Goodbye 2011!

You were a great year, and like it or not, it is time to move on to 2012.  It will be the year of a vacation away from my babies, a big girl bed and potty training, new big front teeth (hopefully!) and graduation from Kindergarten…

My 2010 recap was a ton of fun, so here I am doing it for 2011.

January 2011
A banner month for our family…

Mikayla introduced the family to pink eye.  She shared it with her sister which was really nice of her.


We took our first trip to Wisconsin Dells and though Mikayla battled a terrible ear infection, we managed to have fun and make it a tradition.


I  talked about how many mom badges I earned and realized that when times get tough on the road of motherhood, you never are alone when you reach out to others.  With the onset of a brutal double ear infection, we had no idea that the unwelcome fluid would hang along for too long…

February 2011 
Mallory went down a waterslide all by herself, thus conquering a big fear.  Her dad and I stood on the sidelines and realized that parental pride is something that soars inside of each and every parent. 

March 2011 
Molly and I saw the sparkle in these two girls explode when we took them to see Princess’ On Ice.


Nine months later, there are still moments where I still cannot tell their laughter apart.


April 2011
Mikayla’s love for coloring sprouted.  She still requests ducks and fish. 

Looking back at these pictures, I am in awe of her vibrant red hair.  These are the times when I ask myself, Will I look back in one, two, three years and wonder, where did all the red go? 

May 2011
Two loveys under arm, we took Mikayla to have her tubes put in.  The surgery was a piece of cake (such a relief) and with ears no longer plugged with fluid, she was able to hear us clearly for the first time in 4 months.   We listened and hoped for a language explosion.  We waited only a few months before we realized that we needed extra help in this area…


Mallory played T-Ball.  The games were both fun as we watched her play, and exhausting as we tried to keep Mikayla from joining her sister out on the field.


Mikayla took a big bug for a walk.  She loved on him and it started a real love for all things creepy and crawly.


June 2011
She graduated from preschool. From that point forward her eyes were set on Kindergarten in September.


We made a big decision to move back to Woodbury.  I never could have imagined how “right” the move would really feel…

She continued to love on all things creepy and crawly.  When she met a toad for the first time she acted exactly as I had imagined-loving every last hop the little green toad took.


July 2011
I thought I had a really great idea when we spontaneously decided to go the Air Expo.  Yikes.  Fail.

We moved.  I was exhausted and slightly overwhelmed with the never-ending to-do list that went along with it.  One of my slowest blog months yet…

August 2011
Mikayla turned two and we celebrated for weeks. 

We stumbled upon some snakes.  Enough said.


September 2011
Mallory climbed up on the big yellow bus on her way to her very first day of Kindergarten.  She has continued to love every single day.  That is the only highlight this month needs…
     

October 2011
We adjusted to the school routine with only a few bumps along the way.  Fridays continue to be hard days, but knowing what to expect makes it a little more bearable.

Not once, but twice.  Mallory lost both of her front teeth within days of each other.  Her toothless smile never gets old.


Mikayla thought a French fry belonged up her nose, instead of in her mouth.  It was a very long 24 hours and a very very expensive small order of French fries.

November 2011
It snowed just once.  We were lucky enough to see about 4 inches of the fluffy white stuff.  Mallory took full advantage of the winter fun and played until  her cheeks were raw with hives, thus showing us that her Cold Uticaria is still present.  This has been the only measurable snow fall to date…

Mikayla made leaps and bounds with her language.  She is now currently yelling for her sister in full “MAWaWEEE”  We love every new word that she works so hard to say.  She babbles enough for a classroom full of toddlers and we are starting to see sentences and questions (why?) fall into place. 

December 2011
The month of the holidays.  We packed as much fun as possible into the first 25 days of December.  There was cookie bakes, Santa visits, gingerbread building, shopping trips to pick out secret gifts, a Christmas Tree meant just for us, and so much more.  I really feel at peace with the traditions that we have started and continued as a family.  The blend of traditions that are decades old coupled with the ones that we started when our family started give us warm fuzzies that will carry us well into the new year. 

