Project: Snowman Ornament

Each of the grandparents got one of these ornaments from the girls to hang on their tree.
I love making personal gifts for family.

Kaylee did a really good job doing these

Keira on the other hand, was to hard to do, she kept moving her hand and you couldn't tell what it was.  It was nice to know that baby wipes could take off the paint!  Finally while she was distracted with eating I was able to get her handprints on them.

Step 1: choose your ornaments, paint and paint brush

Step 2: paint your kids hand

Step 3: place the ornament in their palm and then tell them to close their hand

Step 4: set somewhere safe to dry

I let the ornaments dry for about an hour before getting out my mini sharpies and drawing cute little faces on each snowman.  I had Kaylee help me with deciding what face she wanted them to make.

I love the way they turned out. 

 I love how they turned out so much, that I made some for our Christmas tree

I hope to make more ornaments with the girls as they get bigger.

I think as a new tradition we will do a handprint snowman and decorate them.  As the girls get bigger they will get to draw the faces and hats on them.  It would be fun to see how the snowmen change over the years.

Christmas Traditions

I'm linking up with Becky From Mrs. to Mama for Christmas Traditions

Past, Present & Future



I love the idea of being able to share past traditions with my girls.  I love that we'll make our own new traditions as a family and making a list of some new traditions to start when the girls get bigger.

Past Traditions:

* Setting up and decorating the Christmas tree as a family.  As a kid this was my favorite part, I always loved looking at the ornaments we had, the ones that my brothers and I made when we were in grade school.  My mom is acutally sending me my ornaments from when I was little to show the girls and to put on our tree.

* Making cookies as a family to leave out for Santa on Christmas Eve.

* We load up in the car and drive around looking at Christmas lights

* On Christmas Eve we go to Jason's moms house and when we are done earing dinner, his mom passes out little envelopes with little prizes in them (scratchers, gifts cards & money).  She reads Twas the Night Before Christmas and every time she says "twas" we pass the envelopes around until the book is done and we get to keep the little prize.

* Take a picture with Santa each year

New Traditions for this year:

* Kaylee & Keira each made a handprint snow ornament

* We made salt dough ornaments with their hand and foot print

* 24 book advant calander.  This was a really fun new tradition we started this year with the girls.  You collect 24 Christmas books and wrap them.  Opening up one book a night till Christmas Eve.  My girls love this, it's like opening a present everyday.  We all sit down on the couch as a family to read the books. (I have a picture like this for every book we've read)

* Spending Christmas Eve in our jammies all day.  This year we only have one stop on Christmas Eve so the girls will be wearing their matching Christmas jammies to Grandma's house for breakfast and presents.

* Lots of Chrismas crafts.  Thank you to pinterest for all the fun ideas for Christmas crafts for kids.  Kaylee has made so many and I love all of them.

Future Traditions:

* Elf on the shelf.  I actually had never heard about Elf on a shelf until this year and we thought that we would start it next year when the girls were bigger and understood it a little better.  We will be getting our elf after Christmas and keeping him or her kept tucked away until next year.

* Getting a family ornament each year

* Getting a smaller tree for the girls room and having them pick out an ornament each year to put on their tree.  So the tree will be decorated in ornaments they like.

I'm sure I will be adding to this list as the years go on but I love keeping old traditions and making new traditions with my family that hopefully they will carry on with their family.

* When the girls get older we're going to start buying a gift for someone to donate

Weekend:Prepairing for Christmas & Good-bye's

SATURDAY
On Saturday morning Jason's mom came to pick up the girls around 9am and bring them back around noon.  So while the girls were gone, Jason & I ran some errands.  We first stopped off at Starbucks for some coffee to warm us up cause it's been so cold these last few days.  We then went to Bed Bath & Beyond to get a potato masher cause we're doing Christmas Eve dinner at our house....my dad and step mom are coming over and then presents.  After Bed Bath & Beyond we headed to the mall to the jewlrey store cause I though there might be a problem with my ring, the guy said nothing was wrong.  I thought something was wrong cause when you look at the ring once side looked shorter than the other.  The guy said there was nothing to worry about the ring was fine.  The sales guy then asked if we were looking at wedding bands and when the BIG day was....haha funny guy I'm not even engaged yet!!!!  EMBARASSING!  We left and went and got some lunch and then headed home cause the girls would be back soon.

