Christmas 2008

Here we are on Christmas morning. The girls were up at the crack of dawn eager to begin opening gifts.

Stockings first.

High School Musical 3 Barbies. A big hit!
Landries Rescue Pet. I had no idea what this was, but Landries daycare lady kept telling us about how she freaks out when the commercial comes on TV, so we found it and bought it.

She loves it. The dog walks and swims. It also comes with some very stylish green goggles.


Landries favorite part.
Walkie-talkies. Also a hit, but they try to use them while in the same room. We'll keep practicing.
Landrie also got a ride on princess thing. She can sit on it and scoot around the house. And the bonus is that it plays really loud princess music and has no volume control. Thanks Santa!

Jenna got a bigger bike this year. We are working on getting rid of the training wheels.

Christmas day was so nice out that we were able to got for a walk and test out Jennas new bike. I have to admit that a small part of me would have liked to be around a little bit of snow, but it was nice to be outside too.

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Christmas Eve 2008

We allowed the girls to open one present on Christmas Eve. Of course the girls talked about it all day and were a little let down to open up a pair of pajamas.

Kylie's class made reindeer food at her Christmas party, so we saved it until Christmas Eve and went out to sprinkle it in the yard. For those of you who have not made reindeer food it is made up of oatmeal and rasins, with a little bit of glitter to help the reindeer fly.

It couldn't have been more perfect. The minute we walked out side a plane must have been flying by. Red bliking lights in the sky. We panicked at first thinking we should all get in bed quick in case Santa was a little ahead of schedule.

After the reindeer food was down we went inside and Jed and I enjoyed the easiest bedtime of the year. No one getting up for a drink of water or to tell on their sister on Christmas Eve...love it!

Sister Similarities

The other day, and a lot over the past month or so, Landrie made a face that reminded us of Kylie so we began our research. We went looking for pictures of Kylie when she was Landrie's age. As far as Jenna goes, that would require us digging through a bag of developed photos that span 4 years...no digital camera then. Here's what we found...

Landrie with her scrunched up nose smile. Christmas 2008.

Kylie with her scrunched up nose smile. Christmas 2005.

Landrie in the rocker at Pop Pop and Shanny's in Illinois 2008.

Kylie in the rocker at Pop Pop and Shannys' in Florida 2005.

Kylie Brynn

Kylie's class had their Christmas program last Friday. The theme was T'was Night Before Christmas. Each class had a different theme within the theme. For example there was a class that did a Dinosaurs Night Before Christmas, one did a Soldiers Night Before Christmas and so on. Kylie's class was a Texas Night Before Christmas. She slept with curlers in her hair so she could have curly hair for her program, or as Jed and I call it, "Big Texas Hair". She did a great job! Delivered her lines nice and loud and closed the show with "We Wish You A Rootin' Tootin' Christmas. Unfortunately we were not very close, so didn't get may great pictures.

Here is a picture of her at the microphone.
I am not sure what brough it on, but Kylie has a new obsession with Japan. For the last couple of days she has been carrying this book around pretending to read it. It is a guide to Japan and the Japanese Language. When the girls play school and she is the teacher they are always learning about Japan. She takes it to bed with her because Jenna always reads a little at night, so she looks at this book before bed.
She will "read" it to anyone who will listen.
Sammy seems to be her biggest fan.

Now that Jed and I laughed at her and took pictures of her with the Japan book I am sure that she will keep it up because she is a little ham like that.

She is our crazy one. She keeps us all laughing.

Making Cookies

Our Christmas Cookie tradition continued this year. Deanna and Jodi always do a fabulous job of hosting this event. The kids have a great time and make a huge mess.
Landrie enjoyed the frosting the most. At first she was dipping and licking the knife. Then she figured to skip the knife all together and just dip the coolie right into the frosting.

Here's Landries smile. Jenna had a great time. It is very interesting how different she and Jenna are. Jenna wanted to decorate cookie after cookie and finish fast and back outside to play. Kylie on the other hand would sit there decorating cookies all afternoon.

Prairie Lights

One thing we like to do every year is pack in to the mini van with Deanna, Jodi and Andrew for a drive through the Prairie Lights display. I wish I had pictures of some of the displays, but they did not turn out.

