Rudolph

I'm not sure where the infatuation with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer came from but after listening to Mommy sing it a handful of times while cleaning, Brooklyn picked up the whole song. Now, she won't allow you to sing it with her because "she can do it all by herself!"

I just love Christmas time and all the wonderful things that surround the season. The spirit of giving. I also love that B understands the true reason for celebration; Jesus' Birthday! We are very much looking forward to spending Christmas with the Hein family this Saturday and then with the de Wolfe family in Pittsburgh from Christmas Eve until New Years! We are blessed with the most loving and amazing family!

Just Adult Kids

Aaron and I love being around each other! When the girls go to sleep, we chat, hang out, drink, play games, whatever. We are best friends and love one another's company. But, we have 2 kids....we don't exactly have too much time to focus on just us. Nights out, many times, means Mommy goes out with girlfriends while Daddy stays with the girls or Daddy goes out with the boys/ranch and Mommy stays home. Its rare that we have date nights and pay for a babysitter. Getting 2 crazy girls fed and put to bed....that's a lot of work for ME, let alone a teenager!

Needless to say, Aaron and I don't feel as "youthful" as we once did when we had no kids. However, we still act silly, goofy, and playful as often as possible! Aaron has always made me laugh and always been a stinkin' smart aleck as well. I can still vividly recall him running into me in the hallway in high school just after last period and giving me this atrocious-looking piece of clay. (We had never really talked too much before.) He said that he had made it just for me; it was a jewelry box! And it was, a very ugly one. Still have it to this day, though! Crazy!

I just adore the fact that we have such fun together.

Yesterday, while making strawberry cake balls, I had decided to take 3 at a time, stack them on lollipop stick and coat them in white to make little snowmen. I stopped after two, realizing how much of the candy coating it was using. I then challenged Aaron last night in decorating them. Of course, his looks like the real deal and mine looked like a 5 year old did it, but we had fun! He said that my snowman looked like it had antlers growing from his neck. URGHHH!! What a toot, he is! And that is why I love him so....just two kids in love, growing old together!

Party, Soccer, Dinner and Race

This past weekend was pretty busy!
We began our Saturday morning at Aaron's company Christmas Party. We got to sit with Santa, make ornaments, decorate a gingerbread man, play games, eat yummy cookies and ride on a train. So much fun again! Cayleigh was not thrilled about sitting with Santa like Brooklyn was, so Mommy sat in the pictures too. Brooklyn got to shop in the store and went all by herself to pick out a gift for Mommy and Daddy, so we actually don't know what they are this time. She got a holiday tattoo and prizes from her beanbag tossing and was loved the train ride. Cayleigh was a trooper as usual and, of course, never smiled for any of the woman who desperately made attempt after attempt to make her!

Professional pictures were taken and we will get them later.

Daddy and his girls!

B about to go shopping for Mommy and Daddy's gifts.

Bean Bag Toss

Fun train ride around the parking lot.

Afterwards, we headed to Brooklyn's indoor soccer game. She is playing (like last year) in the Winter Season at our local sports complex. This year, no parents are allowed on the field which makes it WAY less chaotic. Brooklyn seems to enjoy it, but she isn't very aggressive with trying to get the ball, so its just been a lot of running around these first two games! Ha! They haven't had any practices yet either, which has made a difference in their familiarity with one another on the team.

Getting ready for kick-off.

Then it was down to Nana and Papa de Wolfe's house because we were invited to their church Christmas Dinner and Performance. Papa was singing in the choir and we got to enjoy dinner, singing and drama. The girls went back with Nana and Papa and stayed the night while Daddy and I went home to gear up for his run the following day. We got up early on Sunday and drove to Dallas for his company relay run. Daddy ran as the third leg on his team, 4.4 miles. It actually ended up being a very long morning with lots of waiting around. Not very fun, to be honest.

We got to his starting spot around 7:30 and the exchange/hand off to him wasn't until 11:30! He ran his portion in 38 minutes and we did not stay for the finish of his team. We picked up the girls and left for home, arriving around 3. A long, but eventful weekend. We have breakfast with Santa and another soccer game this upcoming weekend.

Texting while running.....shameful! Hehe!

Getting There

As I mentioned in the 12 month check-up post, Cayleigh is a crawler/walker now. I finally am getting around to posting a video!

