Where is February going?

 This is the reading spot.

Daddy made up this little game to help Chelsea remember our address. We learned our phone number as well. I'm impressed with her remembery.

 Here is our little Valentine's Day Fairy. Isn't she so cute?

 I helped her get the hat and wings and socks on, but only after she brought them to me and made it clear what she wanted done with them.

Sideways, but still so adorable.

 The big girls are building duplo cars for their la la loopsy dolls to ride in.

 And of course they had to race! We call it the La La Loopsy Duplo Derby. Chelsea is doing a test run to see how her car holds up.

Three, two, one, GO!

We had lots of good runs. Most of the time bits of the cars flew off or the dolls were launched from their vehicles. The replay concluded that this one was a tie. What do you think? The orange block is the finishing line.

It occurred to me that in 16 months I haven't taken a picture of all three girls in the tub. It won't be much longer before this won't be happening. So I had to document it. I realize this is on the verge of baby porn, but I couldn't get Abby to stay sitting down for the picture. She kept popping up! Could I get them all facing me at the same time? No. Oh well.

I tried a different angle, but then Chelsea's face was covered. I can't get the ideal cute bathtub shot. But these tickle my funny bone still.

Somehow I Just Skipped January

 I was a major photo-slacker in January. I hardly took any at all. But here is cutie Abbie wearing, briefly, a purple headband and making a cute face.

Boxes are still the most fun toy ever.

 Brie had her first ever dental appointment. She was a champ! She didn't say much at first, but she didn't resist. She followed directions, though a little timidly. But by the end she was responding verbally and with distinct head nods and shakes. I was so proud! She loved her new toothbrush and toothpaste, though she can't really use it yet because she tends to swallow before she attempts to spit her toothpaste out. We're working on that. But she got a little flosser that all the girls loved. So much so that we had to go buy some of our own. :)

Our gift from the Minot Daily was a coupon for a free turkey. So I redeemed it. I didn't see any point in just sticking it in the freezer to forget about (and I have a TEENY freezer!) so I roasted it! I'm 32 years old, and this is the first time I have ever made a turkey. But I did it, and it turned out great! Impromptu thanskgiving-type dinners are so great in the winter!

December Thus Far

 The kiddos have been sick for most, if not all, of this month. I think I mentioned the sicknesses in the last post. Turns out Abby and Brie were each fighting a cold AND an eye infection AND an ear infection. And the last time Chelsea had the flu, her tummy developed an intolerance to some foods which made her randomly throw up. I think we have it all taken care of, but we still have a couple stuffy noses. 

 Despite not being able to eat anything but apple sauce this day, Chelsea was excited to perform at her holiday dance recital. She did a grear job!

 The dancers led the crowd in a wave. I wasn't paying much attention, but Brie was, and she raised her hands at the appropriate time. I was quite impressed. (You can see Chelsea's face right in the armpit of the gal with the red tank top. Great timing, I know)

 I was such a proud mama, despite one of the leaders (not a regular teacher) flubbing up and guiding Chelsea's group into TWO major oopsies. (She brought them OFF the dance floor WAY too soon in one song when they should have been still dancing in the mixed age group portion, and then she brought them out on the floor to dance a different song before it was their turn and so they had to walk off and wait behind the black curtain instead of watching the other group dance.) I was more upset about that than I should have been. But it's okay now. Chelsea does not seem to be scarred for life.

 We decided to open our presents from just our family the day before Christmas Eve. We've done our own after the Grandma's house parties before, but it's not as fun if Christmas Day is over. So that was our excuse. :)

 Daddy was so grateful for this cute elf hat from Chelsea.

 Chelsea got me this necklace with a heart on it that you can't see. They had a thing at school where the kids could shop and buy gifts. Chelsea even got to use her own money to buy a present for each member of the family. She was very excited to give them away. It was very sweet.

 How on EARTH did mommy know that daddy would be so excited about this gift???

 Enjoying the new stuff.

 Christmas Eve with the Kellys and Hornbachers.

Chelsea, Gavin, Tyjah

 Going clockwise starting from Rick:

Rick, Brie, Kyri, Gatlyn, Kinda, Beth, Jennifer

 Continuing on:

Jennifer again, Damien, Del, Pam, LaDell, Mike, Diana, Abby

 Fishing all the presents out from under the tree

 I remember when I could fit under the tree like this.

 My girls aren't the only ones that like to dress up.

 I think this is quite an impressive addition to our home library. 

 Who likes to dress up? Brie does!

 Our new game additions

 La La Loopsy stuff!

There is more, but I'm not going to post pictures of everything. I'm very sad that I forgot to bring the camera to Grandma Heit's house on Christmas Day. There were some cute moments that I would have liked to capture. Sad. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year! Here's to a great 2013!

12/12/12

 I'm kicking off my 12/12/12 with these two goofies. Chelsea is already at school. Abby is showing that she's ready for another bite of oatmeal, and Brie is showing off her lovely dancing shoes/outfit. She had butterfly wings on earlier. Brie is definitely my dress up gal. I love my kids!

A Sunday Afternoon and Family Pics

 We got tired of Abby's new hobby of unloading all the pieces and cards from all the games she could reach and spreading them across the floor. So we finally moved the games from the bottom shelves until she outgrows this little habit. *fingers crossed that that is soon* The girls discovered the empty compartments. What do you do with an empty compartment? FILL IT!

They are in pajamas still. Why? They are sick. All of them. They've been sick for probably a solid month with varying degrees of severity. They had the coughy sneezies; then the stomach flu with the poopie pukies; then pink eyes though it wasn't "pinkeye;" and now we are back to pukies and tummy aches for Chelsea, a snotty nose for Abby, and coughy raspy breathing for Brie. Will it ever end? Ugh.

 All the Kellys and Bowles and Heits

Yes, the girls were sick when we took our photos. I am very happy with how they turned out, even without smiles from the kiddos.

 All of us

Brie-3, Chelsea-5 1/2, Mommy, Abby-1, and Daddy

Me and the sweetest guy ever. I'm such a lucky gal.

Forgot...

I forgot to add Ms. Pacman and the Inky, Winky(?), Blinky, or Sue whichever name the blue ghost claims. I forget. Tee hee!

HalloweenTime!

 Here is our family. I bought the wig before coming home from work knowing I wanted to wear it, but not knowing exactly what it would turn me into. We decided I looked like Quorra from Tron. So I took some extra fabric from Chelsea's dress and pinned it on, hoping it would look Tron-ish. You be the judge. Rick is the dryer gremlin that steals one of your socks. Abby is a cute little bumblebee, Chelsea is Alice in Wonderland, and Brie is Snow White.

 Messy Bee!

 There was a pumpkin carving contest. We didn't enter, but this was MY favorite pumpkin, though several were very cool.

 This is the best I could get of just the girls in costume.

 The highlight of the party for the kids-Trunk or Treating! I love Chelsea's face here so much. Candy! Finally!

 We didn't have our act together enough to decorate our trunk, but some families went all out!

 Some of the cutest ones.

 Or scariest ones.

On an unrelated-to-Halloween topic, here are my youngest two actually playing nicely together, on their own, no coaxing, no fighting, no clinging to Mommy. I had to document because it doesn't happen too often that all of those things happen at the same time.

I enjoyed making this dress for Chelsea. She loves it, and that gives me warm fuzzies. Not to mention she looks super cute wearing it and spinning in it. :)

Happy Halloween!