BIG KICKS!

Miss M and Miss A have tackled the world of soccer... The beginning was a little rough...

Miss M got a ball in the face from the other team... not a great way to start up.

Miss A decided she did not like playing goalie and walked off the field mid-game... While on the sideline with Daddy trying to talk her into going back into the game the other team scored.. because there was no goalie (Miss A)... So, that resulted into a total meltdown because they are now "winning".

Fast forward 3 weeks and Miss M is running up and down the field and even had her foot on the ball a bunch of times. When the ball goes off the ground she ducks, but we are making progress. Miss A has decided goalie can be fun because when she saves a goal she gets to do a "big kick"... So, the future of soccer looks bright, we think!

Mama's the word....

After hearing "ut oh", "Dada" and "ba (Bottle)" for a while now finally on the eve of Little One's first birthday she finally said MAMA!!!!! And she did not stop for about 20 minutes... I guess this is the beginning!!!!!!!!!!! YEA! Stay tuned... we have an update on Little One's birthday party from this past weekend!

The Gingerbread House Tradition Continues....

We started a neat tradition a few years ago... We got a gingerbread house for Miss M to work on with my dad... We figured it would give them both something to do :-) and they would have a blast doing it. It has become a tradition year after year and this year Miss A joined in on the action. As you can see my dad is meticulous about the frosting and the kids are becoming just as detail oriented with decorating them. Most years we do houses.. last year we did a train. It is a really fun time and the kids look forward to it every year we see the houses out at Costco!

Christmas Morning

Started at 605am with Miss M waking us up saying she heard the reindeer and boots of Santa on the roof! It was still dark but she was sure it was time to wake up... She went running through the house to tell everyone and wake them up.. Only to look down into the living room and see that nothing had changed around the big tree! All the gifts that were there, had been there the night before. She could not believe it... until she realized all the stockings were GONE! She then went running downstairs and found that Santa tricked us! He left all his things in the family room under the kid tree! He must have thought that the living room was too full, and he was right! So, we were so excited... Santa went way overboard this year! We all must have been so good. The stockings were overflowing with all kinds of goodies. The highlights were a Princess bike, a Chad and Taylor doll set from High School musical, and a Little Eninsteins composer toy for Miss A, High School Musical dolls, dance mat and a leapster for Miss M and an activity table and walker for Little One! There was so much more but those were definitly the highlights from Santa...

Little One got in on the action too... although she missed the first hour or so of the festivities! Never wake a sleeping baby!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve was spent with the Peoria Clan and we had a great time. Mum and Pa went to see Nana and Aunt Joyce and said they had a very nice Christmas Eve as well... It was a crazy afternoon with us all trying to get out the door on time... We did and it was a grea time. We went to mass and then back to Grandmas for dinner and presents. Boy, were the cousins and Grandpa and Pa good to us this year. Little One was more interested in the tree and the bulbs on the tree but she had plenty of help opening her gifts! We did not get home overly late, and as excited as the kids were about Santa coming they were pretty tired. Miss M and Miss A helped me make our traditional reindeer food and we sprinkled it outside before trundling off to sleep... I think they were out before their heads hit the pillows!

Breakfast with Santa

We had the coolest experience this year! We went to Seville Country Club with our good friends the Palmers and had breakfast with Santa. This was not any everyday breakfast and visit with Santa. The brunch buffet was amazing... we are talking anything and everything you could think of. Mike loved the seafood bar, prime rib, omlette bar etc.. The kids loved the kid section which consisted of chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, little hot dogs, cereal, donuts etc... They totally catered to your every need. Miss A goes to school with her friend and Miss M went to preschool with her friend... they have kept in touch.

After a very yummy breakfast we headed to the North Pole on a special train... Such a fun ride. When we got there we went to Santa's waiting room :-) . Santa's elves had different crafts and games for the kids while they waited for their special one on one time with Santa.

Waiting for the train to pick us up for the North Pole

Little One catches some z's before the big moment

ALL ABOARD!

And the magical moment.....

A Christmas Gathering...

So, being in our new house for our first Christmas I felt the need to host a gathering... I would have loved a large gathering but by the time I thought to do this I needed to keep it simple... so thanks to our close friends and some of our family that was able to stop in... We had a good time... yummy Honeybaked Ham dinner, games, firepit and samores, etc... It was the perfect way to celebrate the season on a Saturday night...

The life of the party getting ready to celebrate her first Christmas!

The bonfire was a hit and the kids loved roasting marshmellows and making samores!