Silly Cayleigh

You can never catch this girl smiling. CC is our stone cold child and everyone who sees her in stores or when we are out and about always says, "Why the long face? What's with the pouty cheeks?" The ladies at the YMCA call her Serious Face. They say she only cracks a smile when she sees me come to pick her up.

She has such a silly and rambunctious personality at home and around just us. So I caught some of her inner self at lunch today. I just adore this little baldie of ours!!

12 Month Check-up

After croup, an upper respiratory infection and ear infection in the last 3 weeks, Cayleigh was finally able to have her 12 month well check-up! She is right on target with development and much more proportional than her big sister! She now weighs 21.7 lbs (68th percentile), is 29.5 inches tall (50th percentile) with head circumference of 18 inches (50th percentile).

CC is definitely a lovey dove and gives lots of kisses and hugs. She adores Brooklyn and likes to be doing and saying all the things that she is. She has been "walking" more here recently, but only from a standing position already. She has not figured out how to pick herself up off the ground and then go. I tell Aaron all the time; "I just don't remember any of these things with Brooklyn." And it's true; so fast you forget the whole walking process or teaching them how to use a spoon!! Cayleigh is quite the character and still gets into everything. She has started showing her displeasure with things now, like when B takes a toy from her, C will yell at her. (It's pretty funny, actually.) She chats a bunch and is a great eater and is very easy going, like her Daddy. She has 6 teeth now and loves to read all her books.

Yep, I'm a rascal!

Walking, walking

I like to wear sissy's sunglasses on my head. That's right, I put them there!

Family Pictures

A few weekends ago we finally had family pictures done again! We were so overdue, since Brooklyn had just turned 1 when we last had them done. Anyhow, we went to downtown Roanoke (a small city just north of us) which has great rustic and old charm to many of the buildings and used a natural light photographer. She was fabulous and reasonably priced!!! We will definitely use her again.

http://www.baileybugphotography.com/

Besides the fact that Brooklyn was a bit grumpy and Cayleigh was, well, Cayleigh and never smiled, the pictures turned out pretty good. There is not ONE photo where we are all looking at the camera at the same time, but I was pretty much expecting that! Some of the candid ones were the best anyways and by far my favorites! I hand made the HEIN letters and the girls bows, so that was fun!

Black Friday Shopper

I have never been one who really loves to shop. In fact, I pretty much avoid doing any kind of shopping (including grocery) during "peak" times because I have issues with being around that many people. It sends me into an uncomfortable stress level! So, shopping on Black Friday has never been a desire of mine, really. In the last 2 years, Aaron and I have ventured out later in the day to see if there was anything worth getting or kids toys on sale. That was really no big deal because the lines and crowds were long gone by then.

This Thanksgiving, Aaron left that evening to go hunting and the sales I was seeing in the newspaper and online were outrageously tempting! I was not about to take my girls and wait in hour lines that night....that is just pure insanity, but I broke down and decided I wanted to head out once Brooklyn and Cayleigh were up and fed. We arrived at our first stop around 8:30 and everything was smooth sailing after that. We missed out on a tent that Brooklyn was wanting, but otherwise it was by far, WORTH IT!!!! I think I have converted to being a Black Friday Shopper from now on. Probably not the night before, but the deals we made out with convinced me that I will definitely do it every year from now on!!!

Little Cupcake Party

Cayleigh celebrated her first birthday, cupcake style, on Saturday with friends and family. It was a wonderful time and we were fortunate enough to have Aaron's grandparents in town from Indiana, that day being Great Grandma Tuddy's birthday as well!

Gamma Hein made C's cupcake outfit, Mommy made her bow and personal cupcake and Nana de Wolfe made all the fabulous cupcakes for everyone to eat!! What a party!! Big sister Brooklyn helped Cayleigh open all her gifts, sang her "happy birthday" and ran to get C a fork to eat her first bites of cake. The kiddos all got to decorate their own cupcakes to eat and take home.

Mommy and Cayleigh cupcake!!

Birthday girl

Nana's cupcakes

Yummy food from Mommy

Fun balloons

Opening gifts

Happy Birthday to Cayleigh!

Big sister helping

Cupcake decorating

Our silly family

Messy kisses for Mommy

All the Hein cousins