Mommy's Birthday!

My birthday was awesome this year. Chris had the entire weekend off, which is a rare, yet oh-so-wonderful occurrence. In addition to just being around, he planned some fun surprises for me. It was a really fun day. I felt loved and special. Thanks honey!

We spent the weekend in Indiana with both of our parents and Chris's sister Emily and her family. Chris's father was playing with the Indianapolis Symphony in their Christmas show, Yuletide. Nana stayed home with the napping babies while the rest of us went to the show. It was really great. In fact, this show is the real reason that we all gathered in Indiana on my birthday weekend. Celebrating my birthday together was just a bonus. Every December for the last 25 years, the Indianapolis Symphony has put on this Christmas show. Each year the theme changes, and occasionally, my father in law will be asked to perform with them. If you are even in Indianapolis in December, you should make time for this show. It is really great.

After the show, we went to PF Changs for dinner. I love PF Changs! They have a great gluten free menu, which makes eating out easy, like it is supposed to be. After dinner, we went home for cake and ice cream. Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from The Cheesecake Factory and Graeter's ice cream. -No, we did not count those calories. I am pretty sure that I cannot count that high...Yummmmm! Thanks to everyone for making my birthday special!

Chris, me, Rachael and Morgan in front of the massive Christmas tree at the symphony. (Kate was at home with Nana napping during the show.)

Jaron, Emily, Mikey and Spencer Sullivan. (Little Trevor is not pictured. He was at home with Kate during the show.) They traveled all the way from Iowa for the weekend visit. It is always such a treat to spend time with the Sullivan clan. Em and Jaron pretty much rock, as do their three adorable boys. (Obviously I had to include this picture in the post.)

Me and Kate at PF Changs. -Not the best ever picture of us as she is more interested in her dinner than the camera. However, I had to include a picture with her in it since she was not in the first one and this was our best option.

The cheesecake, oh, the cheesecake. Mmmmmmmmm. Thank you Cheesecake Factory for making this cheesecake gluten free. I think I love you.

Snow Day!

We had the first snow day of the season today. I LOVE SNOW DAYS!! They are great. It is like a bonus day off in the middle of the week. We get to sleep in, stay in our cozy sweat pants, drink hot cocoa, eat popcorn, read books, play the wii, watch movies, play in the snow, or do whatever else we want to do. Growing up in the southwest, I never got to experience these as a kid. I love having the kids home and listening to them play together when they would normally be at school. It is truly a treat for me. If we have several days off in a row, we may run into the occasional tiff, but for the most part, the girls just love being home too.

On this particular day, one of the girls chosen activities was to play with their dress-up clothes. They donned their fancy tutus from Aunt Alyssa and danced all around the living room. -They dug through the dress-up bin and even found a Kate-sized tutu. She loved the tutu and wore it all afternoon.

Candy Cane

This afternoon while I was doing dishes, Kate was happily playing in the living room. The rooms are right next to each other, and I could walk in and easily check on her. At one point, I heard her squeal with delight and then there was silence. After a minute or so of this silence, I checked on her again to find that she had gotten a candy cane off of the tree and was sucking on it. She had broken it in half and was so proud of herself.

Christmas Jammies a Bit Early

We have a close family friend that likes to give the girls pajamas at Christmas time . She has done this for several years now, and the girls look forward to it each year. This year, she gave them to the girls a bit early and said they could open them as soon as we got home for the day. -This was fully two weeks early.- The girls were thrilled. Thanks Dona for the super cute jams.

All three girlie-oes.

*Morgan and Rachael's pajamas came from a store called Justice. When Morgan saw the tag on the pj's, she said, "YES! Now I FINALLY have something from Justice. All the girls in my class wear clothes from Justice. This one girl said pretty much all the clothes she has came from Justice. I'm so glad I have something from Justice now." Wow. Way to be on top of things and know just where to get the cool clothes and pajamas Dona. I had seen the store, but didn't realize how big it was with the 4th grade crowd. Now I know and can keep that in mind when we shop for clothes in the spring...That way we can make sure at least a few things in their closet come from the cool store.*

Mommy's Lil' Helper

Kate loves to climb on the door and 'help' me unload the dishwasher, whether the dishes are clean or not. Not sure if the dishwasher door was made to withstand 23 lbs of baby love...

The Knife

Kate's typical hairstyle is a little fountain-like ponytail on the top of her head. It is super cute, makes her look like a girl, and she has enough hair for this little style. We call it 'Cindy Lou Who' hair in honor of the little Who character from How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Others call it 'Pebbles Hair'. Anyway, on this particular day, Morgan had an idea to spike her little fountain for a more funky look. She and Rachael lovingly termed this style 'The Knife'.

Morgan styling Kate's hair.

The Knife in all its glory. (No, we did not leave the house this way. It is kind of fun. Perhaps next time...)

*This is an old mirror. No matter how many times I clean it, it does not look clean. Granted, there are several finger prints on the mirror, but it is not as dirty as it may appear. Who am I kidding? It does not stay finger print free for long. In fact, the bottom portion is pretty much always covered in little Kate prints. I love the little finger prints. It's the old spots on the mirror that won't wipe away that I don't love.*

Crisco

Well, Kate discovered that she likes to eat Crisco right out of the package today. I do not have much storage space in my kitchen, so I have to be a bit creative when it comes to storing things. I have my baking goods in a drawer in a rolling cart in my kitchen. It may sound strange, but that is where I have the room. Furthermore, I use my mixer on the rolling cart, so it makes sense. Anyway, Kate has not really shown any interest in said drawer up to this point. Today however, she discovered the contents of the drawer. I was busy preparing dinner, saw that she was happily occupied, and kept on with the dinner prep. A few minutes later, I noticed that she had opened the Crisco and was eating it right out of the package. Yum.