Play Days!

The days after Christmas are so much fun. We get to play with all the new toys and make lots of great crafts!

Kelsey got two bracelots done today. Kaitlyn took a break for taking care of her baby to sing twinkle twinkle. Very nice costume too!
Kelsey got a little more into the show. She allowed me to take only one picture! Then I had to "pay attention and watch!"

I got a toy too! The girls got to play a little with my new ipod. I am learning a little more everyday. Here they are trying to play air hockey. All these toys!

Kelsey's poor little nose has been running non-stop for a few days. She got all dressed up in her new princess necklace and glittery princess make-up

Kaitlyn went all out on the princess make up. She had it all over her face - forehead, hands, ears, etc. She was pink and purple everywhere.

The girls got babies for the bathtub and gave them baths in the sink with LOTS of bubbles.

Kelsey loved getting this magnet paint kit from Aunt Michelle. She painted the magnets and we wrapped them up to give out at Grandma's Christmas Party. She picked special ones for each person

Grandma, Pappy Bob, Aunt Michelle, Uncle Marco, Aunt Karen, and Uncle Philip!

The girls enjoyed spending time with their Aunts and Uncles. Kelsey liked letting Aunt Michelle and Aunt Karen help her open everything. The girls were happy to give presents to everyone!

The girls were very excited to give Grandma and Pappy Bob their calendar, crockpot and restaurant card! The girls were quick to rip through all of the presents from Grandma and Pappy Bob. Beds for their dolls, slippers, sweatsuits, shirts, books, craft books, a ring, candy, swimsuits and bags for their dolls, beach towels and bags for the girls and their dolls, and princess robes.

Nana and Pappy Dave!

Kaitlyn loves her leapster. She has learned to play 2 games that let her match colors and shapes! I am glad because I really didn't think she would be able to play on it! I just knew she would want one if Kelsey had one. She has to always work extra hard to keep up with her big sister.
Kelsey was very happy to open her leapster. She played with it all night and even chose to sleep with it that night!

Nana Sharon and Pappy Dave came over in the afternoon to have dinner and exchange gifts. The girls were so excited to give them their presents. As Kaitlyn and Kelsey say: "Pappy is so silly!" Nana and Pappy got a blanket, luggage tags, a calendar and socks!

Christmas Morning!

Last year, the girls took their time, opened each item, played with it, then moved on. This year, they ripped through all of the boxes and then looked at everything! It was wild. They got everything opened in about 25 minutes and then we got to the work of getting things out of the packaging and playing! They were very excited to get some special presents from Santa: a closet of clothes for their American Girl dolls, a styling center for Kelsey and a dollhouse for Kaitlyn.

Christmas Eve

Kaitlyn and Kelsey were in their pajamas and ready to get to sleep by 9:30 on Christmas Eve.

We all enjoyed watching the kids play and exchange presents on Christmas Eve.

The cousins loved hanging out together. They exchanged presents with each other later in the evening. We thought they would rip into the gifts as soon as they walked in the door, but they just wanted to play for awhile. Kelsey and Kaitlyn got David and Ryan lego sets. Ryan and David got the girls American Girl pets and beds for their dolls. Kaitlyn especially loved getting "Honey."

Gingerbread houses

We made four little gingerbread houses this year. The girls thought it was hilarious that I kept calling the icing "glue." We were all passing the "glue" around the table trying to keep the houses from falling down.

snow and cookies

We made gingerbread cookies this weekend. Kaitlyn used the entire tube of blue on her man. Her tongue was blue all day and night. Kelsey gave her men shirts and faces.

Kelsey and I attempted our first ever igloo. We have big plans for the next snow. She loves her new snow gloves that keep her hands warm and dry. We will be very busy next time it snows. Kaitlyn stayed out for about 30 minutes and then just fell into the snow and cried "I done!" We got one sled ride in with Kaitlyn, then Kelsey and I went sled riding for about 30 minutes longer! She's loving the snow!

Happy Birthday Nana!

Nana turned 60 this year! We celebrated with a dinner at Rizzo's. As usual, the girls ate almost the entire basket of bread and butter and I took their dinner home! They loved getting a special popsicle treat at the end of the meal while we ate birthday dessert!

Christmas Tree!

Kelsey and Kaitlyn enjoyed standing on the little step stool to put on the ornaments. I had to keep moving it so that they didn't put all of the decorations in one spot. They did really well decorating this year.
Kaitlyn waited her turn to stand on the stool. Kaitlyn's favorite thing to hang were the red balls. At one point she put all of the balls in the box lid and sat in it. Kelsey said she was taking a bath!

It was a chilly day. The sun kept us warm - along with the long underwear, coats, hats, scarves, etc....

Getting ready to throw snowballs at Bob..sneaky

Lot's of fun while Bob cut down the tree!

Christmas Pictures!

They added the snow to this picture to make it look extra special! It really turned out pretty. The girls were in and out of the photo place in 20 minutes! They did great!

A real smile from Kaitlyn. She was pretending to blow a rubber duck off of the head of the photographer and then laughing about it! Love this happy face.

Kelsey was such a little lady. She only wanted one barrett and she had specific instructions about how her hair should look! Luckily, I approved completely! She is looking so grown up in this one!

Happy girls. Letters from Santa arrived today. He says they are both on the good list.

Thanksgiving Visit

Here are the girls riding a "roller coaster" with their sodas! They love having sodas.
Ryan tried out all of the little rides at Chuck E Cheese.

They all loved sharing breakfast and dinner together. Ryan actually ended up eating that green play doh in the pretend pan...sorry Kirstin.

Play doh was a winner. They all liked playing together. Kelsey and Kaitlyn loved having Ryan come to visit. They were so excited to wake him up each day and help change diapers!

Ryan turned 2 this year on the day after Thanksgiving. We celebrated on Thanksgiving day! Everyone loved helping him open his gifts. As the youngest cousin, Ryan hasn't yet had a chance to open any birthday gifts on his own!

Happy Birthday Mommy

Kelsey and Kaitlyn helped me celebrate my 35th birthday last week! They got me a really nice pink robe to replace the robe that I got when I was getting ready to go to the hospital to have Kelsey. I must have talked a lot about how old my blue robe was and that it was from when Kelsey was born because Kelsey got a little upset! After I opened my presents, Kelsey went into the living room and just cried and cried. She wouldn't say why and said she just wanted to be alone - such a teenager already! Then later after she calmed down, she said "Mommy please don't throw away your robe from when I was born." I am keeping that old blue robe forever.