Christmas, finally!

Christmas really did happen at our house. It has just taken me a long time to get to posting about it. I think this is going to be my longest post ever!

On Christmas Eve we went to visit Dave's mom and exchange gifts with her. It was fun for the kids, especially since she got them (via me) EXACTLY what they wanted. It was nice to be able to spend some time with Grandma on Christmas Eve.

That evening we had a quiet, fancy dinner at home. Kimee was really looking forward to eating dinner on our fancy Christmas dishes. Dave took this picture (before the table was completely set). The kids were so excited, they were eating rolls while they waited.
After dinner, dad read a few Christmas stories while mom cleaned up the kitchen. Then we read the story of the nativity from the scriptures, sang songs to go with it, and had the kids act it out with figurines. The kids were actually very good for this. It was really nice. Then we set out the plate for Santa and his reindeer and the kids went to bed. They were so excited for Santa to come!!

Christmas morning. . .

. . .in the hall before coming out . . .

. . .reading the reply from Santa . . .
. . .can't believe he ate the cookies and loved the chocolate milk . . .

. . . seeing what he brought . . .

Kimee got her stable, corral, and horses.

Audrey got her princess shoes!

Maddi got a baby doll and a Starsong My Little Pony.

The kids slept in so late (7:30), and I woke up so early (5ish) that I actually got to shower and do my hair! That's definitely a first. No picture, but I got an ipod touch. I think the kids will use it more than me, but I really am so happy to have one.

Dave got a snowblower!

Grandpa and Grandma K. stopped by for a quick visit.

After opening presents, we went down to Carol and David's for Christmas breakfast. We had fun visiting and swapping Christmas morning stories. The biggest hit there was their new puppy, Suzy! Later that afternoon, we headed up to Grandma and Grandpa K's house for dinner.

sisters playing

I LOVE it when my girls all play together.

(Photo taken Dec. 31)

Kimee is responsible enough that she will take Maddi from me and go play with her for a while. It is so sweet and helpful.

I have put Maddi on this bench a couple of times to keep her occupied. She loves feeling like a big girl. Just the other day, she actually climbed down out of it and was crawling around on the floor. She is growing up so fast!


A side note- You may have noticed Kimee wearing glasses in the first picture. She has an appointment with the eye doctor in January, but we can tell that she is going to need glasses. So we bought her frames on Dec. 30 to use up our flex spending money for the year. They are pink and purple and really cute. She likes them a lot, and has been getting used to wearing them, even though they don't help her see better yet.

Christmas Mischief

Look who I found crawling under the tree!


"Oh, no! You caught me!"
This is so much fun! (pulling bows off the presents).
Luckily, we kept Maddi from ripping off the wrapping paper.

Here is Maddi helping mom wrap presents.
Boy, does she LOVE wrapping paper! It makes the coolest sound.

a visit to Santa and the dentist

We had a wonderful visit with Santa at the beginning of December. Kimee asked for a stable and some horses, and a box of beanie babies with their babies. Audrey asked for princess shoes that she can wear to church. And Santa said he would bring something special for Maddi, since she wasn't able to tell him what she wanted. He was so sweet.


Actually, we went during the day right after a visit to the dentist where everyone got their teeth cleaned. Kimee had 5 cavities, which she was able to get filled that same morning. She was so proud of herself. She told everyone for a few days after that she got 5 cavities filled without being numbed (she was on nitrous oxide). She HATES being numbed. Luckily, these were pretty small cavities, and she was relaxed and fine through all of them. I was proud of her too.
So far, no cavities for Audrey (yeah!) despite the large amount of candy and sugar she eats.

Maddilyn: 8 Months

Maddi turned 8 MONTHS on December 13, 2009.

Photos in our living room taken on Dec. 14.

She scratched her face with her nails. I have to trim these very regularly as they are really sharp and Maddi has a killer grip. Just ask anyone she has pinched!

Maddi loves playing with the plastic bowls cupboard.

Notice the toys on the floor? I did too, so I removed them before taking the next picture. I thought it looked funny as I scanned though these, deciding what to post.

She pulled herself up!
Dec. 17

I cannot believe Maddilyn is eight months old. Only four months until she is one. I think I'm going to cry! She is such a good baby. It is fun to watch her grow, but a part of me just wants to keep her a baby forever.

Audrey's Exercises

Audrey does her "exercises" many times everyday. I think we should all take some fitness tips from her- we would be really buff!

She holds herself up between two bar stools and swings her legs up and down for a really long time. Then she does it over and over several times throughout the day. Sometime she moves the bar stools to the living room or the bedroom just to do her exercises. This is one strong girl!

Yuck!

Every now and then things get really quiet, and as a mom you start to enjoy it for just a minute. Then you realize something must be wrong, because it is just too quiet. So the other day (well, actually Dec. 10), I thought Audrey and Maddi were playing in the girls' bedroom with toys. I was hearing a little noise, but nothing alarming or unusual. It was Kimee that discovered them, in the BATHROOM, not the bedroom.

OH NO.

Audrey had covered Maddi (I think she was styling her hair) with Neosporin ointment.

Talk about SLIMY!

They both went into the tub. BUT that didn't really work, because it was just so greasy. We did our best to get it off and out of the hair. Needless to say, both girls were extra moisturized for a few days after.

Mom and Maddi

Sneaky Dave caught this photo on a rare day that he was awake before me.
(Actually, not that rare when he goes to work at 6am, but otherwise, rare.)

It's funny because I have so many photos of him sleeping with our girls when they were babies, so I am glad he got this one of Maddi and me.

Nov. 29, 2009

Not so rare is mom working on the computer at the kitchen table.
Maddi fell asleep in my arm. How sweet!

Dec. 8, 2009

Snow and Gingerbread

Dec. 7, 2009
It finally snowed!
Jeremy and Audrey loved eating snow.
Jill helped them make a mini snowman.
We even added snow cone flavoring to make a real "SNoW" cone.

Dec. 13
Kimee and Audrey playing in the snow.
Kimee loves clearing the snow off of things, like the table.
Audrey is making a snow ball.


Dec. 10
Kimee made a Gingerbread House at school.
Yum!

Dec. 16
Audrey made a gingerbread boy hat at preschool.
I asked if I could take her picture and here are her poses
(with a piece of candy in her mouth).

everyday cuteness

This is what Kimee and Audrey look like often in the morning as they eat breakfast and do games or watch videos on the laptop.

(Photo taken Dec. 2)

A typical Saturday or Sunday morning. This often turns into tickling or wrestling and most likely someone getting hurt. We try to get Maddi out of it before it gets too rough.

(Photos taken Dec. 4)

I found Audrey teaching Maddi how to push the doll stroller. I was amazed that Maddi could do it by herself, as long as she had something to run into to stop her.

(Photos taken Dec. 5)