so glad we got him that suit)
Right:What Logan looked like through most of the west ;)

In Brandon and Lindsey's backyard in Laramie, WY

Left: Katie showing off her chewing talents much to the amusement of Lindsey :)
Right: Rowan being sweet, watching TV in a hotel in Boise, ID with his arm "around" Logan's shoulders

Maybe I'll be able to choose a few more and make another trip post later. Hopefully under a month this time ;)

family photos

whew! We're home but I still have to get through all the pictures I took! (about 2000 in all) maybe in the next little while I'll get a couple posts up. Bear with me, a few tough months ahead. I can't promise much.

Here's something I do have. Our first official family photos. A friend of mine from back in my Applebees days is starting out as a photographer and we commissioned her skills at a park not too far from where I grew up.


I am so blessed :)