Christmas 2011

Merry Christmas!

Keira, being an early riser, was first down to see what Santa brought.

 She was happy to unwrap a new tutu!  (can never have enough tutus, dress-up clothes, costume jewelry, etc!)

Brooke was so excited to open up her "horse trailer".  It was "Just what I wanted!" she exclaimed.

Christmas dinner was enjoyed by all...Maddie probably even swiped some food off Keira's tray.

Merry Christmas to all,

and we thank God for the gift of his Son!

Christmas Eve 2011

First off, notice our tree.  There are no ornaments below (adult) waist level.  All ornaments needed to be moved up as little hands kept re-arranging and playing with them.

We tried for a family picture; only tried a couple times, and none of those really came out good.  Oh well.

Opening Christmas Eve presents -- new snowmen pajamas!

Besides Grandpa and Mimi in town, we also had another guest in the house...one with four legs: Buckeye!  A black lab belonging to friends whom went out of town on vacation.  Even though he probably has 3 years on Maddie, he kept her busy as he was always initiating play.

After opening the Christmas Eve gifts, we needed to leave the reindeer their food,

as well as cookies for Santa and carrots for the reindeer.  Hopefully Santa didn't have any trouble with those logs we mistakenly left in the fireplace.  He probably twisted his ankle or something!!!

Brooke borrowed Grandpa's Santa hat for a while, thinking she was the one hollering "Ho Ho Ho!"

Maddie was exhausted from all these preparations.

Safe Travels to Santa!

Brooke's Preschool Christmas Party

Brooke had a great time at her preschool Christmas party.  One game we played was "Decorate a Christmas Tree" with one child being the tree while two other children decorated him/her.  Pretty hysterical! 

Brooke laughs as her friend Luke also gets decorated.

Classic Christmas Santa Picture

Keira and Brooke with Santa Claus.  Brooke was happy to tell Santa about the 8 horses and 5 dolls she wanted for Christmas.  Keira, uh, not so happy.

Keira's behavior wasn't too different from Brooke's when Brooke was that age ( 1 1/2 years old -- Dec 2009). 

Brooke getting some 1-on-1 time with Santa after the removal of a terrified Keira.

Brooke starts Dance class!

Brooke thinks she's a ballerina.  She's always enjoyed twirling around the house, so now that Fall soccer is over we thought her next "activity" could be dance.  She's enrolled in "Creative Movement" which is 30 minutes of "ballet" and 15 minutes of "tap". 

She loves it!  Her teacher's name is Miss Sam ("she's a girl" I'm informed by Brooke -- I guess versus Sam I Am, or maybe her friend Charlie's younger brother Sam...).  There are a handful of other girls, and while I cannot see into the dance studio, I'm sure they're having a blast!  Everyday she asks if we're going to dance today.  Little sister Keira of course wants to be part of the "troupe!"

Maddie Loving (or something like that)

Over the past 3 1/2 years, Maddie has been "subjected" to a lot by these little girls that have taken over the house.  Not to say it hasn't had its benefits, in the form of lots and lots of food being dropped, or in Keira's case being thrown, to the floor at mealtimes...

Keira is especially attentive to Maddie. Constantly laying on her, near her, riding her, sticking her face in Maddie's face for kisses and then laughing, rubbing her hand on her belly, etc.

Maddie also gets dressed up by the girls; wearing necklaces, bracelets, hats, shirts, vet-dress-up masks, band-aids, stickers, the list goes on...

A few times, while I'm cooking dinner, Maddie is always underfoot in the kitchen.  Keira will start crawling through Maddie's legs yelling "tunnel tunnel".  It's pretty funny -- gotta get video of that!

In the end though, she is the best dog in the world!

Keira is 18 Months Old

And boy, she's become a lot of fun and a darling lately!  She's always been quite a cuddler/hugger, and now it's really increasing as you can ask for hugs and kisses and she toddles over and gives them generously.  Very cute!

At her 18 months well check:

weight: 23 lbs 9 oz (39%)

height: 31 1/2 inches (44%)  (catching up to sister!)

We're still working on sleeping through the night many nights, and since the time change, 5:15am is the new wake-up time.  Ugg.  Mom spends 5-7am sleeping upright holding Keira in the rocking chair in her room.  I've logged more hours in that chair in the past year and a half than in my own bed.

Halloween 2011 Pumpkin Carving

To welcome our trick-or-treaters tomorrow, we'd better have some carved pumpkins!  This is our first time carving them with Brooke, and while she was excited there were a couple missteps. 

First, we drew out on paper how she wanted her pumpkin carved, but then changed her mind once the carving started.  So pumpkin 1 went from being Brooke's to Mom's.  On to pumpkin 2! 

Secondly, she had no interest in helping to scoop out the insides of the pumpkin -- the only part of whole carving process she was qualified for (she certainly couldn't do the actually carving!).  So much for worrying about her being covered in pumpkin goo and seeds!

Halfway through, both girls got bored and wandered off to the playroom while Mom and Dad finished the carvings... 

But the finished products looked pretty good!

Happy Halloween!

Salem field trip to farm

To continue fall festivities at preschool, there was a field trip to a local farm.  Though a tad chilly, both girls were excited to bundle up and tromp around the grounds.

The field trip started off with some agriculture lessons, learning about root vegetables and the like.

Then we headed out to the farm's pumpkin patch to pick our own pumpkins, still attached to the vines and everything.  That was a little messy and wet with small ones slipping and sliding.

Next we got to meet some of the farm animals, like this goat.  It was a fun morning!

Brooke's Preschool Halloween Party

Brooke's 3rd Halloween dress-up for the year was her preschool party, where first the kids paraded around for all the parents.

 

Then they sang some songs for all the parents, then introduced themselves and what they were dressed as for their costume.

After that, full party mode kicked in with games and fun. We played "pin the nose on the pumpkin," created a "spider webs," attempted "musical chairs" and "hot potato" (these youngsters didn't quite get it...).

Finished off with yummy cookies for snack time,

and goodie bags to open at home with tricks or treats (a case of the "tricks" here!).

Halloween 2011 Parties: Neighborhood party

Brooke's getting 4 uses out of her costume this year!  First was the township's "party in the park," and now the annual neighborhood party, which Keira dressed up for as well! 

The party started off with a parade. It was so cute when Brooke grabbed Keira's hand and led her through the parade. Darling! 

We did some sticker decorating, cookie decorating and other games. 

Oh, and some dancing in the hallway to Halloween music, including "Ghostbusters!" and "Thriller."