To Rachael and Jeff, their new baby girl Olivia was born a bit early on December 27 but still weighed in at a very healthy 6 lbs 6 oz. We can't wait to meet her!
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What did we do? Went to the zoo b/c I our girls love it so much. They slept perfectly on our ride down so Matt and I actually got to listen to a radio station of our choice for once :) We went through areas where it was raining so that worried me a little bit but once we got down there it was a great day. Our kids were probably the most bundled up but they didn't complain of being either hot or cold and let me tell you some of those other kids looked cold. Every time we would see a statue Piper would want her picture taken with it but then when we would get out the camera she wouldn't look *insert eye roll here*
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Piper and Violet were so excited to see that Santa brought them presents this morning AND ate their cookies! Piper got a pink book with a pen that talked and Violet a purple baby. They were spoiled by wonderful gifts from friends and family that lived far away - thank you everyone!
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for Christmas morning. We prime our kids for weeks about this day and now it is here and the procrastinators list starts - wrap gifts, ugh! It was a busy day for us today :) Matt got a Christmas haircut and we did a little shopping for some fabric that I need for a project over the holidays. This afternoon we baked cookies (all sugar gingerbread men) and then decorated some. Yesterday the girls got a taste of decorating when we went to a friend's house and had a little play group so they has been psyched for it all day. Tonight they set out Santa's cookies (we all hope that he likes them),
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Let me start by saying that I don't like that term but some days it just seems so fitting. I have heard of it from other families but (forgive my ignorance at the time) thought "I have a 2 year old and she isn't like that". That would have been when Piper was 2, now 3 that is a different story and post :) So a long came Violet and the closer to 2 that our little princess is getting the more stressed out at her behavior I am getting. She is sassy like you would not believe, when she doesn't want to do something she will point at you scrunch her face up and yell "NO!" - huh? She disobeys most of the things that we ask her to do and we use timeouts but she isn't learning anything from them. Have I mentioned the drama? OMGoodness, she cries like it is the end of the world when you tell her she can't have/do something. Of course she wants to do everything that Piper does but doesn't realize that sometimes she can't, that takes her over the edge too. I know it will get better but what I am worried about is that coming up next is the 3's for her and after getting 1/2 way through them with Piper I may not have any hair left this time next year. Ah well, they have come a long way with plugs :)
Yesterday the family brought Piper to her ballet class b/c Matt hasn't had the chance yet to go and watch her. It was 70 - yes 70 here outside for the past few days so Violet and I took advantage of it and took a walk while Piper was dancing. I had her dressed with too much on so I took off the sweater after I took these pictures.
Her supermodel pose :)
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I attempted, although rather unsuccessfully, to get a picture of our tree. It has mostly homemade or old ornaments that have been given to Matt and I or we have bought from one place or another together. I have 1 thing on there from my Great Grandma's tree - an old reindeer that just sits on a branch and I love that ornament probably the most. The girls are fascinated by the ornaments and I know that next year I will have to go back to decorating it with pine cones b/c I will have a little adventurer in the house. After seeing all the beautiful trees that are out there I have decided to maybe hit the after Christmas sales and pick up some big white bulbs and decorate with those next year, we'll see if I actually do though b/c I do love our colored lights. There are 2 presents under there right now but those will get put up when the girls go down tonight or else I fear they will be opened tomorrow :)
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Every year we end up buying too much for the kids and then taking some back before Christmas. This year we scaled waaayyy back and only got 1 big present for the both of them to share and then a few smaller gifts to open. After thinking about it we actually are taking back that big present and just giving them the smaller ones that I hope they will enjoy just as much. Tonight after dinner gave me hope, instead of hitting the playroom for one of their princess/fairy dresses they made their own out of newspapers. They danced and twirled in them and then HAD to show their Daddy their beautiful dresses. I think this will be a wonderful Christmas!
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Yesterday I dragged the kids out and got a picture for our card, ordered them, and will pick up today to get in the mail tomorrow or the next day. This past weekend Matt got our lights up on the house and I decorated the tree. After looking at the stack of loot that I have been acquiring over the past month I believe that Christmas shopping for our family and the families I am buying for are done. I must say being a procrastinator I am pretty proud of myself (and hubs too). Now our attention must turn to Piper's room and a little drywall project in our kitchen. I will decorate the room while Matt does the project - I can't wait for them both to be done! Here are a few of my favorite shots from yesterday - but not the card shot which actually isn't one of my favorites but it will do :)
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I procrastinate and then I stress EVERY year over Christmas cards - why? This morning Matt and I took the girls to yet again try and get a Christmas picture for our card and again (mostly b/c of my lack of experience) didn't get a good picture. I got a fabulous shot of the both of them but their faces are shadowed. Ugh, I can see me addressing them like 2 days before Christmas :) I know that I can't talk any of them into going back this afternoon either and look at how pretty the campus that we went to was - I like this one of Matt and the girls especially the face on Violet. Anyway, wish me luck b/c I need it.
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I wonder if the saying "Don't do that or your face will freeze that way" might come out of my mouth at some point. I have learned that as a mom you never know so never say never :)
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I have been trying to get a Christmas card for about a week now and also trying to get my lighting down to get a good natural light shot - the girls are sick to death of me making them sit in various places throughout our home and it is starting to show. At least I am not making them change clothes to try and get "that" picture - we'll probably end up with one of our dogs :)
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It is a definite favorite in our home with both girls. Violet likes to use cookie cutters and rolling pins and lately Piper has started to create things with hers. She made a face - way to go Piper! Honestly she would have used other colors but I didn't want to open up every single container that we had b/c then the Playdoh gets mixed together or gets hard so they were only allowed 1 each. I am probably holding back her creativity huh?
