Merry Christmas!!

Visions of sugarplums were surely dancing in their heads at this point.

Santa brought the Girls matching dolls - Tinkerbell for Baby Sister and Princess Tiana for the Girl.

Santa also brought them their own Camelbak water bottles as they are always stealing Momma's, especially Baby Sister.

The Girl was busy unwrapping as she was also helping Baby Sister who showed no real interest in tearing paper.

The Girl was also good (probably too good) at showing Baby Sister how to play with her new toys.

This was the Girl's gift to Baby Sister, a little Hello Kitty in a fuzzy bunny costume.

The only Christmas presents I'll ever need!!

They got the Rose Petal Cottage along with the washer and sink for Christmas. I'd had my eye on it for well over a year

now but just couldn't stomach the $99.99 price, especially not knowing whether or not it would provide long-term enjoyment or would only be played with for a few days before the novelty wore off and it was abandoned. But thanks to Black Friday (and my friend - thanks M!!) I got the cottage for $14.99 and the washer and dryer, which were normally $29.99 each, for $9.99 a piece. As it turns out, it was the best $35 I ever spent as both Girls L-O-V-E-D it. As soon as the Girl unwrapped the cottage she climbed on the box, hugged it and exclaimed, "This is just what I've always wanted!" From the moment J got it assembled the Girls were playing inside it and spent practically the entire remainder of the day there. I even caught Baby Sister playing by herself in it in the evening, in complete darkness!!

Here is the Girl flashing her new camera at me. The camera that she'd apparently asked Santa for last year and he totally misunderstood and brought her an actual kid-tough digital camera instead. I've heard about Santa's mistake all year long. Lucky for me, Santa left this one in her stocking this year! And notice Baby Sister in the background - standing all by herself, holding nothing and not realizing it. Of course the moment that she realized it she plopped straight to her knees.

Cooking something up, although we'll have to discuss "burner safety" with her. Ha, ha!!

Christmas is truly magical as seen through their eyes! My favorite part of the day.

Shaggy no more!!

J couldn't stand it any longer, Baby Sister was starting to look a tad shaggy, ok a LOT shaggy, with hair hanging in her eyes not to mention a sprig of hair in the back lovingly (by me) dubbed as her "tail." This bit of hair was longer than all the rest as it miraculously missed being rubbed off when Baby Sister was an infant. Both J and my Mom have been on my case for months, pleading for me to snip it
off and even at times threatening to do it themselves! The Girl didn't get her first haircut until 2 months shy of her 2nd birthday which seems ironic as she had so much more hair than Baby Sister does. However, the Girl's hair, in addition to being longer was also much thicker and of a heavier texture so that it was easily pulled back and stayed nicely in place. Not to mention that the Girl never minded having

clips in or her hair pulled back in ponytails (Wish I could say the same for her these days!!) Anyhow, Baby Sister's hair is just so

fine and wispy that on the rare occasion that she allows me to do something with it, it usually won't stay in and/or Baby Sister pulls it out. So I made an appointment and this morning we went in to see Sunny. Initially the jaws clip that Sunny gave Baby Sister to play with kept her still but soon enough she lost interest and started to squirm. Then we had to resort to total bribery, of the sweet variety and gave

her a sucker. As soon as she had that little orb in her mouth she was content to sit still the few remaining moments it took to snip thus cleaning up her appearance. The entire cut lasted no more than 5 minutes and when Sunny was all finished we were glad to see Baby Sister's eyes again. She almost looks pixie-ish now. No cuter pixie ever there was!!

License to Drive

The Girl prefers to grocery shop at markets that have the infamous 'car' carts. These are super kid-friendly but for the one operating the cart (namely me), not so much. But the lack of steering agility more than makes up for the fact that I don't have to hear, "Mom, I want to go home." incessantly while trying to grab everything off of my list. And once Baby Sister joined the family, it eliminated the problem of having both kiddos in the cart and still having room for groceries as the Girl could drive while Baby Sister occupied the cart seat. But today I realized that Baby Sister is now old/big enough to take a spin in the car. In essence, she's received her license to drive. Surprisingly enough (and despite the little grin in this picture), she didn't seem to enjoy it as much as I thought she would....hmm, must be a combination of battling her third consecutive cold and lack of an afternoon nap. In fact, she spent a majority of her first drive pestering the Girl.

Daddy's Girls

Out and about amongst throngs of other revelers enjoying the holiday festivities. J was pulling double duty for a few moments and packing both girlies, big and small.

The Girl hanging out with a toy soldier.

Look what I can do!!

Here is Baby Sister taking her first steps unassisted by any human form (other than our vocal encouragement of course!!)tonight and relying only on a tattered dolly umbrella stroller missing a few wheels. But golly is she good for a first go at it!! Although J thought she looked like a "little geriatric" pushing a walker.

Holiday Cheer

Our sweet neighbors that live three houses down and who have a daughter who is 5 months younger than the Girl (and was in the Girl's preschool class last year) and another daughter who is 6 months older than Baby Sister brought us these goodies tonight. As you can see, Baby Sister could hardly wait to get her hands on the chocolate.

For the Record

To the Girl:

Today as you were pushing your shopping cart around the house toting Baby Sister's old carseat with one of your babies in it, you informed me, "When I'm a mom, I'm gonna let my kids eat dessert before dinner and then eat dessert again even if they don't finish their dinner." Then you exited the kitchen in a huff and were off 'grocery shopping' for above-mentioned dessert. You were back in a couple of minutes to tell me something else that you would let your kids do. And so the day progressed and with it the length of your list. Here are all of the things that you are going to let your kids do when you're a mom:
- do waterguns in the house
- waste bandaids
- change clothes a million times a day
- push each other down
- say bad words
- stand on a ladder without anyone next to them
- talk back
- break hangers (this one is related to changing clothes)
- drive
- color on the walls

Just thought you should know....for the record.

The Nutcracker

This year, in the interest of trying something new and being more economically-conscious, we went to The Nutcracker performed locally by the ballet school where the Girl took dance classes last winter/spring, rather than heading to the big city to see the professional production as in the past two years.

Although different, it was none-the-less enjoyable and the Girl and Miss A didn't seem to mind the change in venue. The afternoon was made even more magical by the snow falling softly outside and blanketing everything under a beautiful white fluff.

The Girl and Miss A treated us to an 'aftershow' which consisted of an energetic snowball fight which I dare say was more enjoyable for the girls than The Nutcracker.

Nothing says "snowball fight" like fancy dresses, bare hands, super-wide grins, giggles of glee and high-pitched shrieking.

Let it snow....

This morning we awoke to huge, fluffy snowflakes gently floating down from the sky....our first snow of the season. The Girl was mesmerized as she stood on tiptoe at her bedroom window. Then she raced downstairs in search of her coat and shoes so that she could go outside and try to catch a snowflake on her tongue.

Blueberries & Bedhead...

....enough said!

$11.00 Masterpiece

Upon arriving home after having been gone for a couple of hours and having left the Girls with J, the Girl raced off to get something that she wanted to show me. She returned and proudly produced her latest masterpiece - a holiday sticker montage. Except they weren't stickers, they were the postage stamps that I had purchased earlier in the day and had carelessly left lying on the kitchen counter. In other words, "fair game" for the Girl's crafting creation. She'd even shown it to J earlier, after she'd just finished and he told her that it was spectacular, not even noticing that they were anything but stickers.

And the Girl isn't the only artist in our house. A few days ago I caught Baby Sister deep in concentration creating a mural on the wall.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree

Yesterday we continued a beloved holiday tradition, heading to the woods in search of the 'perfect' Christmas tree with high hopes of also capturing the 'perfect' family photo to adorn our Christmas card. Due to the unseasonably warm weather we weren't expecting to run into any snow but were pleasantly surprised when we did.

As you can see, the Girls weren't cooperating with my plan of the 'perfect' holiday photos.

Oh the things I make them do....

But it wasn't all work and no play. Aunt M went with us and her and the Girl discovered that you don't need a sled to slide.

You just pick up your feet and use what the good Lord gave ya!!

Though Aunt M got the short end of the stick as she was the only one who ended up with a wet bum.

I couldn't resist snapping this photo of the Girl and our shadows.

A much happier Baby Sister who had warmed up to the idea of snow.

And although the Girl never did find any "soft" snow to play in, her mood improved throughout the day as well.

Santa Claus is Comin' to Town

And actually, he's been in these parts since a week before Thanksgiving. Can you believe it?! We took the Girls to see Santa yesterday and although timid, the Girl mustered up enough spunk to quietly tell Santa that she wants a Tiana (from the Princess and the Frog) doll and then to answer his question when he pointed at Baby Sister (who at that point was still in my arms and glancing suspiciously at Santa) and asked, "Who did you bring with you?" And I don't even need to tell you about Baby Sister's reaction to the jolly ol' fella, you can see for yourself. This photo is no doubt memorable - the Girl 'sm-eye-zing' (all you America's Next Top Model fans know exactly what I'm talking about) for the camera and Baby Sister in a state of terror...classic!!

252,288,000

252,288,000 seconds

4,204,800 minutes

70,080 hours

2,920 days

416 weeks

96 months

8 years...of wedded bliss, 13 wonderful years of togetherness

Little ears, ALWAYS listening!!

Tonight the Girls were in the bathtub when out of nowhere the Girl stated, "Miss C (the teacher's aid in her preschool class) has to have surgery on her face after Thanksgiving." Out of concern and curiousity I of course asked "Why?" To which the Girl replied, "Because she doesn't like the way it looks!" "Is that what she told your class?" I inquired. "No, she was telling Mrs. T (her preschool teacher)." Hmmm....not sure how much of this 'overheard' conversation has been misconstrued in the Girl's 4-year old brain (especially considering that Miss C is hip and cute) but it was a great reminder that little ears are almost ALWAYS listening!!

Counting my blessings....

....one by one. Last Sunday after church an older, grandmotherly-type woman approached me and exclaimed, "God must really love you best." as she motioned toward the Girls and then added, "They're beautiful." Of course I was flattered and not because I believe that God loves me best (Just like any other parent, He loves all of his children equally - regardless.) but that my little sweeties received such a kind compliment. More than that it was a splendid reminder of how blessed J and I are. When I'm elbow-deep in soggy toilet paper plunging a toilet bowl filled with at least half a roll of tissue or wiping smeared goo (which I can only guess is banana chunks from the previous day's lunch) out of creases in the high chair I'm usually not counting my blessings....but I should be - one by one!!