When we go back east and visit my family, there is usually never a quiet or dull moment. The house is full of children and their various noises; the pitter-patter of little feet (Ben: Stomping of a herd of elephants is more like it!), their hysterical laughs, the silly jokes...it keeps us going from the moment we get up until they go to bed. Our last few days seemed to fly by really fast and before we knew it, the suitcases were packed and waiting to be loaded. Looking over these pictures brought back many good memories, and I hope you enjoy sharing in them as much as I did remembering the many happy moments...
Grandmommy loves little girls...she has many of her own, but granddaughters are different.
The sticker says it all.
Uncle Bubba sharing some special time with his little niece.
Jessica and Lilyana share a love for frilly clothes...and Jessica loves stuffing her niece into very frilly (and obnoxiously bright) outfits...thankfully she thought that this little dress was cute enough for the day.
We were nice this year and bought Abigail a present that she had to assemble. Keep reading to find out what it was!
Grandma Vogel was tickled pink to see the baby again. In May she will be much bigger!
There is lots of goofing off in the house...and there is never a short of horse rides for babies.
Awwwww!
Look into my eyes...so deep, so blue.
Grandpa knows how to get his girls smiling.
This picture just cracks me up! She really does like William!
BIG smile!
We had soooo much fun when the Riggenbach's came over to visit and play games. Lilyana was loving the extra attention!
Jessica has this thing for cardboard celebraties...
The headless Hector boys at Express...in age order (left to right):
Ben, Thomas, Matthew, Nic and Anton...the only one missing is Jonathan!
I'm gonna eat you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good food at Chicago Hut...see, the sign says so!
We say so, too! We looooove their Gyros!
The two little ones waiting for food.
Ahhh!!! This little one is still waiting for that food! Now, if it had been pear sauce, she would be chowing down!
Okay...just because I have chubby cheeks doesn't mean that you get to squeeze them all of the time...
When we showed Lilyana the Rat Pack, she really took to Frank.
Huh...Elvis is following Jess!
Hiya Tink!
Late nights mean late mornings. Ahhh, it's just like being back home!
The green overhead lights tickled her fancy. She's easily amused...
Frozen yogurt is a big California thing...so when we saw a new frozen yogurt shop open, we loaded the kiddos up and took them out for a treat!
The poster child...they should seriously consider using this shot for their ad campaign...
Mmmmm...William couldn't stop eating long enough to get a picture. :)
Sharing some special moments with the baby on the last night. It would be soooo wonderful to have the family close by...
Jessica bringing out the good stuff. (Haagen-daz is better!)
Mom made the really good stuff....Bananas Foster is a McDonald family tradition! (You just can't beat lighting food on fire!)
Lost in thought.
Abigial's finished sewing book!
We bought it from
Lumenaris and she really had a blast embroidering it and assembling her book.
On our way to the airport, we stopped by Toyota Park so that Ben could meet with the Chicago Fire soccer team. He does some work for them, so face time is always a good thing...
....and so are tours of the stadium!!!
Though we don't know much about soccer, we all had sooo much fun getting the grand tour!
Ahh!!! Girls in the locker room!
No caption needed.
Lilyana and the head coach...
Frank Klopas. I guess she likes the name Frank...
All of us in the home team locker room.
After lunch at Panera Bread, we said our teary farewells to the family, rushed through the airport and headed back to the west coast.
Lilyana was tired and actually slept for some of this flight. When she wasn't sleeping, she was a chipper fun little girl...a travelling angel!
She's getting back into her regular routine and adjusting to life without a bunch of baby-sitters to entertain her all day. Oh, and she celebrated her 9 month birthday on the 11th!!! Can you believe it's been that long? I can't....
Follow the setting sun and it will lead you here....home where it is warm.
Check back very soon for details on our Valentine's Day giveaway!!!
