Wow, can't believe it is Christmas time already. We are really enjoying this time of year. We just got up all of our Christmas decorations. Malia is really in to Christmas, she had a ball putting the tree decorations on. Carter is growing like crazy and it is just a matter of time before she is crawling. We are gearing up for visiting Santa, wonder if it will be a picture of just the girls or all of us. ;)

Will post the results in a few weeks.

It is hard to believe that Fall is already here and that we will be celebrating Halloween in just a few weeks. Our lives have been pretty hectic over the last few weeks. Wes and I just celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary by taking a trip to Charlotte NC. It was short and quick, but a ton of fun!! We started our trip off with a couples massage at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. What a unbelievable experience! Afterwards, they surprised us with chocolate covered strawberries and champagne on the pool deck. What a view of Charlotte! Then we hit the town and had a fabulous dinner at The Capital Grille. Yum!!! The next day we attended Elevation Church, such an awesome opportunity. Then it was off to the watch the Carolina Panther's play the Saints. Great game and great company....Nana & Poppy joined us!

As for the girls, Carter is growing like crazy! She just turned 6 months old and is weighing in at a whopping 19 lbs. :) Her cheeks are so kissable!! We were recently invited to a friends farm on the outskirts of Summerville. We had a blast! We all went on a hay ride and had some encounters with some 'spooks' as Malia calls them. Afterwards, I figured she would have been terrified, but all she talked about was going again. We are gearing up for Halloween in a few weeks. Malia after much discussion and will power insists on being Minnie Mouse again. So, that is what she will be. Some battles are not worth fighting. :) The most important thing is that she is happy and seeing her big smile as she tried on the Minnie Mouse costume was all I needed to see. Well that is it for now, here are some Fall pics...more to come I am sure.

Well it is that time again to hang up the swimsuits and start setting the alarm clock. I always get a little sad when this time approaches. I have such a fun time with the girls, I totally could survive just fine not returning back to work. :) This summer was full of great memories and milestones!! Malia is officially potty trained and wears nothing but big girl panties during naps and at night. She had to get an ultrasound and x-ray done on her wrists. Out of no where she had two lumps, one on each wrist. Turns out they are Ganglion Cysts. Nothing we can do unless they get larger, reduce range of motion, or cause pain. Carter is already 4 1/2 months old and has just started eating rice cereal. She started sleeping through the night a few weeks ago. Woo-hoo!! She is rolling from her tummy to her back and is really starting to touch and feel objects. She had a healthy well visit a few weeks ago and is 25 inches in length and 15 pounds. Wes' business has taken off and is doing really well, he is enjoying every bit of it. I have launched 'A Unique Twist' on Etsy.com. http://www.uniquetwistwalldecor.etsy.com/ and already had my first buyer. I must say, life is going pretty well in the Koch household. The Summer was awesome, but this Fall is going to be great too! Beginning of September we are expecting our newest niece, Reese Elizabeth. This will make 6 girls all 4 years and under. Wow!! Come October Wes and I will be celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary and taking a trip to Charlotte to watch the Carolina Panthers. Then it will be time to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. So, as you can tell the next few months will be pretty busy too.

Here are the last pictures of Summer 2011!!

It's official...A Unique Twist is on Etsy!!! I have had so much fun creating unique plaques & picture frames for friends and family members over the last year, I have decided it was time to spread my wings. Please visit www.uniquetwistwalldecor.etsy.com and check out my unique pieces. I would be honored if you'd pass the link on to your friends & family members. Thanks for your support!!

We are having a blast this summer! Watching the girls bond and grow is amazing. When big Sis hugs and kisses Carter it just melts our hearts. Can't believe Carter is already 3 months and that Malia is 3 years old. Malia has made big strides this summer in that she is potty trained. At night she wears a pullup just as a precaution, but during the day she is in 'big girl' panties. Carter is smiling and cooing all of the time, which is so adorable! To hear her sweet voice is so precious.

