Merry Christmas

Christmas 2011 did not disappoint this year. We began the festivities with an evening at Dave and Vickie's. We had a buffet of delicious appetizers and finger foods. During the meal, everyone took turns saying a traditional cheers. A few years ago we began a tradition of staying overnight there even though we all live in town. Therefore, we took pictures in our Christmas gear and then got in our comfys to open presents. Our girls are very lucky! They received so many thoughtful gifts! A few of the highlights include a Leap Pad, violin, Cabbage Patch doll, TinkerBell pillow and slippers, cowgirl boots, barn, and riding toy. Kelsey's face when opening the presents was priceless. She commented a few times, "This is what I always wished for!" She got into a little funk opening presents because I think it gets a little overwhelming and it becomes more of what present is next rather than focusing on what she has already opened. Megan helped open her presents, but she was almost more interested in eating the wrapping paper than playing with the toy. Although as I type this, Megan is sitting on the floor playing with her new gifts. The remainder of the night was filled with game playing, eating more food, and watching a movie. The Ginskey cousins were good sports and let Kelsey pick the movie Barbie Perfect Christmas. Unfortunately, I ended up not feeling the greatest and went to bed much earlier than everyone else. Although even in good health, I am not sure I would have made it up to 3am with the rest. Is this a sign I am getting old? The next day we played again with all the new toys and just hung out before all heading home. We got an Xbox Kinect, so everyone came over to check it out and play. My brother and family also came down for dinner and to spend time with us. It was a very fun evening. Christmas Eve came next and we spent the day relaxing as a family. We went over to Matt's parents for dinner and later went to church with them. The mass was beautiful. Our choir does a wonderful job complete with an Oh Holy Night solo that sends shivers down your spine. We headed home to put out cookies and milk for Santa. The girls fell asleep in the car, so Mom and Dad took care of this for them. Before calling it a night, I was sure to watch the Pope. It was a tradition that my mom and her dad used to have. They would call each other at midnight to say how good the Pope looked and also comment on the Polish children at the mass when it was Pope John Paul II. Christmas morning we woke to find that Santa had been to our house! He left crumbs on the cookie plate and an empty glass where milk had been. He also left a  note for the girls saying that they had been good! He asked them to listen to mom and dad and keep being so good. One by one the girls opened their gifts. A few highlights were an activity play center, a stroller, books, a game, stuffed animals, a doll, jammies, princess shoes, rhyming cards, a backpack, binoculars, and a tent. Lucky girls!!! We played a lot that morning and afternoon. Matt's parents and Ed and Sharon came over later to hang out. We watched the Packers defeat the Bears and all was well at our house. What a wonderful way to spend the holiday. We got time with our brothers and sisters and Matt's parents. We also got time as a family of four. And the best part is, we have the week to continue to be together. Merry Christmas!!!

Christmas Recital

Kelsey had her Christmas dance recital last night. She is in dance class by herself this year and did a great job! She is very dramatic in a lot of what she does, so performing for us was right up her alley. She had quite the crowd watching with Daddy, Megan, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Stacey, Connor, Jacob, Lucas, Aunt Diane and Uncle all there to support her. What a little cutie!

ChriSKALAmas

ChriSKALAmas is here again! We began this tradition last year with a list of 12 random items for the girls to complete before Christmas arrives. So far, they have opened 6 days: Read the Christmas story, make a craft (Kelsey chose to make a Christmas tree while Megan supervised and ate puffs in her chair), family game night, look at Christmas lights, Skala party, and watch Polar Express. We were unable to go look at lights yet because it was snowing the other night and the roads were not in great condition. We will need to squeeze that in another night. The biggest challenge with ChriSKALAmas this year is keeping it posted. I put it lower so Kelsey can reach the papers to tear off, but Megan likes to grab it off and try to eat the paper. I think it has been retaped at least 10 times already. Good thing it is only 12 days!

On a side note, our girls are so cute together right now. Kelsey tells us that Megan is her best friend or best buddy. I love that! Kelsey plays with Megan a lot right now and especially likes to get on all fours and chase her. Megan gets so excited and tries to speed crawl away. Megan's giggle during this is priceless. I hope they are always close sisters.

