Our visit with Santa

Christmas wouldn't be complete without a picture with good ol' Santa

So I got the girls ready in their matching outfits, yes matching (this is the only time)

and we headed out to Bass Pro Shop, yes I get my kids picture taken with Santa as Bass Pro Shop...I'll tell you why.  Cause it's FREE.  I refuse to pay $25.00 for a picture with Santa in the mall.  So when you go to Bass Pro you get a FREE 4x6.  We've gone there the last 3 years to get the girls pictures taken.

So this morning we got there and there was no one in line....SCORE!

Kaylee was so excited, calling Santa Santa Santa.  It was so cute.

So its our turn and she goes running up to him yelling Santa, she lets Santa pick her up and I hand Keira to him.  At first I thought Keira might cry cause she started to whine.  Kaylee was getting ready to tell Santa what she wanted when the people who take your picture call them and start shaking the these bells, well it scared Kaylee and she FROZE.  Which is why she looks like she does in the picture. 

So as Jason is going to take her off Santa's lap cause she wont talk no matter what Santa does, she unfreezes and yells "I want a BIG BUZZ for Christmas"....Santa laughed and said "its a good thing you told me what you wanted I was going to bring you marbles".  LOL

So after giving Santa a high five we walked around and looked at all the little games they had and played a few before getting our girfts cards and heading back home.

So I guess our visit with Santa was a success, we didn't have any crying at least!

Our before we left the house picture

Our Christmas Card

This year I did 2 different photoshoots with the girls for our Christmas cards.

Well I loved how the second photo session turned out way better than the first

While reading my daily blogs I came across Ashley's blog and she was having a giveaway for a FREE Christmas card design.  So I entered it.  Not thinking I'd win cause I usually dont.  I was surprised to see an email in my inbox that read WINNER.  So I opened it and it was from Ashley telling me that I won!  YAY

So after finally taking the pictures of the girls and making the hard decision on which ones to use.

Kelly who has an awesome etsy shop designing cards made our card and I love the way it turned out

Etsy shop found here...Your Life Long Memories

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We've been having a great time as a family reading our advant books.

Kaylee knows around 7:30 each night we grab our book to sit down to read

I think Keira is still a little to young, she makes it through 2-3 pages before she's over it!

I think when we do this again next year it will be a lot more fun cause they'll be a little older

We've also decided to get Elf on the shelf and save him for next year.

I think the girls are still a little to young to really understand it and next year they'll be 3 in a half and 2.

Here are Days 6-8

  

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I cant believe Christmas is in

16 days

or 15 days if you celebrate on Christmas Eve.

We celebrate on Christmas Eve, we always have.  Since both Jason and I have big families we celebrate both days.  This year on Christmas Eve we will be spending the morning with his mom, the afternoon at home just us and the evening with my dad.

Christmas Day the morning will be spent at Jason's aunts house with his side of the family and then the evening will be spent at his Grandma's (his step dads parents).  I'm sad cause this will be the 1st ever Christmas that I've spent without my parents.  This Dec 18th will be 1 year since they moved to CO.  It has been a hard adjustment for me cause my mom and I were best friends and did pretty much everything together and since she's left its been difficult.  It's hard not having friends with kids.  But this Christmas will be fun with the girls this year!

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Keira had her 12 month check up today.

For having been poked some many times she did really well.

It started with a prick in her finger to check and make sure she wasn't anemic (she isn't)

We then went to a different room where she got 3 shots and her flu shot

I always feel soooooo bad when she gets shots

We then left and went and had her blood drawn for a lead test.

So my poor baby has been pocked 6 times today

12 month check up's are NOT FUN!

I gave her some tylenol when we got home and she fell right asleep

She did really well waiting in the room for the dr.  Kaylee got a little antsy and wanted to go home and watch Toy Story.  On the way to the dr's I told her if she was a good girl we'd go to the park on the way home.  But the dr took way longer than I thought and it was an hour in a half past nap time so we didn't get to go to the park, maybe tomorrow.