The girls came home and took an awesome 4 hour nap....thank you grandma for wearing them out!  While the girls napped I wrapped some last minutre gifts that finally showed up in the mail and just relaxed.

Once the girls woke up I wanted to make salt dough ornaments.  So the hubs helped me by mixing the stuff and made the circles.  We did Kaylee's handprint and Keira's footprint.  They turned out so cute.  They were to heavy to stick on the tree, so they are proudly hanging on the wall.  I love them so much that I might leave them up all year!  I love looking at their little hand & foot prints.

After doing the ornaments the girls played with daddy while I made dinner.

We are continuing to read our books each night.

Some nights the girls don't want to read it but we do it anyways

Kaylee said last "books are almost done mama"

I told her once the books are all gone we get to open presents

She got so excited, I think the anticipation is killing her.  She sits by the tree and asks if she can open a present.  She is going to be in heaven this Christmas when she see's what she got.  I cant wait to see her face light up as she opens each of her gifts!

 

SUNDAY

After the girls went to bed Jason & I talked about what "Santa" should bring Kaylee.  We talked about getting her a mini trampoline with a handle cause she loves to jump.  Every where we looked seemed to be sold out or we might risk it not being here in time!  So we decided against that and thought of something else.  On Sunday morning we got up ate breakfast, got the girls dressed and headed to Target to see if there might be something there that "Santa" could bring Kaylee.  We walked throught the $1 section to find some stocking stuffers and then headed to the toys.  We walked up and down the isles and Kaylee's face lite up with excitment when we walked down the Toy Story isle.  So we knew that "Santa" had to bring her something to do with Toy Story cause she is obsessed to say the least.  So we found the perfect gifts.  She picked them out and we put them back and daddy took her and walked around some more so that I could load the cart up and go pay without her seeing anything.  I met daddy out in the car and we headed home.  Oh she's going to be so happy when she see's her gifts.  We also got a few more things for Keira since she didn't really get a whole lot.   She was hard to buy for this year, she just had her birthday and she's at the age where she's not a baby but not quite big enough for bigger toys.

Once we got home we ate some lunch and today was the day that my little brother was moving to CO with my parents.  My dad had flown in on Thursday and he would be driving back with my little brother.  So before nap time they came over to get the last of my brother's stuff and to say good bye.  On Thursday night my dad had dropped off all the presents they had gotten for the girls since we wont see them this Christmas.  So the girls visited with papa for a little bit and Kaylee was telling him of course all about Buzz and Woody.  We then said our good byes and they headed out.

   

The girls then went down for a nap and I took that time to wrap their "santa" gifts and hide them upstairs and then I kicked my feet up to watch a movie.  Jason & my brother were working on my brother's truck in the garage.  Once the girls woke up it was down hill from there!

Keira has started teething again and has been drooling like CRAZY!  Enter in lots of crying and only wanting to be held.  But even when I hold her she still cried....from 3pm till 7 she pretty much whined and cried.  Enter in mommy's frusteration level raising!!!!

This is when I wish kids came with a manuel.  A manuel to tell me what to do when your teething 12 month old wont stop crying even after you've tried everything!  What do I do after I've given teething tablets, given her tylenol and giving her lots of loves!  It makes for a very stressful day on top of having a 2.5 year old testing her limits to see what she can get away with.  With mommy pmsing, having to listen to Keira cry and then have Kaylee sass back will send mommy right over the deep end!!!!

It was about 6:30 we were done with dinner, Keira was still crying and as we were looking for something to watch Jason came across that Toy Story 1 was on.  So we turned it on and Kaylee stopped what she was doing and was totally mezmorized by the TV.  Jason had gone upstairs to get Keira's pacifier and her blanket.  We sat in the recliner and I rocked her while Kaylee snuggled on the couch with daddy.  Keira finally settled down and it was quiet in the house once again.  The movie ended at 8 and then Toy Story 2 was coming on right after, so once the movie ended we had to quickly change the channel so that Kaylee wouln't get upset that she couldn't watch it cause she had to go to bed.  Well this kid is to smart cause she saw that the movie was coming on next, so she ended up getting upset anyways.  Daddy told her that we could watch Toy Story 2 tonight.  She cried and said ok and I took the girls to bed.  Jason & I went upstairs around 9:30 to go to bed, I was tired.

