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!