Kaylee showing Keira support before she gets her shots!

This is what you look like after your 12 month check up!

My interview with my 2 year old

To shake things up a bit

I thought I'd do a little interview with my 2 in a half year old



Here are some phrases that she's said recently that's made me LAUGH OUT LOUD!

* I'll call her if I cant see her in the other room and she comes running in and says "what mom, what do you want from me"

* Talking about her Buzz Lightyear "no mom his name not buzz he is a space rrrranger"

* she lined her books on the coffee table and then said "books I be right back, I'm gonna run supa fast and then come get you"

If I could have a video camera on the girls all day just to see the funny things they do daily I totally would.  I would love to look back on them when I'm having a stressful day cause I know watching them will make my day so much better.  I do love the fact that I've written everything down that they do.  All their monthly posts I keep a section in my phone with each of their names and how old they are and then write down all the neat and exciting things that they do.  Not only do I blog about them but I also have a scrapbook for each of them.  I'm TOTALLY behind on my scrapbooking.  I've done Kaylee's scrapbook till 8 months and I haven't even started Keira's.  I love scrapbook but it just takes a lot of time cutting and figuring out how you want your page to look.  When the girls take their naps is when I do my cleaning up and taking a shower so I don't have time to get all my scrapbook stuff out.  So I'll catch up one day!  LOL

My Christmas Wish List

I'm linking up with Aly & Becky for Show me your Christmas Wish List

I thought this would be totally fun cause I have a lot of stuff on my wish list



What is on your wish list??

1. Dyson cordless vacuum (with the kids I definetly need one of these!)

2. I need these shoes (I'm obsessed with high heels, although I don't wear them often)

3. Coach Tote

4. Peacoat jacket from Aeropostale

5. A Chef (I hate cooking dinners it would be nice to have somone do it for me)

6. A family trip to Australia

7. The Cricut

8. A foyer table

9. New lens' for my camera would be awesome!

Advant Book Calander & more decorating

This weekend was pretty low key.

I did more Christmas decorating...

just when I think I'm done I find more projects to do and more things to set up

I think I'm *almost* done decorating but if I keep looking at Pinterest, I'll never be done!

We have been enjoying doing the advant book calander each night as a family.

I love that at 7:30 each night we get our book and all sit on the couch as a family and read the book.

The girls sit on the couch so nicely and listen.  I love it!

Friday night we weren't able to read our book because Kaylee decided to spend the night at Grandma's and we didn't want to read a book without her.  So we waited....

Saturday daddy was gone most of the day so the girls and I just hung out around the house.  Mommy decorated and did some crafts while they played and watched Toy Story 3 for the millionth time!  Once daddy got home we opened and read 2 books. 

Sunday was pretty much the same as Saturday.  Daddy had to go help his dad for the first part of the day.  He got home while the girls were taking a nap.  Once the girls woke up we watched like 4 different kids movies...Madagascar, Robots, Ice Age 1 - 2 & 3.  We had a nice time watching these movies together.  What would have made it even more nice would have been a fire going.  If only we had a fireplace, that is the one thing I miss, my parents don't have a fireplace.  I know thing for sure, when we buy our house it will most definetly have a fireplace!!!

Today is the same as most days

Wake up...eat breakfast...play...lunch...take a nap...snack...go to Grandma's!

The only difference is that we will be going to Grandma's house too.  We are going over there for dinner and to celebrate Jason's step dads birthday.  He is a football coach for our local football team so the girls made him a football related gift.  It turned out so cute (picture to come later) and a homemade card from the girls.

After nap time if we have enough time we're headed to Michale's to get so stuff!

Only 20 more days till Christmas

We just got our Christmas cards in and they are so cute!  You don't get to see till after I send them out!

