Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Turns out Sam was a very good boy this year, as Santa left him some wonderful presents. Sam and Daddy tracked Santa all night on his journey across the world. Bailey spent some time at the computer with Daddy too.

We had a hard time getting Sam to come downstairs this morning, but once he did, there was no way to get him away from his toys. Every time we picked up the "woods", Sam would dump them back out.Bailey got some new shoes from Sam, and Sam got a new Superman hat and mittens in return. Bailey looked so cute in her shoes. Sam made sure to wear his new hat as soon as he went outside.Sam also got a new wagon that he loved pulling around the living room. He even was sure to give Bailey a ride.Sam's other entertainment for the day was his new tool set and airplane. Bailey enjoyed watching the airplane fly around and followed it really well.Bailey also got new clothes, hats, dolls, and rattles. She's really starting learn and do things. Sam and Bailey got so many wonderful things for Christmas, I'm sure that they'll find something new to play with for quite a while. I hope that everyone had a wonderful Christmas and has a Happy New Year!

Visit with Santa

Last night Santa came to visit Bailey. She was in a happy mood and enjoyed pulling his beard.

Santa had to come for Bailey this year so that she could get a picture for her to have like Sams.

We also got about 9-10 inches of snow the past two days. Sam liked going out and shoveling. He wasn't too happy about getting plopped in the middle of the yard and would scream. He didn't like falling down in it either. Hopefully we'll get time to take him sledding today.

Everyone's Healthy!

Yesterday both of the kids had their doctor's appointments. Bailey is 23 1/2 inches tall and 14 pounds. Sam is 35 inches tall and 36 pounds.

The doctor said that both of them are doing well and seem perfect. He mentioned that it is very good that Sam is potty trained already.

Sam is done with shots now until he goes to kindergarden. With him being an October baby, that gives him 3 years to enjoy, other than flu shots of course.

Poor Bailey got 3 shots yesterday and didn't like it at all. I think that she took them worse than Sam did at that age. She was fine last night but is pretty sad this morning. She goes again in February for her 6 month check up.

We got a wonderful new webcam last night, so if anyone has the capability to use Skype, let me know. It is free to call computer to computer and is wonderful. Last night Bailey and I got to talk to Grandpa Wilson and show him her little tuft of hair at the nape of her neck.

We are supposed to get 10-13 inches of snow starting this afternoon. So if I should get lucky enough to be able to stay home, we should be able to have some fun outside and hopefully some cute pictures!

Santa Visit

Here's a sneak peek at the Christmas cards that finally got sent out yesterday. It only took three tries on three different days, but was worth it!

Well, we were able to visit Santa on Sunday. We were very lucky in that there was almost no line. I remember having to wait quite a while when I was little. Sam wasn't too enthusiastic, but as you can see, he did talk to him. He told Santa that he wants trucks and a dump truck.

After we left, he said that he wanted to see Santa again. So Mom took him over, but just before our turn, he decided that he didn't really want to.

Bailey was a good girl. She didn't cry or pull his beard at all. We'll be getting another picture of her with Santa this weekend.

Baby Bailey

Here is a picture of Bailey in her Exersaucer. She'll play in it quite a bit and presses the buttons that play music. This weekend we put her the the jumper that hangs in the doorway for the first time. She most just stood there and would slowly spin. She is getting stronger and can sit as long as she is supported at the hips. Otherwise she'll tip frontwards or backwards.

Holiday Fun

As you can see from the slide show, Sam has been quite the helper with making Christmas cookies. We've now got all of our cookies made, which are quite a lot.

We also finally got a fair amount of snow. Sam enjoys going outside just as much as he did during the summer. He loves shoveling.

He wasn't so sure about the snowblower though. The only way Andy could calm him down was to have Sam "help" him. They look so cute in their matching outdoor attire!We also celebrated Andy's 28th birthday last weekend. He got a new Cubs hat and necklace.Bailey hasn't done anything too exciting lately. She does pose pretty for pictures. Here she is in her new hat. This was supposed to be a picture with her brother for Christmas cards, but it didn't turn out well.