Here we stand on the doorstep of 2012.  What will it bring for all of us and what will the recap look like in 365 days?  I cannot wait to find out!

Christmas Un-wrapped

As I sit here on December 27th I feel a bit overwhelmed.  I want and need to document our memories from this Christmas but my mind is a flutter with the Christmas Hangover we all have.  For the sake of all things holly-berry I will remember, more with pictures than words.

Christmas Eve was spent with my Dad’s side of the family.  It was a nice full day of appetizers, family, and gifts. My dad hosted and he did an amazing job decorating.  It bled Christmas just like it used to and it all felt so festive. 




One of the best gifts was from Kate to Mikayla. A dress up doctor outfit. Scrubs, a white coat, a hat and mask.  Mikayla loved getting it and I am pretty sure it is safe to say Kate loved giving it to her. 
   

Christmas Morning
One of the chart toppers as far as family Christmas mornings go.  The girls were so excited. The dog was even exited to open her gifts! 

Mallory was thrilled to get exactly what she asked for from Santa-a white dog with a purple leash.  The dog barked before she got the wrapping paper off and her eyes were so shocked.  With this picture you can almost hear the squeal she let out…


Lucy tried to sit patiently and wait for the kids to finish opening her presents.  She gave a good effort and scratching them open, but two eager helpers pitched in to finish the job.  She squeaked her new toy for the remainder of the morning…


Santa brought Mikayla duck decoys.  She wasted no time once she opened her plastic bugs in having the two play together.  This age is so fun.


It doesn’t get much better than this.  My two girls,  fancy dresses, both smiling, standing in front of our beloved tree.  An absolute “framer”.


Christmas day down in Jordan. Kentucky came home!  Here are all five cousins together.  The older kids picked up right where they left off.  After hugs and smiles, they busily set off playing family… 

How to feed Santa’s Reindeer

You need just a few things to successfully feed Santa’s Reindeer.

1.  Most importantly, you need the idea.  Giving credit where credit is due, feeding Santa’s reindeer was not my idea.  I saw it on Kelle Hampton’s Blog, Enjoying The Small Things.  She threw her kids an amazing “North Pole Party” where, among other things, they put together some food for the reindeer.

2.  You need a pantry with a few opened packages of random dried goods you are wanting to get rid of.  Our recipe included rice cakes that needed crushing.  Rice cakes are good source of “crunch” for the reindeer while they wait for Santa to drop the gifts off at our house.  Corn meal.  This is good for keeping the reindeer feeling full longer, thus being able to continue on with the very busy night that they have.  Hot cocoa mix.  Mallory thought this was to keep them warm (she is so smart).  I added that the sugary cocoa mix also gives them the extra energy boost they needed to lift the sleigh off the ground. Shredded carrots.  Because, hello, we all need vegetables in our diet.  And finally, glitter.  How else would they see the food if we didn’t add the sparkly glitter for Rudolph’s nose to shine on letting them know where their snack is.  

3.  You need a few willing kids who are full of wonder and awe.  Have them help crush, mix, shred, and sprinkle. 



4.  With Wonder and Awe by your side take the food outside and have them decide where the best spot to drop the food would be.  We talked about where the sleigh would land, how far apart all 9 reindeer would stand and where we thought Santa would fly off to next.  Little Wonder kept saying “See ho, ho, ho?”  Big Awe kept telling her that we “Wouldn’t be seeing Santa until tomorrow night—when we sneak out and take a peek when we hear his jingle bells.”  Something tells me Awe won’t be getting a very good nights sleep this Christmas Eve…

Here Mallory checks out the ratio between grass and chimney entrance for Santa.
         

  

      

Four easy steps to add some sparkle to the season.  Now if I am really lucky, we will wake up tomorrow to a few deer grazing on the food we left out in the yard.  Eating all the food before the reindeer have a chance??  No!  They are testing it out to report back to the reindeer to let the know that this place has the good stuff!

