Our Girls

Em had a fun night with all the Ashland Girl Scouts singing Christmas carols to nursing home residence.

Katie's idea of helping me with the laundry:)

Katie: mommy, does baby ever slip down to your toes? Mommy: what? Katie: does she slide all the way down to your toes? Mommy: (laughing) no...she has to stay in my tummy. Emily: what if the baby does not come out on Monday? Will she be burned? Mommy: what? How would she be burned? Em: if you leave food in the oven too long it burns. Will the baby come out burned? Mommy: first of all, the baby IS coming on monday. And second, no the baby won't burn:) Only 3 days left until we get to meet our new little one! We can't wait!

On Saturday evening it was Katie's turn to perform. During dress rehearsal during her song she said really loud, "wait! I have to go potty!" and then she proceeded to run off the stage. It was great entertainment:) During the actual performance she stayed on stage the entire time and did most of the dance. I considered it a success! Now granted she did pull 2 kids down when they were doing their kick line and she almost came off the stage in the front after the song was over...but she is only 2! What really should I expect:) Putting up her binoculars to find mom and dad:) Singing We Wish You A Merry Christmas at the end of her show. Meeting Santa and Mrs. Claus after the show. And the elves too! We are so proud of our littlest dancer! Way to go Katie!!!

We got to meet Santa today! First we mailed our letters in the special North Pole mailbox. Emily is asking for an American Girl doll that is retired and costs upward of $400. Luckily she is giving Santa options too: a doll bed that fits 2 dolls, a doll carrier, a clothes rack for her dolls clothes and a few other things. Katie asked for Santa to bring her presents. She would also like a new doll like Emily's. Neither girl was scared to sit on the big mans lap. Em did hold Katie's hands the entire time, but I think that was for her own comfort as much as it was for Katie:)

Today at a pancake breakfast Emily gave her pancakes an enthusiastic thumbs up. Katie tried to as well... But was using her pointer finger. Emily showed her how to use her thumb for a thumbs up sign. Then Katie proceeded to put her thumb "up" as high as as she could:) Haha! My literal girl!

Emily had flying feet at her Christmas dance recital. She wore a big smile and loved performing up on stage. The final pose: Em and her friends at dress rehearsal. The night of the performance. Aunt Mary came to support:) As did aunt Tracy And Riley! Ba and Grandpa were also there but somehow we missed that photo opportunity. We did capture a picture with Jolly Old St. Nick. And his elves:) What a great performance!

Look who showed up at our house to keep an eye on our children!!!! It's Elfie! He is Santa's little helper who flies back to the north pole everyday to report to Santa about Emily and Katie's behavior. We first found him in our tree. He next buried himself in a box of Kleenex. Then the next day he fixed himself a cup of hot coco: Who knows where that silly elf will show up tomorrow!

Emily was so very excited to get ready and perform at her first school concert. Here she is walking in with a huge dramatic wave towards us and a smile. And then it was all business... Her music teacher is AWESOME and put together a fantastic program. Emily recited lines from a winter poem into the microphone. She also was the tambourine shaker for "five golden rings" in the 12 funny days of Christmas. Our little girl is growing up so fast! We are so proud of her!!!

It truly is the little things in life that make Katie happy. When we drive down hwy 63 everyday she watches out her window for "silly man". Silly Man is a blowup sort of eye catching something. He "lives" outside a car dealership. The days when Silly Man is "sleeping" she is really bummed but then will say, "he must be really tired today" or "he is probably doddling and not ready yet". The other day Katie and I were running errands and we happened to be on the outer road where Silly Man lives. We stopped and it was so fun to watch her. She giggled. Then she jumped up and down exclaiming "it's Silly Man!!!". More giggles. And then, "I think I love Silly Man mom!"

We got 1/2 to 1 inch of snow this morning and the girls could not wait to go out in it! Katie went out before lunch by herself and her favorite part was "catching the snow! And then I eat it!" Then when Emily got home from school the girls went out together to go sledding. Katie (the 2 year old) pulled Emily (the 5 year old) so fast down the hill Emily tipped over! Then em tried to pull Katie up the hill. Needless to say she was slightly unsuccessful. Soon they both turned into little Popsicles and we came inside, put on our warmest jammies and curled up under warm blankets. We love snow!!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving break in Camdenton. Mommy rested the entire time:) And the girls played and played and played! And of course everyone ate some turkey too! Katie enjoying the feast: Princess Emily enjoying it as well: We had lots of fun playtime in Ba and Papa's playroom. And we had quiet time too: On Saturday we went to Miner Mikes and the kids had a blast crawling through tunnels and shooting balls at each other. Below is a picture of Uncle Nate and Emily plotting their strategy... Katie coming out one of the many slides: And Emily burying herself in the ball pit: We have lots to be thankful for this time of year! We are so glad we got to share our holiday with family!

We love our Aunt Mary! But she is a bit crazy from time to time:) I think that just makes us love her more! At Thanksgiving Andrew and Aunt Mary played "lets see if you can catch the wine when I press the spout!" And Aunt Mary "checked" on our house while we were away. The kids came home to different stuffed animals on their beds. They thought it was soooo funny! On our master bed sat pregnant Fancy Nancy! You can't really tell from the photo but she has a ball up her shirt. She is also stuffing herself with chocolate. Haha! AND scandal alert: Prego Nancy was in bed with Dopey the dwarf! Aunt Mary also has quiet snuggle time with the girls... We love Aunt Mary!!!!

Katie LOVES to play games. She is getting really good at waiting for her turn. That's hard when you're only 2! Cootie is her new favorite: