^ gulp ^

Tonight was the Christmas edition of the Grandpa Dan Show.  Also the last scheduled show for the next few months since Grandpa will be going to Ecuador next Tuesday and staying until March!

Anyways, Hannah thought it would only be appropriate to have Christmas cookies while she was watching the show.

Can't disagree with that logic so she was able to pick out one of the decorated sugar cookies that she had made with her 'people' this past weekend.

The cookie she chose had a lot of sprinkles on it.  Those sprinkles ended up in her orange pop (she put them there).
That orange 'sprinkle pop' ended up in her belly.

Watching her drink that actually made me want to throw up in my mouth a little bit.

You know you have a problem when....

You want to eat an M & M for a treat but don't take your nuk out of your mouth while you are eating it.

Tonight I could have sworn that I gave Hailey an M & M and I swear she put it in her mouth but when I look over at her she is sucking away on her nuk (aka crack for babies).

I pulled the nuk out of her mouth, heard a crunch, and then saw the questioned M & M in her mouth.

Not sure how we are ever going to break this one from her habit.

TGFA

TGFA

A = Aunties

Yesterday I dropped Hannah and Hailey off at my moms where Jennie, Kim, and Kristin were waiting to spend the day with my girls.
They came loaded up with frosting, candy, and all the tools and ingredients needed to make Christmas cookies.

What a help it was to have an afternoon all to myself to shop!  Up until yesterday I hadn't done a ton of shopping.  Work has been crazy busy, the weather has been out of control and by the time I get home at night I am just too exhausted to leave after the girls go to bed.

Got a lot accomplished yesterday and after I picked the girls up from grandma's we stop home to get daddy and then went to 'Chicken Wild' (aka Buffalo Wild Wings) for dinner.  Yummy!

Bath toys

Who needs bath toys when you have spoons, cups, and bowls?

Just like all the stories you hear about kids getting expensive toys and then playing with the boxes that they came in.  My girls prefer to play with kitchen utensils in the bath instead of bath toys.

They use them to make ice cream, kool-aid, and restur-lant food.

Moving day

Five years ago when I joined the EHR team our office was in the basement.  Today was moving day.  Our team moved to the 2nd floor.
It is a nice space.  There is a main hallway and then 4 offices off of the hallway.  This is my new office (pre-move in).

I am excited to get my new office all set up and pictures hung.  I am sure it will take me a while but there is no hurry.   We will be there for a while :-)

Nothin' cuter than a baby in a towel

I should really bring my camera into the bathroom with me at bath time. 

There is nothing cuter than a baby all wrapped up in a towel!

My camera phone stinks but it is so convenient. 

Hailey especially looks cute in this bright pink towel with her bright blue eyes- AUGH- it just makes me crazy she is soooo cute!

That's a baby in her tummy

Tonight Hannah's artwork included a mommy with a baby in her tummy.

(the baby is drawn on the white paper that was then glued to the mommy's belly)

They are learning about kangaroos at daycare this week.

Number three

My girls love babies.

This isn't the first time you have heard me say that.

Sometimes it even feels like I have three children of my own.

Meet, Emerson (we are away from Soda for now).

The bedtime routine starts with Hailey (kisses and night-nights), then Hannah (teeth brushing, potty, goodnights), and now Emerson (luckily she just needs kisses).

At least in the morning Hannah tends to Emerson.  She wakes her, feeds her, and carries her to the couch to watch TV. 

Who is raising this child??!

We have our moments.
We also have our fair share of evidence that messes don't always get cleaned up.

We also have our fair share of moments like these.
I was washing dishes and Hannah came to me asking to use a towel so that she could help clean up the kitchen.  She brought the dishes to the sink, tossed the trash in the garbage can, washed and dried the table,  and filled Nash's water dish.  Such a big helper!

Grooming

I don't know about this girl and her Dankie.

Apparently he needed to be brushed.

Why? you ask...

He needs all the polka dots to be the same way.

Great Buddies

While the snow was falling outside, Hannah and I decided to do art projects.

Hannah:  "Mommy, can I use that glue stick?"

Me:  "I don't know honey.  I don't want you making a huge mess.  I got you some of your own glue sticks.  Maybe you should use your own."

