Christmas

 I love this picture of Leah and Juliet on the stairs with their eyes closed. This year they got each other "big" presents. Chris and I had to put together the stuff with them, then close them in a room to put it out. Then, they "surprised" each other for their annual Christmas Eve exchange. Leah got Julie's bed and Juliet got Kit's table and chairs. Both were super excited and spent the remainder of the evening playing with them. 

 Santa came, of course, and brought lots of Shopkins and whatever else was on their "Want, need, wear, read" list. From us, Leah got an I-pod Nano and Julie's bleachers and Juliet got Grace Thomas and a Leap Pad. Both were very excited. Juliet kept tearing open presents, and then asking, "what's next?! What else can I open?!" She was deliriously overwhelmed and it was super cute. 

 Leah and Juliet slept in their new Christmas pajamas. I had a heart attack when Leah walked into my bathroom at 11 at night to ask for more water. I was busy getting things ready in the closet, and it was a too close near miss. Both girls slept in their rooms, and even slept in on Christmas until close to 9. 

 Santa remembered treats for Brain and Annie and a bone for Ollie. 

 Juliet is thrilled to death to finally have 2 dolls like her sister. However, the new "Girl of the Year" is named Lea and everyday our Leah throws out how much she wants her, how she worries she won't be able to afford her, how worried she is that her collection will sell out...We played the Powerball last week and Leah was convinced that she was going to win and then she would buy all over Lea's collection the next day. 

 Leah and her Shopkins. I think they each got 75 or more new Shopkins. Chris and I thought they would keep them in a big box, but both kids insist on keeping their separated. Leah knows exactly how many she has will rattle off their names, interests, and best friends. Juliet lost a slipper a few days ago and Chris and I spent at least 10 minutes going through all the Shopkins trying to find it. It is so funny to watch them play with them. I don't get it at all, but after a few months of everything American Girl, where everything costs at least  $30, not including shipping, it's nice to be able to get a few packs for pretty cheap at Costco.

Merry Christmas!

Girls and Dog Photo attempt 214 and 215

 Right before Christopher's work party we attempted another girls and dogs picture. This might be the best we ever get.

 A few days later we attempted some more. The girls thought it would be cute to attach ribbon to Ollie's neck.

 Ollie yawning, Juliet falling down, and Leah giving some pretty good dead eyes. Nailed it.

Hooky Day

Well, apparently my computer or camera suck. All the pictures I try to upload come out looking distorted. This was the only one that turned up after 213 tries. Oh well.

We had our 2nd annual hooky day. Leah was so excited that she didn't even mind that she was missing "Friday Funday" when they were supposed to watch movies, make gingerbread houses, and play in the computer lab with their "big buddies". Chris and I had a hard time finding a day this year. My school moved Parent/Teacher conferences to December and his work is always pretty busy. But, we found a time and I'm glad we did. Leah will be the first to tell you it's one of her favorite holiday traditions. This year we saw Santa, played at the Frozen Peanut Palace (everything was exactly the same as last year, only with Peanut characters), went to Build a Bear and went to lunch. They had so much fun. I love this tradition. I hope they still want to go when they are teenagers.

Gingerbread Houses and Cookies

 This month has been crazy. It has gone by so fast! We tried our best to fit in all of our December traditions, and I feel like we were pretty successful. The girls made gingerbread houses. Well, Leah did, and Juliet concentrated on tasting the ingredients to make sure they would be satisfactory, if she were to use them. And then yelling at me when I nonchalantly tried to stick candy onto her house. 

 Leah was the most excited to eat the leftover frosting out of the squeeze thing. 

 We also made cookies. Here are the girls looking sad because they had to wait for Chris to get home from walking the dog before they started frosting and decorating. 

 They were happy to start. Juliet frosted and ate a few cookies while the rest of us concentrated on frosting and decorating. 

 Leah was really into it this year and spent a lot of time on her designs. She did great! 

 Here are some of the finished products. Not bad. 

Tree Farm

 Ollie's first trip to the farm. He was super excited. 

 This girl wasn't so excited. The car ride was too long. She was too hot. No, too cold. It was hard to walk. She was hungry. She wanted to leave the farm, get lunch, and come back. She wanted a small tree. No, a big tree. No, a red tree. 

 We found several contenders, but ended up with this one that Leah picked. A little smaller than usual, but a great choice. And, she was right on about the size. I love how it looks in our living room. 

 Posing. 

 We took our annual horse drawn sleigh ride. Leah sat as up front as you could get. She loved watching the horses. Ollie sat in the car and panicked that we had left him while we were on the the wagon ride and Chris was having the tree baled. 

Black Friday

 In celebration of Black Friday we dressed up in Christmas clothes and finalized our lists to Santa. Leah would like: Julie's Dogs (American Girl), underwear, American Girl books, and some skirts. Juliet would like: Bitty Baby Doctor Kit, underwear, dresses that match with Leah, and Kit books. We do something you want, something you need, something to wear, and something to read gifts from Santa. It's worked perfectly. From us, Leah wants an I-pod and Juliet wants a Leap Pad. 

 Still looking for that illusive magical girls and dog picture...

