'Twas the Night Before Christmas...

At last! Christmas eve is upon us!

This has been such a fun season this year especially. Brynn really *gets* the whole idea about Baby Jesus, and Santa and Presents. Its been alot of fun!

We spent Christmas Eve relaxing as a family.

We went out for yummy dinner, came home and got all snug in comfy warm jammies and sat on the couch (as much as a 2 year old and 1 year old will sit still) and watched Evan Almighty while the girls went back and forth between playing and snuggling with mommy and daddy.

After the movie, we made a special plate for Santa with cookies and milk, and lettuce for the raindeer. We also wrote a letter for santa. Brynn really struggled because never before has she been so close to cookies and milk and totally unable to eat them (we had to save them for Santa!)

Then we went into Brynns room with the girls and read "Twas the night before Christmas"...it was so funny because after the part where it describes santa

"And he looked like a peddler just opening his pack. His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry! His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry! His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow, And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow; The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth, And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath; He had a broad face and a little round belly,That shook, when he laughed like a bowlful of jelly. He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,"

Brynn turned to her dad and whispered "He's SCARY!" ... so funny!

We explained once more that santa is not scary. Later as we were leaving Brynn to sleep right before we turned off the light Brynn called out to her dad and said

"Daddy, don't eat the lettuce for the Raindeer or the cookies for santa okay?"

"we won't brynn, we won't" ..... what a great Christmas Eve!!!

 

holly golloly!

One of my favorite things about this season is that everyone (almost everyone?) takes time out to send a card to their friends and families!
Think about it, what other time of year does everyone you love and care for show it in form of a card, that becomes a temporary decoration in your home? And what is better in your mail box than a Holiday card? I don't know about you but the rest of the year is bills, bills, bills!

We still have some cards trickling in this year, but I wanted to share with you my collection thus far! I keep my cards every year, and its always so neat to look back and watch families grow and change!
Here is my Christmas Card "wreath"

Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Um yeah right.

Not in this house....


I don't know WHAT is going on with Brynn these days but sleep is a disaster with her.

My Audrey. Oh what a super star. Sleeps through the night no problem, maybe waking everyonce in a greatwhile to nurse, but usually she is good all night.

Brynn.

She was always SUCH a good sleeper. But one thing I have learned as a parent is you are never "in the clear" with a kid. Just because he/she is good with one thing at a moment in time...that could change in an instant...as it did with Brynn.

All of a sudden she is afraid of the dark and scared of things and wants to sleep in mommy and daddys bed every.single.night. Bedtime went from a 30 minute routine to a 2 hour battle at times.

we have tried everything: nightlights, crying it out, laying with her until she is asleep. And always, she ends up freaking out unitl she is snuggled up beside mommy in bed.

I wont lie, I enjoy the extra snuggle time with Brynn...for the first 5 minutes but this girl is SO difficult to sleep with. I feel bad for her future husband!

First of all, I don't know what it is but her body temperature increases by about 50 degrees at night so she is as hot as the center of the sun. So much heat in such a tiny body!

Second of all, she kicks, spins and practically jumps around the bed while asleep. This is how we found her this morning:

Third of all, she talks in her sleep like crazy. Here is a sampling of the ramblings with Brynn the other night. Picture this, complete silence except for the soft breath of little Brynn...all of a sudden she shrieks:

"Loud Noise! I don't like the loud noise!!!"

then silence....10 minutes later

"I don't want to sit with santa"

silence yet again...what is this girl dreaming about? Then, another 10 mintues (my favorite outburst)

"COOKIES! I WANT Cookies! I want COOKIES!"

someday when are girls are grown and want nothing to do with Chad and I, we will look back on these days and remember, not the lack of sleep, but the funny stories like this.

Complete!

First off: my poor neglected Blog! Iv's gots lots of splanin to do!

My last post was November 28th! Wowzers!

There are a few reasons for my MIA status.

1) I spent ALOT of time on my photography over the "christmas card" season...I had 2 sometimes 3 photosessions every weekend since October 24th...thats alot of time editing, etc. But I made some nice side cash and feel like I made some great progess on my portrait photography.

2) With some of my side cash: I bought a kindle. I have since become a kindle ADDICT. And I have no shame in saying so.

