{ christmas 2009 }

{lots of arts and crafts this year, yay!}

{addie and her new cash register, Grace is purchasing her barbie head}

{puzzles & "daddy" cheese (smoked tillamook cheese- it is the only cheese Grace will snack on! }

We really did have Christmas this year at our house, I am just now getting the pictures onto my computer....

Christmas Eve came and we made the necessary preperations for Santa. Cookies, milk, and a note. Then we opened the traditional pajamas from grandma C. and the girls also bought each other a present this year and they opened those too. The little people then headed off to bed after 2 readings of the 'Twas the night before Christmas'. They were fast asleep and Santa got busy wrapping and stuffing socks. 3 am- Grace awakes and asks me if it is morning yet. Back to sleep she goes and Addie joined us in our room around 6:30 and asked if she could watch Nutcracker, Barbie style of course, she must have forgotten that it was Christmas....... 7 am, Grace joins us in our room and we go check to see if we were naughty or nice this year. {Santa must not really be a stickler on the whole naughty or nice rule} Grace got her Barbie head :) and Addie got her tea set/cart. The girls were thrilled with their presents and I only took a few photos and decided to get the video camera out. I figured a couple of pictures in their jammies opening presents will do.

{merry 3rd birthday ADDIE cakes}

{DECEMBER 21}
Our little Christmas baby turned 3!! I was hoping to have some nice pictures of her taken for this post, but the weather hasn't cooperated for me!! I also cut her hair as soon as I looked at these pictures, I promise I brush her hair (except for the first picture, they just got out of the bath tub!)

We started the morning with opening 1 present to occupy
these wild girls so I could get ready!

Then we were off to Build-a-Bear. (Who knew they could charge so much for a stuffed animal.?)

The girls thoroughly enjoyed the experience and are still talking about the next outfit they are going to buy for their animals. Addison could not take her eyes off the shoes, they were pretty cute!

After we finished making Pinkalicious (the bunny) and Ballerina (the dog) we headed home to wait not so patiently for dad, then off to Red Robin for some dinner and home to open the rest of the presents and have cupcakes!

Addie facts:

-has a fear of looking like a boy :). Not really, but every time I try to get her to wear pants she cries and tells me that she will look like a boy! If she is wearing anything but a dress or skirt than you know it was a struggle to get her into it.

-loves, loves, loves her princess figurines and coloring. Those pretty much occupy her for the entire day. I love listening to her play and talk to her little princess buddies. She has to take them with her to bed every night, there is always a moment of panic when I announce that it is bed time and she needs to find something to transport them in.

-she has a lot of sass, but is also very sweet. She has a super sweet voice that she talks to you in when you are sad or injured, and it is always an inch from your face and with a soft stroke of your cheek.

I am sure I will have more to say about her when I get her "3" year old pictures posted.

{santa}

I was starting to wonder if my kids would get to sit on Santa's lap this year because we skipped our ward party and I wasn't going to stand in the line at the mall.  Well Albertsons saved the day!  Who knew we could get groceries and see Santa in one stop!  He's not as cute as the mall Santa but he will do this year.  Grace was so brave, she didn't freeze up and start sucking on her fingers!! Grace let him know she would like a Barbie head and Addie didn't care for him so much and sat there whimpering until I saved her!

{Christmas program}

Grace had her Christmas performance for preschool a couple weekends ago.  Here are a couple highlights, she is the only girl wearing a brown dress, so she is easy to spot!  She got to use the microphone to say her name and wish everyone a Merry Christmas!  You can tell she had a lot of fun!

{December brings.....}

{the NUTCRACKER}

Grace and I got to go to the Nutcracker this year with some of her friends, they were so fun to watch- they would clap at the appropriate time, jaws would drop at dramatic parts, and costumes were dibbed as they twirled across the stage. 

{TRADITIONS}

Some old, some new......  this year we have added a "hugging" ball, we figured that would be more sanitary this year. :)  We also have a "hiding" Santa.  This is an old ornament from when I was little and Grace loves for us to hide it for her or hide it for us.  She really could play this all night.  It has been a lot of fun for us to play every night after dinner!  I think hiding the santa and their $1 advent calendars are among their favorites this year!

{DECORATIONS}

Here is Grace standing amongst some of our decor, but most importantly her and Addison's own little trees.  I picked these up this year because I was being a Grinch when I was decorating "my" tree and didn't want their help.  I felt bad so I saved them some ornaments, they loved my collection from when I was little!  They got to decorate their tree how ever they pleased.  They also get to buy 1 new ornament each year and I usually "help" them pick it out, but this year they really got to pick whatever they wanted (I'm really growing here!!) and boy did they pick out some good ones!! (One of them is on the bottom of Addie's tree on the left)  I might have to get a close up for you!!

I had to have this on my tree.  Its a favorite!

and of course this globe my sister bought me in Switzerland sparkles in the window!

It's one of my favorites.

{Oh Christmas tree, oh Christmas tree...}

Addie stands in front of our tree and sings Oh Christmas tree.....  but I think those are the only words she knows.  I actually am so indecisive that picking out a tree stresses me out.  This year we let Grace pick it out, and she picked out one fine tree.  Here she is with HER beauty of a tree. 

Hunting for that perfect tree

Cutting her down

There they are.  Addison really was happy, she just had her eye on a certain tree.  I think it may have almost been a foot tall.......  and would have cost the same!! 

Tis the season!!

{Gracie Face}

Oh how this child entertains us. These are just a few of our favorites things about Grace at the moment.

