Graham Cracker Houses

The other day we had my cousin, her boys and my sister come over to make some graham cracker houses. It was a good activity to do with the kids and was a fun excuse to get together. It was quite messy in the beginning and we found that it was a little tricky to get the graham crackers to stay up for us; in the end we figured it out and had lots of fun and laughs. Kylie did a lot better than I thought she would (the first picture is her finished masterpiece). She had lots of fun putting candy on the house, though lots did end up in her mouth. We thought that she wouldn't want to put any on her house, so some was better than none. She was so proud of herself when she was done. My nephews had lots of fun too. Michael, my sister and I also made houses to go with the kid's houses. I can't wait to do it again next year!

Christmas Fun

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve and Day. We started Christmas Eve with Michael's extended family. We had a wonderful dinner and caught up with family members that, due to distance, we are rarely able to see. We got home in time to attend Midnight Mass at our church. We have been teaching Kylie that we have Christmas because it is Jesus' birthday, so during a very silent part of church she shouts out (this is a child who very rarely talks above a quiet voice) 'HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESUS'. There were many smiles and a few snickers. Kids definitely keep life interesting.
Christmas morning, Kylie slept in until 8:00...YEAH! As she came down stairs she said, "Look...Santa came... Happy birthday Jesus presents!" What a sweet little girl. Her big present from Santa was her new tricycle which we had to play with for about half an hour before we could open the rest of the presents. She got a few Jesus books, color books, kitchen food, and clothes. We enjoyed Christmas morning and then headed over to my Dad's house to celebrate with them. It was a wonderful time. Kylie was very spoiled and we headed home happy, with a tired little girl, full bellies and a very full truck. We hope everyone had as great of a holiday as we did. MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Santa

So, after missing the fire dept Christmas party and the Christmas party my mom's legion hosts due to our bad health, we broke down and took Kylie to the mall to see Santa. Mike and I always laughed at the people who stood hours in line to see this man but we couldn't go a year without having a picture of Kylie and Santa. Plus, after the hysterics last year, we wanted to see if she had warmed up to him at all this year. She has gotten to the point where she excitedly points him out everywhere we go, and was super excited to see him. So, off we went and stood for two hours in line for a one minute turn on Santa's lap. Kylie didn't cry this year, but she wasn't quite sure what to think of him. So she sat on his lap frozen for a couple seconds while I took my allotted two pictures and then we convinced her to give him a hug before she lift, which she willingly did. I think it was a successful Santa year.

As Christmas eve is upon us tomorrow, we hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas and remembers the true reason why we gather and celebrate each year.

Winter Fun

It has been a really long time since I have written, so I thought I would recap some of the winter activities we have been doing. This time of year is always crazy for everyone and we are no exception.

We started Christmas the day after thanksgiving, going to get our Christmas Tree. It is a tradition we started when it was just Mike and I. We have no desire to go out in the madness that is black Friday, so we hit the Christmas tree farm, come home and decorate. Kylie was finally old enough to understand what we were doing this year and was thoroughly excited to get her tree. We had a much easier time finding our tree this year than years past and were in and out of the tree farm in 45 minutes.

It took us the whole rest of the weekend, to get the tree up and decorated along with everything else, but once it was done the house was complete. I love how warm Christmas decorations make a house look when it is getting dark so much earlier and is so gloomy outside.

After the first accumulative snow here, we took Kylie and Shea out to the park to play in the snow and take some pictures in hopes of finding one for our Christmas cards. They had a blast. It's hard to tell who loves the snow more, Kylie or Shea. We got 5 inches of snow the other night and Kylie was so excited to go outside and play in it and to help daddy shovel it. We are expecting 6-12 inches tonight, so she will be even more excited tomorrow. She wants to go build a snowman so bad but we have yet to have enough of the right kind of snow for a snowman. Hopefully tomorrow will be her night. Some days, she looks out the window and says "Mommy. I want to make a snowman...pllllleeeeeaaaasssse" even if there isn't any snow out there.