Another random note, but need to share that Megan gives kisses now! They are sloppy and open-mouthed, but oh so sweet. She is pulling up and cruising along things, too.

Big Christmas

We celebrated Christmas with Matt's side yesterday. I heard someone say that there were 85 people in attendance. Talk about a big Christmas! And that is not even everyone! It is such a fun gathering. We had a nice meal, sang Christmas carols, played Bunco, attempted to talk to as many people as we could, colored, played cards, and got our traditional picture with Great-Grandpa. It was a very fun day and one that we all look forward to and are glad we could be part of.

Baking Day 2011

Saturday was our annual baking day. We started early and tried a few new recipes. Most were delicious, but I did have a flop. Oh well. Live and learn. Kelsey was interested in helping for awhile, but once the Ginskey boys arrived, she wanted to play with them instead. It is a very special tradition we have kept up with and I hope it continues. I am sure as the kids get bigger they will want to help more. If nothing else, we have some excellent taste testers.

Daycare Christmas Party

Our daycare provider hosted I have said this before, but we are so lucky to have Mary. She is so good to our girls and know how much she loves them. She started with hors' douvres and crafts. Then Santa made an appearance. Kelsey sat on his lap and told him her list: a violin and leap pad. She has never waivered from those 2 items. Megan also sat on his lap and after giving him a few good looks, she realized he was ok. Although she did keep her eyes on mama to make sure I wasn't going anywhere. Next up Mary fed all of us. She has us invite grandma and grandpa as well, so it is quite a few people to feed. Oh, and Mary is a phenomenal cook. Everything is homemade and delicious. Again, another perk our girls receive with all the homemade cooking. Finally, the kiddos exchanged gifts with each other and then Mary got them all presents, too. Plus, Mary's high school helper gave them ornaments. She is great, too. Thank you Mary for being so good to us and for all you do for our girls!

She's Got a Tooth!

Megan cut her first tooth! It is the top left. The other side looks to be quite sore and ready as well, but for now we have one tooth poking through! Oh, and you will have to take my word for it because she is not too fond of showing it off yet ;)

Disney on Ice

We had a fun family afternoon/evening on Friday. We weren't sure if we would be able to go because Kelsey got a 24 hour flu bug on Wednesday, but she bounced back and we got to go. We started with a stop at the MOA. Kelsey has been so excited to go to the "princess" store aka The Disney Store. We spent an hour looking, playing, and picking out what she wanted. After she had a few items she wanted, we got her busy and then told her that we will have to see if Santa brings them for her ;) Next up was Disney on Ice. Matt took Kelsey to see Princesses on Ice the day that Megan was born. This time Megan and I got to join them. It was SO good! I absolutely loved watching Kelsey's face. She would get the wide open mouth and big eyes every time someone new came out. It was priceless. Megan was awesome at it , too. She watched for awhile, sat on my lap, and then fell asleep. It was a very magical day for the girls. Loved it!

Thanksmas

It seems it gets more and more tricky to find a weekend for my family to get together. Even with my brother, sister, and I being an hour apart, all of us are so busy with this and that. So this year it worked out to get together for Thanksmas. We had a turkey dinner along with exchanging gifts and getting dressed in our Christmas attire. We all arrived at my dad's on Friday evening and some of us took in a local basketball game. I had not been back in my high school for a very, very long time. It was fun! On Saturday morning, we awoke to news reports that many buildings in my hometown's downtown had caught fire and were considered a complete loss. It was a very sad way to start the day. Plus, my brother had been sick prior to coming to my dad's and thought he had shaken it, but he got a second round of it and was pretty down and out for the day. There were some highlights mixed in there though--the kiddos played Just Dance 2 and shook their little tailfeathers, we got to see my aunt and uncle, we also saw our neighbors and friends, we exchanged gifts, we shared a delicious meal, we watched movies, the Badgers won and are going to the Rose Bowl, Brian started to feel a little better later in the evening, Megan opened her first round of Christmas presents, and of course just being together. I have said this before, but it is so neat that we are all able to stay in one place together. I love when all the kiddos are in their jammies and playing together. With 8 adults, 8 kids, and 1 dog, there is never a dull moment. We came home today and found a winter wonderland. While we were gone, the first snow that stuck arrived and sure did make it feel like winter.

Grandma Chris made all the girls aprons!