Hannah:  "How 'bout I have a good idea.  How 'bout we both use that glue stick?  How 'bout I share with you?  How 'bout that mommy?"

Me:  "Ok, that would be fine.  You can use it but you need to use this side (pointing to the larger more kid friendly side).  OK?"

Hannah:  "Ok.  We are sharing mom, just like great buddies!"

What's with the hat?

Chloe (well, Tammy really) gave us that hat and Hannah loves it.  Brian was outside snow blowing the driveway and Hannah was wearing her hat "just in case her head gets cold while daddy is outside".

Baking day

Tammy, Stacey, and I spent the day baking.

We made cream wafers, peanut butter blossoms (the ones with the Hershey kiss), Chewy Surprise (Milk Dud ones), pumpkin with icing, Jingle Bell Butterfinger cookies (like a chocolate chip cookie but with crushed butterfingers instead), and homemade caramels (my favorite).


Homemade Caramels
1 cup butter
1 lb brown sugar (yes, that does say one pound)
dash of salt
1 cup light Karo syrup
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp vanilla

Melt butter over medium heat.  Add sugar, salt and Karo syrup.  Gradually add milk.
Stir continously until temp reaches 245 degress (firm ball-use candy thermometer).
Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Pour into 9 inch pan.
I like to use a disposable pan so that you can bend the pan around the caramels to get them out.
Cut, wrap, and enjoy!

That is if you don't eat the whole pan while you are cutting them

False alarm

Hailey woke up with a rash this morning.
It was all over her body.  All over.  Not as bad as the rash she had this summer but it didn't look good.

It looked to me like chicken pox.  I called and brought her in to see Dr Kelly.  Luckily she does not have chicken pox.  He thinks that it is just a viral infection.  Whew!

The girls and I went to McDonald's afterwards. 

After we were done eating Hannah got to play with this

Hailey got to play with this

Poor kid got jipped!

(I looked it up, that is the urban dictionary way to spell it)

She didn't seem to mind too bad.

Kiss Monster

Last night I was reading to Hannah and Hailey and for some reason Hailey started nose diving to the pages that contained animals and babies to kiss them.  She would bend in half and give out a HUGE smooch!

Hannah and I were cracking up.

The more we would laugh the more she would do it.

Favorite Treat

One thing that I love about this time of year is that the Ghirardelli Peppermint Bark candy bars are available.

These things are amazing! 

If you haven't tried one yet, treat yourself to the $2 slice of heaven. 

You won't be disappointed.

Hannah wasn't.

She has eaten two of these candy bars so far.

"Mom, I have a great idea! (sounds familiar right?!)  How 'bout I have some of your favorite treat?  Is that a good idea?  How 'bout we do that?"

I have gotten a taste or two but I may have to stock up before Christmas is over.

The pickle family

Hannah:  "Mommy!  I have a great idea.  Let's have those baby pickles for lunch.  Sound like a good idea?"

Me:  "Sure thing.  How many do you want?"

Hannah:  "Three.  Cause I am three."

I scoop out three pickles and hand them to her, she cups her hands and starts walking to the table-all while bent over talking to the pickles

Hannah:  "You want to go see your mommy and daddy.  Yes?  OK, I bring you to your mommy and daddy.  See, now you all on the plate.  Now I going to eat you."

Don't judge me....

So my kid picks up snow from the carpet and eats it after it has fallen off of our pants and gloves (and probably boots)....big deal.  (I think I just threw up in my mouth a little...)

Vic's Party 2010

For the past 18 years (pretty sure that's how many) my aunt Vicki has hosted an all girl's Christmas party.
A few weeks before the party she will mail the invitation along with the instructions.

The instructions are always given in poem format and are the same each year.  Use this item (usually that is included in the envelope) and make something. 

This year the assignment was ribbon.

Being a scrapbooker and having a cabinet of ribbon to choose from, this was easy for me.  I had a lot of ideas right away and it was just a matter of putting something together.

It's always fun to see what people come up with. 

My cousin, Lee Ann, made this bag. 

Left: Santa ornament made by my sister Jennie. 

Right:  Santa in a sleigh made by my cousin Teresa.

This was an ornament made by my aunt Anita.

It was as large as it looks :-)

Left:  Placemat made by my aunt Vicki

Right:  Clipboard made by me.

