Just a Few Pictures

This is pretty much what Ruby looked like all winter long, when leaving the house.

Anna wore a pluthera of different hats, but this one was her favorite.

Things can get a little boring when you are stuck in the house all winter, but Sam knows how to liven it up. He and the girls had so much fun hiding in the tent on the bed.

What a fun Daddy.

This is my girly girl. She loves her accessories. If only she would wear them with clothes.

Lovin' on Dad.

Grace Island Cheese Crisps

I was asked by a friend to try a product and blog my thoughts. First, here's a little bit about the product. Grace Island Specialty Foods produces a unique product-baked cheese crisps. They are truly baked cheese, something that I love anyway. Each batch is made with just cheese, eggs, sesame seeds (to hold everything together, I guess) and various seasonings. Because the crisps are gluten free, sugar free and low carb they are a very healthy snack for my little ones. I tried each flavor, Parmesan, Asiago, Romano and Baby Swiss. My favorite was definitely the baby swiss. The flavor of the Baby Swiss was much milder than the others. The others were a little too salty tasting to me, but I am more inclined to sweet things anyways.

As for my kids, Annalyse loved them and wouldn't stop eating the crisps. Ruby, on the other hand, refused to eat any. She tasted one and pushed the rest away. Oh well, she's two so what can I say. I had some family over and they seemed to like the crisps as well.

Would I purchase this product on a regular basis? Probably not. The crisps seem to be so rich in taste that we probably wouldn't eat them as everyday snacks. Plus the fact that only one child in our house likes them. I generally try to buy snacks that everyone will enjoy. We will probably purchase Grace Island cheese crisps for special occasions which call for crackers, dips and cheese balls.

I definitely recommend cheese crisps to all moms and parents that are in search of a tasty and healthy snack. I am a little reserved about the price, but I realize that healthy snacks aren't always the cheapest. I am grateful for the opportunity to try a new product and share my thoughts. To try Grace Island Cheese Crisps follow this link http://graceislandfoods.com

Christmas 2011

Here are the girls just after presents and breakfast on Christmas morning. They are waiting for mom and dad to get ready for church. Can you tell Ruby got lip gloss in her stocking? It's all over her face.

I don't know what I did to Annalyse, but she is not happy.

Getting over it.

We bought Sam his very own Transformer for Christmas. He didn't know what to do first, play with his toy or put together Ruby's big nursery gift. He was slightly torn. But let me tell you he plays with that toy at least once a day.

Here is Ruby's big nursery set from us. There were so many pieces. Guess we should have put it together before Christmas.

The girls really didn't know where to start on Christmas morning. Ruby just wanted her daddy to open his present from her...

so that she could play with it. That's right, Ruby wasn't satisfied with the Transformer so she got her dad a baby for Christmas. And it couldn't be just any ol' babydoll from the store. It had to either have a carrier or a bottle. Only the best for her daddy.

Our little elfbaby.

What a big girl...and still cute. I made a poinsetta bow for her hair to match the outfit.

Too cute.

My Hubby

My wonderful hubby bought us a Minivan last night so that I did not have to climb through the back hatch of the old Pacifica to get a third child in the car. He is so good to me. We decided that this was a must with our growing family, only to have the car he was driving break down on him this morning on the way to National Guard training. How unfair for him. I am at home with a beautiful, running vehicle and he is stuck on a highway fixing a car. I love my husband so much. He deserves a car that runs. It's been two years now of non-running vehicles for him. But the dilemma is now that we just bought a nice vehicle with a nice payment so we are not able to get him an actual nice car. I love you, Sam Zollman. I will make it up to you.

Zollman Five

We have been the Zollman four for a little over a year now, but that is about to change. We are soon to be the Zollman five. Sam and I were trying to wait for baby number three, but Heavenly Father planned life a differently for us. Yay!!!! We will be graced with Baby #3 in August. It's crazy how fast our family is growing. Life is great, stressful, but great. I was just telling Sam last night that we face a lot of challenges by having a very young family,(e.i. no money, no sleep, no money) but I would so much rather have these joyous challenges than different ones. At the same time, please allow me some room for venting in the future. After all, we will have three children under the age of three so there will be plenty to vent about, but for now I am not going to worry. I am just happy and telling myself that I can do this. We can do this! ;)

Thanksgiving at the Parents

Anna's First

Annalyse is one now, crazy!!! We had her birthday party the Saturday after her birthday. Grandma and Grandpa Patterson, Joey and Grandma Great came home for the weekend. All of Sam's family came and even Amy and George made the trek to our house from Indy.

Anna got some great gifts. She had so much fun with the bows too.

Yes, it was a costume party. Thanks to everyone who dressed up.

And Rich dressed up like a goofball.

So cute.

Love you, Nana.

These cake pictures are a little backwards, but here is me trying to figure out where to begin to clean her up.

Annalyse loved her cake. I must say it was pretty delectable.

She was hesitant at first, she didn't quite know what to do with it, but she soon figured it out.

Happy Birthday!

So serious.

Oh yes, the elders made the long trek from upstairs to come enjoy the party.

We had chocolate covered marshmallows, candy corn mixture and mummy hot dogs.

Anna's costume was a spider one, so it seemed only fitting that the cake match.

Love this picture of the ladies, but if you look to the left it gets a little scary. What is Joey doing? Don't worry, he wasn't trying to kiss him. He was just talking to him or something.

There's my little spider. And Joey came as a basketball player.
Happy Birthday, Annalyse Margarite. Love you.