We LOVE Santa!!

Christmas morning was so much fun! The girls were excited all month about the jolly old man coming to the house with lots of gifts. Mia had a list of items she was anxiously awaiting (with a DS being the top item) and Lily kept it simple - just a Pinkie Pie pony. And guess what? Santa brought just what they wanted...and a little more. :) We had a relaxing day just playing with new toys and our friends. Dad spent lots of time putting things together - thanks to meemaw and pop-pop who sent the 3 story doll house for Mia (and her Barbies) and the playhouse tent for Lily's room. We love Santa (and grandparents)!!

Ready to open gifts.

 

Opening the first gift. (You can see that Santa left Mia new boots in her stocking, and she didn't want to take them off. But is wasn't long before her feet were sweating...we'll save the boots for our ski trip to UT.)

 

Mia and her DS.

 

Lily and her Pinkie Pie pony doll.

 

Christmas Eve

We decided to branch out and make some new traditions this year since we were having a quiet Texas Christmas - we went to a Nativity musical at a local church on Christmas Eve instead of acting it out at home (our acting talents are limited in this family). It was great, and really helped us all feel the true spirit of the Christmas season!! The girls loved it and really got into the story and music. There were real sheep and donkeys on stage, and the wise men came riding in on camels and an elephant. Mia did ask why they were singing all the lines and not talking, but it was a good chance to explain just what a musical really is. We came home and had a delicious steak dinner - deviation from the norm of turkey or ham. We did stick to one standard tradition - opening one gift before the girls went to bed...their matching pjs. It was a wonderful family evening.

The girls ready for the Nativity musical.

 

 

Cookie Exchange

Call me my mother - this year I followed in her footsteps and had a mother-daughter cookie exchange for some of our closest friends. My mom did one of these for years with my friends while growing up, and I was excited to start the tradition in our family. The girls had such a good time - and it was so fun to get together and enjoy the holidays outside of shopping and opening presents. Eating cookies is what we do best in this house!! And now we have tons of cookies to eat. I can't wait to do this again next year.

Me and the girls before the party.

 

Some of the girls enjoying cookies and wassail.

 

Christmas Sunday

Finally - a holiday Sunday where both kids had no illness, were in a good mood and happily dressed in their matching dresses and were actually ready for Church early enough for photos...that combination doesn't happen in our house very often. I love these photos! The girls looked so cute and were so excited to go and sing Christmas songs at church. Check out my Christmas cuties...

Too cute.

 

Silly.

 

Sweet.

 

Adorable.

 

Lily - our little Reindeer!

I am so happy to have a break from school! The girls are both home now for 2 weeks and they are enjoying playing together - and of course, playing school (Mia teacher, Lily is student) is the fun of choice. We had a full week of school actitites/parties last week. Here are some photos.

Mia's class had a party on Thursday, and Lily's Christmas program and party was Friday. Her class made reindeer shirts and sang the cutest reindeer Christmas songs. She quite enjoyed performing, and did a great job!!

Lily in her program.

 

Lily's reindeer shirt!

 

Christmas Party in Kansas

Our family took a quick trip this last weekend to Kansas for a work holiday party at one of Jason's operations. For the past 3 years Jason has just taken Mia with him as a little daddy-daughter getaway, but this year Lily and I got in on the fun. The girls were really excited to see Santa at the party, and Mia spent most of the plane ride there making her final wish list to give to him. Once Santa got to the party, Lily wanted nothing to do with him!! But Mia couldn't wait for her turn to get on his lap. The biggest hit of the weekend were the bunkbeds in their hotel room - there were 2 so Mia and Lily each got their own, and both slept on the top bunk. It was a fun family trip and really got us excited for the real Santa to come to our house next week. Lets just hope he remembers to bring everything on Mia's list. :)

The girls ready for the party.

 

Mia, Santa and her list.

 

Mia on her bunk.

 

Lily on her bunk.

 

Thanksgiving 2009

We were lucky to have my parents come to TX for Thanksgiving again this year - lucky because they could stay home in FL or go to my sister's home in UT but they chose TX, lucky because the kids love to see and play with them and we don't see them as much as we want, but even luckier because when mom is here she does all the cooking (and she is the best ever)! They have been coming to our house for the past 3 years - so when our luck runs out and they go somewhere else for Thanksgiving my family will be so dissappointed that they have to eat a Thanksgiving meal I prepare all by myself. I did learn one thing - to make my girls happy on Thanksgiving all they need are rolls! They could take or leave the turkey, potatoes, dressing, green beans, cranberry jello, etc. Just bring on the rolls (and desserts)!! Did I mention that my mom is the best cook ever? Her apple pie was amazing - Jason and I even hid the last few pieces so Mia wouldn't eat it!

