easter - at the end of the worst week ever

hannah's spring break started friday, march 22nd. we went to brewton that weekend to visit mimi and pops. despite me and libby being a little under the weather during the visit, we had a good time. we had more fun things planned later that week, including a visit to the georgia aquarium with my parents. but on that tuesday, poor libby started throwing up. i caught the bug the next day and hannah picked it up at some point too. even wilson got sick. it was some stomach bug that lasted the whole week, and it was terrible. worst week EVER. i felt so bad that we couldn't have a fun spring break.

easter was early this year, the next weekend (31st). we were feeling better, so i tried to cram in all the fun easter stuff in this one day. thankfully the easter bunny shopped way early and even went a little overboard. the girls got some fun goodies - a dora tent, hair things, paints and paper, pens and notepads,  shoes, etc. we dyed easter eggs, made crafty eggs from plastic eggs, did an egg hunt and put on cute easter shirts.

p.s. we got a dog

february 2nd we adopted wilson (the pet formerly known as woody) from east alabama humane society. we'd been looking for a dog for the girls after pet-sitting for the neighbors, and i saw him online and fell in love with his sweet face. we went to an adoption event at petco and met him and we were reassured by the workers that he would be an excellent family dog. he does seem very sweet, and we haven't heard him bark or make a noise.

i'm THIRTY! THIRTY years old!

i have the best best husband who made my birthday sooo special this year. he surprised by dropping me off at the spa for the day when i thought we were just going for coffee, and he surprised me again by picking me up with my parents in the car. we went to a japanese restaurant for dinner, then came home for cake. then he surprised me again with a hotel trip and AGAIN with a beautiful necklace. he is just the best, and it really was a perfect day. i am thankful for so many things, but mostly him and our family. i am happy to be 30 and i'm genuinely looking forward to getting older.

and happy new year

we had a fabulous 2012, and we're looking forward to what the new year brings. it's hard to believe that libby JUST started walking at the beginning of this year, and hannah graduated preschool and started kindergarten. we've made a lot of great memories together; here are a few of my favorite in a slideshow.

2012 from julie cottrell on Vimeo.

merry christmas!

the week before christmas this year the girls got both strep and the flu, so we spent christmas day resting in our pajamas, playing with new toys and watching christmas movies. santa brought lots of goodies, but the biggest gift was hidden in the garage: a brand new swingset! i know the girls are going to so enjoy playing outside on it when the weather warms up. i think hannah's favorite gift was her "makeup phone" and libby's was a minnie mouse doll.

visit with santa

every year our homeowners' association has a christmas dinner, and santa always makes a special appearance. hannah was excited to make her requests this year. she has the most girly christmas list ever - she really wants a jewelry box with some jewelry and some kind of toy phone filled with play makeup ("makeup phone" as she calls it; something she has seen at the neighbor's house). but libby wanted nothing to do with santa. she screamed at my request for her to sit in his lap so we could get a picture.

attempt at christmas card pictures

i thought it would be super cute to get the girls in christmas pajamas and get a shot of them reading a christmas book together. didn't work out exactly the way i had hoped. their pajamas from last year amazingly still fit - but barely. and libby just was not in a picture-taking mood. she would not cooperate for anything. still somehow managed to get a few good ones, but none that were christmas card worthy.