2 Year Stats

A quick little mommy update on Nicole's 2 year old stats (since this is my baby book)....

Nicole weighed in at 34 lbs (97%) and was 35 1/2 inches tall (90%).

She is a healthy growing girl! When the nurse came to get us he asked, "now is she 2 or 3?" I get that a lot.

Just to give myself an idea of her growth... at this age, Megan was 29 lbs and 34 1/2 inches (75% in both).

Nicole was in 2T clothes for about 2 weeks... just long enough for me to wash and hang it up. And now she's consistantly wearing 3T clothes.

I'll try to get a post with pictures up soon!

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope that you have had a wonderful Thanksgiving, filled with knowledge of all the blessings that our gracious God has bestowed upon us and in our lives.  We spent the day with our wonderful extended family at my cousins house in Alabama.  Here are a few of those sweet blessings...

 It's so odd to not be at the kids table anymore... but it was definitely a full table!

 My cousins and I had a little glimpse of our own childhoods as we watched our children play games (indoor and out) - just like we would do together.  It was so sweet and fun to see.

 Once we got back home, the kids were sacked out..... and slowly I started to take down our Thanksgiving decorations.  The one thing I just can't bring myself to take down yet is our Thanksgiving Tree.  We have had so many laughs, smiles and discussions about the things and people that we are thankful for.

 The girls had such a good time with this tradition - I think they'll have a bit of withdrawal when they realize it's not on the table anymore.  We would pull out our leaves and markers and Nicole would start yelling, "I tankful! I tankful!" She loved telling me something she was thankful for (usually cheese or pizza or someone in our family) and then she got to help tape the leaves on the tree. Megan loved being able to write the things she was thankful for.

 Tomorrow we'll have to have the conversation explaining that our season of Thankfulness isn't over - we are just ushering it to completion.  We are moving into a new type of thankfulness - reminding ourselves that we are thankful for the blessings that God has given us BECAUSE He first gave us His Son.

 So while the girls slept, we moved all the Christmas boxes upstairs, set up the big nativity..

And put up the tree and lights (the things that would be a LOT more difficult with little helpers) and tomorrow..... we decorate!

It's hard to believe that Advent starts in 3 days.....  I can't wait to show you all the things we have planned.

More Leaves

Our trees are almost bare... the wind, the rain, and gravity have all taken their toll on our beautifully colored trees.  But the girls did have one last romp before Daddy started to get all those leaves up. 

Megan dedided that it would be fun to try to drive through a big pile of leaves - with Nicole following her big sister, or course...

 Leafpile wipeout....

 Nicole decided that leafpile driving was for her big sister... instead she'd start a leaf war with her Daddy....

Still Fall Here...

It's still fall here - to prove it, we just went to another fall festival right down the street at a local shopping center.  They really did it right - from the free hayrides....

 the visit from the fire fighters (and a tour of their truck)....

 the jumpy houses....

 the fun games for the kids to play.....

 and our FAVORITE part...
Free juice, cookies, cotton candy and popcorn.  Oh Yeah!
Here's Megan's before and after shot.....

 Nicole's cotton candy promptly fell off its stick but thankfully we were able to snag a bag for her.

 Oh yeah - that's pure joy (or a sugar high starting)....

 And what does that much sugar do to two cute little girls???????

How about turn one of them into an elephant, and another into a pirate....

 Now with that picture in your mind, add the sound effects of Megan trumpeting like and elephant and Nicole going, "Ahoy matey!" (I'm still not sure where that came from).  Let's just say we weren't the "quiet" family walking through the little festival.

And we couldn't leave without a little rainbow!

Birthday Stool

This past week we had a super fun trip to Grandma Snazzy's storytime.  It' always fun to hang out with our friends (like Emma)...

But this week was a little different.  My little 2 year old got to take a turn on the "birthday stool" and have Grandma Snazzy sing Happy Birthday.   I was pretty sure that there was no way Nicole was going to get on the stool - at least not without Mommy a few inches away.
Boy was I surprised....

My baby has suddenly matured into a little 2 year old who's a bit more brave and adventurous.  WOW. 

And then again, maybe it was having other good friends nearby (like Will)....

Fear not, he's on Daddy's pre-approved list (for either girl).
And as usual bth girl loved getting to have a  little craft time together...

The Great Fall Frolic

Every fall, we have a little tradition - passed on from my childhood and now I get to pass it onto my girls.... the GREAT FALL FROLIC!

Ok, perhaps it didn't have a title before now, but it's always been a fun outing for a perfect fall day - like today!!!!!

Add a few rakes to a bunch of leaves and the fun is ON!

Our trees have been dropping tons of leaves this week and it was forecasted to rain this afternoon/night (which it has) and I knew our window of opportunity was closing.  So as soon as we got home from school, we girls headed out to rake and romp!

 Megan's favorite game was burying herself in leaves and getting Nicole to find her.  A little outdoor leaf pile hide and seek...

 And a few leaf battles were had....

 To say it was "fun" is such an understatement!

 Nicole had a little issue when she found a little beatle crawling on her arm (see the blak spot on her sleeve).  But once that was brushed off, she recovered pretty quickly.

Of the fun of fall!  Hope you are all having as much fun with your leaves as we are.

Family Birthday

Nicole had a full birthday weekend!  The park with friends and then an evening with the GA family.

 She was super excited to have lots of chances to blow out birthday candles!!!

 And to eat a birthday cookie...

 My little birthday cutie!

 All her cousins helped her with her presents - and she was loving all her fun gifts.

 Even Grandma and Papa from Minnesota got some birthday attention - Nicole (and Megan ) love the pop on pals amusement park.

Today someone asked Nicole how old she was and she kept saying, "it my burfday!"  I think she may think it's her birthday for quite awhile with all the attention she's been getting.

Happy 2nd Birthday

My little baby turned 2 today!  She's a little ray of sunshine - full of giggles, silliness, and lots of love!

 Nicole you are a girl of polar opposites - all contained in one little body.  On one hand you are attached your mommy and don't ever want to let her go.  On the other hand, you are a daredevil and will try about anything.... especially if you see your big sister attempting it.    You are a whirl wind of energy - never stopping.  But when you do, you melt into mommy's lap and lose yourself in a snuggle.  At home you chatter almost non-stop, but in public you are as mute as you could be.  Truly there is none like you - a unique blessing for our family!

 Right now your favorite things are your pink cowgirl boots (which you beg to wear everyday), baby dolls, Elmo, Dora, Barney, zoo animals, dogs, looking for the moon, pizza, reading books (especially Dr. Seuss books).... and spending time with your big sister, your daddy, and your mommy.

You absolutely adore your big sister!  No matter what she does, you jump in to be apart of it - good and bad. 

The past 2 years have been full of so many firsts and so many lasts.  Each one so sweet and such a treasure for my heart and mind.  I think of where you came from and can only attempt to imagine what the next year will hold.

We love you Nicole!

Happy 2nd Birthday!!