-I have heard her on a few occasions in the bath tub with her sister calling her "salad", I don't know why but it cracks me up to hear them playing and her saying, "Salad? Do you want this?"
-Grace can read (resite) "The Napping House" to us word for word. She also does a pretty close exact resiting of "Pinkalicious". It makes us smile every time she reads to us.
-She has taken an interest in spelling and adding. She is constantly asking me how to spell words or wants me to quiz her on her addition. Or sometimes she will just spout out some random letters and ask me what it spells- that actually gets old fast.
-Dancing. She is always wanting us to watch her leaps and ballet moves. We love turning on her favorite Christmas songs and watching her seriousness as she dances.
-Music. She loves music. She can't help sing along to a song she loves. Sometimes when she is whining to me in the car I hurry and turn on her music and she can't help but to stop whining and start singing away. I love it.
-Her favorite song for the past year has been "Carol of the Bells". It's really not a Christmas song to me anymore. :)

{little miss}

{color or black and white?}

I feel a little guilty putting another picture of Addie on here and not Grace.  But here it is, another picture of Addie (in all fairness Grace was in school and I do spend a lot more time with this kid).  Anyway, a friend was giving me a few photography tips and I just really liked this picture because you can see Addie's little Dora bandaid (and of course her sweet little face).  But the bandaid has been a sore subjec at our house this week.  She got her flu shot (or "flea" shot as Grace calls it)  and will not get her arm wet and thinks her arm still hurts when actually it is the half attached bandaid that keeps tugging on her arm that she won't let me pull off!!!

{What are you thankful for?}

Here is our "thankful" tree!  Last year my sister made a tree  like this and had her family write on the leaves things they were thankful for.  I thought it was so cute that I copied her this year.  Our tree is up and since taking the photo we now have added things we are thankful for!  I will have to take another picture after Thanksgiving, I wanted a picture of the tree before it was "loved".

{My Buddy-}

Addie: "Are you ready to go? Lets rock and roll, buddy!"

{Halloween 2009}

{trick-or-treat}

Here are the girls with friends getting ready to go trick-or-treat.

Jonathan and I were invited to a Halloween party and we decided to dress up last minute (I found these the day of the party) this is what we came up with!

Our spooky tree.

Seems like every year Jonathan does it all when it comes to carving pumpkins- the kids just watch. This year was pretty much the same but we let the girls draw their own faces and we just cut them out for them. I think they have character, and they were so proud of their pumpkins! Addie's is on the chair and Grace's is on the bottom.

{the Cowgirl & the Butterfly}

I know this isn't what Jessie wears in Toy Story, but thats what she says she is!

{Halloween's coming.....}

{Butterfly}

The girls are ready for Halloween! More photos coming!

{love this kid......}

Jonathan sat down to watch a movie with Grace and Addison and he asked Addie if she liked her dad, she turned and looked at him and then turned back to her movie and said-
"umm, not so much, just a little bit."

{Cranberry Festival}

We met some of my family for the weekend in Grayland, WA for the Cranberry Festival. I can't believe how much we did in the short time we were there. I forget how much I love the Coast, and how different it is from the Puget Sound, it is an actual beach with soft sand!! Get ready for a TON of pictures, there was a lot to photograph.

{the beach}

When we arrived Friday afternoon we hurried to the first beach access road and let the girls out to play. The weather was incredibly warm and sunshiny! Grace and Addison loved the soft sand and Addison was rolling around in it! Not long after we were there we spotted some horses on the beach, oh how Grace would have loved that! (and her mother).

{the festival}

The next morning we headed to the cranberry festival. The girls tasted the craisins and the cranberry relish, yum! We also saw the largest CORN DOG I have ever seen and some fantastic pine cones with googly eyes :) Then we signed up for our bog tours and off we went to play on the beach some more!

{the lighthouse}

{sand dollar heaven}

We decided the check out the beach by the lighthouse and discovered that it was the place to find sand dollars. there were so many of them, it was ridiculous. I think I came home with probably a hundred!!

{the bog tour}

We took our little tour of the cranberry bogs and stopped at one of the farm to learn more about harvesting them. Although I had hoped for seeing them flood the bogs (maybe we can find those next year), it was still very interesting. 95% of these farmers sell to Ocean Spray, which is a Co-op, so support your farmers and buy Ocean Spray!

No, this is not one of the kids, this is my sister who fell through a board and into the bog! She has fantastic timing too, the farmer had seriously just finished telling us that the very large elk cause problems and sometimes break his board walkways around the bogs...... Que Jenny, who then falls right through the board with a loud thump. Thanks Jen, one of my highlights!

{back to sand dollar heaven}

after the bog tour we headed back to the beach to collect more sand dollars!!

this is what you wear when you leave the beach because you pottied in your pants. I can't blame the little girl. I'm sure she didn't realize she had to go until she got onto the beach and heard the crashing of the waves and just couldn't hold it!!!

We lost Harry for a minute......... (Aunt Stephanie searching)

Here's the gang. I love Addie's face and Harry and his sand dollar.

There were actually a lot of surfers out!

{the bog jog}

Sunday morning my sister ran in the 10K bog jog............. and WON!!!!!! She beat a bunch of boys from the coast guard, way to go Sarah.

Here she is just making her way into second place.....

and then we waited at the finish line...... there she came all by herself!!! She wasted everyone.

Here she is collecting her "gold medal"!!!! Sarah wasn't the only winner that day, Harry won this great sweatshirt! Look at his proud mother!!

Thanks everyone for a great weekend!