Thursday, December 30, 2010

Oreo's!


Ainsley LOVED her first taste of an OREO!

Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas Day!

Christmas morning! Present time:)
Heading straight for the big rubber animal!
Santa found Jewel Sparkle!
Gavin was pretty shocked, not only a DS but a DSi XL Super Mario Bro. limited edition!

Avalyn's present from Sidney, in Germany. She was so excited and LOVES her new Barbie movie!
Gavin had no clue about this gift from his grandparents in Arizona. It was the Vinalmation he saw at Disney World- it wasn't out when we were shopping, so he settled for a small Buzz Lightyear. Kyle went back 2 days later when they came out a bought Zurg and the Alien. We saved them as Christmas gifts, his face was priceless (I didn't quite capture it). They are great keepsakes and a fun memory!

This was the only wrapped present that Cambria had interest in, it had a red rubber ducky on top. She quickly pulled it off and walked away. Her stocking was filled with a few new rubber duckies- she was in heaven:)

Ainsley in her tu-tu from Mau Mau and Grandpa. She was so proud (despite having a horrible cold and having her poor red nose rubbed all day)! Ainsley loves being a big girl and dressing up!
The only thing that made this little girl sad was sharing. She didn't want to let Ainsley have her Rody horse. Don't worry she moved on quickly.

The rest of the day~

Dressing up!
Taking care of the new babies!

Yes, this is what Gavin looked like most of Christmas day;)
Cambria was more interested in playing with Gyffy and Rody as if they were rubber duckies, not bouncing on them. They must always be together, no one can touch them and they must always be touching noses. We were all busy and when we came into the living room this is what we found:
They are still left like this most of the time, by Cambria:) Ainsley prefers bouncing on them and petting them like they are real animals. They are definitely the perfect pet for this family;)

My mom and I spent the day preparing Christmas Dinner! We usually do a late lunch, but it was wonderful being on no time schedule and having the day to prepare a wonderful meal. Christmas dinner will definitely be done again!

The Tree, The Gifts!


This was our tree Christmas morning! As you can tell it's a little bare on the bottom, thanks to the toddlers in the house keeping the ornaments on the lower half of the tree was a battle that they continually won;).

This Christmas was a bit different for our family. We stayed home for the 1st time (and last in Omaha:). My parents came to visit, adding a bit of excitement for the kids- who LOVE visitors. It was a much smaller Christmas. We did Christmas with my sisters at Thanksgiving and with a move coming shortly I didn't feel like adding too much stuff to our house. Each child received their Santa gift (Gavin and Avalyn picked 1- for some reason they pick just one thing every year), a surprise gift from Mommy and Daddy, and the rest were from our families. It was the perfect amount, plenty for the kids and I wasn't over whelmed by the amount:) Stockings were filled with socks and other usefull items- sippy cup, pj's, head bands, books, and of course a few duckies for Cambria. They were thrilled and had no clue that it was a smaller Christmas, it isn't about the amount- that's good for us, because we will probably have to continue with just a couple gifts from us while Kyle is in med. school.

Avalyn received her Lalaloopsy doll, Jewel Sparkle, she went straight for her and was so excited (she had never seen her in person).
Gavin was beyond excited about his Nintendo DSi XL Super Mario Bro. special edition- he wanted a DS, but was shocked to get such a special one:)
The babies received their own Lalaloopsy dolls- they are already sharing with big sister. I was actually surprised at how much they enjoy playing with them. The large blow up, bouncy animals were from the grandparents. I read about these in an article and went searching for a good deal (they cost $50-$60 each). I was thrilled they were large (involve no small parts= less mess), hold up to 400 pounds (fun for all the kids). We have purged most of the toys around here and almost all of the baby toys, Ainsley isn't really into playing with toys. The only large baby toy we still have is the bouncing zebra and the girls still love it, but they will out grow it. These animals were the perfect solution, the kids can carry them from room to room and they all LOVE them. I was originally going to buy one (since Cambria refuses to share), but I found a good deal on each and it was nice to give Ainsley something (even if Cambria doesn't like that idea). The Rody horse I bought at the children's museum with a 25% off coupon, I was thrilled to find it in bright pink. Gyffy the giraffe I got on Amazon for $34 (with free shipping) it is larger than the horse and super cute. The girls love them and they will be played with for many years to come!

The surprise gift from Mommy and Daddy was the doll house and shelves. Kyle built the shelves/ night stand. It was perfect and looks great with baskets I found at Target. The doll house was my sisters and mine when we were little. Our daddy built it and painted it pink, it has had many years of play from us and our niece, but was never finished. I spent several late nights before Christmas staining the roof and painting the interior.

It turned out pretty cute. I had a difficult time stopping, but I was tired and figured with furniture in it it would fill the space quickly (the furniture is in the baskets on the shelves).

Sunday, December 26, 2010

The PJ's

Not much behind the new pj's, but this is a bit of what the night before Christmas looked like and the morning of Christmas (before presents). We did start a new tradition- but for some reason I didn't take any pictures:( We made homemade pretzels, they were yummy and lot's of fun! We left a few for Santa and 7 carrots for the reindeer:)

Ainsley (18months) has decided she can now walk down the stairs. It's a bit scary, but you can't stop this little one- she's taking diapers to the trash (funny since we never showed her how) and picking up toys (now all we need is Cambria to catch on). All these little chores are so cute, she makes sure we all are watching and smiles with such pride:)

It's not easy to get a picture of these 2- someday I pray they are best friends and there are lot's of pictures of them together!
Reading the 1st Christmas story!

Ainsley got a peak on her way up to get her brother and sisters out of their rooms!

The Christmas morning stair picture- kind of hard with out the older cousins around;)
So excited and ready to see what Santa brought!!!

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Dec.23

When people come to visit we love to take them to the Children's Museum- extra sets of eyes is always helpful! With my parents in town we decided to head there the day before Christmas Eve. We went in the afternoon and the crowds weren't too bad. The kids had a wonderful time, as they always do:)

We LOVE the new exhibit upstairs- so much fun! It almost made you forget about the cold outside.

Gavin liked the putting green- I guess we need to try put-put this summer!
Cambria found a new ducky and a dolphin she did not want to let go of- yes she left screaming (of course going during nap time didn't help).

Moo!



The girls had lot's of wet fun in the water feature! Ainsley managed to attempt swimming in it several times, we caught her but her hair was wet.