(side note) - I LOVE THE KINDLE!!!!!!!!! I wasn't sure I would like the feel of laying in bed with a kindle, but seriously, its better than a book for a number of reasons:

1) it automatically keeps your spot, so if you have to put the book down suddenly because of something your kids are doing, you dont have to worry about losing your place.

2) Text to Speech, prob my favorite aspect. I can switch back and forth between reading a book and then listening to it as an audio book. For example: I read the book in bed at night, but if I am running around the house cleaning or whatever, I can listen to it as an audio book and swetch back and forth.

so because of said kindle, I have been reading like a maniac a few books I have read recently, and recomend them ALL!

- Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

- The Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead (I read all 4 books in the series in 4 days...I didn't sleep, didn't eat, didn't talk to my husband...brought be back to my twilight days...looking forward to the next in the series)

- I am currently reading a love story book.

So thats 6 books in about a 2 week time period!

Lets not forget Christmas shopping, decorating, oh yeah, my full time job, and my kids!

That is my reasons for being MIA!!!

and now, after my lengthy explanation...a quick update!

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My Grandma has cross-stitched stockings for everyone in the family, and this year we got Audreys stocking! I hung up Audreys stocking with the rest of our stockings and our wall looks so full and our home feels complete!

A Song by Brynn

If there was ever a time I wished for a video camera available...this was the time! We were driving home from the park today and Brynn came out with this crazy song she sang the whole way home. I tried to rememeber as much as I could so I could write it down....the tune was a mixed between rain rain go away and the wheels on the bus.

I spit on the floor
I spit on the floor
I rip the tape up
tape it up
Daddys There
Mommy There
Audreys There
The cow something something
and the Hay
and thennnnnnnnnnn
upside down
Something about a Boat
Madelynn Birthday

love it! We got this great new Flip Camera, I WILL get some of her crazy ramblings on video one of these days...one of these days.

recently at our house...

It was time to read books before bed on a Saturday night. Brynn picked out a book her Nana (my mom) got for her. Its one of those picture book. RIchard Scarrys "World Best Word Book Ever"

Usually, Brynn likes to go through each page and describe whats going on, what she sees, what they are doing, what she associates with an object. There is one page with a Wine Barrel and a picnic table, and Brynn says that this is her Daddys work.

So last night she grabs the book and we get all snuggled in bed, and she has SPECIAL directions for me:

B: Mommy, don't talk, just look with your eyes.

M: Um ok.

So we go through a couple of pages of complete silence and she gives me a litte flick of her wrist when she wants me to turn the page...well, I start to get restless. On the next  page:

M: The park is a fun place to b-

B: I said don't just look

a few more pages in complete silence and a few flicks of the toddler wrist:

M: What do you see Bry-

B: Stop. talking. Mommy.

Well, I learned my lesson after this one. When we got to the last page she said "Last page!"

and that was it. Such a strange experience for a normally gabby toddler and mom.

:)

Turkey Cinnamon Rolls

I got this idea from a friend, its cinnamon rolls made into Turkey form. We made it for dessert the night before Thanksgiving and they were a hit!

Thanks Giving 2009

We had a relaxing Thanksgiving this year!

Instead of traveling with our two young, high maintanence children (long car rides, no sleep, no rest, no relaxation), we opted for a quiet weekend at home as a family of four!

Here is Brynn watching the Parade, she was SOOOOO enthralled with it, you couldn't get her eyes off it.



Here are the Yummy Pies Ala Chad! He did such an awesome job.

This was the biggest hit of the weekend, we moved Audreys couch into the living room with a snuggle blanket and we turned on Christmas Music and the Yule log on the TV and Brynn and Audrey snuggled for a bit, it was so adorable...a bit means 2 minutes because then Audrey would roll all over Brynn and leave the couch. But at least we got some cute pictures!

Gobble Gobble!

From our family to yours! HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

there were 4 in the bed...

Brynn and her babies who she says "oh, so cute!"

FIRST Haircut!

Brynn had her very first haircut this past weekend!

Her hair was gorgeous to begin with, but I felt like it was time to get it all cleaned upwith a cut.

Here is the best BEFORE I could get...


