A Very Merry and Blessed Christmas!

Christmas morning was wonderful! I was able to get up before the family and start my breakfast casserole for brunch. Britton was next to wake up and Santa gave her the Minnie Mouse kitchen. She ran up to it and checked out every aspect of it.  Holland and Kirk got up and Holland saw that Santa left her the Barbie dolls she asked Santa for.  We gave Holland a mini iPad and Britton the LeapPad2, and both girls loved them!  I love Christmas morning hairdos!  Holland is a crazy sleeper and her hair is always crazy in the morning.

After cleaning up the living room and bundling up, we headed over to Gaga's for Christmas presents and brunch.  The girls loved their clothes and toys!

It was so wonderful to have a White Christmas!  So beautiful and peaceful! 

After brunch and naps, we played Just Dance 4.  Britton had the most fun of anyone.  She danced her little booty off! 

We cooked our traditional supper, ate together, played cards, watched movies, and hung out some more.  It was great spending the whole day with family and being snowed in.  

Church Christmas Program

Holland was in our church Christmas program this year.  She was so excited to be the horse!  She was with three of her cousins, who were all stable animals.  Too cute!  Here are the girls before going to church for the program.

 

Holland is the tallest kid/animal in the stable animals.  She practiced her songs and animation for a few weeks before the program.  She did great! 

This is after the program.  Holland's cousins are the two kids (Shelby the cow and Carson the horse) to the left of Holland and the kid (Colbie the lamb) to the right of Holland.  They all had a blast doing this program together. 

Fantasy of Lights - 2 trips

Kirk and I took the girls to the Fantasy of Lights just for the four of us.  The girls had a blast.  Of course, I never can get a picture with both of them looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. 

Cousin Catherine and her son, Andrew, came in for Christmas so we met for dinner at El Chico's and then went to the Fantasy of Lights.  At El Chico's, Britton ate a whole bowl of chips herself.  I think the waiter filled our bowl of chips 3-4 times.  At the Lights, Holland wanted to be the big sister and held Andrew's hand and walked him through the lights.  Britton would hold on a little, but she's quite independent and wanted to lead the pack.  They all had a blast!

 

Britton (2 yrs), Holland (4.5 yrs), Andrew (3 yrs)

 

Thanksgiving/Black Friday

This year was quite different than previous years.  We didn't get together with the whole family.  We did our own little family Thanksgiving meals.  Kirk, the girls, and I went to Mom's for lunch. 

We hung out, girls napped, and then I headed into town to meet Sara at Toys R Us.  We met at 4pm and Toys R Us didn't open until 8pm.  What is really amazing is that we were out of Toys R Us by 8:06pm.  We rocked!  The rest of the night is almost a blur.  We went to Sears, Walmart, Denny's for supper at 11:00pm, Bath & Body Works, Crazy 8, Children's Place, Target, Academy, JCPenney, and Radio Shack.  We were hard core again this year.  We had our Black Friday shirts that Boomtown Embroidery made for us and I brought our walkie talkies.  I figured we wouldn't use them, but they were handy when we would divide and conquer at a store.  Much easier than digging out the cell phones to call each other.  The most amazing part is that everywhere we went, we got what we wanted.  Even if we weren't there for the opening time, we still came home with everything.  Finally at 7:00am and after 15 hours of shopping, I was exhausted and headed home with breakfast for Kirk and the girls.  I took a nap when I got home and then Friday afternoon we put up the Christmas tree.  Bono, our Elf on the Shelf, came home Friday night.  Our advent calendar is out and Holland is chomping at the bit to start the countdown.  And Saturday, I wrapped all the gifts.  I still have more gifts to buy, but the girls are taken care of. 

Mommy/Daughter Day 2 - Holland

My second mommy/daughter day was with Holland. We started our day off by going to the dentist.  We were both pumped about the dental assistant using the "electric" toothbrush to clean her teeth.  She did great!  Dentist said the gaps in her teeth were perfect because they allow for room for her permanent teeth to come in. 



