Merry Merry Merry

I'm a bit overwhelmed by the amount of photos we have and all that has happened since my last post so I'm doing an abbreviated Christmas posting.

We had a blast hosting Christmas for Brian's family this year. I had so much help from everyone I never even felt stressed. The girls provided the entertainment for all and we got to do lots of visiting with everyone.

Everyone left Christmas Eve morning and Brian and I went into turbo drive and cleaned everything, took down all the Christmas decorations, washed all the laundry and packed bags. We drove 10 hours the next day to spend Christmas in P'cola with my family. Kendall, Kelly, and Patrick played so well together. Kendall and her Memaw danced early Christmas morning around the kitchen. Then we went to Kristy's for a great southern brunch and then we were treated to the afternoon at Nancy, and Gus's and a very yummy dinner by Gus and Nancy! Lots of special treats during our stay, Kendall got cookies and played Candy Land, Kate got to make out with her kissing cousin, Sammy (his inability to crawl away made him an easy target). We all trekked down to the park next to Memaw's house and the kids totally wore themselves out and cracked us up with all their tricks.

Now we're home. I've had to do the annual toy sort and Kate has returned to making out with her immediate family. Actually, here she is practicing CPR. See the nasal aspirator in her other hand?

Gasp

Can you find the hidden message that Kate is sending to me?

I don't think that she likes lasagna.

The Chicken Has Flown the Coop

Man, you guys are good. Just returned from the doctor's office. Yesterday we saw the nurse practitioner and today we saw the doctor. She said it was DEFINITELY not chicken pox! WHOO HOOO

The Chicken Has Landed

So we're ready. The first of our guests, Ron and Susan (AKA Gram & Pop), are due to arrive today and we're all ready for them.

Fridge and pantry stocked.........check

Car prepped for drive to Florida (new battery, oil, tires rotated).....check

floor mopped..........................check

sheets washed.......................check

air vents vacuumed...............check

chicken pox.............................check

Yes, despite the vaccine Kendall has a small case of the chicken pox. So small in fact that we are getting a second opinion today. She doesn't even know that it is there and behaves as if she is feeling perfectly fine. But, those little bumps could potentially throw a big wrench in the festivities. Pray that it was misdiagnosed or that it just mysteriously disappears today!

Keep Your Distance.

Don't get too close. Brian and I woke up after our night out with yucky colds. We're both feeling pretty crummy but trying to push through and continue to check things off our to-do list. Kate tried out Kendall's booster seat and some new pasta pick ups yesterday. We also finally hung those prints that we bought two years ago! More pictures later.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Last night was Brian's work Christmas party. The dress was "holiday festive" so I wore this dress that is lined in green with a green chunky necklace and a bright red clutch. My "festive" part was how I flipped my hair out instead of under, ha. Brian, however, had to wear this holiday tie and some unfortunate red socks with black polka dots. We ate at a nice restaurant, had good wine, and had some really nice conversation with other adults (always a big deal for me). Then we all walked over to the attached theater to hear the Wynonna Judd Christmas concert. I've never been a big Wynonna Judd fan (although she does have a beautiful voice) but it was great to hear all the classic Christmas songs. It was kind of like a Christas production wrapped up with a therapy session since she kept telling us all that she is learning in her "recovery". The theatre is really small so we were all pretty close, it was a nice night.

When we got home the girls were nestled all snug in their beds. I am so thankful that Lorie is here to watch them, I don't worry about them at all. Here I am calling from the theatre to check on everyone (the only time)

Hooray for Sage

Well, it's a "one day job" that will end up taking three days but that is okay because I love it. I especially love it at this time of year with my red button tree, super cute and yummy flavored oil & vinegar in a red jar from my super cute sister Sara and with my berry wreath that hangs on my pantry door.

Breaking news: Months of drooling and gnawing has finally paid off because today Kate broke her first tooth. It was only yesterday that I mentioned to Brian (for the first time EVER) that Kate was kind of grouchy. Ah ha, now it all makes sense. This new development comes not a moment too soon since big sister tried out her own chompers on Kate's little fingers today. Yes, it's true. My little girl, that hates to be separated from me, spent double over time in time out. And words that normally come so hard for her (I'm sorry) spilled out nearly as quickly as the tears from her "Baby Kate's" eyes.

Speaking of Pony Tails

Check out this bouncy little tail. Brian and I have debated cutting her hair again. I see pictures of her cute little bob and I miss it but then I put it in piggies or see this bouncy pony and change my mind.

