My firstborn....

It's so hard to believe that my Kyle is big enough to lose teeth.  He's now lost one of his front teeth (top) and looks super cute!  He's been begging me to pull it for weeks and it just wasn't ready.  He worked on wiggling it all day yesterday and he pulled it out!  The tooth fairy surprised him by putting a $1.00 under Kia and Nat's toothpaste.  We are secretly hoping he loses the other one before Christmas, so we can jam to the "All I Want for Christmas"....song!

It's the Holiday Season.....

Whoop-de-Whoop!!  We had a great Thanksgiving with family from both sides of the family!  Audrey and Brose arrived on Wednesday evening and had a full weekend of playing and conversation!  Thursday I helped my sister and mom prepare part of the meal until I cut myself on the carving knife.  All in all, we had a great Thanksgiving!

On Saturday morning, we woke up EARLY, earlier than I have to wake up for work!  It was all worth the smiles when we arrived at Zona Rosa and participated in several "princessy" activities.  Gracie and Kia got their nails painted and a tattoo put on their hand.  The girls wore princess headbands and ate a wonderful breakfast provided by Hereford House.  The Fairy Princess arrived and came to our table first.  Of course, Kia was a little shy, but Gracie got to sneak in a hug.  Then, the best part (according to Kia) was the ballerinas from Ibsen Dance Studio.  They taught the girls how to do some baal-la-lay.  I think Kia dreams about being a ballerina!

We ended our weekend by decorating for Christmas and my Bigs decided to get sick.  Kianna has actually fought a fever since Friday and now Kyle is running a fever!  However, we made some memories this weekend and that's what's important.

Oh, and I must add, that I am finished Christmas shopping!  It's a great feeling to be finished and to be able to enjoy the season!

A very dear friend...

After preschool we met a very special friend.  Giermann came bearing gifts for Kianna's birthday.  Unfortunately, she had

to head to work, so our visit was cut short.  We are looking forward to Christmas break when we can spend more time with her!  Thank you for being a wonderful friend, Giermann!!

Cold Weather

The weather is frightful and feels like the holiday season.  Natalie is sick with a cold and ear infection, so we've stuck by home the last few days. However, I did make it out for my weekly grocery shopping.  The girls asked if they could bake cookies.  I thought, why not?  So, they stood in the store and talked about which mix they wanted.  Yes, I cheated-I had all of John's lunches to make, a huge ethical paper to write and dishes to wash.  I didn't get a picture of their conversation because with 3 kids, I'm only armed with my debit card in the store to make my life easier.

Anyway, we came home and began our cookie making.  Yes, I do allow my children, including my bonus daughter to eat raw dough-you know you did the same thing as a kid and you're here reading my blog!  :)

I measured all the ingredients and they took turns pouring their ingredients in the bowl.  After the dough was baking, they enjoyed licking the bowl.  

I'd say we enjoyed our day of cookie making.  This makes me really excited

for the girls to open a special Christmas gift-you will have to wait until my Christmas post for the secret!  

Happy 4th Birthday....

Kianna Marie!  We had so much fun this weekend celebrating her birthday.  We started early on Saturday by wearing her "Birthday Princess" shirt.  My little princess requested a turkey sandwich and pickles.  With that request, that leaves us with BBQ.  Our family always went to Marty's BBQ and really haven't found a good BBQ restaurant north of the river.  We decided to try Smokin' Guns in North Kansas City.  It was everything, and more, and our family will definitely be back.  Gracie, Aunt Nerned and Grammy gave Kia her birthday gifts.  She was super excited to open up a Mega Block/Lego Hello Kitty building set.  I'm not sure who is more excited, Daddy or Kia?

After dinner, we went to Lemon Tree and enjoyed more food!  By the end of the night, the adults were stuffed and couldn't eat anymore.

On her actual birthday, we woke up early to open birthday presents from our little family.  Natalie bought her a spelling set, Kyle bought her a Littlest Pet, Biscuit (how fitting) and Mommy and Daddy bought her a Sophia The First tablet.  Then we went to Church and Sunday School and indulged in donuts after church with lunch.  We then went to Chuck E. Cheese to play and earn tickets with Grammy, Gracie and Aunt Nerned.  We spent a few hours and came home with junk, oh, I mean prizes!

We had a fun weekend and one we will never forget.  Kianna has been excited for her birthday and has been really sweet in the days leading up to her special day.  When we went shopping, she told me that she would love anything we bought for her.  Then, as always I have a hard time seeing my babies get bigger and she has reassured me that she will always be my baby no matter how old she is.  How can you not LOVE this little girl?

So, Kianna......

*Happy Birthday to our little princess!

*Happy Birthday to our little gymnast and wanna-be dancer!

*Happy Birthday to our girl who loves playing with her siblings, Gracie and preschool friends.

*Happy Birthday to our girl who loves to dress-up, play with babies and has one wild imagination!

*Happy Birthday to our girl who loves to try new foods (milk-free), but LOVES anything with sugar.

*Happy Birthday to our girl who has endured so much as such a young age and is completely healthy now!  PTL!

*Lastly, Happy Birthday to our girl who loves her family, but mostly who loves Jesus!

We love you so much and our prayer is that you always follow God and his plans for you!

Sneaking out to.....

LEMON TREE!

Before my sister and I got married, we would go on ice cream runs, and other runs, but I decided about 2 weeks ago that I was craving Lemon Tree.  I'd text my sister or Rachel to see if they wanted some Lemon Tree, but since the Royals were playing Octoball, I was denied!

Well, this afternoon, I was craving some Lemon Tree.  I promised the BIGS that we could head there after dinner.  On our Walmart run this afternoon, the nice checkout lady put some of my items in my sis' bag!  So, I had to head to her house real quick to pick up my items.  I decided to ask my sister if she wanted to go with us to LT tonight and she ALMOST denied me because she was doing homework.  But AHA-Gracie wanted to go!  She was begging to go!!  I'm sure it wasn't much of a fight-afterall, my sister does like her ice cream or frozen yogurt!

As we were eating our concoctions, everyone was going around the table saying what toppings they chose.  Gracie told Bubby that she put fruit on her yogurt along with some other goodies.  Bubby politely asked Gracie, "Why did you get healthy on your yogurt"?  It sure was funny-and honestly, I'm the same way-hence the fluffiness in my figure!  Between the Halloween candy and yogurt, we've had enough sugar for months!

As we were eating, I received a text from Rachel asking me if I wanted to head to Lemon Tree.  Next time, without kids, dear friend!  Although, I'm not sure if my sis would join us if she didn't have Gracie to prod her!