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and I am glad that it is finally, well almost, over. We are all beginning to get well again thank goodness. Today the girls and I went to a mall to walk around a little bit and maybe try and get some Christmas shopping done, it was craziness! I am so ordering stuff online from now on if I can :) What I can't find online hopefully I can find at Target - I love, love, love Target and am in fact thinking of what I could go there for right now! Check out this totally cute hat that we got for Piper the other day but Violet took over as soon as it got in our house - LOVE IT!
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Um, seriously I have linked to this mama before and can't stop myself from visiting her blog regularly. Kathleen is such a talented seamstress. I drool every time I see her creations and actually daydream that maybe I could do that too - ha ha ha, right. This week she made a Little Bo Peep - so darn cute! Piper would for sure fit in the Little Bo outfit and I'll bet that Violet could squeeze her little self into that sheep - oh the Christmas cards we could make :) Want to enter Grosgrain's Nordic Bo Peep and Long Lost Sheep Costume GIVEAWAY??? - link before Tuesday!
Read more...and crabby :( Granted we just have colds but babes with colds equals long days for mamas with colds too. Hopefully they will start feeling a little better after their naps since they both woke up this morning at 5:20 am!!!!! Piper really looks pathetic doesn't she?
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I missed out b/c of a crazy week last week but Kathleen at Grosgrain opened her store and what a successful opening it was! She sold out of skirts and shirts - wtg mama! To celebrate that success she is having yet another giveaway and this time it is for a $56 gift card to her store to buy whatever you want. If we were to win I would probably choose the Reversible Bird Seed Skirt in Creamsicle Monday and then the Reversible Waffle-Knit Top in Fudgesicle and Snow to go with it - I hope that I win :) She is keeping the contest open until this Wednesday but if you don't end up winning be sure to check out her store by clicking the link below and doing some Christmas shopping for that little angel in your life :)
That is a saying at our house, do you know what it is from? It is from The Emperor's New Groove and Kuzko says it. Our Violet unfortunately has 2 left feet and falls all the time, it is quite funny when Piper says it to her but it sort of gets her not to cry right away unless she is really hurt. She almost always has a bruise in the middle of her forehead, poor thing :( I am not sure what the mark is that you can see in this picture but about 1/2 hour before this shot was taken she fell off the kitchen chair while coloring so I will have to see what will appear this afternoon from that spill. Yesterday Matt told me that I was turning into an old woman (which I knew btw) b/c they were running around the house and I yelled at them to not run in the kitchen b/c of our very hard, very unforgiving tile floor that is in there. We already have a chipped tooth and numerous bruises from it and I just don't want to see both girls with more - where is that magical bubble that I can put them in? I picked this set of pj's for V purposely last night and Matt didn't catch why, or if he did he probably silently rolled his eyes at me. Yesterday he was cutting down our flower garden and I asked him if maybe we could start putting up Christmas decorations - he didn't go for that.
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Well maybe not we as in the whole family but the girls and I are anyway. Matt doesn't really have as much fun dressing the dogs (Mabel) up as we do, could be a girl thing. This morning I had to take Piper to a make up ballerina class b/c we missed hers on Thursday. Last night something bit her 4 times on the arm and she was scratching at it pretty good so I decided to stop by Target for some cream. As we were walking to the aisle I happened to notice that their Halloween stuff was 90% off - yes 90%! How could I not take a quick look at what was left? Last year I got the kids a few dress up items for under $2. It was pretty picked over but I did manage a princess outfit and found this mouse costume for $1.69 - how cute is Piper giving me a mouse pose?
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Piper has really pretty long hair, would I say anything else though? I have noticed lately that the ends are starting to get a little bit dry though and although I use no product in her hair or styling tools it was damaged. Sooo off we went to a little kids salon to get the ends cut off - the whole 1 1/2" that I allowed her to cut :) Piper was so good for the lady, made mama proud.
She picked the fire truck to sit in.
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The girls love playing outside no matter what they are doing - today was playing with the leaves in our driveway and drawing with chalk.
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It was beautiful here today and I knew that it was going to be b/c I checked the weather yesterday just to make sure :) I got the girls psyched up and talked Matt into going to the zoo - woo hoo! I love the zoo probably the most out of anyone in our family! We had a wonderful time although you wouldn't really know it from the pictures I got which weren't many and weren't very good.
The whole zoo was decorated for Halloween - they had a Boo at the Zoo on Friday or Saturday night.
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The Carolina's have been hit - it is officially fall! Our mornings are chilly and the days crisp. The girls and I headed out for a lunch date with another mama - due with babe next week woo hoo!! Since they were looking all cute and were in good moods I decided to take a few pictures before we left. I am still playing with my processing of the pics so what looks good to my eye might actually be really bad :) BTW, check out the "glove" that Piper is wearing, it is actually the hot pad from her kitchen set but she insisted on wearing it today. Has she been watching MJ on TMZ with me too much lately?
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We went for our u/s today and I thought I would share a few of the pictures of our little one. I actually tried to talk Matt into finding out what the baby was but he said nope, oh well :) The 3D one is a tad blurry but I think it is still pretty cool and I also think that he/she looks like Violet :) I am only 1/2 way through and I already can't wait to meet my new little babe!
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