Happy Monday!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

The day after Keira's party (Sunday Nov 27th) while the girls napped I ripped down all my hard work I had done for Keira's party to get ready for all the Christmas decor.  Jason headed out to the shed to get all of our boxes labeled "christmas stuff" to bring inside.  We have a fake tree, so Jason & I opened the box and set up the tree.  It was fun to set up the tree and open all the branches and get it ready.  We decided to wait to decorate the tree until the girls woke up so that we could decorate it together as a family.

The girls woke up and daddy went up to get them and Kaylee got so excited when she saw the bright lights twinkling! While Mommy & Kaylee put some bulbs on, Keira sat and watched (I was really surprised that she didn't want to rip all the ornaments off the tree or anything).  Daddy & Uncle Josh set up the train that goes around the tree and the girls LOVED it.

This Christmas is going to be so much fun with the girls now that they are getting older and starting to understand a little more. We started our tradition of reading 1 christmas book a night till Christmas tonight.  We have our books wrapped and Kaylee is excited to open them and read them as a family.

Keira enjoyed dumping out all of the ornaments on the floor and playing with them instead of decorating.  Kaylee did enjoy the decorating process, the train was her favorite and wanted to put her Toy Story friends in the train.  It was so cute!

The stockings that are hanging on the stairs we are going to decorate and put all of our names on them.

Daddy is going to be putting some lights up outside this weekend.  We still have some Christmas shopping to do but I'm happy that the girls are done.  We're gonna take the girls down this weekend to sit on Santa's lap which Kaylee talks about doing all the time.  She says "I want to sit on Santa's lap and tell him I want a big Buzz for Christmas"

I am so happy to be spending our 2nd Christmas as a family of 4.
We even have some presents under the tree
I am going to be going to Michael's this weekend, I'm going to get a wooden letter J and then glitter it up and make that our tree topper!

December 1st, 2011
Last night we started our tradition of reading one book a night till Christmas.
I wrapped all 24 books and they are sitting under our tree, paiently waiting for the girls to open them each night.  I dated each of the books.  Kaylee enjoyed opening the "present"...the girls sat nicely and listened while I read them the book before they went to bed.

I love doing this, this is a fun thing to do as a family.
I'm now trying to talk daddy into getting Elf on a shelf, I might have him almost convinced to let me get it.
I think Kaylee would love it!

I also made a Winter Bucket List

I've seen a lot of Winter List's floating around but where we live in CA we don't get snow.  So I had to make one that would fit with our family and where we live.  We've actually checked off quite a few things on our list.

Here's what we've checked off

* Christmas book advant calander

* make ornaments

* listen to holiday music (I've been listening to it before Thanksgiving)

* put up decorations (we are still making Christmas crafts and hanging them)

Keira's took her 1st steps

For the past few days Keira has been taking "half" steps.

She would only step with one foot and then sit down & crawl.

Well last night before and during dinner she was being a total crab so I wasn't expecting her to take any steps.  I got her down from the table gave her some water and then changed her into her pajamas.  Daddy & Kaylee were feeding the dogs and Keira stood up and was throwing her hands in the air saying "woooooo" and then all of a sudden she took 2 steps to the table.  I waited for her to touch the table before I screamed with excitment!  Jason came rushing in and my brother came out to cheer with me, which she loved.  Well after that I had the camera ready in case she did it again.

I cant believe my baby has taken her 1st steps

1 day after her 1st birthday.

I am such a proud mama

Yesterday the highlight of my day was seeing my baby take her first steps.

She gets 3 steps in before falling, so we'll see how today goes and if we get more steps.

I will have my camera with me all day today

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I am also attempting to take more Christmas pictures of the girls for our Christmas cards.

Wish me luck!

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Yesterday Kaylee & I worked on 2 different Christmas crafts which you will be able to see tomorrow.  It will be Christmas post, filled with our crafts we've been working on & all our Christmas decorations.  We'll be working on more Christmas crafts today, I have some walls I need to fill up that are bare.  When you walk into my house your going to be bombarded with Christmas crafts from the kids and everything Christmas.  Christmas is my favorite holiday, so I am having tons of fun doing crafts with the girls.