Christmas

We had a wonderful couple days of Christmas celebrations this year!  Our two ladies were almost totally recovered from illness, which was a blessing.  Audrey was so excited for all parts Christmas and probably opened more than fifty presents, as she was more than willing to help open up anyone else's presents, too!  Luckily, Kate didn't mind this year to have the additional help.

Besides being with family, my favorite part of the Christmas season is attending Christmas Eve mass in Elkader.  Seeing both girls dressed in their beautiful Christmas dresses and listening to the gorgeous music really made our Christmas perfect!  We were so grateful to have good weather and clear roads for traveling to all the family celebrations.

Santa arrived Christmas morning, which was exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time.  Even though Audrey knew she really wanted Santa to deliver presents, she was unsure at the thought of Santa entering the house while she slept.  It was cute to see how hesitant Audrey was to look around the house for presents!  Santa did a perfect job of picking out presents for the girls, though.  Audrey was given a new bike, and Kate was given a water table for playing outside.  With both girls' birthdays occurring in the late fall, Santa knew that outdoor toys aren't always received as gifts!  How smart he is. :)

Thank you to everyone for a wonderful holiday season and your generosity to the girls!  They are so lucky to have such love in their lives.

Merry Christmas!

The new bike!  Besides safety reasons, Audrey may need a helmet just to keep her hair out of her face!

Kate says, "I don't really understand all this Santa business, but I'm going to smile like I do!"

Our Tree

After three years of an artificial tree, we were back in business with a real one this year!  We had to cram it into the Acadia, but luckily neither girl swallowed any needles,  Audrey had fun helping to decorate and even reminisced about all the different ornaments, like I was doing.  We enjoyed having the tree on each night in December and are hoping to have one "sweepover" on the floor before it comes down.  An added bonus was that Mila and Belle had a never-ending water source throughout the month!

Stressful

To say the last few weeks have been challenging would be an understatement!  Our little family has dealt with a lice infestation in curly hair from daycare, two little sweet peas with stomach bugs, nearly a hundred loads of laundry, a black eye from hitting a chair, and stressful days at work.  We are more than ready for a holiday week of cuddles, family time, and health.  Here are a couple of fun pictures of our beautiful girls!

This is how Audrey wrote her name with tub crayons this week.  Not too bad!

Here's Audrey's black eye as it was fading away.

Kate switched to using a toothbrush at night instead of just wiping her teeth with a wash cloth.  She apparently was NOT in the mood to brush this night, or maybe she knew she was going to throw up at daycare the next day.

Happy First Birthday, Kate!

Our little sweet pea doesn't seem quite as little after today!  Kate turned one year old today and had a fun day with her friends at daycare.  She took cinnamon roll cookies to celebrate, and it seems like each of her eight teeth is a sweet tooth!

It's hard to believe a year has passed, and yet, it seems as if Kate has always been a part of our family.  She continues to be such a smiley, happy girl, especially when she is well-rested and full.  Besides "Dada", we've heard her say "doggie", "Mama", and "nana" (banana).  She is in the habit of pointing at objects and babbling, so we know she is ready to be able to express herself with words!

She is definitely getting around more on two feet than crawling.  She stumbles here and there but is becoming more confident daily.  We have to keep a close eye on her because those two feet often lead her to trouble.  She loves to sit and "color" at Audrey's art table, but that can quickly change to standing on the chair!

Kate loves to read!  She now carries books to us and situates herself on our lap.  Sometimes we only are able to read a page or two before she switches to a new book, but it seems as if her love for reading is developing at the same pace as her sister's.

The other thing Kate continues to love is food.  She'll eat anything and everything and definitely out-eats Audrey.  Sometimes I think she can out-eat an adult!  I love having her as a critic for my cooking!

It's been fun to watch Kate's attention span with toys grow.  She seems to be able to occupy herself a little longer now.  Tonight she was giggling as she threw one of Audrey's dollhouse children out the windows of the dollhouse over and over.  What a goof!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KATE!  We love you.

After a hard day at daycare, Kate really loves to relax in her comfortable chair!

Birthday Party

Thank you to all our guests for making the birthday party such a wonderful experience for our girls last weekend!  It was very evident that Audrey understood the concept of opening presents much more than last year.  As soon as one was opened, she was ready to quickly move onto the next.  We'll just keep working on the "thank yous" after each gift!

Kate, on the other hand, was content with the first gift that was opened for her, and she wouldn't have needed another one!  She also enjoyed her first bite of sweet cake very much, as her little Kate smile popped out quickly.

Both girls took naps that were over two hours long after guests left, as all that fun wiped them out!  We have been having fun since then exploring the toys and reading the books.  Thank you again for all who came to celebrate with our girls!

Belle had fun trying out the new dollhouse, too.

Bob and Bill

On Saturday, Audrey was able to go on her first horse-drawn carriage ride.  She was so excited to tell me how Bob and Bill (the horses) had given her a ride.  It was an event in Elkader to celebrate the holidays and promote small town shopping.  What a neat experience for Audrey!  She was also able to sit on Santa's lap and meet an elf!  She told Santa all she wanted for Christmas was a candy cane, which was perfect because she could see he was holding a candy cane in his hand! :)

Manicure

In honor of Audrey's third birthday, she was given an appointment for a manicure by Grandma Lisa.  She was so excited and knew right away that she wanted pink nails!  It was a very serious experience, though, as she intently watched every move by the manicurist.  After all was done, though, Audrey was super excited to show off her sparkly nails.  Who knows?  She may be a fan of those pedicures like her mom throughout the summer!

Birthday party pictures will be coming soon.  Thank you to all for a wonderful party!