Here's one of her when we were putting up the Christmas decorations. She enjoyed looking at the lights on the tree. Poor Bailey looks like a boy half the time in her brother's clothes. But they're hardly worn and very warm.

Hope you are all enjoying your holiday activities!

Busy Times

So as you can tell from the lagging time between posts, we've been pretty busy with the holidays. Below are a bunch of pictures that we've taken over the past couple weeks.

Sam really enjoyed Thanksgiving. He was very impressed by the big turkey bird. He even helped Dad get it ready.


Bailey has been up to some fun lately too. One day I had laid her in her crib upside down. She took a nice nap, but when she woke up, we noticed that she was watching us. I call her Gopher now as you'll look out every now and then and she'll be popping her head up and down, taking breaks from her frequent naps to see what she's not missing.
Sam was really good about helping put up the Christmas decorations. He stayed out of the way while we hauled everything out of the basement. That in itself was surprising as neither of us can ever go down without our "helper". He was really impressed with all of the Christmas decorations. His favorite though is a big snow globe that blows snow and plays music. It sits by his toys and he can do it all by himself. He is also in charge of turning on the lights to the manger scene as it is hooked up to a light switch.

Bailey enjoys having the Christmas tree up. She likes to stare at the lights and decorations. When we were decorating and she got fussy, we just laid her under the tree.

Sam did a really good job helping decorate the tree. Once he learned that all of the ornaments can't get stacked on one branch, he was a big help. He was really good helping Dad put on the star tree topper, the angels, and pine cones.Christmas baking is now taking up our evenings. Sam is very good at helping pour in the ingredients. He helped us mix up some of the dough and even roll balls. He was quite good at quality control. He would try to roll a ball by himself, get done, look at it and say, "Can't do it". He then determined that while the visual quality was not good, the taste needed to be confirmed. He did this a few times before Dad helped him, all the while telling him that he's "going to get a sick tummy."

The next night we dipped the peanut butter balls in chocolate. He was really good at putting the balls in the chocolate, although a little slower than the normal pace. He learned that when Mom started tapping the fork, it was time to put in another. He managed to pay attention long enough to do nearly the whole batch.

It's so much fun to see the holidays through Sam's eyes and enjoy the simple pleasures. Simple things are so interesting. The other day I left Sam watching Mickey on one end of the couch and Bailey on the other. I went to the kitchen to get a bottle and came back to find Sam laying against his sister. I told him to get off her right away, although noticing that he wasn't hurting her and she was kicking her legs. He replied that Bailey was giving him a massage and that she was a nice sister. Amazing how he sees it!

I'll be sure to keep taking pictures during the holiday fun and post again soon!

Bailey Babble

Well, we finally were able to catch Bailey talking. As you'll see, I was laughing so hard I was crying. I just love the little movements she makes with her mouth and eyes. Absolutely adorable!

She's been quite the master of avoiding the camera, which is why this took so long to post. I'll have some more pictures soon.

Pumpkin Carving Pictures

Well here are the pictures from our pumpkin carving. As you can tell, Sam really enjoyed playing with the pumpkin seeds. He would pull them out of one pumpkin, throw them down on the table, and then do it again. Once that was over, he kept putting the seeds back into everyone's pumpkins. Bailey slept through most of it of course.

Bailey's Pictures

Tonight Bailey got her pictures taken. She was really happy at 5 and our appointment wasn't till 6:30. We tried to see if we could come earlier, but they were too busy. We figured that we'd probably lose her good mood. As you can see though, we really lucked out!

Update on Rough Night

I should clarify that Sam had the ice for himself, not to place on Bailey. Sam loves ice. He's always grabbing pieces out of coolers if we are at a party or something. At Andy's company picnic they had huge pieces the size of softballs. It was 60 degrees out and he wasn't happy unless he had a piece to walk around and suck on. The kid LOVES ice...

No More Binkie Baby

Over the past couple days, Bailey has taken on a transformation from this little girl who sometime loved her binkie...

To one that will spit it out and fuss until she finds her thumb! She must have figured this out with her new trick of sleeping all day. Wednesday she woke up at 8, fell asleep at 9 and had to be woken up around 2. I think she's either getting over her cold, or was really working on growing.

Tonight we are getting Bailey's pictures taken, so there will be some more to post this weekend!

