Wanna play?

Lily and Riley were so cute this morning. She got down right in his face, as you can see, to play with him. I just had to get a few shots.




This was the only shot I got of both of them looking at the camera. Not the greatest, but the best you're gonna get...

The Tree...

Here it is, a vision in white. We decided to go for an all white theme this year. I think it turned out really pretty. The pictures don't really do it justice. We had fun last night putting it all together. Lily got to stay up a little later than normal to help me, she thought that was pretty cool. I tried to stress the values I want her to think of at Christmas- the importance of family, giving to others etc. I really do not want her to be greedy and have a demanding attitude. This year, I decided that she will be taking money from her piggy bank, going to the dollar store and buying for a few people too (grandparents, brother, etc.) I'm hoping that this will encourage a healthy attitude toward giving and receiving presents.
Anyhow, the tree is up. It looks beautiful. Now it feels like Christmas-time.

Oh, OWWWWWW!!!

I think I should have named my daughter Crash. She is not the most graceful child and bumps into things regularly. She also trips over her own feet and falls down. I, myself, have the klutz gene, as does my mother. Yesterday, she hit a door knob on her way down the hallway, and gave herself a lovely knot on the forehead...This was shortly after, doesn't she look pitiful?By the end of the day, the lump had receded. That just left me with a grumpy, clingy kid. Yup, she's mine. I'm not moody or anything =)

Gingerbread Sunday...

I think we finally got our whole game plan figured out for our gingerbread competition. This one that Lily is perched next to is nothing like what we have planned except for general shape... but even that has been tweaked some. It was fun to practice my piping skills with the icing and let Lily put random candy wherever. I went to the mini-mart and grabbed some 2/$1 candy for use on the practice house. This gingerbread house is all over the place, every side has different windows, different types of outlines-pretty much different everythings. We were trying to figure things out. Lily had a great time though. I did too, but I am tired of the smell of gingerbread! Today will forever be "Gingerbread Sunday" to me...



Something I figured out- Dylan and I...we go about things in two completely different ways. Once we figure a way to compromise, we're fine, but getting to that point can be interesting. Doing creative projects together just brings that to the forefront, I'm sure that's most couples . In the end, we come up with some great ideas and learn more about each others' strengths.

No Pain, No Gain...

So, my Thanksgiving debauchery caught up with me. I wasn't sure if it would or not, then I got on the scale this morning. Uh-oh! I was so happy when I got home and got on the scale and I had maintained. I should have known better! I've been battling the last few pregnancy pounds and now I have a few more. And on top of all that, if I exercise to much my milk suffers. What to do, what to do. Ah yes, I got a new Pilates tape. This is a great idea since it doesn't burn massive amounts of calories(great for my milk production) but I still get good toning...OH CRAP, I am out of shape! This hurts! This tape is off the hook! The sad part is, they're 10 minute segments...after 5 minutes I'm pushing to get through to the end. In my defense, they are designed to be high intensity to get max benefit out of a 10 min. segment, but this is crazy how sore I am! I've done pilates before- sure I get a little sore but not like this! Guess I'll just have to stick to it...thankfully I know it's working. No pain, no gain right? Please let the pain go away soon.....

Me too Mommy...

Riley is very observant. He loves to look around and he caught onto something already that his sister didn't have an interest in until she was about a year old (maybe more). Can you guess what he's looking at? Trust me, I'm not super excited about it...








Yep, he's looking at the TV. It was kinda cute that he was watching football though. He really enjoys the bright colors...the green field especially caught his attention. Future football player perhaps?

Something fun...

My house smells wonderful from all the gingerbread I have been baking the past couple days. Lily and I made these silly things with the leftover dough from our gingerbread house. You see, we have a competition, for best gingerbread house, in a few weeks and Dylan and I are taking things to another level. We are baking our own house this year. This means practice, practice, practice for me. I am searching for the best recipe, the best design- anything to help us out and give us an edge. Silly, I know, to be going through all this for a friendly competition. But what can I say- I'M COMPETITIVE!! The last few times we have done this, we failed pretty miserably. Our houses did not turn out as we expected. This year, it's all about planning...hopefully. My preliminary design is in need of a few adjustments. Dylan is unsure of a few design elements. I am thinking of this house as a rough draft. We will have fun decorating it with Lily as she is not coming to the gingerbread party- that's a mommy and daddy party...yeah. Anyway, the whole process has been pretty fun, which is what it's all about when you get down to it. Now, more planning =)