 

After the dentist, we went and got Holland's flu vaccine.  After that, we went to the bank to deposit her money from her piggy bank.  After the bank, it was time for lunch.  I asked Holland where she wanted to eat and she immediately said, I want spaghetti from Olive Garden, so that's where we went.  After lunch it was time for the pampering to begin.  I took Holland for her first pedicure.  She loved it!

 

 

Next, more pampering!  Time for a haircut and style.  Britton had pulled some of Holland's hair out on one side so Holland's hair looked really thin on that side.  In order to shape up that area, they had to cut 5-6 inches off of Holland's hair.  I almost cried!  Good thing is that Holland loves it! 

 

Mommy/Daughter Day 1 - Britton

The girls and I had mommy/daughter days while Kirk went home to visit his parents and help them with some home renovations.  The first day was with Britton.  First we went to her 2 year appt.  She weighs 28 pounds and 13 ounces, which places her in the 80th percentile.  She is 35.5 inches tall, which is also in the 80th percentile.  Dr. Mike said she was doing great and right on track.  She received 2 shots and her flu vaccine.  Britton did awesome!  We went to the bank and took her piggy bank in to deposit her money.  I explained why we put our money in the bank and let her hand over her cash and coin receipt to the teller.  Next we went to her dentist appt.  The dentist and his assistant were extremely impressed with how well she did getting her teeth cleaned for the first time.  They brushed her teeth while she laid there watching cartoons.  I sat down beside her and she never flinched.  Britton was a perfect patient!  Here is Britton waiting for her dentist appt.

After the dentist, it was time for lunch.  I asked Britton what she wanted to eat and she said, chips and cheese.  The girls favorite chips and cheese is from Taco Bueno so that's where we went.  She enjoyed her nachos and smoothie.  After eating, it was time to shop!  We headed over to Toys R Us and I ended up buying a lot of the girls Christmas toys.  I was shocked Britton didn't notice what all was in the buggy, but she held my shopping list and pencil and was drawing the whole time.  Britton was pooped after her busy day so we headed home and took a nap.  I wish I had taken more photos of Britton while we were out, but with holding her it is difficult at times to get the phone out to take photos.  I know............ excuses.  Overall, we had a great day and we can't wait to do it again!

Britton turns 2!!

Today is Britton's 2nd birthday!  Wow - how time flies!  We celebrated her birthday yesterday with a Minnie Mouse themed party at GaGa's house.  Her family and friends were all there.  Britton had a blast!  Boomtown Embroidery made Britton's "I'm 2" Minnie Mouse shirt and tutu.  So adorable!

 

 

Britton enjoyed everyone singing to her, but didn't want to blow out her candles.  She just stared at them.

 

Britton received tons of cute clothes and Minnie Mouse toys.

We are so blessed!  Britton may be a handful, but she's so much fun and keeps us on our toes.  She can entertain herself, plays well with Holland, and has so much energy.  Britton is such a blessing! 

It's done!!

Kirk got a wild hair and decided to make a huge flower bed to give our house curb appeal.  We have been working on this flower bed since April.  Fortunately, we have a tractor to use that helped a lot.  It has been a lot of work, but well worth it.  We had to remove all of our old shrubs, dig up 3 trailer loads of dirt, put up a retainer wall, haul in 6 trailer loads of dirt, wait to get through the hot summer, put in plants and flowers, then finally the soaker hose and mulch.  The girls helped pick out all the different perennials and helped plant them.  I'm very proud of our work.  Here are the before and after pictures. 

Cinderella and Pumpkin

Holland picked out her Cinderella costume this year, but she wanted Britton to be Snow White.  I waited too long and I couldn't get Britton's size in a Snow White outfit, so Britton ended up being a pumpkin.  The girls absolutely loved their costumes.  They both behaved very well and didn't want to mess up any of their costume.  We went to Trunk or Treat at our church, a few family/friends houses, and then home to pass out candy.