Cousins, Cousins, Cousins!!!

I love how happy and silly these cousins are in these photos! It was no secret they enjoyed being together and playing with each other. You can't fake those smiles!!! We love our cousins Leia and Kyle and miss them so much! We wish we could live closer and play together all the time!!!

Trimming the Christmas Tree

The girls and I were so excited to get to put up our Christmas tree the day after Thanksgiving! I bought a lot of Christmas ornaments at the after Christmas sales and was thrilled to get to hang them up. The girls were only too happy to help. Michael just kind of goes with the flow when it comes to this kind of stuff. I, on the other hand, LOVE LOVE LOVE Christmas and all the decorating and celebrating that goes with it!. My girls (fortunately) follow in my footsteps and couldn't wait to get the tree decorated.

The girls were so cute the way they took turns standing on the stool

to hang their ornament.
They couldn't wait to get the next one!

Michael was only too excited to get to pass out the ornaments!

The girls were very sad when there were no ornaments left to hang. I think I will take them with me to the after Christmas sales this year and let them pick out a few ornaments they like to hang next year! I love being able to share these fun times and traditions with my own family!

Thanksgiving Moments

I wasn't very good this year about taking pictures during Thanksgiving! I am already kicking myself in the butt for it! My brother, sister in law and their kids came over from California to spend a few days and it was wonderful! I wish I would've been better about getting more pictures! Not the best time to be LAZY about it! Thanksgiving was so delicious! My mom did a great job (as she does every year) cooking the food. My cousin Mandy made some yummy pies and there was awesome company! What could have been better? Oh, right, more pictures :( :)

Alex eating her appetizers. Isn't her hair so cute in ponies?!

Alex and her beloved auntie cousin Mandy.

Auntie Julia with Nat Nat.

My brother Wayne w/ all the kiddos!
(Alex, Lily, Nataleigh, Leia, and Kyle)

Michael added into the picture. They are so geeky!

This one is just gross :) but the kids are adorable!

The siblings, spouses, and kids!
(Me, Michael w/Alex, Lily, Wayne, Nataleigh, Lily, Julia, Kyle and Melinda.)

Our family Thanksgiving picture.

My sister Mel, brother Wayne and Me looking our best!

Grandpa Great with Nataleigh.

Mel and Mandy.

Those Embarrassing Bathtime Photos

I gave the girls all a bath the next morning and, of course, had to capture some of those adorable (but later embarrassing) bath time moments! They were all just so cute playing together! They were being so goofy! I loved every minute of it!

Cousin Sleepover! (Our Very First!)

After making Christmas treats with grandma, Leia wanted to spend the night and Lily really wanted her to. After doing our best to explain to the girls what a sleepover meant, Julia allowed Leia to come over to our house for the night. The girls were super excited. Lily had never had anyone stay over before! It was already like 9:30pm by the time we got home, but I felt bad just making them go right to bed on their very first sleepover, so I told them they could watch a movie and have some popcorn, but then it was bedtime. They seemed pretty content snuggled up next to each other on the bed, watching the movie.

Watching them giggle together brought the biggest smile to my face. They both just seemed so happy to be together that it made me sad we can't do these fun things all the time. We just found out they will be moving to Alaska (even further away.) I really wished they lived closer so the girls could share these kind of moments together all of the time :(.

Making Christmas Treats with Grandma!

We were so very excited that my brother Wayne and his family were able to drive from California this year to join us for Thanksgiving! It has been quite awhile since we've actually been able to spend personal time with them! Usually when we see them, it is because there is some kind of event going on. It was so wonderful to get to spend some real time with them and play catch up. Lily and her cousin Leia have never actually gotten to play together, so it was very fun for them to have an instant friend! They had such a blast together it was hard to tear them apart at the end of the day.

The night before Thanksgiving, my mom decided to venture out and make some Christmas treats with the granddaughters (such a brave woman!) Lily LOVES making treats with grandma and what could be better than making them with her sister and cousin?! They made some chocolate suckers and chocolate dipped candy canes. The girls had so much fun dipping and pouring and licking the spilt chocolate! The best part? (besides licking their fingers clean) Why eating them afterwards, of course! Thanks Grandma! You're the best!

Cousin Leia giving her auntie her BEST smile!

Lily ready to go!

Alex patiently waiting.

Stirring the chocolate.

Sampling the chocolate and candy canes beforehand.

Cute little girlies!

Spilled chocolate on my hand? No problem!

Grammie with her granddaughters.

Dipping the candy canes! So much fun!

Alex taking a moment to still give
mommy her best "cheese!" face!

Girls just wanna have FUN!

19 Weeks and Counting!

Baby boy is on his way and I finally feel like my stomach is growing! I feel like this pregnancy is taking FOREVER!!! I am barely half way there! I am sure time will fly with the holidays coming up and then with Alex's birthday in January and Lily's in March, but as of right now, I feel like time is slowly creeping by.

That is okay though, because we need plenty of time to prepare for this little guy to come. We have NOTHING boy and his soon to be bedroom is currently painted pink, so needless to say, we have a lot of work to do! Warning: Exposed belly pic below this one!

I think my baby belly looks bigger with my shirt pulled up. I am excited to say that I can finally use it as a shelf. It works great for eating ice cream in bed when I am feeling too lazy to hold the bowl! (Maybe that is why I seem to spill so much on my shirt these days!)