Our Family Christmas

We kicked off our holiday celebrations yesterday by having our own family Christmas. Scott had the day off of work, so instead of our usual celebration on the 23rd (which is also Scott's birthday) we took the day on the 19th. I worked so hard to clean the house and get everything ready the day before so that we could have the "perfect" day together. Well things did not all go as planned!! First of all, Scott and I made the mistake of staying up until 1am on Thursday night - which was only made worse by Oliver waking up and not going back to bed until 2!! So needless to say we were very tired when the kids woke us up yesterday morning. Plus, Kalia woke up a bit cranky, and Scott felt totally sick and had a horrible headache from a hockey accident the night before. We pushed through the fog and gave the kids their stockings first thing and I made a pancake breakfast (which Scott could hardly eat . . .). Then I got the kids and I ready for the day while Scott tried to sleep off his headache for the next 2 hours. When he woke up, we put in Kalia's new Robin Hood video that had been one of her stocking stuffers and ate grilled cheese and Christmas oranges for lunch. Then, I had hoped to give the kids one gift each so they could play with them in the afternoon before naps, but they both seemed so tired and willing to go to sleep that we put them for nap. I had a nap also (which was crazy because I almost never nap) which took away from my own relaxing and supper preperation time. When we all woke up around 5, Scott had cleared the driveway :) but we realized that I had taken out the steak for supper but forgotten to marinade it. oops. I ended up just heating a can of corn, sticking potatoes in the oven, and Scott bbq'd the steak to perfection so we ended up with a very simple but still delicious meal. While supper was making itself (haha) we did gifts with the kids. It was fun seeing them react to their gifts. Kalia had been talking about her pet shop for over a month already, so luckliy we got her one! So we did still have a fun happy day even though everything didn't go as 'planned'. Just a reminder that with kids around, anything can happen! At bedtime when there were no further distractions I spent time explaining to Kalia why we have Christmas and give eachother gifts. She already loves talking about "Baby Jesus" so she was very attentive and asked questions about God's special present to us! Oliver is always so cheery in the morning - at least someone was!!

Kalia was pleased with her stocking filled with PlayDoh, underwear, slippers, stickers, a coloring book, and a movie

Oliver got bath toys, a vibrating teether, baby spoons (so far he's been using only pink ones - poor second child!) and LOTS of socks

we tried a few timer pictures and this one turned out the best

This was the face I got when I asked Kalia to smile for the camera!

Little Ollie was happy with his toy even before it was opened!

Kalia giving daddy his gift (a hard drive for the computer)

Yay! Her Pet Shop (or Ket Shop as she calls it, and I can't bring myself to correct her because she hardly says any words wrong anymore!!)

Ollie loved his falling block tower from Kalia Kalia doing a little boogie to the musical books that Oliver gave her - he picked them himself - ha ha!

Kalia and Oliver gave me the fuzziest pair of pink slippers! Kalia had been quite insistent that she had to have a gift for mommy even though my big gift was the family pictures that we did this year.

I was a little disappointed to her reaction over this Barbie. It was my fault though. We got these also for 3 of her friends, and I let her help to wrap them. The very first one she saw, her face broke out in the HUGEST smile and she shook with excitement and said "Oh it's beautiful!! Is that barbie for me?!" I shouldn't have let her see it before I guess. She was still happy for it though. I was so excited to give her first barbie to her because some of my best childhood memories were of playing barbies with my sisters

Here is Oliver opening his first Christmas gift ever! Notice how his arms go out and he shakes with excitement! It was fun to watch. That was a nice thing about doing our own Christmas so early is that our gifts to the kids were the first ones they opened.

6 Months Old

Wow, I can't believe that my baby boy is halfway to being 1 already!! He is such a big, happy boy, and he and Kalia are still having so much fun together. I tried to capture some of this fun on the camera, but in all of my pictures one of them or both of them were making a really weird face! I just love how much Kalia loves Oliver. Yesterday I was making lunch and it just warmed my heart to hear the two of them happily giggling and playing together in the living room. His eyes just light up when he sees her and she can cheer him up when he's crying so easily with her silly noises and faces. The three of us were sitting on Kalia's bed reading stories a few days ago, and Kalia looked at Oliver and then said to me "Mommy, Oliver is a special gift from God" and it made me so happy I just wanted to cry! She just came up with that on her own, without Scott or I having said it. I feel so blessed as a mom to have these two beautiful kids and am so thankful for the ways that they bring joy to each day.

B Jewelled

Hello fellow bloggers! I just wanted to remind you all to check out my newly updated 'B Jewelled' blog for this holiday season! I have tons of new products, including clips and bracelets for little girls, as well as cell phone charms, napkin rings, and Christmas tree ornaments! I've had a lot of fun putting it all together, so enjoy!

