| Santa |

Kayla had a big party again at her school for Christmas. They had all sorts of reading activities and crafts for the kids. They also had Santa come. Kayla talked the WHOLE night about how she wanted to see santa. She acted as though she couldn't wait. We waited in line, got up to go see him and she panicked (of course). She wasn't very sure about him anymore. I told her I would sit with her. This picture shows her reaction quite well. No tears, but definitely panicked. She quickly told him, "I want a bike" and then wanted to get out of there! 

| zoo trip |

These posts are going to be all sorts of out of order. My computer is busy working on other stuff...so I am blogging :)

We just went to the zoo the other week while the weather was a bit better and we LOVED it. Couldn't have asked for a better "winter trip". It's always quiet and calm in the winter, but the animals are so much more active. (the only problem is they always have a BUNCH of stuff closed down, and animals gone)

I don't think I have ever seen the tigers this close before. It was so cool. I don't know if the girls even appreciated it as much as Shelli and I did. We couldn't find our camera's fast enough!

And I just love this little man. He enjoyed the zoo too! All bundled up and happy.

| 8 months |

I can't believe Mitchell is 8 months old already. I just love this little dude. He is getting to be quite the ham. He smiles anytime I put the camera up. Glad he has that one figured out already! He definitely has become quite the gabber too, dada was his first words, but he has moved on to mama, which I am ok with :) He is such a silly guy, always laughing when someone burps (which I have to admit is kind of funny). And he can always make someone smile with his little giggle he has. I just love him. I took some pictures of him a few weeks ago and I can't even stand how cute he is...and I will be honest...I don't think you will find it hard to agree! I had to capture his "chub, it's all everybody talks about. So here he is, in all his glory.

(absolute favorite photo of him...ever!)

Kids and Christmas

This is a great little movie to kick off the Christmas season. I love the views children have...wish I could be more simple like them every day of my life.

| 7 Years |

Bryan and I have been married for 7 years. Our anniversary was yesterday. I can't believe it has already been 7 years, and that we have 2 kids now. I am so in love with him, and can't imagine my life being any better than what it is now. We were able to take a little family trip this last weekend and celebrate our anniversary a bit. I loved the time I had to just sit back and laugh and chat with Bryan in the evenings when the kids went to bed. Life is good, I definitely have no complaints. I love this man. Happy Anniversary!

| Mitchell 6 months |

Man time sure has flown by. I am amazed at how quickly my little man has grown. He is such a fun little guy to have around. CONSTANTLY smiling. Mornings are so much fun at our house, he wakes up squealing in delight waiting for someone to get him. And I think he is most excited when Kayla is the first to run in there. He can hardly hold back the joy!

And yes, I know he may quite possibly have the chubbiest cheeks on the planet. I don't think there is a single shopping trip where someone hasn't stopped dead in their tracks and made some sort of comment about his cheeks. I love it. So funny. Even the dr made some wise cracks! But those chubby little cheeks are deceiving. Everyone is sure he must be a big baby. But he isn't. Here are the stats for his 6 mo. appointment:

Height: 25.5"—15%

Weight: 16.15#—35%

Head: 16.9"—25%

He is definitely short. I will give him that one. 

He has LOVED the new freedom of being able to sit up on his own. He has been doing it for almost a month and a half now. He loves when I stick a basket of toys in front of him to dig through, I can't just pile them, they MUST be in a basket. So funny. He will dig through it for quite some time too. He definitely is quite the fan of baby food. Although he does pull quite the funny faces when swallowing some foods. He is quite the momma's boy. I have tried to avoid this a bit, but only because it makes it hard to go places when he just cries for momma. Luckily as long as he is entertained, he tends to "forget" for just a bit. I will say I do kind of like the sweet quivering lip that emerges when I come into his sight again. Kind of makes all my hard work feel like it is being noticed :) And Kayla and Mitchell are definitely the best of friends. What a wonderful treat!

| Halloween 2010 |

We had a wonderful Halloween this year! I have a million photos too. So here I go...

Kayla all dressed up in her Cinderella costume. She LOVED it. I am so glad it turned out. I enjoyed getting to make it for her. And now she can dress up as Cinderella anytime she wants!

And no Cinderella is complete without her prince! Bryan was such a good sport, Kayla had been telling him for weeks she was going to be Cinderella and he was her prince. He had no problem dressing up for this girl!! 

Here is a the kiddos and I. Yes, I went with the lame, traditional, "witch" costume...at least I dressed up right?!? And Mitchell was a dragon.

Kayla had a carnival at school the day before. It was SO much fun. I can't even believe how much stuff was there to do for these kids. She was one lucky girl!! 

This is Jacque, Kayla's speech therapist. And let me just tell you, Kayla LOVES her. She was so excited to see Jacque dressed up as Snow White.  

 Later that night we carved Pumpkins. Oh I love this part of Halloween! Kayla refused to touch the guts. WHY?!?! I wanted her to so bad, but she refused. Oh well. She was quite proud and happy with the finished product, so that's good enough for me!

 Mitchell was quite the helper too, can't you tell? He sat and ate whatever he could find, a toothbrush, fingers, fist...whatever :)

 On Halloween we did all our rounds of visits. These are are few shots of Kayla and Mitchell at the Ahlberg's. I just love them, in all their goofy glory!