The biggest change in our family is that Wes has started his own business, Page 23 Media. He is working out of our home and we are sooo enjoying having him home more. The first month of Page 23 Media has done terrific! We are super excited to see what the future holds for this business and our family.

Click on the photo below to see a glimpse of what we have been up to this summer.

Wow! What a fun week we just had. Each year it is a Koch family tradition to stay at the M&M Beach House for a week in the summer. Just going to the beach for a week is so relaxing but having the opportunity to spend it with family we only see every few months is awesome! We spent a lot of our afternoons at the beach, Malia now resembles the Coppertone girl. :) She tans just like her momma. Poor Carter was tent bound the entire week, but was still her go-lucky self. A few things we did...daddy/daugher date night to alligator adventures, explored all over Family Kingdom (Malia was fearless), and enjoyed a ton of yummy food. As you can imagine I took a ton of pictures. To view them all, please click on the photo below. Thanks again Nana & Poppy for yet another memorable week in Myrtle Beach! We miss you all already.

What a fabulous weekend we had in honor of Malia turning 3. We had lots of family in town and couldn't of asked for a better birthday party. To view all the fun we had click on the picture above.
Thank you all for making the trip to Charleston...you all sure made this birthday weekend a ton of fun!! We miss you already.

Malia over the years...


Malia Lynn Born June 12, 2008


Malia turns 1


Malia turns 2


Malia turns 3

Wow, Malia is turning 3!! Not sure where the time has gone, but we sure have enjoyed every single day. I knew having a child would change our lives forever...I just didn't know exactly how much. Looking back, I can't imagine our lives without her. She brings so much love, laughter, and joy to our lives. We are the luckiest parents on earth!!

Malia Lynn, we pray each day that you would continue to grow into your own person, be kind and loving, and that we would raise you to be the Christ Follower that God desires us to be. We love you so much and are so BLESSED to be celebrating your 3rd birthday. We love you Munkaloo!!!
~ Love,
Mommy, Daddy & Sissy

Memorial Day Weekend is always a fun time for us. Each year we travel to NC to visit with Wes' family. This weekend was extra special in that it was our first time traveling as a family of four. The ride up was interesting to say the least. We quickly realized we need to start stopping and getting out of the car every so often. Carter did really well, Malia and I not so much. Neither of us like to ride in cars. :) Anyhow, the weekend was fun and very relaxing. Click on the photo below to see all the pictures...

Carter 1 Month Old!!

I cannot believe Carter is already 5 weeks old. Part of me loves the fact that she is becoming more alert, but with that means she is growing up...which is sad. At her 4 week well-visit, she weighed in at 8 lbs 11 oz. That was very exciting for Daddy and I, in that we have had issues with her gaining weight over the last month. The Doc told us she was doing well and that she would not need to see her again until 8 weeks. So needless to say, Carter is doing great and growing like a weed now. :) She is nursing every 2/3 hours during the day. She goes to sleep between 8-9pm and wakes up between 3-5am to feed, and then goes back to sleep until 8-9am. So we are finally getting at least 4-6 consecutive hours of sleep which is wonderful.

Here is what she has been up to over the past 4 weeks...


Her favorite thing to do...sleep!


Not a big fan of tummy time




Wondering where we are going this time


Hanging out

What a nice relaxing Easter weekend. Wes' parents came in town to help us out since we are adjusting to having a newborn and a 2 year old. I am forever grateful...I was able to relax and catch up on some much needed sleep. Thanks Nana & Poppy!!! They left Sunday morning and then my Mom and Norman came over. We had an awesome lunch, good ole skeen burgers...yum!!! Then we had an Easter Egg Hunt and Mr. Bunny brought the girls their Easter baskets. Malia knew exactly which one was hers and had a ball going through it. Watching Malia hunt eggs was so precious, she loved it! As to be expected...Carter slept through Easter, so we staged some pictures. :)

Any how, it was a wonderful weekend and we really are thrilled we were able to spend it with family. Click on the above picture to view more pictures of our fun-filled weekend!

