An Excuse I Haven't Heard Before

I told Olivia (3) to go clean her room.  She said ok and ran into her room, then a few seconds later she ran back out and said to me, "Mom . . . my room doesn't exist." 

Halloween 2011

Tato very much wanted to be a princess this year. Olie wanted to be whatever Tato wanted to be.
The girls got to go to the ward Halloween party with Roger and Cassie while Alice and I were celebrating our anniversary.
I had to work on Halloween night so Alice and her mom took the girls to Jill's house to go trick or treating with their cousins. They told me they had a lot of fun.

Tato

There are three new posts. I haven't put photoshop on my new computer yet, and then my camera broke anyways, so I have failed to blog recently. I figure I will put photoshop back on tomorrow but until then, here are a few updates. And by updates I mean freakin adorable pictures of my children.

Tato is a such a conscientious girl. She always gets sad when other people are sad, and she always wants to help mommy and daddy in any way she can. She is getting a little more independent and wants to be a big girl. She is growing up too fast! She wanted me to put the Mrs. Potato head earrings on her.

She has way too many "animals" as she calls them. She piles them all up on her bed and has to sleep with a few of them every night.

She likes to have tea parties with her animals and her sister (even though she doesn't like to share with her sister). Her favorite show is Veggie Tales and she sings the theme song all day long.
She likes to do art projects with her daddy like this puzzle that he painted for her. She sat right across from him and "painted" with him. She is super funny and she says the funniest things. The other day Terry was helping her count her fingers and when he got done counting she furrowed her brow and said, "Interesting."

Olie

Olie is a little sweetheart. She is quick to forgive when her sister steals her toys. She always gives her sister a big kiss when she says sorry.

We constantly find her around the house like this. Sometimes she just doesn't make it til bedtime. I think it was just during a growth spurt because she fell asleep randomly three times in one week and then hasn't done it since. I just think it's cute because her sister never fell asleep unless she was in her crib.


Olie's favorite book is Hop on Pop. She calls it On Pop. She loves to read books and especially likes to do anything her big sister is doing. She has already learned how to say no and uses that word almost exclusively. She loves to eat til her belly is protruding. Then she walks around the house sticking it out. She likes playing with blocks and answering questions about her favorite things.

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentines Day! Er, 4 days ago. Ever since getting Photoshop Elements it takes so much longer to blog. I feel compelled to edit all the pictures. : ) Thanks to Terry's parents we were able to go on a date sans kids. It was wonderful. We ate at Texas Road House which has the best ever mashed potatoes and gravy.

Tato got her first Valentine from a boy. Her friend that moved across the country sent her a little package with candy, stickers, balloons and a card. It was the cutest thing ever. I would say I was more excited than her, but this time I don't think that's true.

Thanks guys for the cutest Valentine ever. Hope you're having fun getting snowed on out there. : (

That morning I whipped up a batch of pink pancake batter and Terry cooked us some heart shaped pancakes.

To be honest Terry and I don't usually do much for Valentines day but this year we had so much fun! Some holidays really are more fun with kids. (I don't think the heart shaped pancakes would have happened without them ; )

Christmas Times Three

We did so much this Christmas season that blogging about any of it seemed daunting, but I figure it's now or never. December 19th we had Terry's sibling Christmas. It's pretty much the only time we get to see his sister and her kids all year, so we really look forward to it. Of course Grandma and Grandpa spoil the heck out of everyone. This year especially. Tato got lots of clothes, a book and a cute talking tea set. Olie got clothes too, a book and an octopus that blows bubbles and sings in the tub. They also got teddy bears and the cutest little hat from the Wilders. I got the sweetest gift ever: Emergency Essentials Readywise 1 Emergency Kit. That sucker has everything. And Terry got a Wii! We have been having the biggest blast with it. Wii bowling and Wii Tennis are sooooo fun. And even though I suck at Mario, it's way fun to play that with Terry after the girls go to bed. It was so great to see all of Terry's siblings and nieces and nephews together in one place. We had so much fun!

Here is Tato enjoying a cup of tea with her new bear. And a brownie. I believe the bear opted for a lemon torte.
"Yes it is fine weather we're having today Teddy Bear." And yes, she named her bear Teddy Bear. . .
That night after we got home the girls got all comfy on the couch and watched Garfield Christmas. They cuddled so close to each other the whole show. It was dang cute.

On Christmas Eve we went to Terry's extended family party and Tato had a blast. All of his cousins happen to have little girls her age so it was perfect for her. She kept coming up to me and saying, "I play with my friends." I couldn't even get her to hold still for a picture.

After some running around and visiting, Santa showed up!!!! Tato was pretty excited this year. Still a little hesitant, but once she saw the present and the candy cane, she was his best friend.