Left:  Coasters made by my sister Kristin

(SUPER cool....made with curling ribbon)

Right/front:  Sucker ornament purchased by my aunt Mary

Left:  Ribbon candy Christmas tree made by my aunt Diane, with help from my dad's glue gun

Right:  Wrapped box to look like a present made by my great aunt Joanne

Christmas tree garland made by my sister Kim.

Just 'laxin'

Me:  "Hey Bean, what are you doing over there?"

Hannah:  "Just 'laxin with my babes."

she bends over gives a kiss then says

"Isn't that what we doin' babes?"

Family Traditions

BY FAR my FAVORITE Christmas decoration.

So much so that when my mom wasn't paying attention one year I asked if I could have it.

This Christmas house was put up at my parents house every Christmas that I can remember.

I always loved to just sit and look at it.

I would think about the family that lived inside (there is only a light bulb in there) and think about what they were wanting for Christmas. 

Now in our house, this is the kids favorite decoration.

As you can see Hailey spends minutes (which seems like hours since she is usually on the go so much) and stare at this house.  All you hear from her is 'Ooooooohhhhh".

Always listening

This morning I was listening to the radio on my way to drop the girls off at Jackie's.

A man named Brian called into the morning show and Hannah yelled from the backseat "Mommy!  Daddy is calling to the radio!  Now they just need to say "Amy, Hannah, Hailey, and Nash" and then they talked about my whole family.  That's coo (cool) mom."

My little artist

This is Hannah's latest drawing.

It is a picture of a man in a canoe.

I get amazed by these little drawings. 

I can't get enough of them.

What do you see?

What do you see when you look at this?

An empty papertowel roll?

That's one option, I guess.

I learned today that it is also a spotting scope.

Go figure.

Not just a tree

While I was adjusting the ornaments on the tree I couldn't help but smile.

My tree finally has some history on it.

For instance, this ornament is as old as me.

This Pooh ornament was on our tree while I was growing up. 

I can remember looking for this ornament each year.  Mom cleaned out her ornaments last year and each of us got to take a few.  I had to have this one.  It reminds me of Christmas growing up.

This ornament reminds me of my friend Karri.

Just like I am sure that when people see monkeys they think of me, whenever I see a pig I think of Karri.

Not for obvoius reasons, obviously.....she loves pigs.

While I was putting this ornament on the tree I couldn't help but think of her and the years that we have spent together.  A true friend that I love dearly.

Mom made this ornament for Hailey's first Christmas last year.

My tree is starting to turn into a family tree. 

Ornaments that will one day belong to Hannah and Hailey.

Ornaments from the first year that Brian and I were married.

I hope they look forward to seeing the same ornaments on our tree each year.

When my Grandma Miller passed away, I really wanted a few ornaments.

Growing up, we spent every Christmas Eve at Grandma and Grandpa Miller's house.

Usually all of the kids would sit in the front room near the tree waiting to open our presents.

Viva Las Vegas.

This ornament was purchased in Las Vegas. 

Reminds me of all of the times that I have been there and all of the good times that were had by all there.

Ecuador.

Not only a reminder of the place that my sister calls home but a reminder of my sister and her family.

I sure do miss them, especially this time of year.

Last but not least, the bell.

These bells have been homemade by my great grandma, my grandma, and now my uncle Bob.

It is the ultimate staple for a Christmas tree.

Hailey Monster

Someone asked me why we call Hailey 'Hailey Monster'.

It is sort of silly considering she is a good baby. 

Although....she is into everything.
Today I find her with a box of Kleenex.

It was just a box by the time I got there :-)

It's beginning to look like Christmas

We put up the tree today.

Last night Stacey, Tammy, and I went Black Friday shopping. 

We met at 11:45pm and I didn't get home until 7:30 am.

Brian had told Hannah we would put up the tree today.

Hannah was so excited to help me put the ornaments on.

She would run from the couch to the tree and then back "Mommy, what can I do next?"

Here is Hannah seeing if there is a spot left on the bottom half of the tree for just one more.

Not sure if I should laugh or cry

or both...

This is our house.  This is what it looks like at all times.
Strollers, car seats, highchairs, Oh My!

I guess this is what happens when you have baby obsessed little girls.