From the warmth of you car you can drive through the park and see all the lights, listen to music and Ooo and Ahhh. The kids love it. It might be the only time I enjoy listening to Christmas music. After the driving through the park there is a large tent with all sorts of things to do and buy . Jed and I call it the money pit. Pictures with Santa, hot chocolate, kettle corn, and a lights and music display.

Notice that Jed and I made the picture with Santa this year.

Our being in the picture was not by choice, more by necessity. Landrie wanted nothing to do with Santa this year. We even tried to put her on the cute rocking horse far a way from Santa, but no luck. I will say that for the first time, Kylie stood within his reach, so there is hope.

Girls Only Photo Shoot

The girls LOVE taking pictures, so here are a few shots from the other night just before bed. Landrie took turns going from lap to lap and the rest of us took turn snapping pics.

Only one small injury occured when Landrie threw her head back right into Kylies cheek. A few tears, but she survived.

The Ever Crazy Smiling Landrie!

Okay, Okay...this one doesn't fit the post title, but I had to throw it in here just for the shock value!! This was a week or so ago, when we were trying to get a nice family shot for the annual Christmas card. No, Landrie wasn't cooperating and was getting pretty fed up, but we made it through the turmoil! Now, on with the crazy smiles!!

As you can see, Landrie tends to over smile. Her nose gets all crinkled up and she really shows off the handful of teeth that she has at the tender age of 18 months.

This was is a little more relaxed and natural...maybe it was the bowling?

Still bowling, still natural, but a little more excitement than the previous.

Okay, back to the wild smile. It must be attributed to Pop Pop or her bath. And she was in the buff too?

This is a "lean forward and really smile"...careful...yes, Landrie you could fall out of the rocker.

Here's a "no dad, just a calm smile here...what are you trying to make me look like, a crazy girl?"

Yes!! Got one more shot of the crazy smile...quite a personality she is showing lately. Hearing a lot more "No", both Jenna and Kylie are known as "Jenna", she likes Jenna's old glasses--they make her giggle like crazy and she is still doing the eye closing disassociation thing. She hates her winter coat and being in her carseat, so the two of those together make for a really mad 18 month old--gotta love that:)

Illinois Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving 2008 started out with our road trip north on Interstate 35 on our way to Atkinson/Geneseo, Illinois to see Pop Pop, Shanny and the rest of the family. The girls did pretty well on the road, we drove through the night and arrived in about 15 hours total. It worked out well, Landrie was our biggest worry, but she ended up being more cooperative and fought less than Jenna and Kylie. We didn't take as many pictures as we should have, but here are a few highlights.

The annual bowling venture to Lee's Lanes was fun. All had a good time, especially Kylie and Jenna. They used bumpers, one bright pink bowling ball and another bright orange--so perfect for them! Here is Kylie being a ham.

Landrie was quite a little clown. She is doing this strange eye closing thing when she gets scolded, like she is disassociating herself, or saying, "Um, I can't see you and therefore can't hear you either." It is quite amusing. She is also doing this over the top smile, which I will do a separate post for since I have so many shots of just that. She loved spending time with everyone, and loved running around naked by the fireplace after her bath. Crazy girl!

Uncle Conor was a big hit as always. He is so good with the girls, playing pool, rockband, whatever, they just adore him! He is a sophomore this year--6 months away from getting his license.

Pop Pop, Shanny and Uncle Mike posing for a shot at Lee's Lanes. The deal was the losers would do clean up after dinner.

It was so nice to spend some time with Grandma Marge. The girls loved playing in her basement again, they always seem to remember her basement. It is a comfy, cozy place--I guess that's why.

Pop Pop and Shanny were so helpful once again. They even had a roomate while we visited, Landrie slept in with them in their room! They got up with her every morning and got her started with breakfast, etc, so we were able to sleep in and rest. That was GREAT!!
It was a great Thanksgiving Break, we were so fortunate to have the whole week off from school and to be able to make the trip to spend this time with family. We stayed the whole week and left on Friday night about 6:45 and made it home in even better time--14 hours and 15 minutes.