These are the Days of Our Lives...: 2012

Monday, December 17, 2012

Can you spot whats wrong?

Well?

Tee hee... I have been using Calliope's old bibs on Nick, because he is a MESSY lil eater. He wore her Christmas bib this morning, and it hit me just how much they look alike. So I dug up this picture of her from her first Christmas. How stinking sweet are they!?!?

First Annual White Elephant Ornament Exchange

Tammie and I were talking last month, and agreed that we missed having a big get together with all of our family... As our families have grown, it has been a challenge to get everyone under the same roof, so we decided we would try to start a new yearly tradition.

This past Saturday evening, we held the first annual family white elephant gift exchange. We had each couple bring an ornament to exchange, and all of the kids had their own gifts to exchange as well. We had yummy food to eat and good stuff to drink as well.

Ken's mentor, Rick Brekelbaum, and his wife, Jayne, came and gave us a special treat. They told the story of Christ's birth. It was so nice to start off the evening, with the reason for this whole season.

After the story, we ate, and then let the games begin! The craziest part, was only ONE ornament was stolen! We all really liked the one we got, and didn't see the need to take from anyone. Aunt Janie proved to be the "cracker queen", and the kiddos had a good time trying to get fuzzy pom poms to stick to their partners vaseline soaked noses... Lots of hugs and laughter. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and I for sure plan to make this a yearly occasion!

Here are some fun pics Ken took:

Papa Bill playing with his littlest grand babies, these moments are just too sweet!

Tammie and I working on last minute preparations

Cousin Love... so many of the others are missing, but loved having these two sweeties with me

Mrs. Clause and My Elf!

Story Time with the Brekelbaums

Photo Bombed!! Cameron was eating my scones... of which were SO tasty, I was accused of purchasing from a Starbucks!

Move over Santa!

You ain't got nothing on this lil sweetie!

Holiday Dance Recital

On December 8th, Peyton had her Holiday Dance Recital... we switched studios this year, and Peyton has really enjoyed her new instructor and is taking tap, ballet and jazz. Her new studio does two recitals a year, which is really neat. Peyton was pretty nervous, but she did a wonderful job. Miss Cheri did a great job, and it was a really cute production. It's nice getting to see Peyton do something that she really enjoys. I look forward to watching her for hopefully many more years to come!

Her jazz routine...

Her tap routine...

End of her tap routine...

Ballet routine...

All done!

Her typical Peyton pose :)

With her daddy

She made me do it

MOvember

Each year in November, my handsome husband, turns into a half man/half beast hybrid... this doesn't really make me happy, but he enjoys it, so I deal. It's only 30 days, right? Last year he did "No Shave November", and grew a full beard. This year, he opted to do "MOvember", and actually participate with his work peeps, to raise awareness and funds for Prostate Cancer awareness. Prostate cancer hit our family last year with Bill, so he thought it was a worthy cause. He was able to raise a little money, and had a fun time torturing me. :)

Post Initial Shave

Week 2

Week 3

Prior to shaving it off... he tried out the pencil thin stache look. No bueno

I commend him for doing this for a good cause, however I have to be honest... I HATED it. He does not wear a mustache well, and looked a little bit like a creeper :) Good thing I love him no matter what.

Here is a photo of Ken and his WM team members, a.k.a. - Team DudeBro

Wonder what next November will bring???

Turkey?

More like our little turkey... We didn't gt any pics at dinner this year, but did manage a couple of her when we got home.

:)

She styled herself...

Lighting of the Bentonville Square

We actually made it to the square lighting this year... I really wanted to take Calliope, as she LOVES the lights and decorations this year. Her reaction was adorable, wish I had gotten her on video, but it was too dark. Really hoping to make it to Fayetteville to check out the square this year too.

And the love affair begins...

The Calliope Chronicles...

The past few months since Calliope has turned two, have had ALOT of change for our resident "mini diva". For those of you that know us well, you know the Calliope has SERIOUSLY attached to her "dink", a.k.a. pacifier. So, after her birthday we eliminated the dink during naps, and that was a little bit stressful but we all survived.

In September, I randomly put her on the potty before bath, and she actually went! I made a really big deal about it, and she was feeling pretty cool about it. So, we launched into full out potty training, without even really planning it. She has done SO well, and most days we are accident free. After Christmas we are going to lose the pull-ups, as I think they aren't needed. So tickled how effortless this was for her.

A picture of her imitating daddy :)

We then decided to make the shift to a "big girl bed", as she was more and more trying to climb out. And yet again, she surprised us! She made this transition with the greatest of ease. Just a couple of little hiccups here and there, but so proud of her. We are going to be looking for a twin sized bed after the new year, as she is a little wiggle worm, and needs a little more room. :)

Here she is laying in her new get up, the first night after Ken removed the front side of the crib. Her face says it all, lol.

And last but not least, we most recently decided to totally do away with her dink... This was not really planned either, however, I went with it. (That will teach me to mention something in conversation to Ken) This has by far been the biggest challenge for us. She really, really, REALLY relied on it for night time... So, per her daddy, we just went cold turkey. He cut the tips off of her remaining one, and that was it. We were able to get her to sleep without it, as long as we were sitting next to her. Well, this was just not working for Ken and I. Some nights we would sit in there with her for HOURS, and things were not getting any better. So after a couple of weeks, I brainstormed some different ideas, and made some changes to her night time routine. I am happy to announce that we are now dink free!!! It is SOOO nice to have that behind us. We will definitely be doing things differently with Nicholas to avoid this same fiasco again!

So, we managed to make it through three really big life changes for a two year old in the past few months, and we are all still alive! This is living proof that prayers do get answered.

Now, if we can get through her recent bouts with the "terrible twos", and her all of the sudden putting EVERYTHING in her mouth... pray for us!

Like the old days...

This is my friend Shelly... she and I have the best time together. Over the years, and many kiddos later, our shenanigans are now few and far between. So, we had a rare night to just enjoy each other, and did a thing we used to do. Play dress up in random stores. This night we landed ourselves in Gordmans, and they had the most amazing selection of fun hats and sunglasses. These were our faves. :)

It's rare to find a friend that you can be a total goob with, and that will be a total goob with you back. We had so many laughs that night, and I look forward to hopefully making it at least a yearly thing!

Lions, Tigers, Bears... Oh My!

In October, my friend Mikel, and her little man, Miles went with Calliope and I to the Gentry Wildlife Safari... We had the best time. It was so precious to see their little faces when they saw all of the animals, and to have them try and make the animal sounds.

Mikel and Miles had never been, so I had a really good time seeing their reactions to their first visit too. :) We had a LOT of laughs, and I hope to make it back with them again next spring.