Only 5 more days till we celebrate Christmas Eve with family.

I cant wait and neither can the girls.  I find Keira by the tree trying to open presents!

PS- Kaylee has gone 3 days now with no binks at nap or bedtime.  She has done surprisingly well with the adjustment.  She will still ask for it and I tell her that she threw it away and she leaves it at that.  So proud of my big girl.  She is growing up into such a big girl with such attitude!

 

Good bye Mr. Binks

I've been waiting for the right moment to decide when we'd get rid of Kaylee's beloved Mr. Binks!

I decided that TODAY was the day that we would get rid of it.  She only used her binks at nap and bedtime but I thought she was old enough to be able to go to bed without it.

So this morning when she walked into our room to tell me to get sissy up, she had the binks in her mouth.  I asked her "can we throw Mr. Binks away" and surprisingly she said "yes, we throw it away in a bag".   We had a plastic bag in our room that she picked up put her binks in and went to the garbage to "throw it away".  I let her walk away and I took it back out.  I'm going to hang on to it for a little bit.

After "throwing away" her binks we carried on with our day.  When I was brushing her hair which she hates and cries every time, today she was crying that she missed her binks.  She is such a silly kid.  We ran out errands and came back, ate lunch and then I just hoped that we would be able to make it through nap time without a freak out!

We walked upstairs she carried her buzz, bullseye & rex....I layed Keira down with no problem and then Kaylee climbed into her bed and put her blanket on her and then a blanket on her toys and said good night.  There was NO crying or asking for the binks which was shocking.  I walked downstairs to tell daddy.  I ate lunch while he was upstairs on the phone and he came back downstairs to tell me that he thinks the girls are playing around in their room.

So I go upstairs and Kaylee was out of bed searching for her binks and Keira was just sitting there.  I told Kaylee to get back into bed and take her nap.  She climbed back into bed and was whining that she wanted her binks.  I told her that she threw her binks away and it went to a new baby.  She said "no I want it to come back to me".  I told her that she didn't need it and sissy didn't have one so she didn't need one either!  She whinned a little bit more and then stopped crying and went to bed.  I knew she could do it.  I knew she didn't need a binks anymore, she's a big girl!

So we'll see how bedtime goes.  Fingers crossed for us!

Don't the girls looks super cute today?!!!!

   

Keira got this dress for her birthday but it's way to big for her so Kaylee is getting some use out of it.

It's a sweater dress, I love it on her!

I am loving these knee high socks that Keira got for her birthday

They are Gwen Stefani's line at Target!

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On another note one of my blogger friends Amy at Mrs. Mommy is having a cool giveaway

Go check it out, she's giveaway a Thirty-One bag.

How cute are these?!

Kaylee 31 months old

Miss Sassy Pants,

You turned 31 months on the 13th. Each day that passes it seems like you get a little more sassy!  There are times when you can be too sassy and you get yourself into trouble.  You've recently started talking back when your told to do things, which has landed you in timeout frequently.

Even though your sassy days there are times when your super sweet side comes out, which I love.  I love that you just walk up to me and say "I'm your best friend" it just melts my heart!  I love hearing it and I love hearing you tell me that you love me.  You are such a smarty little girl, sometimes I think to smart for your own good.

You are FULL of energy and talk non stop.  You love to be outside where you run around "super fast!".  Most of the time you play really nice with Keira, but there are times when you don't like to share or you rip toys out of her hands.  Sissy is at that age when you try to give her hugs she screams and tries to get away.  Sissy loves when you guys wrestle around, it makes her laugh.

You look forward to Monday's & Friday's cause you know those are the days you get to go to Grandma & Grandpa's house.  On Monday's you and sissy get to enjoy time with grandma & grandpa doing fun things.  Then on Friday you get to enjoy alone time with Grandma when you go over there by yourself, usually you end up spending the night.  It makes me happy that you enjoy going to Grandma's so much.  I'm glad you have a good time, I enjoy listening to your stories on what you did when you get back.

You love looking at your books and making up your own stories, it's so cute to listen to you.  You will grab a book and tell me to sit on the couch with you and you read me the story and then you want me to read the story to you.  I enjoy that time with you.