Rough Night

Well, last night we finally had to “lock” Sam in his bedroom. We had to put the baby gate up in his doorway so that he couldn’t get out at night. He often times will wake up in the night and crawl into bed with us. Once he’s asleep, we normally put him back, where he stays till morning. Slightly annoying, but not a big deal.

Night before last he woke up and came in bed with me. Then a few minutes later, he got back up. I was listening to hear if he was going back to bed and must have fallen asleep. The next thing I know, he comes to me saying “Bailey, Bailey, Bailey”. His hands were cold and wet so I asked him what he was doing and followed him into the bathroom. I assumed he was playing in the toilet, and washed his hands, had him go to the bathroom, and put him back to bed.

I then went in to check on Bailey, who was turned 90 degrees in her bed with her little foot poking out between the rails of her crib. I believe this was the work of her loving brother. As I turned to go back to bed, I noticed that there was an ice cube tray on the stool next to the changing table. That bugger had gone downstairs, into the freezer, and brought it up; thus explaining the need to contain him. Lord knows what trouble or bodily harm he could have incurred.

So last night when we went to bed, the baby gate was locked into place. Sam did wake up once and called to us. We each took a turn putting him back to bed, but it wasn’t too bad. Maybe this will teach him to just stay in his bed?

Happy Halloween

Well, our night of Trick-or-Treating is officially over now that Sam's sugar high has worn off. He's off to sleep with a little face paint and chocolate left on him, but we can take care of that in the morning. Even at two, it was a lot for him to take in. With one stop to go, Sam told us, "Don't like anymore."

Sam enjoyed getting to see everyone and showing off his cowboy words. Bailey tried to act her part by curling up in my arms and sleeping most of the night. She made a few noises, which we suspect were supposed to be "Trick or Treat."

Halloween Fun

Last night we carved our pumpkins. Sam and Daddy worked on the big one while Mom worked on the little one. Hers is supposed to look like candy corn eyes and nose with a smile.We have some more pictures that we'll post soon of the actual carving. Sam was able to almost crawl inside the big pumpkin.Here's some pictures that we were able to get on Sunday of Sam in his costume. He's a cowboy and says:

Howdy Partner

Giddy Up

Get along little doggie

Adios

And riding his great pumpkin...We'll get pictures of Bailey tomorrow in her little cat suit and ears.
Here's a picture of Sam holding Bailey on the couch this weekend too.

Because...

Sam's speech is ever changing! His latest word is because.

For example:

"I want to brush my teeth because... because... I want.. to brush.. my new teeth!"

"I want water because I am hungry!"

Sam gets one vitamin "because I get sick tummy"

I just love listening to him talk and watching his face as he tries to come up with the words that he wants to say and putting them together!

Bailey's starting to really babble now too. We went to the Halloween parade on Monday. She was soo cute all bundled up in her little bunting. Every time there was a band she would start making all sorts of noises. Unfortunately she has learned the ultimate kid trick, to immediately stop once the camera is on. Hopefully we'll be able to catch her soon. I'll be sure to post it when we do.

Fall Has Arrived!

Yesterday morning we finally had to bundle the kids up. We got Bailey's carseat cover out of the closet and found Sam's mittens at his request. Good thing we did though as they are forecasting snow for Sunday!

Tuesday Sam got to go up to the big church parking lot to ride his bike. It has a slight slope to it, so it was really good for learning on. He did really good at steering and keeping his feet on the pedals. He loves his new bike and he'll tell anyone that asks!

Sam got to play with his new bath paints on Sunday. Dad was tired and needed a nap, so Mom kept him occupied upstairs. We wrote his name, Bailey's name, drew flowers, a tree, sun, Elmo, and Cookie Monster. He wouldn't stick his fingers in the paint at first, but eventually he did.Here's Sam in his pumpkin underwear trying on his "new" (to him) cowboy boots. He's going to be a cowboy for Halloween and it was the last thing that we needed.
We're going to take the kids to Trick or Treating at the museum on Sunday, so we'll be sure to post picture of them in their costumes! Bailey is going to be a cat and I just finished her ears last night. Can't wait to see them all put together!