Snowman Funny

Photo courtesy of guy-sports.com

Pre-Christmas 2011

As you have all read, I have preached that the season of Christmas is not just about receiving.  The girls have listened and have enjoyed making traditions and giving back to others to learn what it is all about to truly celebrate Christmas.

I would be lying if I didn’t say how fun it is to watch the girls excitement as the holiday unfolds before us.  We are lucky.  The girls have presents under the tree and we have thoroughly enjoyed picking out a few things that we know will make them smile.  With a 5 year old and a 2 year old this year is going to top the excitement charts. It is sure to be an exciting few days watching our girls tear into gifts and squeal with delight when they see what is waiting for them under shiny paper and inside cardboard boxes.

I cannot wait.

She opened one gift this weekend and check out that smile!


Kentucky comes home in 6 days.  That means Mallory will be able to wrap her arms around her cousins that she has been missing so much lately.  She told me yesterday that the first thing she is going to do is “run and give them the biggest hug ever!” 
If this moment plays out in front of me like I am envisioning, I am going to be a mess of tears.  We are going to drink in as much family and fun as we can over the holiday weekend that is to come…

Toddler Play

When toddlers are left to their imaginations
you never know what you might find…

As I was making dinner, I opened the cupboard to pull out the toaster and this is what I found. 
Apparently sisters needed a tan before they headed to South Beach.
Please note: the toaster is never plugged in unless up on the counter out of reach.
Calm.Down.


Kitchen/Great room of the doll house
Does this mean the cow was invited for dinner or steak was served as the main course?


Giant cookies for dessert in the attic! 
“What’s that Dad? You want to know where we got our great tan? 
Oh, we have the perfect spot…”


Looks like the dog was treated to the leftovers from dinner…

Gingerbread House-2011

We headed to the Lindner’s this year to partake in the 3rd annual Gingerbread making extravaganza.  The moral of this year’s tale is
“Remember what you’ve learned from mistakes made in past years.” 

The men always build the structure.  It’s just what they do.  This year was no different, they both got right to work.  They started out with very similar strategies. 



Frosting glue, cookie sides, frosting glue, cookie roof…

Somewhere, somehow, the Lindner Lodge mistakenly read their house plans wrong.  It might have something to do with the immediate “blizzard” that fell upon the roof or maybe it was the way the designers took hold to the roof with candy shingles…whatever happened it was not good.

They tried more frosting glue and that didn’t work.  So they tried some more glue, and that still didn’t work. 







As you can see, once again, Mallory snacked her way through the decorating process. She loves this day.  She has come a long way in her three short years of being a decorator.  This year she had a method and a small strategy to the way she placed the candy on the house.


Mikayla decorated her own cookies and loved spreading the frosting, shaking the sprinkles, and tasting as she went along.




Abbie watched contentedly from her highchair eating crackers and sipping on milk.  Once again, we commented on how different one year from now will be…three sets of messy fingers and sprinkles on the floor from wall to wall. 

 
Above: Mallory’s Masterpiece.  Below: Poor Lindner Lodge

Sisters. A new milestone

Mallory you are one month shy of six and Mikayla you are all of your two years.  It is two weeks before Christmas and our house is in full Holiday-Prep mode.  We are all Merry with the season…   You two are amazing little girls. 

From the minute we brought Mikayla home from the hospital, Mallory embraced her big sister role.  She never once asked for her to leave, never tried to push her away, and always wanted to help.  Mikayla continues growing up only knowing the position of the younger sister.  She has a sister she runs to if her parents put her in a timeout.  She gives an occasional “hooorraaaay!” when Mallory gets home from school.  Over the past three years their relationship has grown and changed, and recently we are seeing a real bond emerge.  Thursday morning Mikayla cried and cried because she didn’t want Mallory to go to school.  Mallory got down on her level and said “It’s okay Mikayla. I promise to play with you when I get home and then in just 2 days I get my weekend and we can play for two whole days.”  Mikayla gave a tearful “yep” and Mallory stuck to her word, playing with her that afternoon and all weekend long.  From school to daycare and bake sale to cake walks, they have played and played for the last two days.  They snuggled on the couch to watch a few Christmas classics, they giggled together while taking a bubble bath and they attended Mallory’s wedding. It was a very eventful weekend.