She did NOT enjoy it...infact she screamed and cried for the first 70% of the cut. But we knew if we stopped we would never be able to come back. So I did a bunch of dancing and attempts to distract her...in the end it took not one but TWO lollipos to calm her down enough to realize that this hair cut thing was not a bad thing.

I would say all in all she took off about 2-3 inches and it looks so clean and straight and it even enhanced her pretty curls!


Then we went to costco and saw everyone we knew (seemingly)...here is Audrey and Ms. Lena! (who came over for a sleepover later, and brynn had her first sleepover at her friend thomas' house...more on that later!)

mommys old clothes!

check out brynn in her mommy's old dress!

whats this? a blog post?

oh my poor sweet little neglected blog!

Life as we know it has been crazy lately.

Ever feel like you have an out of body experience? Well, thats how I have been feeling lately. With work, driving, household duties the kids, photography, bills, and everthing else.....I feel like I am on auto pilot most of the time lately. I have to force myself to stop, turn my minds constant calculating and thinking down, and take in my life and the great things that are going on around me.



My kids. Oh how I love my kids. So cute, so smart, so fun.

Here is Audrey "drawing"...she just picked it up on her own and started drawing.
She can also point to her nose if you ask her where her nose is.
She is walking more and more all the time now she will go about 2-3 feet total before dropping down to crawl. Shes getting there.


The girls have so much fun together. Here they are playing on the "road" that Brynn built. This road construction takes place nightly now.

Brynn is doing awesome. We created a sticker chart for rewards that lasted all of about 2 hours. She is obsessed....OBSESSED with princesses. OBSESSED with Cailou. Loves to sing and be sung to. Favorite foods at the moment are peanut butter waffles and cheerios.

fast times with the wagon!

The Radio Flyer has had a revival in our house lately! The latest trend is Audrey and Brynn pusing eash other in the radio flyer all around the house! of course, Audrey needs a bit of help in the steering department.

So cute. This evening, After the bath, I went to go grab some clothes for Audrey, and I came back into the room and she was gone...I found her hanging out inside the wagon nakey. She loves that thing!

fun weekend.

Everyonce in a while you have one of those weekends where you don't really DO anything, but you wind up having like the funnest of times anyway.

Well, this weekend was one of those weekends. Mainly because our girls are just such a blast to play with right now.


We did a little body-- oops I mean finger paints.

We did a little bounce house (not pictured)

We had the BEST quiet play time with the girls. Audrey was "reading" books (her favorite being On the Farm) while Brynn played mommy to her baby named Emma. It was so cute, she would say "I am right here sweety" and pick up her baby and then lay the baby down, face first. and then she would say "oh, so cute..."

Later, Chad and I sat and enjoyed the entertainment of the girls. Brynn was pushing Audrey around in her radio flyer wagon. We have this toy microphone that plays music and records you sining, so we had a little Karaoke.

Then came the big announcement....


Brynn was in the playroom for awhile...and came out and proclaimed "I gotta baby in my belly" ......GULP.




It was so funny. Luckily I had my camera close!

Where does she get this stuff?

Gig-gidy Gig-gidy gig-gidy!!!

I have been waiting for this for a long time...way too long.

I have read the spoilers, watched the trailors, looked at the pictures, read the interviews....and with less than two weeks from the premier of New Moon. I am not really sure how I will contain myself!!!!

did anyone watch this on SNL? So funny! PS: Taylor Swift looks awesome with brown hair!

Halloween 2009

As Brynn calls them "scary pumpkins"



This was one of my favorite Halloweens of all time. Seeing this "holiday" through the eyes of a child just brings so much more fun and joy to the festivities.

This year, Brynn had many many many costume changes (thank god for our large dress up collections). Originally, she wanted to be a black bird. oookay.....not sure how we would have pulled that one off, but eventually she decided she would be a princess.

Come the Halloween festivities, she decided that a true woman never wears the same costume twice so her ensembles went like this:

1) School Parade: Princess Aurora
2) School Halloween Carnival: Snow White
3) Trick or Treating: Scary witch (see below)

I have to say the scary witch was my favorite and it was so darn cute!

Audrey was a blue octopus! Seriously: cutest.costume.ever. And it comes with built in distraction for the stroller/carseat/etc.