My favorite part of our Thanksgivings - we make it low-key and simple. I have seen families that dress up, create a beautiful table to display the food and eat off fine china - not in our house! We play outside most of the morning and then come in to eat and head straight to the couch to rest (and somehow football always ends up on the tv). Then we hit the fridge for leftovers a little while later. :) Keeping it causal is a tradition from my family growing up and I am happy to pass it on to my kids.


Meemaw and pop-pop with the girls before we started our feast.

 

Me, Jason and the girls.

 

Mom's delicious apple pie!!

 

We love San Fran!

Jason and I spent a wonderful few days without the girls in San Francisco the week before Thanksgiving - we had a great time being tourists and seeing all of the beautiful sites. We spent a day walking the entire city (there are more hills then I remembered) and eating clam chowder in sourdough bread bowls, did an early morning bike ride across the Golden Gate bridge and into Sausalito for breakfast, toured Alcatraz, hiked through the redwood trees at Muir Woods and spent a day in Sonoma/Napa Valley. We say it was our most productive vacation ever, but really we just enjoyed doing fun things together with no kids. It all ended with us missing our flight home and getting to spend a few extra hours in the city we love!! The girls were in great hands (and very spoiled) with Jason's parents that came to TX to see the girls and help us out - a big thank you to them!! After some time away to "recharge" I was ready to be home and be a mom again, and super thankful to be with my family for Thanksgiving weekend.

Jason - preparing to enter the Golden Gate bridge for our bike ride across.

 

Me and Jason after crossing the bridge.

 

Jason at Muir Woods.

 

November 6 - the Birthday Day

Nov. 6 is a big day in our house - it's both Jason and Lily's birthday! Unfortunately for Jason, most of the attention goes to Lily but being the great dad that he is, he is just fine with that. :) This year Lily had preschool on her birthday so she got to have a special party at school, and I took her favorite chocolate brownies for her to share. To make sure Jason got equal attention, I planned to meet him for lunch but went early to his office and thought I'd make sure everyone knew it was his birthday (something I know he likes to hide at work) - so I showed up with balloons!! Now everyone knows. We had a favorite foods dinner - spaghetti (for dad) and McDonald's chicken nuggets (for Lily). I created a cute Strawberry Shortcake (what else?) birthday cake, but made sure to put candles on for dad. There were lots of presents and one older sister that realized she like her own birthday (and the attention it gets) more than Lily/dad's day. Learning to not be the center of attention is not an easy lesson for a 5 yr old. But we had a fun day as a family...and look forward to a bigger one next year when Lily turns 4 and dad is 40!!

Lily - dressed for school.

 

Dad and Mia.

 

Lily cannot wait to open her presents!

 

The birthday buddies, and their cake.

 

Lily's Pre-Birthday Party

I cannot believe November is already here! I had all intentions of not making a big deal of Lily's 3rd birthday, and just having a simple family dinner; however, in light of family events this past month I decided to savor each and every birthday of my sweet little girls and quickly put together a party for Lily - after all, this could be the last 3 yr old party we have! :) So, after a little thought of what Lily likes best (laying around in her PJs, watching Strawberry Shortcake and eating pancakes) - Lily's Strawberry-themed "Pancakes in your PJs" party was created. And, if I may say so myself, a great success!! I kept in small, inviting only a few close friends from church and school. With the different flus going around this time of year a few had to miss it, but actually 5 little 3 yr olds was perfect. With a yummy breakfast, fun games (egg relay and pancake toss), presents and decorating cupcakes the little ones stayed busy and Lily smiled the whole time!!

Lily - dressed in her PJs and ready for her party.

 

The birthday candles on her pancakes.

 

Time to open presents!!

 

Her friends (I didn't get the picture fast enough - some already had changed out of their cute PJs).

 

It was so much fun - I kept watching Lily and not believing she is already 3. I hate saying "time flies", but it really does. We just love our Lily bear.

Meemaw's Birthday

We were excited to have meemaw (my mom) visiting this year on her birthday. We spent our time together eating and shopping- what more could a bunch of girls ask for?! Mia, Lily and I made birthday signs to put all over the house and a chocolate cake for her special day. We love her!! We missed having pop-pop here, but they will both be here with us for a Texan Thanksgiving! I cannot believe next week we have 2 more birthdays - Jason and Lily.

The girls after bath - ready for presents and cake.

 

Meemaw and Mia

 

Meemaw, mom and Mia

 

Blowing out the candles!!

 

more Halloween

OK, here are a few more photos that I forgot to add...

Jason and Dan - the dueling bbq masters

 

Check out that great group of kids - eating dinner, but dreaming of candy!

 

Jennifer and Annie

 

Russ (the birthday boy) and Kelsey