Getting Ready For Christmas!

We finally got around the getting a Christmas tree a little over a week ago.  Here are some pictures of Caty helping decorate the tree.  She was so excited and we had a great time!

 

Caty got a little help from Daddy so she could get the angel on the top of the tree

 

This is how the angel ended up! :)

What Hanna was doing while we were decorating

What Jinx was doing while we were decorating

Opening an early Christmas present from Great Aunt Barbara and Great Uncle Bill

Barbara made ornaments for each of the girls.  Caty got some Christmas stampers and Hanna got a pair of reindeer socks. 

We traveled down to the Bay Area for my cousin Greg’s annual Christmas party.  It was great seeing our family that we don’t see very often.  We got to see my cousin Jon, his wife Natalia and their daughter Ella who is just 5 months older than Hanna – yes, lots of babies in our family this year.  We have another cousin (Brooklin and Jon) who also had a baby, a month after Hanna – told you we’ve expanded quite a bit!  Anyways back to the party.  We had seen Ella back in May at my Uncle Barry’s service, but this was under much better circumstances and she just loved Caitlyn.  They live in Southern Ca, so we don’t see much of them, although we sure wished that we did.  Unfortunately Caitlyn hadn’t been feeling great and during the party she was struck with a fever.  We drove a little over an hour to get there and only ended up staying for maybe 2 hours, then drove home.  By the time we got home, her fever was around 102 – poor thing!  She’s still fighting the cough, which unfortunately Hanna has caught.  AHH!!  Enjoy the pictures from the party.

Hanna propped up and checking out her shoe – she loves to eat them

Hugs from Ella

Attempt #1 of a group shot

Attempt #2 – UP here Hanna!

 

Attempt #3

Attempt #4 – Ella moved on to Hanna

Attempt #5 – back to Caty

Hugs for sis

Nana and her girls

Our Visit with the Big Guy in Red

After Caty’s Preschool Christmas Show we headed over to the mall for lunch and a visit with the guy in the Big Red Suit.

We arrived in line and it was LONG!!  So my mom took Caitlyn over to the Disney store while Scott, Hanna and I waited.  After maybe 45 minutes we finally got to the front.  Caitlyn was so excited!  This was the first year that she went right up, without any hesitation.  We had no idea what to expect from Hanna and couldn’t have asked for a better picture!  It turned out PERFECT!

 

   

My “Not So Perfect Angel”

Since none of you think that Caitlyn ever misbehaves, I caught her on video this time and I think that you’ll enjoy it.

She was wanting to watch Caillou and had a few minutes until it came on.  Well she kept asking me and asking me to change the channel.  I told her I would when it was time.  She didn’t like that idea because she then came over and tried to take the remote away from me.  So I told her no Caillou, which she didn’t like at all.  She started yelling at me, so I then told her she would be taking her quiet time in her room that day – she REALLY didn’t like that!  Here’s what happened next.  It’s okay to laugh along with this because I sure was (on the inside at least)!

 

 

Presenting Our Little Reindeer

 

Caitlyn’s preschool class put on a Christmas show on Friday and it was just the cutest thing!  Sorry that the volume isn’t loud on the video, so make sure that you turn it up to hear the songs. 

 

 

Ready for my Christmas show at school

Our little reindeer

Singing about a little snowflake

Doing the Reindeer Pokey

Shaking her little tail

Our little reindeer   

Caty and Nana – my mom surprised Caty by coming up for the show

Our little present

Caty and her good friend Izabel

Caty and Kylie

Caty and her “boyfriends” Hayden and Oliver

 

Scott also surprised Caty by taking the day off of work.  He was just hanging around the house when the girls first got up.  About 7:30 Caty asked “what are you still doing home?” SURPRISE!

 

My family

Nana and her girls

My girls

Thanksgiving+Snow= Fun times!

Wow that it’s almost Christmas I figured that I better get this post up!
For Thanksgiving this year we traveled up to my family’s cabin, which is in Pinecrest, CA.  In my 33 years, we’ve never spent a holiday at the cabin, EVER!!  I KNOW!!  We met my parents along with my brother Todd, his wife Erin and my niece Riley up there.  We venture out on Wednesday and because we left early enough we hit no traffic.  Before we left we let Caitlyn know that there might be some snow.  We weren’t sure, but were hoping.  About 30 minutes from the cabin, while passing through Sonora, the questions about the snow started.  “When is there going to be snow?”  “How much snow is there going to be?”  “Can I play in it?”  You get my drift.  Finally she saw the first bit of snow.  “I SEE SNOW!!”  Over and over again, at each new patch of snow that she saw, ALL THE WAY TO THE CABIN.  That was a long 30 minute drive. 
We pulled into the driveway just after noon and beat my parents by about 5 minutes – good timing. 
We had a blast playing in the little amount of snow there was.  Caitlyn was in awe!  I just wish that she could have seen more snow, but she didn’t care.  She got to make a really pathetic looking snowman and a snow angel that you had to use a lot of imagination to see.  We’re planning on going back up in February and I know that we’ll definitely have more then. 
   

We won’t be seeing my brother and his family at Christmas, so the kids exchanged presents.  Caitlyn was super excited about her piggy bank that keeps track of her money as she puts it in.   To date she has just about $40 in change!!  I told her we’ll cash it in before Nashville and she can either take me to dinner :) or buy herself something while we’re there. 



Of course we had to get pictures of the girls together.  I wish that we lived closer to Todd, Erin and Riley so we could see each other more often than we do.  I have a feeling that it will be quite awhile until we see them again.  Until then we’ll have to be satisfied with these pictures.
 

I should be getting some other pictures from my mom this weekend, so I’ll probably do another post with more pictures!  You love seeing pictures of my girls, right? :)