rózsa emlékek

Well the month of January has gone and February is half over. I'm not quite sure where the time has gone, honestly, but I figured I better do a quick update before spring is here. Oh, and I cannot wait for spring to get here!!!! The girls are doing well. Emily now 3.5 and already talking about her 4th birthday. Gabriella Kate is now 10 months old and is close to walking on her own. These two sisters adore one another and it is one of life's most precious gifts to watch them grow up together. We switched Emily to a new preschool this semester and she is thriving. She has the sweetest friends and teachers and looks forward to joining them 2 mornings a week. It also means she gets to attend BSF with Gabi and I on Wednesdays. This excites her more than anything. We seem to be settled into a good routine. We've been busy making connections and doing some traveling as we continue in our endeavor to raise support for Hungary. The Lord is providing and we are encouraged and excited for what is ahead!

Here is a (very) random assortment of pictures from the past month or so....enjoy! :)

We celebrated New Year's in Indianapolis with some dear friends. They had a ton of snow and Emily loved it. Here she is making a snowman with Alfonso (one of their students from Spain). We don't get this much snow in KY, so it was a real treat!

Daddy comes up with the most interesting ways to entertain these girls. Here he is scooting around on the floor with them both sitting on his belly/chest. They think it is hilarious. He must just need an extra workout or something.

Mommy and her happy girl!

All snuggled up after bath. She LOVES the bath. We don't bathe her too often because her skin is so sensitive, but at least 5 times a day we find her standing at the tub trying to get in.

Em playing in the little bit of snow we got a few weeks ago. It was like 13 degrees out, but she didn't mind.

Gabi can't wait for the day she can go out and join her.

The girls have a tea party! Love it.

Heading back out to play in the snow with daddy.

Working on her walking skills.

Emily's favorite thing to do these days...wash dishes. I hope this trend continues for many years. She honestly will spend over an hour scrubbing and washing any dish that she can find.

When Gabi is having a hard time (usually in the evenings before bed) all daddy has to do is throw her on his shoulders and she is happy as can be. Look how content she is. :)

After the snow we had a day or two of temperatures in the mid 60's. Em thought it was summer in her tank top and flip flops. Silly girl.

Emily has become quite the good dentist lately. She loves to practice on daddy.

I have no idea...haha. My silly girl in action. :)

Viktor thought I was kidding when I said I had more than 30 pictures to upload. Nope. Not kidding! If you like pictures then you will like this post. I had every intention of doing this post in phases, but with such a busy month it didn't happen. I figured I better get this done before summertime! We have had a fun-filled month as we've celebrated Jesus' birth together as a family and with friends. I'll let the pictures below do most of the storytelling for now.

Our sweet blessings! It is because of Him that we have such JOY in these two beautiful girls!

Our advent calendar. Each day had a verse and "activity" to prepare us for Christmas. Some of our activities included reading special books, decorating cookies and delivering them to retired missionaries, our mechanic, etc, crafts, mailing a letter to Grandma, etc. Em really enjoyed it.

First Sunday of Advent. I love the look of anticipation on Emily's face in this picture.

Gabriella Kate's First Christmas! Helping mommy put up the star.

Emily loved decorating the tree.

And the decorating is done! Our two little helpers.

Emily asked to write a letter to Santa.... :)

Decorating our gingerbread house.

Mikulas came on Dec. 6 (Thanks to Katy Beth for providing our special treats from Hungary!).

Ms. Janice brought up some gifts for us. Gabi's first official Christmas gift...

She really just wanted to eat the bow!

We had our first snow just a few days before Christmas. It wasn't much, but Emily enjoyed it for a bit. Sweet Gabi was a little sad that she couldn't go out with her big sister.

Our church had Christmas services on the weekend before Christmas, so we went Saturday night when my parents arrived in town. Here are the girls ready to go.

I love how much they love each other!

Gabi got sick on Saturday night and only wanted mama all week. I had so much to do and so on my back she went...we successfully prepared all the food together!

Emily's big present from Pop and Mimi. It is time to move Emily into a booster seat so we can get ready to move Gabi into her bigger car seat. My mom didn't believe me when I told her that Emily would love a new car seat for Christmas. She was SO excited...and especially loves the cup holders.

Gabi was getting into the unwrapping, though most of it did go in her mouth!

On Sunday my parents took Emily and I to see the Southern Lights display at the KY Horse Park. We had a great time.

Inside the park you have the option to get out and enjoy some fun activities. First we stopped in at the petting zoo and fed some animals. Then, as we were getting ready to leave, Emily announced that she wanted to ride a pony. Ok, well if you know my daughter you know this would come as a huge SHOCK to us all!!! I don't know how many times she has gotten so close to riding a pony or horse but declined at the last minute. I figured this night was like any other. I kept telling my mom not to pay money because I just knew she wouldn't ride and it would be wasted. Well, do you see our big smiles below?! I was so proud of her and she LOVED it!!

Get ready Eszti, she is ready to visit you at the ranch in Hungary! :)

Decorating her gingerbread man.

Christmas Eve family picture.

Trying to keep her entertained while everyone opened presents.

So, note to self, don't let a 3 year old know what gifts you are giving to others! Here is a picture of Emily quietly telling Pop what was in his present. ha. She did it several other times when we gave presents to others. Silly girl.

Below is probably one of my favorite moments this Christmas. During our final advent lighting Viktor was reading the story of Jesus' birth from Luke when Emily went off into the other room. She returned with the angel and Mary. As he continued reading she would run off and get each character that was coming into play. It was so precious! By the end of the story she had set up the whole scene.

The girls giggling in bed on Christmas morning. This happens every morning, but was extra special this Christmas!

Checking out their stockings...

She was so excited about her new Belle nightgown from the Post family. After a couple of days I had to make her take it off so it could be washed. haha.