For the last two weeks, Mike and I have been sick with everything you could think of. We started out with pink eye (who knows where we got that.. ) then killer sore throats, and now horrible colds. Luckily Kylie has managed to fare well and has only had a tiny cold.

Kylie @ 2

We took Kylie to the Doctor this last week, so I have all her new stats to report.

Height: 36 inches (95%)- She has always been tall for her age

Weight 26.2 lbs (45%)

Favorite Foods: Yogurt, Oatmeal (brown sugar or strawberry), string cheese, cottage cheese, milk (she can drink up to 5 galsses a day!), peanut butter sandwiches, plain bread right out of the bag, hot dogs, spaghetti, corn on the cob. Believe it or not this kid can eat when she really wants to. I don't know where it all goes!

Dislikes: broccoli, red meat (we do a lot of ground turkey instead), lunch meat.

Accomplishments: Throw a ball (pretty far), kick a ball, jump with both feet, Do tae kwon do with daddy and mommy (kick & punch while saying 'hiya'), do simple shape puzzles, talk in simple sentences, use her utensils when eating, clean up her table after eating (putting everything in the sink), count to three (five with help), calls everything either the color green or pick, and loves to sing songs and dance.

Activities: Kylie does swimming every week and has even been bumped up to the preschool level with kids who are all three and up. She does great and loves to put her goggles on and put her head underwater and blow her bubbles. She also does gymnastics once a week, she loves to jump on the trampoline and swing on the rings.

Side notes: Kylie loves to play with her cousins and they are so great with her. She is such a tom-boy and loves to get in there and wrestle, run, and kick with them. Luckily they take it a little easier on her since she is a girl. Lately she has taken an interest in helping Mike with projects. She will pick up his tools and say "I help too, daddy". He was surprised to find that she figured out how to work a socket wrench and helped him tighten the bolts on my license plate. She thought it was funny that she was all dirty afterwards. What happened to my girl?

Happy Birthday Kylie!

Kylie turned two on Wednesday and we celebrated by taking her to the Field Museum in Chicago. The museum has a kids discovery area that she loves, so we thought it would be a great choice and it was. Kylie had a wonderful time. We left after her gymnastics class and were at the museum around 1:00. Kylie played in the kids area for about two hours! Then we were finally able to drag her away with promises of dinosaurs. I swear our daughter acts more like a boy than any other girl I've met!! We went through the evolution exhibit and then the pacific coast exhibit. Mike really wanted to see the traveling weather exhibit but we didn't realize it required a special ticket,maybe we will have to go back before it leaves. On our way out of the pacific coast exhibit, Kylie turned to Mike and said "Daddy, all done. I wannna go home" So with that we left. It was probably a good thing since it was close to 4 and if we stayed any longer traffic would have been worse than it already was. Once we got home, Kylie had presents from Grandma and the Biggs Bunch waiting for her. She opened them and we had her blow out candles on a brownie for her dessert. It was a nice day. Her birthday party will be on Saturday and she is very much looking forward to her "Monkey Birthday" as she says.

Vacations galore

In the last two months we have done a lot of traveling. First we spent a week in October at Amelia Island, FL (about twenty minutes northeast of Jacksonville). We spent a week there in a condo which we won in an auction last year at the Schroeder's Benefit. It is a gorgeous place and we lucked out with wonderful weather. It was 80's and sunny the whole week, with the exception of a few hours of rain the first day. We just spent our time relaxing on the beach or walking around enjoying the island. It was Kylie's first encounter with sand and ocean and she LOVED it! We would have to drag her away at the end of everyday. She thought it was so funny to run up to the water and then run away as the waves came in. Mike loved swimming out and jumping into the waves. There were times when we couldn't see him come back up, only to find out that he drifted farther to one side or the other. I was content to sit back and relax in my chair or wade in the water with Kylie.