   

Sounds just about perfect doesn’t it?

Well, I wouldn’t be who I was if I didn’t give it to you straight up.  Mallory and Mikayla, you two also have learned to fight like sisters.  A toothless blonde wanting to be in charge and a red headed two year old who just wants to do it her way--you have a recipe for a knock down brawl.  Mikayla growls and swats and Mallory screeches “I am telling mom!” 

The dynamics between the two of you, on most days, is wonderful.  The other moments during our long winter weekend days, seem slightly daunting.  I can see the crumbles begin to fall and before long you both are a mess of screeches and screams with tears following not far behind.

I’ll be honest, as I have seen it begin to unfold, I was nervous and slightly annoyed with the new milestone.  I barked at them to stop and I pleaded with each to just get along.  Quickly, I realized that this is an important step for their relationship.  It is one that they need to figure out for years and years to come.  So I am learning to step back.  I listen to make sure the swats and screams don’t turn into fist throws and bloody noses.  There are times when I will talk with each about what the “situation” was about, and then there are other times when I let a spat go un-discussed.  Sometimes one comes running to tattle and other times they move on and as quickly as it started, it is done. 

This new milestones means the depth and the strength of the sister bond that you have is growing stronger.  I hope that we are giving you the home environment that is needed to grow a relationship that will not crumble under any circumstances.  I hope you go about your days knowing that someone always has your back.  When your first boyfriend breaks your heart, I hope you crawl into bed with your sister and cry until you giggle knowing that you are much better off without that stupid boy.  I hope that when your parents rules drive you both crazy, you can stay up late and talk all about how they are out to ruin both of your lives. Go ahead, devise a game plan to break free (I dare you).  If either of you ever choose to marry, I hope the other is standing witness, even if she is the only witness you have to the union.  And when one of you finds out you are about to become a mother, I hope you pick up the phone and know exactly who deserves one of the very first phone calls. 

You two have each other for now and forever. 
Hug. Swat. Growl. Giggle.
For now and forever…

It’s more than just a tree

I had visions of us plowing through the “forest” walking circles around rows and rows of pine trees until, under the shining light from above, we would proclaim that “This is it. This is our tree.”  I should know better than to go into with a planned, perfect expectation in my head..

From the minute I woke up on the day of the big Christmas tree adventure, I felt off.  I had a long weekend filled with less than normal sleep and more than normal delicious food.  I went about the day, played outside with the kids and shoveled the driveway, tried to eat lunch, addressed our Christmas cards and just tried to ignore the anger that was my gut.  When we piled into the van and headed 3 miles down the road to the tree farm, I wasn’t feeling any better.  Long story short, Brent and the kids walked around for 10 minutes before I called them back and said I needed to go home.  Brent walked down one aisle of pre-cut trees, told the employee what type he was looking for and grabbed the first one they recommended.  He strapped it to the roof and we were on our way home. 

Once we got the tree in the house and in the stand we gave him a big drink of water and let him thaw out overnight before we decorated it.  Slowly over the next 24 hours his branches began to fall and I fell in love with our tree.  I never knew there was such a place for a happy feeling when it comes to a tree…  The smell, the size, the softness of the branches, the fact that the tree is so fat it looks like it is stuffed with more branches than normal, this tree couldn’t have been a better fit for our very first Eid Family Christmas Tree. 







When the tree was ready to be decorated, like typical kids, the girls had a blast hanging the ornaments.  They picked special spots for their ornaments and just the right branch to hold it up.

  

  

Standing lit in our living room, this tree looks like it was meant to be in no other house than our own.  I am pretty sure a light was shining down on this very tree,
pointing at us to “pick me! pick me!” and I am so glad Brent did.