A Gingerbread Tradition

I love a good tradition and as the kids get older we are finally feeling like certain things are traditions for our family.  One of those being building a gingerbread house.  Lately things between Cole and Lily Kate have been....rather territorial.  Lily wants everything Cole has and that was ok with him for a while but now he is tired of it and fights back.  Thinking that this project might take a turn for the worse I went ahead and bought 2 gingerbread house kits.  Brilliant idea!  It was really fun and we made it a "girls vs boys" kind of thing.  The kids loved having their own houses to decorate and one on one time with a parent.  Lily was so silly about it....and ate half of the candy in our packet.  Cole was having fun but was a bit more serious and only ate 1 gumball so that he would have enough candy to decorate the whole house.  Such a great example of their personalities.  The kids still look at the houses everyday and have fun talking about them.  Rhonald and I had so much fun working with them as well...drinking egg nog and singing along with Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas album.  You really have to love a good family tradition!

Lily Kate's first Haircut

This past Tuesday we took Lily to get her very first haircut.  We had not really thought about it doing it honestly....I wanted her hair to grow long and beautiful....and then someone said something like, "the shaggy look is so cute on Lily."  Well, that did it.  It opened my eyes to the real truth.  Her hair was growing in all different ways and lengths and maybe a little trim would do her some good.  Lily is so shy I really thought she would have a hard time with this so I took Rhonald to help me.  I thought he and Cole would play and I would stay with Lily.  Well, Lily had other plans.  She was very excited about her haircut and we talked about it all morning.  When we got to the salon she jumped into Rhonald's arms and would not let go.  It was so sweet and Rhonald beamed with joy that he was the "chosen one" to protect her at that moment.  One thing about Lily - she is brave.  She has never cried when being dropped off at Sunday School or Mother's Day Out, rarely does she cry with a babysitter.  Even when she is nervous or unsure she just gets quiet and that is just what she did for her haircut.  The candy cane did help a little too I think :).  Our sweet girl looks so darn cute and grown up after her little "trim."  I am so glad we did it!!!

Thanksgiving 2012

Being a family means you are a part of something very wonderful.  It means that you will love and be loved for the rest of your life.  No matter what.

 

 

We traveled to Colorado for Thanksgiving this year and had a fabulous time with family.  The kids played hard, we ate a lot, we rested a bunch and we had a wonderful, wonderful time!

 

Red Rocks -- seeing a concert there is now on our bucket list :)

Lily had her first taste of Egg Nog and loved every minute of it.  And then was so hyper we vowed to save it for only the most special of occasions.

Tough guy faces!

Watching your teenage cousins play video games is the very coolest thing to do apparently :)

Playing in a little snow in Breckenridge, CO for the day

Painting Lily's nails for the very first time.  She loved it!



Lily Kate's First Playdate

We are so lucky to have many friends with kids our kids' ages and we have lots of play dates...with lots of kids!  We absolutely love it!  A few weeks ago, however, I realized Lily never got to have just one friend over for her to play with.  Especially a girl...most everyone we know has boys!  I invited her good friend, Harper, to come over and play for a while and play they did!  It was so sweet to see those girls play baby dolls and read and color all on their own.  No one got lost in "the big kid shuffle."  I was also shocked to hear Lily talk to Harper because usually she is so shy.  The 2 girls had so much fun that it made me realize we need more small play dates for Lily.  It was one sweet morning that's for sure!