Category Archives: memories

Merry, Merry Christmas!

December 27, 2015

We had a splendid Christmas indeed! Full bellies, good faith, and surrounded by friends and family. The night even ended with “White Christmas” as the snowflakes softly fell to the ground. It was magical and a perfect ending to a memorable holiday. This year, I was quite anxious for Christmas since Ivy was another year older. She tore through the presents, sang Christmas carols all ~~day~~ month long, and was a jolly little girl all day. Unfortunately, still scared of Santa, buuut, she was happy Santa still brought her presents! Christmas is so magical with children around. It brings me back to my childhood and all of the family gatherings to celebrate the “most wonderful time of the year.” And this year was even better than the last, with two children to wake up to on Christmas morning. To cuddle and hug and wish them a Merry Christmas and sing out with glee that SANTA was here! And to cherish these memories that we make together as a family, pretty special times! Here’s a little glimpse into our Christmas as a family. Hope yours was a Merry Christmas as well :)

Photo Dec 24, 8 01 45 AM

Our fun started on Christmas Eve! John and I hosted and we had a huge ham to cook! We went to church and headed back to our house for a big feast with my family and John’s family. YUM. The ham (recipe here) turned out sooo delicious.

Christmas2015-1 Christmas2015-2 Christmastable

The table turned out pretty good for working with what I happened to have at home! Here was my inspiration for the table decor and the place setting cards

HAM. Sooo good. The glaze… mmmm. Recipe here

The next day it was Christmas morning! I couldn’t WAIT to get the kids and tell them “It’s Christmas!!!” We had been talking about it every day with Ivy as she would try to take a present from under the tree! So now it was finally time to open the presents!!! Ivy was a PRO! That’s maybe not a good thing ;) And we can’t forget…. it was Leo’s FIRST Christmas! He just got all clothes, since I apparently bought every toy imaginable for Ivy : / #handmedowns

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Cutest little outfit. That reindeer butt. Christmas2015-4

Ivy is obsessed with Calico Critters right now – she got the camper from Grandma and is SO excited about it!
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We also got Ivy this dollhouse, and I finally found the BEST doll family for it! I had been looking forever and they were all so strange looking. They’re from Hape and there is a grandpa, grandma, dad, mom, son, daughter, and a youngest daughter. They’re really awesome and bendable! I really like them!

Y-bike scooter

We celebrated the morning with the Kochs and the evening with the Keatings (my family) and by the end we were totally completely exhausted AND stuffed from delicious food!!!

Ivy even blessed us with her singing of “Jingle Bells”

Leo with his cousin Tya!

And later that night… SNOW. Pure magic. So beautiful! “May all your Christmases be whiiiiiiite”

Santa – maybe Ivy will let go of the death grip and actually sit on Santa next year. Leo didn’t seem to mind, haha.

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Hope you had a Merry Christmas!!

Now on to the New Year! I already bought this “party in a box” from Target to celebrate! Can’t wait!

Thanksgiving 2015

November 30, 2015

This year for Thanksgiving, we had my older sister Jillian, her husband Brian, and their new 10 week old baby Alexandra in town. They’re from Indianapolis and I hadn’t met Alexandra yet, so I was SO excited to have them in town! Jillian came a few days early so we could lounge around with the babies and it was fun to get the three cousins together! Leo looks huge compared to Alexandra! Leo is 5 months old and probably 19 pounds and 96th percentile head, Alexandra is 2 months old, 10 pounds, and 40th percentile head. It makes Leo looks huge! :)

For Thanksgiving on Thursday, my Mom and Jillian were the chefs, while I was in charge of the table. Good trade of to me! I don’t like to touch the Thanksgiving meal, my Mom and sister are so good at it!! My older brother Jesse and his son Jackson were visiting so we had a table full. The food was SOOO good! I love Thanksgiving meal!

And Leo even had his first bites of real food – mashed potatoes and gravy and a teeny bit of turkey. FOOD COMA!

Afterwards we celebrated Christmas since Brian and Jillian won’t be here. Ivy decorated her tree and was a crazy girl opening the presents for everyone! She looked so pretty in this new dress.

Leo’s new flannel. So adorable!

Eventful Thanksgiving! Saturday we had Leo’s baptism, and then they were off back to Indianapolis. I wish they lived closer! It’s so great to have these big family get togethers. They don’t happen enough! Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Leo John Koch // Baptism

November 29, 2015

Our baby boy Leo got baptised this past weekend! We waited until my sister and her husband and new baby were in town so we had some more family there and could all celebrate together. Plus my sister and her husband are Ivy’s godparents, so it was nice having them there for this baptism too :) John and I chose my longtime friend since middle school, Shannon, and John’s brother Jeff as Leo’s godparents. Shannon is also Ivy and Leo’s pediatrician, so she’ll be a lifer in this family! And she’s sooooo good with kids, it was the perfect fit!

John’s Mom Betsy had found this christening gown at a flea market for Ivy when she got baptised, so only fitting for Leo to wear it too :) Haha, he looked funny in a gown, but it was pretty cute! We topped it off with a hand knit sweater that Betsy also gave us. It was over 40 years old and all of the 4 Koch kids wore it at once. So pretty neat to have Leo in something his Dad AND godfather wore when they were a baby!

Also, it was so nice for my sister Jillian, her husband Brian, and their new baby Alexandra to be there. Nice to have the most of the family there to celebrate Leo receiving his first sacrament!

And the Koch side wouldn’t miss it! Love their grandkids!

Happy Baptism Leo John, we love you!

