Fall 09 update

Well it has been a LONG time since we gave an update. We are very well. Having a cold, gloomy fall here in Michigan but staying fairly healthy all things considered. I have taken the girlies to the Orchard/ farm/ pumpkin patch many times this fall. They absolutely LOVE the goats and all the fun "fall" activities. Grace is quite the apple picker this year :) Liv just loves to play with all the big kids and squeals with delight when the goats lick her hand to eat the food that she practicially throws at them. Ha ha ha. These girls of ours are absolutely joy in our lives. We have had a few fun kidless nights out in October too. Fun to get out and about a bit. We attended the GVSU sports Hall of Fame dinner to support our dear family friend Scott Vandyken and also Dan's football coach Brian Kelly (Cincinnati now). We also attended my 10 year highschool reunion at the University club in GR. What a blast it was to see old friends and catch up on their lives now. I can't believe so much time has past and yet I don't remember what life was like without the blessing of my sweet hubby and babies. How blessed to be a child of God. Hope your fall is blessed. Wishes for health and happy Holidays ahead. Hoping to update more often. Loves!

Wow, it's been a while.

Sorry the pics are so small. I can't beleive it has been so long since I blogged. I am now addicted to facebook and forgot about the dear ole blog. We have had SO much going on around here. Busy little bees. On family news we have now welcomed our sweet new nephew Kane Charles Bibler. He is darling. Hop on over to Kate and Austins blog to check out some fab pics of the little man. Cru Thomas is growing up super fast. He is adorable and the cutest little chunky monkey. Love me those chubby babes. Our girls are growing like light speed I feel. They are so much fun and bring immeasurable joy to our lives.

Gracelyn is 2 and a half now. She is a crazy kiddo who LOVES life and is on the go always. She is quite athletic and is always trying news things with balls and climbing and such. She is a true beauty and has a heart of gold, but sometimes thinks she is the boss and gets a little lippy. Miss independent always thinks she can everything on her own and is pretty good I must say. She still snuggles great when she's sleepy though.

Olivia is almost 1! Where did the time go? I can't believe she has blessed us for so long already and yet I can't remember a time without her either. She is on the move all the time (usually in the opposite direction from Gracie). She loves walking, running at times, climbing on everything and eating. She is so stinkin cute and really the happiest girl ever. She has a smile to melt your heart for sure. She is finally feeling a bit better after and eye/ ear infection and is back to her old shenanigans. Her 7th tooth is making it's way through and she chomps hard- watch out!

Dan is doing the same ole thing at work and LOVING golf season in MI. He wishes he could find more time for it but with all these cute ladies at home why would he?

I, Tracy am finally changing my work schedule off weekend option. I will be working in the week more and then have most weekends off. I am looking forward to more family time and a few getaways here and there. Still loving my work though.

Update- sorry it's been a while:)

We had a fantastic time on vacation. We loved having Gramma Wendy with us BUT missed daddy WAY TO MUCH! Next time he's coming with no matter what. The girls had some colds and were a little under the weather but being outside and sunshine and swimming seemed to make it quite a bit better. Yay Gulf Shores- see you next year.

Next BIG news in our life is our big girl Gracie. She has officially been deemed a big girl at home. She threw her "pat" (pacifier) into the rogue river off the bridge downtown, she is potty trained and wears big girl undies all the time now, and she has her big girl bed which she slept in for the first time last night. She is really enjoying being so big and shows us more and more independence daily. Scary since she isn't even 2 1/2 yet. Some days being big gets a little out of hand and she likes to play "mommy" to mommy. That gets nixed right away:) We are so proud of what a transition she has made in the last two weeks. What a star!

Livvy is the HAPPIEST baby in the world. She has some lungs and can let you know when she's not but there is usually a darn good reason and then she's smiling again minutes later. She LOVES to have her picture taken. Her smile is super contagious too, so beware if you are around her. You WILL be smiling too. She is so big now. Cruising around all over the house. Standing up everywhere, eating "real" food all the time. She is growing up way too fast. We are truly enjoying her to the fullest. What a spunky, tough little girl she is. And note the cute little bow in her hair. It is just long enough for a sprout.

Our beautiful girls are the light of our life. We love to be with them and spend time together as a family. What a blessed life we lead.