There is stuff everywhere. 
We aren't just talking about a few things on the floor.

We are talking about objects.  Objects that you have to walk around to get places.  You can't step over them or put them in the toy box.  They don't fold up or get put away.  These are huge-in-the-way-and-seem-to-be-in-every-room objects.

Most of the time these things make me smile.  Reminders of how sweet my girls are.  Signs of who they are and how they like to play.
Sometimes though, and I hate to admit this, it makes me want to cry.  My house is too small for all of this stuff.  Sometimes I wish that we had a better place to put this stuff.

I just have to keep reminding myself that this is temporary. 
When they are 18 and all of these strollers aren't around anymore I am going to miss them.

Shoes to grow into

*Grunt and point*

Translation:

Mommy, I want to where these.

So, I put my shoes on her and watched her try to walk in them. 

It was adorable!

For a moment, she looked like she was wearing ski boots.  Her body was moving but her feet weren't.

She was finally able to take a few steps but she didn't get very far.

New

This weekend Brian went and bought us an over the range microwave.

It seemed a little large at first but it only took about 10 minutes to get used to it.

I underestimated how much I would love it!

We should have done this a few years ago when we first talked about it.

Love the new counterspace!

My turn

Ever since my weekend at the salon getting my eyebrows waxed Hannah wants to play 'eyebrow girl'.

It all started one night when she peeled the label off of a water bottle and found that the label was sticky.  She had me lay down and for about 20 minutes straight she pretended to wax my eyebrows. 

Tonight it was her turn to get her eyebrows done.

She was getting the complete spa experience.

Reminded me of when we were little and we would put rollers in grandma's hair.  I am sure that she loved sitting and having us brush and play with her hair.  Even if it was just for the small simple fact that at that moment we were sitting in one place for longer than 2 minutes.

That's what it says

Hannah:  "Mom.  I made you a list.  It says "I love you moder.  You are a great moder."  I wrote it in Chinese."

I'll take that

It is that time of year where all of the stores send out their holiday toy catalogs.

As an adult these books are fun to look at just to see how toys are changing but after about 5-6 pages it starts to get overwhelming and all the pictures start to run together.

As a three year old these books are hours of entertainment!

I picked this catalog up the other night to find that Hannah knew just what to do.  Circle what she wants.

It was actually pretty surprising to see that she didn't circle everything.

There are a few things that she insists that Santa will be bringing her this year....guess our pact for no more babies has already expired. 

Happy Birthday Agustin!

Happy Birthday Agustin!
We sure do miss you around here and wish that we could be celebrating with you!

We love you!

I will be here when you get home

It's always good to know that while you are away all day, someone is excited to see you when you get home.

Hannah set these babies up before she left for Jackie's this morning.

She must not have remembered that she did it because when she got home, she sure was surprised!

Trip to the store

Brian was making sloppy joes for dinner tonight but as he started we realized that the buns we had weren't good anymore.

My little side kick and I decided to run up to the store for buns.

On our way out the door Daddy yelled to us to grab chips also.

In the car Hannah told me that we should make a song so we don't forget. 

So from the backseat I start to hear this made up song about buns and chips.

Adorable right?!

We get into the store and I say "Hannah, remember what we need?"

She bursts into the song that she just made up.

All of the people in the store turn to look at her and start smiling and giggling...'Look at her!"

We grab buns.

"Mommy, I will hold those."

We grab chips.

"Mommy, daddy would like these ones.  I will hold them. Can I get these two? (as she point to a can of Pringles-the cheese ones)"

We grab some chip dip.

"Mommy, that's a good idea.  I will hold it."

Now, if you were paying attention that is a package of buns, a bag of chips, can of Pringles, and container of chip dip.  She had them all.  I was carrying nothing.

"Hannah, want me to take something honey?"

"No mommy, I can handle it."

And she did.

Felt sort of silly walking around the store only carrying my purse when this little 38 inch bundle of joy is looking like a sherpa.

Almost showtime

Tonight the girls were downstairs playing.

I mentioned that it was time to get ready for The Grandpa Dan Show.

Even Hailey understood what that meant and climbed up the stairs and then made her way to the table pointing and grunting at her chair.

The girls enjoyed the show tonight.

Lots of dancing and happy squeals!

Thanks guys

xoxo