Ivy’s baptism here

Our Weekend

October 19, 2015

This weekend was filled with fun Halloween activities and John and I even managed to squeeze a date in there on Sunday too. He was gone hunting for the pheasant opener weekend so I had the kids solo and tried to conquer some days out with them. Ivy was a little stinker and not taking her naps, so she was sure to be a bomb waiting to explode : |

Friday was the Spooky Science Night at the Washington Pavilion. So fun! Ivy loved to touch all of the experiments and get her hands dirty. Her favorite were the dry ice bubbles. I’ll admit, it was pretty cool!

Saturday morning I had a baby shower honoring my friend Ashley’s upcoming baby girl in January. It was GORGEOUS and the host is a terrific baker and made some outstanding dishes. My favorite were the mini pancakes! So cute! I wanted all of them!

Ashley got a TON of great items and mommy/baby essentials. I love baby showers and seeing what other Moms gift! I get ideas and hear of brands or things I didn’t even know about. Plus, it’s always fun to see friends! Look at all these lovely ladies! Baby ballerina is brewing! Cute!

Saturday night was time to get their costumes on! I took Ivy to the Halloween store and she immediately went to Minnie Mouse! I showed her some others but she was like NO MINNIE! So we went with that and I don’t blame her… pink, tutu, and Minnie, she was in girly heaven! I let her pick Leo’s costume and she picked a chubby monkey. ADORABLE!

This is what she did when she first saw herself! HAHA

Saturday night I took the kids to the Halloween Fest with some friends. It was their first annual and it was SO CHAOTIC! Way more people than they expected, so long lines ensued and jam packed crowds. Plus, Ivy decided NOT to nap AGAIN, so she was exhausted and delusional and Leo had to catch a little nap while we were there, so it was a bit of a wreck, BUT, seeing her say trick-or-treat was pretty dang adorable!

Sunday John returned home, thankfully! And we had an event with Queen City Bakery and K’s restaurant, two of Sioux Falls’ best, out on Kristina’s farm. It was a five-course meal with kabocha squash galette with greens, roasted carrot soup with pistou garnish and brioche croutons, pheasant and mushroom ravioli in sage brown butter, lamb cassoulet with mini corn muffins and biscuits served with pumpkin and corn butter, and lastly bourbon pecan pie with ice cream. Everything was INCREDIBLE! I had way too much wine and had a delightfully full stomach at the end. The evening was fabulous with friends and food!

I almost slurped up the rest of the sage brown butter… almost.

Whew! BUSY BUSY!! But so much fun. Now I can’t wait for Halloween to go trick-or-treating with the kids! Ivy will love it! And so will I :)

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Ivy’s Fairy Birthday Party // 2 Years Old

September 29, 2015

Ivy’s flower fairy birthday party (see inspiration board here) was a huge hit! We had the cutest little fairies running around, great treats and apps, friends, family, and perfect weather! Her second birthday party was so much fun and we always like spending time with friends and family. Most of all, I love seeing Ivy smile and giggle for two hours straight! That’s the best :)

Tassel Garland // Floral Garland // Gold Happy Birthday // Circle Pink and Gold Garland // Flag Felt Garland // Pink and Hot Pink Circle Felt Garland // Pink Floral Tablecloth // Pink Paper Cups // #2 Pink Balloon // Pink and Purple Balloons // Beverage Dispenser (sold out similar here) and stand //

Thankfully, I had almost all of the decor already from Ivy’s 1st birthday party and just some random garlands I have in Ivy’s playroom or bedroom, so really all I had to buy were the balloons and tablecloth, which was great! I tried to stick with my floral fairy pink theme and I think it turned out! :)

The cake was from The Cake Lady (inspiration photo here) – it was gorgeous AND delicious!! The cake stand wood slab was used at our wedding for our wedding cake :) Fun to reuse! And I made the cake topper with two of the wands and washi tape! Here is the DIY video I followed. Very easy!!! Ivy ACTUALLY blew the candles out! I was pretty impressed! Even though she may have bumped into the side of the cake a little :) haha

Here are the kiddos, minus a couple running around! Each of them got their own wings (which I found at the Dollar Store, heck ya!), a wand, and a floral headband! Ivy had a special crown I got for her that was personalized with her name on it from Mosey Handmade, it was beautiful on her! They were all so adorable! And even the mamas got a floral headband :)

For an activity, I had the kids make their own pixie dust! I loved this idea (from this party)!! I got mini glass jars (when they were 50% off) from Hobby Lobby for their pixie dust, and filled other glass jars with glitter! Then we super glued the cork lids shut. It was so messy and there was glitter everywhere, but the kids LOVED it! And I had fun too :) Thankfully it was outside!

Next were presents! She got a TON of dolls and barbies! She was in heaven! And the best part was she got new sleeper gowns! Ivy has been OBSESSED with this Anna and Elsa Frozen gown that my mom got her a month ago, and she MUST sleep in it during naps and bedtime (you know how the toddler negotiation thing goes…). So my friend Shannon got her a Cinderella and Minnie Mouse one, she LOVES them!

John and I got her this bounce house! It’s going to make winter tolerable! It can fit in our basement, which is soooo fabulous.

And Leo was in good hands during the party with Shannon!

Overall, Ivy was in heaven being as girly as possible! She’s turned into quite the little princess and is much more girlier than I ever was! I will have to say though, that it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen #bigsmile

2 more days until she’s actually 2!!! I think we might take her to Chuck E Cheeses for her birthday on Thursday. They still sell beer there, right?? ;)

Happy 2nd Birthday Baby Girl!!! We love you!

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