So the big night came. We made our annual pre-trick-or-treat "Goul-ash" and then got ready to go out.

Audrey, who decided this was just way to much for her, went to sleep at about 5:30pm...crazy. what a party pooper.

Brynn, as usual, played a little bit of the melodramatics about everything, but eventually picked out her outfit and was ready to go. We went to TWO, count em TWO houses and Brynn said "Mommy, I wanna go home"

okey dokey artichokey (or as Brynn says "okee okee chokey")

We went home to dad and sleeping Audrey and Brynn went through her candy (which was made up of 3 pieces of candy), she licked each one once and said "All done" and threw them in the trash.

Then we all got in comfy clothes and sat on the couch watching movies while trick or treaters came. We had a whole bunch! It was so much fun and Brynn was having a blast with them. She would sit facing the window on the couch and say "any more trick or treaters?" and when she would see some she would say "More KIDS!" and then rush with us to the door to pass out candy, although as soon as the door opened she was super shy Brynn but she really enjoyed seeing all the fun costumes.

What a fun halloween!

smarty pants

Its just been amazing to watch Audrey the last month, it seemed like overnight her brain just clicked into a different gear and she is just turning into a toddler.

Its hard to explain in words, but she observes and learns so quickly Chad and I can't keep up she amazes us everyday with the new things she does.



For example, we had never given her a fork before (ok, I know we might be slow in this area, but the girl didn't start eating solids until about 7 months) but the first time we handed her a fork, BAM she was using it like an old pro. She could even spear her little bits of corn onto her fork and then put it in her mouth.

Same thing with a straw cup, not a sippy straw cup, but a cup with a straw (like at a restaurant) first time trying a straw, she just drank it like it wasn't new to her.

Books and Puzzles, she takes her books and flips through the pages and points at various things and makes random proclomations about the subject. Puzzles, she attempts to put back together, she is still working on this one. We have this one toy that is a shape sorter type thing. We showed her once and she picked up on it right away.

She tries to dress herself, like she went into their dress up room, and she took a crown and was trying to put it in her head.

I don't know, maybe all of this is normal for a one year old, and since I still think of Audrey as my little baby, it just blows my mind that my baby girl is growing and learning seemingly overnight!

Going Public! My photoblog!

It is with great excitement, anticipation, and nervousness that I am ready to "go public" with my new photoblog I have been working on!

Click by KM

I recently decided to jump in and offer Holiday Mini Sessions and I got a quick, positive response and have at least 2 shoots everyweekend for the next 3 weeks! Yipee! So many fun subjects!

Please follow my new blog and I hope you enjoy!

First Hair Cut!

Ah yes, the time finally came where I had to set my selfish hold on Audreys hair go in favor of my daughters vision. That's right, we have Audrey her first little hair cut. Really just a bang trim.

Here is the before.



It was just getting to be too much. I either had to have it in one of those rubber bands all the time or she was constantly tilting her head back to peek through the bottom of her bangs.

I waited until AFTER her first birthday for fear that it would look just horrible, so we did it the next day...But in retrospect, I think she looks super cute with her new do. And if I do say so myself. I did a pretty good job for someone with no experience in cutting 1 year olds hair (Brynn has never had a trim)

I sat her in her chair, and put an icecube in her tray and while she played with it I slowly carefully trimmed those first little locks off....we took about an inch and a half off the front, I tied a ribbon on it and put it in her little memory box.

Here is the after!

Happy Halloween!!!

I LOVE Halloween! And its just so much more fun through the eyes of a child.

on Thursday we carved pumpkins. Carving pumpkins is one of those things that you REALLY look forward to, but then while you are doing it you realize: this is WORK! and its really not as fun as you had hoped it would be. Maybe when the girls get older and can actually seriously participate it will be more fun.

Here are the pumpkins from the discount grocery store --oops I mean geniuine patch pumpkins *wink*wink*



Audreys "help" consisted of munching on the bits of pumpkin.





Brynns "Help" consisted of scooping out dads pumpkin (wait for it) ..... and then proceeding to dump it in mommys already cleanout out pumpkin....

In the end we got the cutest picture! Its a little out of focus, but it was getting late and the girls were restless. I should have used my flash....but still, its adorable!!!!!

Have fun tonight everyone!!!