Then, the first week in November, we spent in the Southern Caribbean. We cruised to St. Thomas, Dominica, Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, and St. Kitts. We had originally booked the cruise for our anniversary week (February) but they have a rule that you cannot cruise past your 16th week of pregnancy...so we had to move it up. It was a blast though. I would definitely recommend a cruise that stops everyday if you have kids with you as there is not much for them to do on board, unless they are older. It worked well for us. We cruised overnight and in the morning we were in our next destination. We would get off the ship, go see the island, do an excursion, shop a little, then get back on board in time for dinner and set off for the next place. By day 6 of the cruise Kylie was asking to go home... I think it was a little too long for her. But she had a good time swimming and exploring each new place. To our surprise, she sat still long enough for a local lady to braid her hair (about 20 minutes)! She saw a little girl getting it done and said, "I want that!" So, we attempted it and were successful. She won't sit still for pigtails at home. But, she looked so cute in the braids. All the workers on the boat just adored Kylie. She really warmed up to our room stewards and the last night, her hardest on the ship because she was ready to go home, he knocked on the door and came in to make her a special towel animal. Kylie requested a monkey from him, so he made her one and hung it from the ceiling. It was so sweet of him! He said she reminded him of his three kids back home. They work for up to 8 months on the boat before they get to go home for a month or two. That has to be difficult! It was a wonderful week away and then we came home to 30 degrees and snow flurries.. Sweet home Chicago!

Halloween... a little late

So, I know I am about two weeks behind on this, but I wanted to write about our Halloween festivities. We started Halloween week the Sunday before with a costume party with our families. It's something we started last year in order for everyone to see all the kids dressed in their costumes without having the parents drive all over to show them off. It's also fun to see what the adults come up with for costumes! If you don't wear a costume, you can't come in the door. We had loads of fun. The kids decorated treat bags, we ate yummy, scary food, and even had a pinata to break.

Then on Halloween, we dressed Kylie up in her Chinese costume (My dad brought it back from a business trip in China...what better use for it?) and took her out trick or treating. We only went up and down our short street but that was enough for her. We came back home and carved our pumpkins. It was a lot of fun since Kylie got into it this year. Last year, she wasn't to thrilled with the gooey insides. Kylie's favorite part of the night? Handing our candy to all the children who came to our house. She would stand at the door, waiting, saying, " People...Where are you?" What a wonderful way to spend Halloween!

Snow!?!?!

Yesterday afternoon, Mike and I looked out the window to see snow blowing across our yard. It didn't last for long (about 15 minutes) nor was it very much (just a light dusting), but we bundled Kylie up and took her outside to enjoy it while it lasted. She didn't like her gloves too much, but she enjoy picking up the cold, wet snow and mashing it in her hands. I still can't believe that we have got snow in October!

A little sweetness

I just had to write about a couple sweet things that have been going on around here:

Whenever Kylie is sitting on the couch, watching a show or movie, she almost always calls, "Momma, sit" and hits the couch. Then once I come over she goes, "Momma, snuggle" and she wraps her arms around my neck and puts my head on her shoulder. What a sweetheart!

Mike has been feeling like he misses out when he is at work. As many of you know he is gone for at least 24 hours when he works, but lately he has been taking some extra shifts, so he is working 24, 36, or 48 hours straight!!! He says the part he misses most is getting Kylie ready for bed. So, he typed up some of her favorite stories and at bedtime, we give him a call and if he isn't out of the station, he is able to read to her over the phone. Kylie loves it. After bath she grabs my the phone and says," Daddy, story!" What a sweet father!

Exciting News

So I just realized how long it has been since I have written something... yikes! So many things have been going on around here, keeping us crazy. Basically just our normal busy life. The newest thing though, is the news that there will be a new baby around here at the end of April! Kylie seems to be excited... if she even knows what is going on. She loves to kiss my belly and 'hug' the baby. I have been feeling so sick, hopefully that will end soon. All in all we are excited to welcome this new bundle of joy into our lives.