Olie on the other hand . . . "Hey where did Daddy go . . . and who is this guy?" Then she burst into tears.

We opened their traditional Christmas Jammies that Santa brings them every Christmas Eve. Then we had a delicious dinner with ham and Turkey and rolls and potatoes and sweet potatoes and pie and . . . hang on let me wipe my drool off the keyboard. . .

Christmas morning we had a nice quiet time with just our little family. Tato was excited to see that Santa had left her a little notebook and some pencils. He also left her a My Little Pony plush animal and some M & Ms (or as she calls them, M's). From mom and dad she got a magnedoodle, a memory game, an ornament and a book. From her friends Knightley and Mason she and Olie got a bus full of blocks. From Olie she got counting flashcards, and from Uncle Nate and Aunt Jill, she and Olie got the Little People Doll House. Whew, spoiled . . .

Olie got a toy cell phone and a plush flower from Santa. From mom and dad she got Fisher Price Baby's First Doll (Chewy's Sister), an ornament and a book. From Tato she got a basket of plush vegetables, and of course all the dual gifts that Tato got.

Ok look really hard at the above picture and guess what I got . . . I'll give you a hint . . . my skin isn't usually that clear. Yeah I got Photoshop Elements 9!!! Yippee! I don't know completely how to use it yet, but I'm learning quite a bit. I also got jammie pants from the girls. From Terry I got photoshop, the new Golden Sun DS game, a pair of jeans, a really cute apron, and an ornament. I got an outfit from Nate and Jill. And Santa put a ton of tea tree oil stuff from The Body Shop in my stocking. Whew, spoiled . . .

Olie hugging her plush flower. She is such a cuddly baby.

From me Terry got a new cell phone, a pull up bar, an excel instructional book, 2 pairs of jeans, 3 shirts and an ornament. From Nate and Jill he got a sweater and a t-shirt. And Santa brought him slippers and a pair of pajama pants.

After we opened gifts Terry and I cooked and baked. It was really fun. We made rolls, stuffing and a weird dessert I found in a magazine. Then we took it over to Roger and Cassie's house for a Christmas feast. Cassie made the best mashed potatoes and . . . ok I have to stop blogging about food or I'm going to do something I regret . . . like ordering and eating a whole pizza. We got to play Roger's new Kinect he got for Christmas. It was really funny. We played games and ate. The girls were pretty ornery though, and I'm not sure why. Maybe they both had teeth coming in or they were a little sick or something . . . cause they were baaaaad. And they usually are pretty sweet. Uncle Roger and Aunt Cassie got the girls some really adorable outfits, and two big stuffed animals. We played the funniest game of Taboo I've even been a part of. At one point Cassie blurted out naked bear suit . . . We had so much fun.

Tato in her Christmas Jammies.

Olie in her Christmas Jammies, hugging Chewy's sister.

All in all it was a fairly secular Christmas for us, which makes me feel bad . . . I need a nativity decoration or something other than Garfield Christmas for the girls to watch so I don't feel so worldly . . .
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! We sure did. I can't wait til next Christmas!!!

Grandma's Update

Since my mom can't be here for the Holidays, here are a few pictures to help her feel like she is here.
Bonus Olie Piggy. And yes, she is watching TV.

Bonus Tato Creation: Horse

Olie's 1st Birthday!

I can't believe my baby is one already! We had her party a little early so all her relatives could be there before they left town for Christmas. We had a lot of fun. We had cupcakes, ice cream, bruschetta, muddy buddies and mini crescent dogs. Yum! I can tell the end of the year is definitely going to be difficult on the "diet" front.



Olie was very excited about all her presents (and Tato even more so I think ; ) and she loved having her cousins there. But the funniest thing was how she reacted to the cupcake. She didn't care at all. She had to be spoon fed by Grandma. What a lazy baby. ; )



After we put the kids to bed the adults stayed up and played a fun game called Creationary (it's not a Bible game, I swear). Thanks to everyone who came and celebrated with us.

Thanksgiving

I didn't get the camera out much on Thanksgiving because we were too busy having fun and eating way too much, but this is what the girls did on the way home. Thanks Nate and Jill for a great meal and lots of fun games! The girls had so much fun they wore themselves out!

May the Force be With You - Halloween Edition

I figured it was high time I got our Halloween pictures up. I have a remarkably talented husband and he made all of our costumes this year (except mine which I "made" ie: ordered off the internet). Even though we didn't win best costume for Tato at our wards Trunk-or-Treat, we did get a lot of comments from people who were excited about it. Lots of closet Star Wars nerds out there . . .

The person who can guess who we each are wins a prize! The ability to continue to view our blog!!! I didn't say it was a good prize . . .