Christmas Day

I can't believe Christmas was already here and gone. It was such a whirlwind of events. We went to church on Christmas Eve and met my in-laws there. It was such a wonderful service (always my favorite) which reminds us that Christmas is the day that Jesus was born. After church we headed over to my neighbors house to exchange gifts with their daughter. I couldn't stay long because I still had to wrap all the girls presents. Nothing like waiting til the last minute. Luckily, my parents arrived on Christmas Eve which was a huge blessing. Before Sydney went to bed, she put cookies on a plate and we poured a glass of milk for Santa. We placed them downstairs by our tree. Once, the girls were asleep my mom and I headed downstairs to wrap gifts.

Christmas morning was so much fun. We got up and headed downstairs to open gifts. Sydney was more into Santa eating all her cookies then what he left her. Of course I opened all of Sophia's gifts. She got a lot of clothes and baby toys. Sydney opened most of her gifts on her own. The problem with Sydney was she wanted to instantly play with every toy she opened. She got a huge dollhouse and accessories from Santa. She also got Snow White barbie doll, movie, and book. She also got a sleeping beauty dress up outfit complete with crown, wand, and high heels. Plus, books, games, etc. It was great having my parents here in the morning so they could take part in the festivities. I think her favorite gift from them was the red cowboy hat. She loves it!

Later in the afternoon my in-laws came over along with my brother-in law and his family. I think by then Sydney was done opening gifts so I opened them for her to speed things along. She is very lucky to have so much family! We had a yummy ham and turkey dinner and later desserts. It was a great Christmas with new memories to cherish forever!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Love,

Brandy, Doug, Sydney, and Sophia

Christmas with Aunt Ashlie

This past Saturday we celebrated Christmas with my sister and her boyfriend Doug. Sydney loves having family stay the night and this was no exception. They came into town on Friday night and left early Saturday evening. On Saturday morning we opened and exchanged gifts. Sydney was so excited! She got a Play-doh activity set, tinkerbell cup, and clothes. Sophia got a Fisher Price train that makes noise, a giant baby key chain that talks and sings songs, and clothes. I told everyone before Christmas to buy Sophia 9 month clothes. Well, I had to take the 9 month clothes back and get 12 month shirts. She is growing like a weed. It is so hard to estimate sizes especially when Sydney is always under her average size. After gifts, my sister and I headed out to the mall to do some shopping for ourselves. We had a great time. Here are some pictures from the weekend!

Holiday Fun

Over the past month we have done some fun holiday activities to celebrate the season. A few weeks ago, Sydney and I went to a Christmas parade in downtown Paw Paw. Sydney enjoyed watching the band play Christmas music, looking at real reindeer, and waving to Santa. Of course she liked all the candy too. :) This past weekend, we attended the kids Christmas party at Doug's work. I love going because they do such a great job. Once we arrived, we started on the craft project which was making a cookie plate. Sydney loved painting glue on the bottom of the plate. Sydney and I made one for her with Santa print and one for Sophia with frog print. They turned out great!

Then it was time to visit Santa. Of course Sophia didn't mind sitting on Santa's lap.

Sydney was scared of Santa and was walking slowly towards him. She did get near him but wouldn't sit on his lap. The girls each received a gift. Sydney opened a stuffed Mickey Mouse and Sophia opened a Fisher Price stand up book.

After we were done opening gifts it was time to decorate sugar cookies. When it was time to go, Sydney did give Santa a high five and thanked him for her gift. There is still hope!

The next day we made some Christmas cookies. I invited my mother in-law over to help. I figured she would get a hoot out of watching Sydney. We first made peanut blossoms. Sydney helped me mix all the ingredients together. She had her own little bowl with ingredients as well. Once the cookies were done my mother in-law and Sydney put the Hershey Kisses in the center of each cookie. Next was the sugar cookies. Sydney did an awesome job making the sugar cookies. My mom and Sydney make cookies all the time so I shouldn't be so surprised. It was so cute. Sydney knew to put flour on the rolling pin and knew exactly how to use a cookie cutter. She was cutting the cookies out and all I had to do was put them on the cookie sheet. It was precious! By the time we were done she had flour all over her shirt, pants, and face.

She worked hard in the kitchen and it showed. Once the cookies were cooled, she frosted and decorated them with sprinkles. We all had fun and it was great spending time with family. I think we have started a nice family tradition. Now I just need to resist eating all the yummy cookies!

Thanksgiving Weekend!

