OMG!

Oh, my, gosh!  I can't believe I haven't blogged in two and a half months.  It's crazy!  Whenever I'm taking pictures I'm always thinking what I'll write about when I post it to my blog, but somehow there's a gap between taking the picture and uploading it and then blogging about it.  Maybe with the colder months ahead of us I'll find more time to sit down and blog.  We can only hope!

Well, as usual, we have been busy.  I have come to the realization though that we are only as busy as we make ourselves.  I recall in my working days how I thought it would be so great to be a stay at home mom and have all the time in the world to do things like blogging, scrapbooking, preparing for holidays, cooking, cleaning, etc.  But.... I have come to find out that is a load of crap!  I find my days to be busier now than they have ever been.  Sure, I don't have a 40 hour a week, outside the home job.  Instead I have a 168 hour a week (yeah, that's 7 times 24 - I did the math, with a calculator) always in your face, job.  My job never ends and boy are my clients demanding (but awfully cute too!)  While I look forward to some relief next fall with Andrew in Kindergarten, I know that is just wishful thinking;  I'm sure we will stay just as busy if not busier.

So here's the new posts:

Thanksgiving
Annabelle's Birthday
Christmas in Kentucky
Christmas in Green Bay
Random Fall and Winter Pictures
Christmas Card Out Takes

Enjoy!

Fall Pictures

 Every once and a while we head outside and just snap some pictures so I can test out my camera.  I still have so much to learn.  Andrew and Annabelle have no shortage of funny faces and interactions for me to capture. 

 This was probably the best picture of them together, but it did not make the Christmas card since Andrew's face.... well.... looks like he should be in the bathroom, not outside.

Andrew has got to be the funniest person in Annabelle's life.  He keeps her laughing all the time.  And then of course I laugh at both of them. 

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving at home this year.  No visitors, but plenty of food.  Thanksgiving has to be my favorite holiday.   Love the leftovers and we had a lot of them this year.  We would love to have a house full of guests (hint.. hint...) but we enjoyed the holiday none the less.  We made all our favorite side dishes.

Dave's boss took pity on lonely ol' us and invited us to the GE suite at Churchill Downs for the races on Thanksgiving day.  So we gobbled our meal, dressed the kids in their Sunday best and then headed over to watch the races.  This was my first time there and it will be hard to watch the races again from the "cheap seats."  Haha!

It was a nice relaxing weekend.  Dave ventured out for some midnight Black Friday shopping, only to discover the line of 500 people at Target wasn't worth saving $50 on a TV.  I headed out during the day on Black Friday and will never do it again.  I'm sticking with online shopping.  Ordering all your Christmas presents from the comfort of your couch and in your pj's is perfect for me!

Happy Birthday Annabelle!

 Our baby girl turned 2 on December 13th.  Hard to believe since she's still so small.  She hit the 25th percentile for height at her 2 year appointment!  We enjoyed a fun filled day on her birthday.  Daddy took the day off work, after a quick trip to the doctor for her check up and Andrew's appointment at the dentist, we headed over to Build-A-Bear so both the kids could make a bear.  Andrew made a puppy and appropriately named him "Puppy".  He then changed the name to "Roof-ies", but I advised against that name and he now has settled on "Ruff-ies".  Annabelle made a pink bear named "Giggles".

 We opened presents first thing in the morning.  She got some dress up clothes and wands, Dora items, coloring books and her birthday dress (see above).  Koko is a big fan of the wands.  They resemble cat toys.  After Build-A-Bear we headed out to dinner and then to the Lights Under Louisville (explained in another post).

 We also celebrated Annabelle's birthday while in Green Bay.  The kids had a blast with the noise sticks Uncle Paul brought along.  Grandpa didn't enjoy them quite as much. 

 Annabelle's first doll cake!

Christmas in KY

 We were the cookie factory for Christmas this year.  I think we made about 8 kinds of cookies.  Thankfully I had lots of helpers in the kitchen.  They did more "testing" than actual "helping" though.

 One of the best attractions in Louisville at Christmas time is "Lights Under Louisville".  (add it to your list for your next holiday visit :))  You drive though the Mega Caverns for 30 minutes checking out over 800 light displays and 2 million lights (just saw an add on TV that's why I know the numbers).  It was very cool, even to a couple of old folks who have seen it all.  Andrew was pretty impressed that we were driving through a cave the whole time. 

Santa visited our house, unfortunately I don't have a lot of pictures of it cause we took a video instead.  In summary - Andrew got Legos and a Telescope (which Daddy used to spy on the neighbors - which he'll deny of course).  Annabelle got Princess Duplos, miscellaneous Dora stuff, some books and puzzles. The kitties got some treats and toys.  Mom & Dad got coal in their stockings. 

Christmas in Green Bay

 We headed north for Christmas in Green Bay this year.   A long drive there and back again, with snow delays, whiny children, numerous bathroom breaks and a couple wrong turns, but well worth the adventure.

The kids were spoiled rotten - thanks again Grandmas and Grandpas!
 

The kids got plenty of outside time while we were there.  A fresh coat of snow made for a lot of fun.  Here's Daddy and Andrew and their make shift sled.

 Mr. Nikolas throwing a few snowballs with the rest of them.

 Here's Daddy and Uncle Matt's newest contest.  "See who can fling their child the furthest"  Thankfully no injuries to report.

 Annabelle enjoys the snow just as much as Andrew, but why wouldn't she when she looks this cute out in it.

 We took the liberty of showing our neighborhood how to build the proper snowman.  With our couple inches of snow this morning we had just enough to get out there and shovel as well as throw a few snowballs.  It's the first time I've ever said "Let's hurry up and get the face on before it melts."  Hopefully he survives the week, as Andrew is quite fond of him. 

Christmas Card Out Takes

 While each of the kids are photogenic individually, when together I can't ever seem to get a great photo of them.  They're either giggling too much and I can see the back of their throats or Annebelle's dress is up, or one of their heads is behind the other or they're looking up or down or at the cat.  We took about 25 pictures and ended up with...

 

...this one as our Christmas card this year.  By the way, if you didn't get it then I don't have your address - email me.