We decided to tell our families by going out and having Kylie wear her 'big sister' shirt. We tried to do it all around the same time so no one would feel left out. So, we went to breakfast with Mike's parents and we were greeted at the restaurant by his dad, who picked up Kylie and was talking to her with no notice to the shirt. We walked into the restaurant and as soon as his mom saw Kylie she noticed the shirt and the news was out.

Later, we went to dinner with my family for my dad's birthday. When we got to the place, my aunt, uncle, cousins, and nephews were outside. As soon as we walked up, My cousin Kristin asked, "Does that shirt mean anything?" to which I replied, "Why would she wear it if it didn't mean anything." Followed by many hugs and congratulations. When we walked inside, my dad and sister were already sitting down. My dad took Kylie from me and was talking and playing with her, completely oblivious to the shirt. It took about 15 minutes of us telling Kylie to 'keep her cute shirt clean', etc. for him to finally ask what the shirt said. Guys are not as observant as women are...

Discovery Museum

A few weeks back we took Kylie, along with Mike's sister and her two kids, to a nearby discovery museum. We had lots of fun. There were tons of things to keep Kylie interested. It was two floors with a huge outdoor wooden playground area. They had a build your own roller-coaster area, an enclose yourself in a bubble area, a huge push pin wall (where you push your hand into the 'pins' and then you can see your out-stretched hand/arm on the other side), a virtual realty spots game area, a toddler area with a play house, slides and a water center, and this huge wall of air tubes (which you put scarfs in the tubes and then watch them fly along the wall until they come out from one of the openings. It was a lot of fun not only for Kylie but for us adults too! Despite all the exhibits...Kylie's favorite part was the spiral staircase which lead up to the second floor. They had blocked off the bottom part and had cut holes into the 'floor boards' which the kids could climb up and/or down to get to the other floor. She loved it and would refuse to come out, running away from me instead...I've got to say, she's a good climber.

Playing with the air tubes

The staircase climbing holes

In a bubble

A big girl bed

On Tuesday we decided to convert Kylie's crib into the full size bed. She is so tall that it was way too easy for her to swing her leg up and get close to climbing out. The new bed is so big and makes her room look so different. It reminds us how fast she is growing up. We were worried that she wouldn't like the big bed, but so far things have turned out great. When we switched it over, Kylie had decided not to nap so she was awake and up 'helping' us. She was so excited and proceeded to jump on her bed as soon as the mattress was put on. She loves her comforter and pillows and keeps yelling "butterflies, butterflies". We tried putting those safety rails on to make sure that she wouldn't roll out of bed, but when we did Kylie started screaming and crying and saying "no, my bed, my bed..." So we relented and decided we would see how she did. The first night, she just crashed because she had refused to take a nap, she sleep until her normal time (6 am) only waking up once and calling for help because she couldn't get herself back into bed. The next day, I put her stool next to her bed for her to climb up on, which made her very happy. Last night, she wasn't quite ready for bed when we put her down and I got to play the 'catch me and put me back into bad' game for thirty minutes. But that was it and then she slept until 6! I love that when she wakes up, she walks down to our room, we no longer have to go and get her. YEAH! I hope tonight will be even easier than last night!

NO, I do!

Kylie is at the point where she is putting words together to make phrases and sentences. These include; "More swing, mommy/daddy", "I help too", "Bad Shea", "More milk/juice/food please", etc. Very simple, but you can tell that she is proud of herself for getting her point across.
The one that drives me nuts is, "No, I do" said with such attitude. This is said to everything from eating (including bowls of soup..very messy) to putting on her own shoes (not very successful and normally ends in frustration) to putting herself into bed and pulling up the covers and anything else mommy/daddy are doing for her.
I love her independence but when you hear this phrase 10-20 times a day, it begins to get on your nerves. Mike says we should be thankful that she wants to help because soon she won't want to do anything. So for now, we let Kylie do what she can to help.