I'm so sorry I haven't blogged in so long. November has been filled with a whirlwind of events. I attended a conference in Detroit for two days, visited some friends in Detroit, went to a fall festival at Syd's daycare, and Doug worked all last weekend. I just haven't had much free time which happens when you work full time and have two little girls at home. Also, for those who don't know I'm in the process of becoming a leader for Weight Watchers. I don't plan on starting that until after the holidays. Speaking of weight loss....I have lost about 45 pounds since giving birth to Sophia. Of course I lost 20 of it after the first couple of months and then the 25 pounds have come off with Weight Watchers. I'm well on my way to becoming lifetime once again. :)

Doug, the girls, and I spent Thanksgiving with my parents in Jackson. They had us over for a nice turkey dinner which was very tasty. Yum! Last year my parents kept Sydney over Thanksgiving weekend so Doug and I could get things done like shopping, Christmas decorations, and getting some extra sleep. This year my parents were crazy enough to do it again but with both girls. Thank you, mom and dad! Here is some pictures from Thanksgiving:

After dinner we headed back to Kalamazoo and stopped and finished Christmas shopping for the girls. It is such a relief to have Syd and Sophia done. Then we headed home to a quiet house. Doug and I saw a couple of good deals in the paper so we headed back out at 4:20 am on Friday. We only needed a few items so when we were done we went home and took a long needed nap.

Last night we went to a great restaurant called Chinn Chinn's and spent a quiet evening at home watching a movie. Tonight we are going to see New Moon at the theatre and get a bite to eat.

Tomorrow the girls come home and I can't wait. I have enjoyed my time to myself but I miss my girls.

Zoo Boo '09

This afternoon we went to Binder Park's Zoo Boo. This is where the zoo decorates for Halloween and lets the kids trick-or-treat at the zoo. This was our first visit to the Zoo Boo and had a wonderful experience. We took both girls with us. Sydney was a fairy/Tinkerbell and Sophia was a dinosaur. They both looked adorable.

The weather was perfect for an afternoon at the zoo. It was in the mid 50's, cloudy, and for once no rain. The first thing we did when we arrived was the Trick-or-Treat trail. The trail is all decorated for Halloween and the kids can go trick-or-treating. Sydney loved carrying her pumpkin bucket with candy. She didn't go far without her bucket or her Minnie Mouse that she brought with her.

Once we were done with the trail we head over to the train ride. We had to wait about 20 minutes but it was well worth the wait. Sydney really enjoyed the train ride. Even I loved the train ride. The tunnel was all decorated for Halloween with spider webs, orange lights, spiders, and ghosts. I was holding Sophia in my arms during the train ride. She just laid in my arms looking straight ahead. Towards the end of the ride she fell asleep in my arms. After the train ride we went to the carnival area where Sydney played some games and won some prizes. She loved the spider ring.

Once we were done playing the games we headed over to the merry-go-round. Sydney rode a Michigan State horse (hehe!) and of course didn't want me to even touch her because she is a big girl. Her famous saying is "I do it!". After the the carousel it was time to head home. Of course this is when Sophia woke up but quickly went back to sleep in the car.

Sydney was ready to go home and wanted me to carry her out. As I was carrying her out she laid her head on my shoulder. I knew then it was time go. She was tired but had so much fun! It was a great afternoon and I enjoyed my time with the family.

Pumpkin Patch

Tonight we went to see Gene the Pumpkin man to pick up some pumpkins. On our way to the pumpkin patch Sydney kept saying that she was going to find a baby pumpkin for sissy. So cute! Sydney had a great time walking around and looking at all the pumpkins, squash, and gourds. When we first arrived she found the baby pumpkins. Of course she grabbed two one for her and one for Sophia.

Then we walked around just looking at all the different sized pumpkins and taking some pictures. While we were walking Sydney was touching and grabbing different pumpkins. It was so cute to watch her try to pick them up and carry them around. At one point she found a pumpkin and went to try and pick it up. Then she looked at me and said this is mommy's pumpkin. :) After we walked around for a bit it was time to look for two perfect pumpkins for carving. I grabbed a wagon and pulled Sydney around while Doug looked for the pumpkins. After awhile we found our pumpkins and placed them in the wagon. Sydney still wanted to ride in the wagon so she just sat on top of the pumpkins.

Once we were done we headed up to the front to pay Gene for our pumpkins. Sydney said Hi to him and she got to pick a free pumpkin for Sophia. Gene always gives a free pumpkin to the babies when it is their first visit. He did the same thing when Sydney was a baby. While we headed back to the car, Sydney and Doug played in the giant pumpkin.

It was a fun evening with the family and it was nice to enjoy the fall weather.