I couldn't believe how much Carter resembles Malia when she was a newborn. Check out for yourself...


Malia Lynn


Carter Anderson

After a very long day in the hospital, Carter Anderson was born April 14th at 7:13pm weighing 8lbs 4oz and 21 inches in length. It is crazy in that Malia was born at 6:50pm weighing 8lbs 6oz 21in and was also born on a Thursday.

The day was long, but not bad overall. I decided to have an epidural around 11:30 that morning...so the rest of the day/evening I was able to rest and relax. Not sure why females decide not to have an epidural...I am a big fan. The actual delivery went well. I only had to push for about 3 minutes and out she came (thank goodness...I had to push for almost 2 hours with Malia). However, she did decide to come out face up which ultimately caused a lot of bruising and swelling to her face. But overall, she did great and is very healthy. She has the longest feet/toes. She has her daddy's flinestone feet (just like Malia) only difference is they are really narrow. So we have one daughter with wide feet and another with narrow. :) As for her eyes, they are still blue and we are hoping they don't change. It would be precious to have two blonde hair blue eyed girls.

She passed all of her newborn tests at the hospital and got a clean bill of health so we were discharged on Saturday. Since we have been home, we have been resting and enjoying the adjustment to a family of four. Carter is sleeping well and as of Sunday morning has been nursing well. We did have to take her to the doctor yesterday due to her being dehydrated since she went so long without nursing well. However, we are happy to say things are starting to turn around and her little body is getting caught up. We have a follow-up appointment on Wednesday...are praying that she has put on more weight.

Malia has done so well at adjusting. She is very helpful and loves on her baby sissy. Every chance she gets she is hugging, holding, and kissing her. I have my mom watching Malia during the day, so I can rest and just take care of Carter. It is funny when Malia comes home...she runs right past me and says, "I have to say hi to my baby sister". Haha, so darn adorable! We had some friends over to visit the other day and one asked "Malia, can we take Carter home?", she replied "No, baby Carter stays here with my mommy". So she is very protective of her little sister...which is so precious. I have a feeling they will be best buds...well until Malia gets into middle school at least. ;)

As you can imagine we took a ton of pictures. Click on this picture to view some of our favorites.


Born April 14, 2011 (7:13pm 8lbs 4oz 21in)

Thank you to everyone that kept us in your prayers, and for sending beautiful flowers, visiting us at the Hospital, visiting us at our home, and for bringing yummy dinners. We are truly Blessed!!!

It still amazes me how large my tummy got with Carter. Here is a recap...


21 Weeks


Sympathy from hubby


24 Weeks


31 Weeks


36 Weeks


38 Weeks


Off to the Hospital (39 weeks & 4 days)

Hey everyone,
A lot of you have been asking about her nursery, and I was trying to wait until it was a 100% done. However, I am getting a few things hand-made...so I am still waiting on those pieces. I figured I'd go ahead and take pictures now since majority of her room is done. With this nursery I decided to go more contemporary and am very happy in how it is turning out. Now if she would just come out and see her new room. :) (click on picture to enlarge)












Come on out Carter...we have a cozy bed waiting for you!!

Enjoyed a great day with a fabulous group of ladies that threw me a sprinkle party for Carter. The food was so yummy and the cake Ashley made was gorgeous and delicious. I didn't do so well at the "dirty diaper" game or the "baby clothes pin" game...guess I am better at creating the games than being a participant. :) Everyone was so awesome with all the items they bought for Carter. She is one blessed little girl, to have so many people that love her already!! Thanks again to my sweet friends and Mom, I am blessed to have you all in my life!

The month of February has now come and gone, wow!! Each year the South Eastern Wildlife Expo comes to Charleston. This year we decided to take Malia and were so happy we did. She was in HEAVEN!!! Between the wildlife animals, pony rides, jump castles, and just about every pedestrian bringing their pet dogs...she had a ball. It was a beautiful afternoon and we had such a good time. Click on the photo below to view more pictures and some additional ones.

Hi Everyone,