A little pre-vacay update:)

Look how big Mr Cruiser the Bruiser is getting these days. He is such a handsome little man. A snuggle bug for Auntie Trace too. I LOVE that!

Livvy is just a movin these days. She decided to crawl, then three days later she wanted to pull herslef up. Now she "cruises" around the ottoman and her stand-up toys. She is such a happy girl. She adores her big sister beyond measure and loves to play. She would cruise around and play all day if we let her. Life is good for Olivia Jean at 8 months old.

Gracie is such a big girl. She saw her first musical last week. Beauty and the Beast, and she lasted pretty much the whole show. Her and Maddie were true princesses that night. We are SO proud. Grace is really getting independent these days. She has decided that she can do pretty much anything on her own:) We think shes pretty good too, but it doesn't hurt to have Mommy and Daddy around for a hand here and there;)

Livvy showing off her moves on the laundry basket. She is such a smiley baby. I can't believe how fast time has gone.

Dan and I are great. We are loving our girls immensely and enjoying being parents together. We make a pretty great team. Dan is so great with his girls on the weekends so mommy can still work a few days, I do so love my job:) I am driving to AL with my mom and the girls for a ten day vacay in Gulf Shores. We are looking forward to the beach for sure. Mostly just excited to be outside every day:) Hope your March was great, we'll catch up in April!

Cru Thomas Hosford

Welcome Cru Thomas Hosford! He was born March 3, 2009 at 6:35 am. He weighed in at 6 lbs 5 oz and was 18 1/2 inches long. A perfect little peanut:) He is healthy and is showing no signs of the difficulties Maddie wa born with. Yay!!!! Thank God for this miracle of life. We are just thrilled to be an Aunt and Uncle again and to enjoy all that Cru little life will bring. Congrats Tom, Lauren, and Madilyn on your new addition. We love you Cru baby!
The proud Auntie Tracy

Cru was staring at his momma here- only 2 hrs old:)

Snuggled into mommas arms. The most perfect place in the world:)

SO mad about the first bath

Finally that bath is over and I can cuddle in this warm blankie

Happy March

Such a happy girl. Our 7 month old "baby" is almost always happy. She will let you know when she is not BUT that is rarely compared to how content she is just to be a part of this world. She loves to be around the main attraction though. She gets bored when her sissy isn't around to entertain her:)

And entertain she does. What a trip this 2 year old is. She is getting so much more creative and figures things out so quickly. Gracie keeps us on our toes but loves life so much. She lives it to the FULLEST possible and takes us along for the ride. She is so wonderful, we love her to the ends of the earth.

Cutie pie cousins. They had so much fun at the museum together, and so did Livvy and I(Tracy). We are SO excited to welcome Maddies baby brother Cru into the world this week. We can't wait to have a little man around to balance out these girlies too:) Yay for baby boys!

Does this little peanut look like her daddy or what? SO stinkin cute and smiley. Too bad you can't see her new tooth. Yay for teeth!

This pic was when she was chewing on everyhting in sight waiting for that tooth to pop through. We are SO greatful that our girls are good teethers. A whole lot of chewing, drooling and sucking BUT not much fussing. And next thing you know- Teeth:)

We hope your March brings lots of joy and adventures. And certainly HEALTH- a shortage of this the past few months:) We will keep you updated on the joys of our March, starting with Cru's arrival in the next few days. Prayers for Lauren as she preps to bring this little man out to meet us all:)

February 09 (already?)

Gracie is such a sweet 2 year old. She is a great big sister, always helping Livvy with her toys and sharing everything. Even the stuff she shouldn't:) She has an incredible vocabulary and amazes us daily with the things she says. We love our "big girl" bunches. She is looking forward to her big Spring Break trip to Gulf Shores. She asks daily if we get to leave yet:)

Livvy is growing so crazy fast I can't keep up. She sits on her own very well, rolls like a maniac, and scoots backward on her belly. She does a mean carpet swim but no crawling yet:) She still eats well- daddy calls her the disposal. She really enjoys teething toasts too now. What a joyous mess she makes with those:) We can't wait to show her the ocean in a few months and let her experience "the shores" outside of the womb.

Please pray!!!

