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!

Hometown Holiday Weekend

Our town does a nice job of getting everyone in the holiday spirit with Hometown Holiday Weekend. It begins on Thursday evening with an evening parade where all the entries are lit up. We have started a tradition of going to eat at a place in town where the kids can decorate a cookie prior to the parade. This year Kelsey was able to do most of the decorating on her own, with just a little help to spread the frosting. Megan and Mommy looked on while Daddy and Kelsey decorated. By parade time, Megan fell asleep, so she and I watched from inside the restaurant while all the others went outside. We were gone the remainder of the weekend and did not get to participate in the other fun activities. One of the coolest parts of all it this year was that Kelsey was on the cover and inside of the brochure for the event!

9 months

Our beautiful little Megan is 9 months. And when I say little, I mean really little. She went to her 9 month appointment last week and she is weighing in at a whopping 15lbs. 2oz. which is the 2%. Her length was the 51%, so that makes her long and skinny like her big sister. Everything checked out great, and she is a healthy, happy girl which makes us very thankful.

Here is what she is up to right now:

She wears size 3 diapers.

She crawls 90mph. She can get across the room in no time at all.

Still wakes once a night for a little cuddle time and feeding with Mommy.

She ventures all over, including by the stairs. Kelsey never bothered the stairs, but I think we will need to get a gate for Megs.

She screams when she gets excited. Our daycare provider calls her a little screech owl.

She pulls herself up on the couch and can stand while holding on.

She says mama, dada and hi (which is more like hiiiiiiiiii as she is waving.)

She can walk if you hold her hands.

She can wave and clap.

She just started doing So Big by herself.

She still has no teeth. I am going to stop guessing when they are coming because I have thought they were coming many different times and she still has a gummy smile. Updates to come when they finally make their appearance.

She and Kelsey have started to interact more and more. She follows Kelsey around and Kelsey is more interested in playing with her now that Megan can sit up, crawl, and focus a little on what is going on.

She eats puffs and crackers along with baby food. We just started a sippy cup, but she likes to just bite on it right now.

Oh Megan, you are such a joy. Happy 9 month birthday! Love you to the moon and back!