Cute Critters!

Kate, Annie, and James all got new critter towels from Grandma Sharon for Christmas. Kate got a new pink cat, Annie got a green froggie and James has a yellow giraffe. They all got out of the bath the other night and looked so darn cute that I just could not resist having them pose for a photo (or two!). These are some cute little critters that I certainly don't mind having as residents in my house! :)

Another Christmas Come and Gone

It is hard to believe that Christmas has already come and gone! It feels like we were just in Michigan celebrating Thanksgiving. It seems like this December was especially busy with more running around than usual. I am not sure how I would have gotten it all done if I had not been on maternity leave. I love this time of year but it is exhausting! I can't believe how much shopping, baking, wrapping presents, decorating, and all the other stuff I did this year. I am going to remind myself of how tiring it all is next year the day after Thanksgiving and perhaps set lower expectations for myself. I always think I need to do it all and I would probably enjoy the holidays even more if I just relaxed a little bit :) But, I try to make it a memorable and fun time for my family and hopefully I succeeded. I think the girls had a wonderful Christmas and for the most part got the presents they wanted. I don't think we could have fulfilled all of Kate's Christmas wishes as she seemed to remember something new each day she wanted! We have piles of toys we have even yet to open! Time to go through our play room and donate some old toys. I will be doing a lot of organizing this week! Brian surprised me with getting us a new set of really nice pots/pans from William Sonoma. I say surprise lightly though as the minute I saw the big box in the Williams Sonoma wrapping I guessed what it was. It wasn't even under the tree yet! Bri wasn't too happy. Sorry B...I am the master detective! :) No fooling this lady!

We enjoyed a nice Christmas Eve by going to church with my mom and Grandma and then had a little gathering at my mom's house. Then on Christmas I hosted my mom's side at our place for brunch and in the evening my sister and her family came back over for some good steaks and we had a fun time playing games. Then on Sunday we went to her house for my dad's side of the family. It was wonderful to spend time with everyone. I know the girls had a blast too. Too bad they have to wait so long for next Christmas. I hope everyone reading this also had a wonderful Christmas with your loved ones. Here are a few pics to remember the past few days' festivities.

Mikey and Kim - my nephew and his fiance (and also James' God parents)!

Libby (my niece and James' Godmother)

Kate, Annie and cousin Sam!

Loving their new doll heads!

Dad and James playing with his new Sing-a-ma-jig he got from Santa!

Santa brought the Flairies Annie asked for!

You can't see them but Kate is VERY excited about her Hanna Montana pjs Santa brought!

The family on Christmas Eve!

Kate and Annie helping me bake cookies (or was it helping me make a mess)!

Jesus is Everywhere!

As I was curling Kate's hair before we left for church on Christmas Eve, she and I were talking about Jesus. She was telling me he was not a baby, but rather a kid. And that he likes to hide from people and lives up in heaven. I tried explaining to her that he doesn't hide from people but rather he is always with us, we just can't see him. Her response to this was, "Yes, he is definitely with us when we are at Target and Chipotle." This taught me two things, 1) We need to find a church in Burnsville so we can start going on Sundays and get the girls into Sunday school and 2) We go to Target and Chipotle too often!!!

Our Little Swimmers!

Kate and Annie had their last swim lesson of the Fall season tonight. They certainly have come a long way since they started lessons. They are now both "scooping and kicking" about 10 feet with their face in the water on their own! Kate can get up to about "10 bananas" with her head under water. Annie is definitely the more brave one though when it comes to jumping into the water. When they do "chop, chop, timber" Annie jumps high and far while Kate stays pretty close to their teacher. Tonight they were more interested in hugging and kissing their teacher though than they were swimming! Kate told her, "I just love you so much Jamie!". She is definitely our sensitive and caring kid. So much as a matter of fact that when Brian and I had separate cars at the MOA the other night and she had to pick which parent to go home with she ended up in tears. She said she loved us both so much and didn't want to have to pick and make one of us sad. Man, she is like me!!! That was off the topic of swimming but relevant to the comment on her sensitivity :) We are so glad we got them into swimming lessons and wish we would have done it sooner. They are going to take a break from the winter lessons and hopefully go back in spring (Foss is great but definitely puts a dent in the pocket book and with a new water heater, furnace, air conditioner, Christmas and me on maternity leave we are taking a break!). Here are a few of my fav pics we captured of them swimming.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

This year we have had a lot of fun talking to the girls about Santa. We even started a few new traditions. My mom got the kids "Elf on a Shelf". Every night our elf, Willie, (the girls named him) goes to the North Pole to tell Santa how the kids were behaving that day. Then he comes back in time for morning and is in a new location in the house. The girls have had a blast every morning trying to find Willie. Some of his best hiding places so far have been inside their lamp, in their doll house, and on the house alarm. I have to admit it has been pretty fun putting Willie in a new location each night! We often remind them that Willie is watching and will report back to Santa how they have been. We also hear Katelin frequently telling Willie what she wants for Christmas and to make sure he tells Santa! Unfortunately Santa is having a hard time finding Hannah Montana pjs so Kate may be a little disappointed in him. Annie on the other hand rarely tells us what she wants so hopefully anything she gets she will be happy with!

Here is Willie hiding in our laundry room!

Santa also sent the girls a video message personalized with their information, including gifts they want. It was priceless watching the girls watch their video from Santa. The smiles on their faces are something I will never forget. Kate even gave a fist pump in the air when she saw the shoes she wanted in the mall!

Last night we went and saw Santa at the MOA. The girls waited patiently in line and were even posing for some pictures for Brian beforehand. (They love to pose!). This was James' first visit to Santa and he did relatively well! We got one picture before he started to cry. I am sure next year will be pretty different! Santa was great with the girls and I don't even think they noticed his strong Boston accent! :)

Party On!

Katelin's friend birthday party was scheduled for Saturday, December 11. If you all recall, that is the day we were buried in snow with a blizzard!! Kate woke up in the morning, looked out the window and said, "Boy, I sure hope my friends can make it to my party." About 10 minutes later we got a call from the gymnastics place that they were closing. As I was downstairs trying to call all the parents to reschedule for Sunday I heard the sobbing and could tell Brian broke the news. Try explaining mother nature to a 5 yr old!

Luckily we were able to reschedule for Sunday and almost all her friends were able to make it! Katelin had a GREAT time at her party playing with everyone and of course was thrilled with all the gifts she got. We got some fun new toys we had never heard of before and of course also came home with a lot of Barbies. I thought I would post a few pics of the day.

James Month 1 and Month 2

We are trying to get pictures of James on each of his "month birthdays" until he turns 1 so we can watch him grow. He just had his 2 mo. check-up and he is already 12 lbs 12 oz and 23 in. I can't believe how fast he is growing. It is so fun to watch him progress. Here are his 1 mo and 2 mo photos. Look at how much thicker his legs look!

James' First Smiles

There is nothing like seeing your baby smile at you for the first time. Sadly, I already can't remember exactly when James gave us his first official smile (that wasn't related to gas!) but he is now giving them to us all the time. It is so amazing to watch him smile and listen to him coo, I could do it for hours. The girls also think it is just great. I think he would give them more smiles if they weren't constantly only an inch from his face! Here are a few pics that I we were able to capture. He has an uncanny ability to stop smiling as soon as the camera goes in front of our face!