Superbowl!

We aren't much of sportsfans in our house...but we LOVE the Packers! Being from Wisconsin its just in my blood. We are so excited for the big game. We usually host Superbowl parties. This year we are a little more selective about who we invite, well there's one condition, you have to root for the Packers. I think that's only fair, right? I mean this is huge, the last time the Packers went to the Superbowl I was in high school (not to date myself).

Go Pack Go!

Rachel Pierce

rpierce@myabc5.com

Grandmothers are special.

It's been a rough couple of months for my family. I lost my Grandma Krenz (pictured on the left) the first of December. She had Alzheimer's. I lost my Grandma Moore (pictured below) January 12th. She had cancer. I feel so grateful to have had a close relationship with both of them, and I'm thankful I got to say "goodbye" to them during their final days.


In my experience grandmother's are simply, really neat to have in your life. When I was growing up I looked so forward to seeing them. They always had small gifts ready, their houses were so tidy and full of lots of cool/antique/breakable stuff, and they cooked amazing food. Isn't that everything that grandmothers should be?

I've never lived in a world without my grandma's so this is definitely going to feel like a new chapter in my life. Although I wish they were still here and I miss them, I will cherish the time I had with them and hold a ton of precious memories close to my heart.

As always, thank you for reading. -Amanda

Snowbirds

Lydia on her first boat ride, we went out in the Gulf of Mexico

Magdalena Battles, Rachel Pierce and Lydia, Picking up shells

My husband, Lydia and I acted like snowbirds this past weekend and went to South Florida to visit my sister Magdalena Battles and her husband Justin. We had a blast! The weather was perfect mid to upper seventies and sunny! Over four days we a lot. We went boating in the Gulf of Mexico, went to Santibel beach and picked up shells, went on walks, shopped and then shopped some more, went out for sushi, played games and more!

Really we didn't need to do anything but sit outside and get a break from the Iowa winter for a few days and spend some quality time with my lovely sister and brother-in-law. But, I'd be lieing if I didn't say it was tough to get off the plane in Iowa this morning to all the wet, snowy, slushy weather.

Rachel Pierce

rpierce@myabc5.com

We saw tons of dolphins!!!

Justin Battles watching dolphins from shore.

Enjoying walking in water, little too cold to swim.

Aunt Magdalena taking Lydia for her first dip in the Gulf of Mexico.

Lydia turned nine months old on the trip.

Magdalena Battle and I LOVE pageants and enjoyed watching Miss Nebraska will the title this past Saturday on ABC. My sister was in pageants so we decided it will be the perfect time to bring them out.

Pierce Family Update

(Lydia was a lucky girl and got lots of toys and clothes)
(Lydia with Pops and Nana) (My Dad, David Licht playing around with Lydia)

(Asleep on Daddy on New Year's Eve, although she rallied to ring in the New Year with us)

Christmas at the Pierce household was better than great. It was AWESOME. We had a fabulous time with my husbands Dad and Stepmom. They spent most of the time lovin' on Lydia and chilling out with us. Plus they are from Mississippi and really enjoyed our white Christmas. We loved having them here for Lydia's first Christmas!

Then after Christmas we went up to Wisconsin to see all my family. We got to see my folks, one of my brothers and one of my sisters and her husband. My sister Magdalena and her husband Justin also had a fun New Year's Eve party. We played games and had so much fun. Lydia was even up to ring in the New Year (see slept until 11am the next day!).

New Years Day we had our Licht family Christmas Party at the YMCA. We played games, volleyball, card, talked and ate whole lot of food.

Now we are back into the swing of things. Lydia over Christmas break started crawling and now we are frantically baby proofing the entire house. I joined Kosama and I'm trying to work off all those holiday goodies.

Hope the New Year is treating all of you well!

Best!

Rachel Pierce

rpierce@myabc5.com

(Lydia and I on New Year's Eve)

(Opening presents at Grandpa and Grandma's house, they spoil her too much!)

(Asleep on Grandma, my mom Jenny Licht has the magic touch with babies!)(Magdalena and Justin Battles playing with their niece)
(Christmas Party at the YMCA, we are eating our veggies)

(Some of my little cousins)

Baby Food!

I've started a new adventure. I'm making baby food for my six-month-old. I didn't do this with my first son, but kind of wish I would have. It's easy, it's healthy, and it saves money. It also allows me to buy my own organic produce to puree.


I found my inspiration from a network news anchor, Norah O'Donnell. She's the cheif Washington correspondent for MSNBC, her husband's a chef. She has a fairly new book out called Baby Love with healthy baby food recipes. You can watch her demonstration by clicking here. Here are a couple shots of me whipping up some organic peas. (Thanks Mom for the new blender!) Did you know there's a certain way to prepare them so they maintain their bright green color and all their nutrients?




So far I've made peas and apples. My baby loves both of them. It's so much fun! I'm going to try and enjoy it as much as I can because before I know it, he'll be eating 'big boy' food.


Any of you have any baby food recipes you'd like to share? Send them my way, akrenz@myabc5.com.



Thanks for reading!


Amanda

Christmas Get Together

(The babies with their dads: Mercer and Brian and Lydia and Matthew)

(Mercer, happy baby!)

(Lydia)

Since Amanda has this week off and I have next week off, we decided to have a little Christmas breakfast this morning at my house with our families. I made my famous southwest eggs and we had some cinnamon rolls and fruit too. Then we exchanged presents and just enjoyed watching the kiddos play.

Getting a picture of the three of them was a little tough.

There we go! We got it...kind of.

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

Rachel Pierce

rpierce@myabc5.com

A Christmas Weekend

We started out our weekend with a visit to see Santa at Yost Chiropractic. Lydia didn't give Santa the warmest hello, maybe she'll have better manners next year.

On Sunday it was ABC 5's annual Christmas Party at Spash Seafood in downtown Des Moines. We had great food and coversations, it was a fabulous party! Below are pictures of our ABC 5 staff and significant others.