Great Grandma Estes and Amaya

Lydia's dedication

Lisa, Amaya, and I

Lisa and I at Olive Garden

Jeremiah and Grandpa Freed

Our little family

Adrianna, Nicole, Lydia, Amaya, and I

Adrianna, Sarah "holla!" and I

Lydia and Amaya

Adrianna, Amaya, and Lydia

Grandma Kirmse with Amaya

Grandma Sharon and Amaya

Grandpa Estes and Amaya









Grandma Freed and Amaya

It has been quite a busy week! Last Sunday we had a Christmas brunch at our house with my family. Then the fun began! We have been traveling almost everyday since Christmas Eve. Our first stop was in Topeka to visit Jeremiah's family. We spent Christmas eve and Christmas day with the Estes/Kirmse family and then headed to Indiana on Christmas night. We opened presents with my sister's family on Wednesday night and spent time with the kids. It is so much fun getting together with our families especially now that we have a child of our own.

Thursday morning we woke up early and traveled to Michigan for our annual Freed family Christmas. It was great to see all my family together again since it only happens once a year. Amaya did great and let everyone hold her, I was so proud!

Thursday night we stayed at a hotel with my sisters family and that's when the deadly stomach flu struck my sisters family (to be continued...).

Friday morning we went out for breakfast with my grandpa. I love him so much and having breakfast with gramps has always been a fun tradition. After breakfast we headed to Grand Rapids to visit my best friend and college roommate Lisa! She took us out to Olive Garden and then we went to the mall for a while. I love spending time with her I need to make more excuses to do so:).

Saturday, 3:00am....I got the flu! I was sick for 16 hours straight! It was terrible and not a good way to end my vacation. I basically sat on the couch the whole time while Jeremiah took care of Amaya. It was very difficult for me to not pick my baby up the entire day!

Sunday morning we went to my brother-in-law's new church plant "The River". It was a special day because my niece Lydia was being dedicated. We were so glad that we could be there for it. When we got back to the house we packed up and hit the road. It is so nice to be back!

P.S. I realize that my pictures are all out of order. I still haven't figured out this whole blog thing:).

What a week! We have been pretty busy lately. I have been Christmas shopping and cleaning all week long. Garmin hosted a holiday event for children and Amaya got her first look at Santa Claus! It was so funny seeing her with him. She just stared at him and pet his beard. I was expecting a big reaction from her, but she was very calm and focused. It was hilarious!

On December 18th we celebrate our 3rd anniversary! Jeremiah's parents came to watch Amaya on Saturday night so that we could go out and celebrate. It was my turn to plan the events. We went to the country club plaza in K.C. and stayed at the Courtyard Marriott. It was extremely cold outside but very beautiful with all the Christmas lights. We ate at P.F. Changs and had dessert at the Cheesecake Factory:). It was so nice to have some time alone to talk and reflect on this past year! A lot has changed for us with the arrival of Amaya. We feel so blessed to have her. Having a child changes everything. It has been difficult at times but Jeremiah and I continue to stay focused on our marriage. It has been a wonderful three years! Happy Anniversary Jeremiah, I love you!

YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS VIDEO! :)

Christmas Photo Shoot

I went a little crazy yesterday taking Christmas pictures of Amaya. She was such a good girl and was absolutely enthralled by the ornaments. I love how they turned out. I am looking forward to our first Christmas with her.

Amaya in Daddy's hat;)

Amaya and Bo

Amaya's favorite toy...daddy's watch

It seems as though the holidays sneak up on me every year. This year is no exception, in fact it may be worse. This year I don't have christmas plays or parties to remind me of the upcoming holiday. I have a lot of shopping to do this year and I dread going out with the baby to accomplish this task. Wish me luck!

Amaya has been really playful lately. I have been snapping picture left and right because she has been so good! She is even letting grandpa Freed hold her! Amazing. I am looking forward to making our annual trip to Indiana and Michigan for Christmas. It will be fun having a baby this year. I can't wait for everyone to meet her.

6 Months Old!

I can't believe it! Amaya is 6 months old today. It has been a long, hard, and wonderful 6 months. Amaya probably cried for about the first 5 months plus (no exaggeration). She has recently become such a joy to be around. She is a pretty content and happy baby now, which makes her mommy and daddy very happy! She is sleeping 12 hours at night and taking a few one hour naps during the day. I love being her mom and I am so thankful that I am able to stay home and enjoy each moment! Here are some pics of her today and some of her as a newborn:). Wow has she changed!

Daddy's girl!

I couldn't resist putting these pictures up! Amaya was looking at Jeremiah and started smiling:). Jeremiah has been home a lot because of the holiday and Amaya has really warmed up to him. I love the look on her face when she sees him, she lights up. priceless!

Thanksgiving

Alexandra and Amaya; Grandpa and Grandma Estes with Amaya

This year we spent Thanksgiving in Topeka with the Estes family. We had such a good time with the family. Amaya was in rare form and actually let people hold her! Even Alexandra (Jeremiah's seven year old cousin) got some time with Amaya. We are very thankful for our families, eachother, and our baby girl. God has blessed us so much this year!

Friday night Jeremiah and I went out with his sister Melissa and her boyfriend Vernard. It was so nice to spend time with them. Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Estes for watching Amaya. We had a great time!

I hope you all don't mind, I have a lot of fun pics to post! Also, I still haven't figured out how to put my photos in the right order or how to label them. Any suggestions?

Sitting on her own!

We continue to be amazed at how fast Amaya is growing! For the past few days I have been trying hard to get Amaya to sit on her own. She is such a big girl and picked it up quickly. I thought you all might enjoy a first for Amaya.

Sick Baby

As new parents we were shocked and upset to see that Amaya had a temperature of 101.8 yesterday! She was pretty fussy and sleepy all day long. She even fell asleep in Jeremiah's arms last night for over an hour! If you know Amaya at all you know that she does not like to be held for long, so this was very strange. We watched her temp. and gave her a nice long bath (which she loved). Her temp. continued to go down and she even played a little bit before bed. She woke up this morning smiling! I am hoping that she is over this and doesn't get the flu that's been going around.

Lunch at OCS

Almost every Thursday Amaya and I eat lunch with Grandpa and Grandma Freed. Thursday is taco day at school and I always enjoyed it when I worked there. It's so much fun to see my kindergartners from years past and to catch up with my teacher friends. As you can see in the pics of Amaya with grandpa, she is still afraid of men!

Pictures!

Here are some of my new favorite pics, enjoy!