Big Girl Kalia

Well, we finally took the plunge and put Kalia in a real bed! Until now she's been sleeping in the crib. Oliver hasn't needed it yet, because he's still sleeping in the pack and play (in a little vanity room off of the master bedroom) and it's just been easier not to worry about her getting out. But this week, Scott brought home a bed for her and we decided it was time for her to move out of the crib. It was sort of sad for me the last time that I knew I'd be putting her into her crib for night - it was like proving that she really is no longer a baby. But the fun thing with kids is that every time something comes to an end, something else fun and exciting begins! I spent the day re-organizing her room to make a spot for the bed, as well as working in the living room to make a space for the rocking chair that was coming out of her room. She kept asking what all of the commotion was about, and Scott had told her that he would bring her a bed after work, so I told her we were getting ready for her big girl bed. She was so excited!! This isn't the first time she's ever slept in a real bed though, because at the cabin she sleeps in a single bed, so I knew that it wouldn't be scary or really strange to her. She did awesome! She's had three nights out of the crib so far and she's only tried getting out of bed once, which was my biggest concern. Nap time is a bit of a different story though, so we're still working out those kinks!! Yesterday I ended up 'punishing' her for getting out (over and over) by making her nap in the crib. She cried and said "but I'm too big for the crib now!" It's good to know she likes the bed and doesn't wish to be back in the crib. It's already been a bit of a struggle getting her to nap at all lately, so I am not sure what will happen now that she can get in and out of bed so easily. For a long time yesterday all she did was get stories to read in her bed. At least she was quiet though!

Her last time sleeping in the crib
Happy to wake up in the morning
The "Before" picture of her room
"After" - all ready for Oliver to move in
Testing it out . . .
Now her books are right beside her bed for cozy reading time!

Reading a night time story with Daddy and Oliver - wow they all fit in her bed!

All snuggled up and ready to go to sleep

Here's a little video of her seeing the bed for the first time:

Trick or Treat (sort of)

So we didn't go trick or treating this year, but we went to my mom and dad's for pizza and Kalia did a little treasure hunt with my mom for some halloween treats. Mom gave her a little flashlight to go hunting around with and Kalia just thought that was the best idea ever! My mom is always so creative with her - it's easy to tell that she had 3 girls that she loved to play with :) I didn't exactly dress Kalia up in a costume, but I just made her into a 'ballerina' with her regular clothes. She had fun and that's all that mattered!

searching for some yummy treats

knock, knock "trick or treat!"


Showing off her ballerina moves

5 Months Old = sitting, rolling, teething & cereal!!

This was the best picture I could get of the two of them this time - Kalia was super squirmy and kept making goofy faces.

Oliver has had a busy month!! Right at 5 months he started sitting which was a big exciting thing for him - he just loves it. Shortly after he was sitting we started to try cereal. He did okay, but wasn't sure quite what to do the first time, so we only did it once in a while and now that he is closer to 6 months he is seeming to enjoy it more. 5 months also marked his first tooth! (sniff, sniff - he's growing up too fast!) And somewhere in the middle he started pushing himself off of his tummy onto his back. He is just such a happy and fun little guy! I will try posting some more pictures and a couple of videos of the kids this week sometime, but for now I just wanted to get this post quickly up before his 6 month date hit!

Just wanted to let you know that Leanne put some more of our pictures up today - the ones with the whole family!!

Photo Shoot

Leanne Olfert came out and took some beautiful pictures of my family last week. She did an amazing job, and I am so excited to see the rest!! She posted a bunch of samples on her blog (where I snuck these from . . .) so you can go check out some more at her site O Baby Photography if you want. She actually took over 2000 pictures! She hasn't posted the ones with the rest of my family yet, but they should be up in a couple of days.

A Few More . . .

Here are just a few more pictures I wanted to squeeze in yet! Sorry I couldn't resist :)

End of Farming Season Celebration!!

We got an exciting invite to go to Fargo with two families this week and had such a great time! The shopping was good, the company was even better, and the kids all played together really well. The hotel we stayed at had the best pool and everyone (even the mommies and daddies :) loved it! I even took Oliver for his first swim, though he wasn't sure what to think. It was really special to be involved in such a great "mini vacation" and really gave us a much needed getaway together as a family after all of the busyness and time that we've had apart during this farming season. We set a pretty relaxed pace to make time for naps and taking care of all of the kids needs so it really made it easy to enjoy and not just fly by in a whirlwind of activities. I have a ton of pictures, so I just decided to bunch a few together and post them that way.Yay for good friends and for families too!!

Oliver's First Haircut

Oliver really needed a haircut already!! On top it was so long and sticking up all the time, and on the sides it was almost past his ears (though it's curly so it didn't look quite that bad). Here are a few pics of the experience. They're not the greatest as I did them on timer.