Ta-da, here is my new do. Some may say it hasn't changed but I beg to differ. You may not be able to tell but there are bangs which I haven't sported since I was about 8. It's a bit shorter and the layers are even now. Considering that this is what I started with not too long ago, you can see that it has come a long way.

Just a Quick Quick One

Say hello to "Sage Green". I love it. Originally it was to be "Golden Chalice" but golds/yellows are so tricky that I kind of wimped out. Brian picked out "Shakespeare" and we told the painter but then I decided that it was too neon and he and I both agreed on this Sage color and we are both very very happy. This is just he first coat, they're coming back today to finish. Oh, and pay no attention to the girl in the reflection.

I am also getting a haircut today. I haven't decided exactly what I'm going to do yet. I will say that my husband, who has always liked short hair, has recently decided that he likes my ponytail. I like my ponytail too, not because of the way it looks but because I can pull it up when I work out, do housework...you know glamorous stuff like that. I'll post pictures tonight.

Repeat and Repeat...and Repeat

Kendall has reached a repetitive stage. If she asks for something and it isn't delivered within 2.3 seconds then she repeats the question (even if you answer, "yes, let's go get xyz") repeat, repeat, repeat. You can rephrase the answer 538 different ways but she will still ask the question again. This is if you answer affirmatively. If, however, you give her an answer that she doesn't like such as, "No, we're not having ice cream right now" she'll repeat the question roughly 1,692 times in the hopes that your answer will change (it doesn't). There are not words that can adequately describe how much I love this little girl of mine but this new development would have even tested the patience of Mother Theresa.

Kate is a mini Paper Chick. Maybe I'll call her the Paper Chicklet. She really LOVES paper. If she sees paper on the floor she can crawl at warp speed to get to it. At the gym they put these little paper bracelets on the kids that have corresponding numbers to the parents paper bracelets. Sometimes, on the little babies they just stick the bracelet to the back of their shirt with the sticky end. Kate crawls around the nursery ripping the bracelets off the other babies and they catch her crawling away with the paper in her mouth like a little dog bone. The other day they thought that they outwitted her by wrapping the bracelets around the babies ankles. She crawled over to little Conner and tugged and tugged on that paper bracelet but that sucker was just not coming off. So being the resourceful Paper Chicklet that she is she plopped down on her belly and chewed on the paper while it was still around his ankle. That's my girl.

And finally, the last of this semesters online class from this Paper Chick. A child's crayon apron. I'm pleased with how it turned out.

Wings sure make it hard to fit into your booster seat but nothing can come between this girl and her "cereal in milk". I go through different breakfast food phases and recently I have been eating Kashi cereal. Kendall has taken a liking to it too. I refuse to buy the 'normal' kid, sugar coated cereals if she likes this good stuff!

Brian bought this grouping of frames for Kendall's room months ago. Since we're having company soon I'm getting busy on all the small projects around the house and I finally finished this today. The Mary Jane shoes and the flower are both things that I have seen on different crafty sites and have just saved the pictures until I can recreate them. The little bunnies are from Kendall's Gram, the pink initial is Pottery Barn and the little initial is a scrapbooking sticker that happened to fit perfectly in the frame. The flower on the right is scrap supplies too. I would like the frame in the bottom center spot to be horizontal so that the initial is off to one side but we hung the frames before I added the stuff so I'm just working with what I have.

Whole Lotta Lurking

I've added the Site Meter feature to the blog. Now I can look to see how many people are looking at the blog, where in the U.S. (or world) they are, and how they got here (via a link from another blog, saved 'favorite'...) and all I've got to say is there is a whole lot of lurking going on out there. You guys need to speak up in the comments section!


In other news. Kate has decided to learn to cook.


I've been wrapping presents and making things to go into Kendall's photo grouping in her room. Pics to come soon (tomorrow?).

Where's the Snow?

We had a fun day yesterday going shopping with Aunt Lorie. The girls were great and everytime we would get in the car Kendall would say, "I don't want to go home, one more store?" We didn't really buy very much (other then diapers, wipes...) but Kendall did score this snow suit and gloves. She is wearing it today and wondering when the snow will arrive. Brian laughed at this purchase claiming that it never snows here.

While we were out we ran in Old Jolly again. Kate thought he was pretty funny.

We're staying pretty busy here. We're hosting Christmas at our house this year (I'm very excited) and I have a long list of things to do to prepare. I seem to get side tracked though, like today, I spent a large period of time organizing my recipe book. You know, just sticking to the important stuff.