Please pray for one of my co-workers here in the Burn unit. Mary just lost her home of 25 years in a fire tonight in Ionia. It is very early but she told me that she has lost EVERYTHING and that her home is a TOTAL loss. She is the sweetest lady and has endured many hardships in her life already. 2 days ago she was blessed with her first grand daughter. She is devastated about this and I know she needs LOTS of prayer. There are few details to give at this point but her, her husband, and their two dogs were not harmed. I covet your prayers for her and her family as they deal with this traumatic event. I will update with any news as I can. Thanks for prayers!!!!!

Happy New Year!

Should anyone REALLY be allowed to wake up with hair this gorgeous???? Gracie Rae is one lucky lady- one day she will realize this blessing I am sure.

Livvy Jean is such a happy baby. She really spends most of her time smiling, playing, eating or sleeping. We are really loving watching her personality emerge. She can sit up on her own pretty well, tips every now and then. She is tall and solid and almost 6 months old. Our BABY is getting too big:)

Gracie with her beloved poppa, reading a story and eating her favorite- POPCORN. ( and no I didn't take our Christmas stuff down until a few days ago;)

Gracie and Laney bug at the Childrens musuem. We are members so if anyone wants a playdate, the invites open.

So far 2009 has proven to be a great year. We are all happy, mostly healthy but for the occasional sniffles, and looking forward to some fun plans this year. We look back on 2008 with many smiles and a few tears. A great year to welcome our second child and realize our blessings as parents. We are truly amazed by His grace and mercy in our lives. We hope your 2009 is blessed beyond all earthly measure.

Happy Holiday

We truly hope that your holiday was fantastic. We had an amazing week spent with lots of family and friends. Christmas week was a celebration from start to finish. Dan was home with us all week and we were truly spoiled to have him around helping mommy and palying with Gracie and Livvy.

We celebrated the true reason for the season- Christ- as well as our sweet Gracie turning 2 years old. What a fantastic gift she was 2 years ago and more so as we love her each day we are blessed with her. Christmas was blessed as usual and left us humbled by the Grace God has bestowed upon us all and His mercy. There will be more updates to follow and TONS of pics but for now we say. Goodnight and we hope your holiday was extra special.

Update on Livvy Jean

Livvy Jean has grown so much and hit some major Milestones lately. You should see this girl chow her cereal, she sure does love to eat:) She has even had applesauce a few times this past week (hey that cereal can bind a girl up, the bowels needed as little help) and LOVED every bite. She can sit up if propped and she loves to play in her exersaucer. She grabs for things and pulls toys closer, she rolls over like a champ and then gets stuck on her belly and screams until someone helps her:) Everything near her gets put into her mouth and slimed until unrecognizable. She "talks" and Gracie thinks its funny to impersonate her. Gracie really loves being a big sister and helping feed her, making her smile, giving her pacifier when she is screaming and saying, "Livvy no, no. That's terrible!" "Shush now!" We are relishing the joys of her "babyhood" which is coming to an end quickly. She sleeps like her daddy and sister too. 12 hours without a peep. We are SO blessed:)

Milestones Christmas Program

Sitting on poppas lap to enjoy the show.

Clapping for her friends who are singing their songs:)

Candy!!! What a great treat after her performance:)

Hooray! She was such a ham up on stage, we should have known:) She did all the motions and sang the words to her two songs. Her class sang one little, two little, three little reindeer and ring, ring, ring the bells :)

When she got onto the stage she yelled " Thats MY grandma!" and pointed to my mom, then she proceeded to tell the whole audience that her Poppas and her Meemaw where there also. How cute! No stage fright for this peanut:)

Gracie and her best friend Kate. These little girls bring lots of fun to Milestones older toddler room. According to their teacher they are always together- having fun or causing trouble:) If one of them is missing then the teachers can ask the other and they always have the answer as to where she is. What a fun memory as they get older:)

Silly Goose

These pics are in the wrong order but you can see this little sassafrass in her first try at using mommas makeup by herself. Eyeliner in a nice chocolate brown shade. What a little cheese ball, she thought she looked kinda funny with makeup on:) Oh the many joys of girls!

Precious!

Sisters!

A miracle :) (and they are both looking!)

Watching Dora together. Gracie proceeded to tell Olivia ALL about the whole show. It was very sweet.