 We also broke out the mini trees for their rooms. They were so excited to decorate their trees. It was funny watching them unpack the ornaments. They had no idea what they had and were so excited every time they opened one. 

 Brain liked the trees, too.

I ended up buying a new carpet cleaner on Target's website and we had to go to the store to pick it up. Leah and I went and were glad that we are not Black Friday shoppers. Leah was reading all the signs asking why there were signs for lines. And why there were arrows around the store. And why did the store look dirty. And why were there so many people out? It was pretty funny. 

Gobble Gobble

We hosted Thanksgiving here. I have a love/hate relationship with hosting. I love being able to pick the time (hello, after nap time) and the food. It's always a little stressful to put the entire meal together timing wise, and keeping the house clean is a challenge. 

The day was a success! I made Latvian Pierogs for an appetizer. We made turkey, 2 types of stuffing (corn bread with sausage was the big hit), macaroni and cheese, and rainbow carrots. Auntie Nicole made the gravy and mashed potatoes. For desert, I made homemade apple crumb pie and pumpkin cheesecake. We worked as a family really well to get it all done. The girls were rewarded with a blind basket of Shopkins in recognition of how well they played by themselves while Chris and I cooked and cleaned.

I love this picture of Leah and Juliet. This is pretty much them. Juliet has started saying, "Aw, Jam it!" like the poptart commercial. It's pretty funny. 

 Annual cousins picture. Leah was so excited for her cousins to come over. She kept asking what time it was and when they were coming. We saw very little of Leah and Juliet after they all arrived. 

Snow

 It snowed.

Chris and I weren't all that excited about it, but the girls were thrilled.

 They got all dressed up to play outside.

There was a lot of snowball fights.

 Our Mississippi Boy wasn't sure what to think about the snow.

Once he figured out the snow was water that he could eat, he was pretty happy. 

He liked running through it and playing tag, but he gets cold really easily and shivers uncontrollably. I left him outside with Leah for 10 minutes while I took the clothes from the laundry room upstairs. He got himself dangled around a bush and was sitting there shaking and whimpering when I found him. He acted like he had been left outside overnight. It was seriously for 10 minutes. 

 I love this picture of Ollie. 

Juliet is never sure what to think about the cold. She wants to play with her sister, but really doesn't like to be cold. She went out and in a few times while Leah was outside. I tried to put on Leah's old boots for her, that she wore at 3. They must have somehow dry rotted in the garage, because they pulled apart and the rubber began to crumble. They were nice boots, too. So, she wore her rain boots while I ordered her a new pair. 

 Here is another "magical" picture of the kids and dog. Nailed it.

 Leah worked so hard on this snowman. She did it totally by herself without any help. She was such a good worker and kept working long after her sister and I had gone inside. I got her the accessories, and she told me, "Take my picture, and put it on the computer. Say, Leah's first snowman. Exclamation point. Tell everyone I made this snowman all by myself, with no help from anyone. And, that it took me several hours". It really only took about 30-40 minutes, but I was super impressed nonetheless. 

Every Morning

 Mornings are hard. We've got to get up earlier than any of us want to. We like to sleep until 8ish. Every morning we tell Ollie, "Go get your girl" He runs to her bed and cuddles with her. It might be my favorite time of the day. Sometimes it's hard to have a dog. Sometimes he's annoying. But, there is so much love and joy that he brings to our family. I remember as a kid, just LOVING our family dog, Whiskey. I'm glad that they will have a similar experience. 

Ollie is also just a really easy dog. The only annoying thing he ever really did is chew their toys (which was annoying, but helped me thin the hoard of toys!) and run like a crazy dog outside, in a crazy game of "catch me if you can" tag (we've gotten better at being aware of where he is and not leaving doors open around him). With a little Dan Morris training, he is so much better. He rarely chews anymore, and is doing a good job of learning to "sit" and "stay". He is good on a leash with Chris, but not so good for me. He is such a lover, and is always so excited to go see Leah (it's the only bed he's allowed to cuddle in). Sometimes I let him sit on my lap when we are watching TV. He is big, but is so excited to get in my lap and cuddle like a lap dog. Whenever Chris or I sit on the floor, he cautiously tries to get on our laps. It's pretty funny. He loves water and drinks out of the bath when Leah and Juliet take baths. After Chris and I shower, he gets in the shower and licks the water off the floor. He also drinks out of the hose, which is pretty funny, but more rare now that it is cold. Juliet has grown to love him, too, which is pretty good news. 

 Some mornings, Juliet wants in on the pile, too. This morning she was cuddling up against Leah. Most mornings I wake up Leah first, cuddle her and the dog, and get her dressed before I wake up Juliet. She is NOT a morning person and usually wakes up with the loudest of, "AFFSSGINSESFH" sounds. 

 After Leah wakes up, she usually wants to dog to lick her. Ollie isn't much of a licker, at all, so he's usually pretty unsure if she actually wants to be licked. Once he starts, he can't stop. And Leah loves it. 

 We love the mornings when Daddy can cuddle, too. Juliet still loves to suck her fingers and "beep". We are trying to get her away from it. Sometimes she doesn't care, and will stop, other times she feels as though she "needs to" in the most desperate of ways. Sometimes Mommy is tired and will let her do what she wants in order to go to sleep.