You can count to 20, you can count to 5 in spanish (thank you Dora), you can count to three in chinese (thank you Ni Hao Kai Lan).  You can take your clothes off by yourself and you've learned to put your own pants on (you still have trouble getting it over your booty).  You don't like me doing your hair at all, but always make sure that I put a bow in it when I'm done.

You've just learned to do a summersault all by yourself, which you are so proud of.  Now that you can do them you do them all the time.  I have to remind you to watch what your doing cause sometimes you hit sissy or hit your foot on a toy.

FAVORITE TOYS: picnick basket, your Toy Story dolls & books
FAVORITE FOOD: pizza, yogurt, salami, cheese and fish
FAVORITE ACTIVITIES: singing, playing outside and doing summersaults
MILESTONES: putting your own pants on & doing a summersault by yourself
HAND: right
HAIR: dirty blonde
EYE: blue
CLOTHES: 3T pants & shirts (panties 2T/3T)
SHOE: 8
WEIGHT: 27lbs (10-25%)
HEIGHT: 35" (10-25%) - your sister is 4.5" shorter than you!

You have brought me and your daddy such joy since I brought you home from the hospital which feels like so long ago.  I cant believe that in 5 months we will be celebrating your 3rd birthday.  You have already decided that you want a TOY STORY 3 theme for your party.  Mommy is going to get started sooner than later on making stuff for your party cause I want it to be perfect.

Thank you for making this Stay at home mom job so much fun and at times makes me want to run out and get a job.  But I will not take for granted all the wonderful time I've got to spend at home with you and your sister!  You guys make each day fun and exciting!

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I cant believe we only have 10 more days of our advant book calander to go

I think that you'll be sad once we're all done with the books.

It just means that we'll need to continue reading books each night before bed like we use to

   

9 days till we celebrate Christmas with Jason's mom, my dad & our little family

Wordless Wednesday: Comparison

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I know it's suppose to be a wordless post but I couldn't not tell you about this AMAZING giveaway that Becky From Mrs. to Mama is having.  She doing a giveaway of 8 different items that are a value of $300.00.  GO CHECK IT OUT or DON'T so that I can win!!! LOL

Enjoying the Small Things

ONE: Spending one on one time with my Little Miss
Kaylee spent the night at Grandma's last Friday night and I always enjoy the one on one time I get to spend with Keira.  We had a little accident that night, Keira was standing and fell and hit her head on the ground and she gave herself a big goose egg on her forehead.  My poor baby....she's gotten lots of snuggles!

TWO: Watching Keira play
The girl LOVES to read books.  She will take all the books out of the bin and look through all of them.  I often hear her laughing or growling, it is so cute!  Being able to stay home with my girls and watch them enjoy playing with their toys together or by themselves just makes my day.

THREE: Enjoying our advant book calander

I have really enjoyed the family time that we get each night opening our advant book calander.  Its the one time that we sit down on the couch together with no TV on, no crazyness, just quietness and snuggling while we read the books each night.  The girls know each night around 7:30 that it's time to open the book and read it.  Each morning Kaylee grabs a book from under the tree and sets it on the table.  She will then say "we have to wait for daddy to get home to open book & read it" We got a little behind so we read 3 books in one night  (Days 9-11)

    

FOUR: I love you's

When my 2.5 year old walks up to me and out of no where gives me a hug and says "I love you mommy".  It makes me want to cry cause it's just so sweet.  I love my girls and being able to have them tell me they love me just makes my life totally complete! 

FIVE: Christmas Time

I cant believe how fast this year has gone by and that we will be celebrating Christmas in 11 days.  Christmas is my favorite holiday.  I love decorating and all the new crafts that we've done this year.  Being able to spent time with family and seeing the joy from my kids makes it that much more fun.

SIX: Getting stuff at an amazing deal

Last week Becky over at From Mrs to Mama did a post about $1.00 monthly onesie stickers.  I knew that I needed to get these.   So I ordered the 13-24 months for Keira's second year.  I recieved a email saying that the stickers would be here in 7-14 business days.  Well I was surprised when I opened the mail yesterday to find my stickers!  YAY.  Thank you again Becky for sharing this awesome deal with all of us