Relaxing in the North Woods

We had a wonderful time on our vacation in Minnesota. We went up to the Gunflint trail which is a dead end scenic road 40 miles south of the Canadian border. You are literally in the middle of nowhere. As soon as you leave the town of Grand Marais to head up the trail, you lose cell phone service. There are no tvs, computers, phones, or even dishwashers up there! You completely lose touch with the outside world but it doesn't matter. We had a great time hiking, fishing, biking, and relaxing. Kylie was old enough this year to enjoy herself and we were able to find a place that allowed us to bring Shea. He had a blast with all the attention he was getting. He loved hiking on the trails and swimming in the lake. He would jump off our dock right into the water! We went over into Canada one day and found out that there really isn't too much to do over there. But, we found a beautiful waterfall and went to an amethyst mine where we were able to 'mine' our own amethyst (from a pile of there left-overs.. but Kylie didn't care). It amazed me how much amethyst there was just lying on the floor (behind a gate, which we weren't allowed to touch). So pretty! We even attempted canoeing with Kylie one day... We found out that toddlers and canoes don't mix. We didn't go over but came very close a couple of times. Luckily we made it safely and dryly back to land. It was a wonderful vacation! (ignore the dates on the pictures, my good camera broke right before we left so we used an old one, it took new batteries everyday and I got tired of updating the date stamp...)

Car washing

Those of you who know Michael, know that he is particular about his vehicles... He always has to have a clean (inside and out) car. The other day he was washing the car and Kylie decided that she wanted to help daddy. She was actually pretty good except that she got herself soaking wet and loved soaping the part of the car that was already rinsed clean.. At least she loves to help and she was cute to watch :)

Cooking Fun

Kylie loves to help me cook. A few weeks ago I was making taffy apple salad. For those of you who have made this recipe, after the first measurements, there isn't much else to do besides wait. I left Kylie on the counter and continued cooking the mixture and cutting up the apples. I looked up after a few seconds and saw Kylie taking spoonfuls of flour out of my canister and putting them in an empty bowl. This didn't bother me and was keeping her quiet and occupied, so I let her be. After a few more minutes, my counter and Kylie were covered in flour. At least I was able to finished my food. :)

Waterfights

This last weekend, our town had it's firefighter water fights. We had my family come over and everyone went to cheer Mike on. It was a lot of fun. For those of you who don't know what this is, myself being one of them until last weekend, I'll try to explain it. Firefighters from all over the area assemble teams of five/six guys. These teams then compete against each other by spraying water from fire hoses at a barrel which is set up in the center. The first team to get the barrel past the first member of the other team wins... It is very loud. Kylie had loads of fun hanging out with her cousins. She absolutely adores them and they are great with her!

Swim Class

We have started Kylie in swim classes. She goes once a week for thirty minutes and LOVES it! It is pretty basic skills. We spend time blowing bubbles in the water, helping Kylie float on her back, and even dunking Kylie under water (her favorite part of class). It is so neat to see her grow so much each class and I can't wait until the next level.. Part of the anxiousness could be that in the next level I don't have to swim too :)

Blowing Bubbles

Back-floating

Where's Kylie??? Underwater!

Cubbie Season

We love going to cubs games in the spring/summer. Having Kylie has certainly made this more challenging, but we still go as much as we can none the less. This season we are able to go to about five games. The first one we took Kylie to, we lasted until the 5th inning. It was 45 degrees out and Kylie refused to sit under the blanket or to sit still at all. The second game we took her to, we fared much better. Kylie made it the whole game!!!! Kylie loved walking around the stadium. We even got her to sit still for a while.. she loved to clap whenever the rest of the crowd cheered.. Two more games to enjoy this season and we are looking forward to them. GO CUBS!!!