almost to the actual holiday...

Fun holiday stuff! The holiday season always makes us happier, gives us something to look forward to, and brings us together with fun family traditions.

Of course the girls love the advent calendar!

After a little time to realize they love this little musical toy, it was constantly playing! For some reason they love to hold the tails so the bells won't shake.

This is just Seoul being a goofball. The holiday season makes us happy!

The best family pictures we could get at Bridgeport. Four people looking at the same place with nice smiles? It happens?

The girls asked to turn the Christmas tree on every day, of course. They loved sitting near it and just enjoying it.

This Fisher Price nativity scene is the best ever! The girls loved it... and I had to track down pieces all over the house. Their favorite was to carry around the little baby Jesus.

An early Christmas package from Dubbee. The girls loved this little basket that I eventually filled with candy.

Per tradition we went to look at Christmas lights on Christmas Eve. The girls love this house in Canby that plays music in sync with the lights flashing. This year there was a Santa in the window moving around and the girls waved the entire time, convinced he was waving at them.

Sydney loves candy canes! Our little sneak could be found in various places trying to get into them. Eventually she learned if she just breaks it then she can get to it.

{December 2012}

THE SICKNESS

Need I say more? The girls were down with it the couple weeks before Christmas, one at a time. I tried to fend it off myself and did a decent job of powering through it. I had to question whether it was better to be home bound the weeks leading up to Christmas or through the actual holiday. We were getting cabin fever and I couldn't get out to get anything done for the holiday. At least we all recovered to enjoy the holiday.

For the girls to lay on the couch for more than 2 minutes means something was going on!

{December 2012}

BIG events!

Yep, almost forgot to post about our wedding anniversary - oops! Seven years of wedded bliss, right? Two and a half kids, multiple jobs, a house, and far more ups than downs later, I love this man more than ever! I feel settled and so supremely blessed.

The morning of our anniversary, we got to see this beautiful little GIRL! Excited? Most definitely! A little sad? I admit I was. This pregnancy had been different, and I thought it would be so fun to add the dynamic of a little boy into the family. At least the baby is healthy and quite the mover & shaker already!
[Kelley, smart man that he is, expected a little girl so he was far more excited. You know that once you have two kids of the same gender there is a 90% chance you will have another of the same gender?  Yes, everyone will now stop to think about how they know cases where that is not so.... Ok, moving on...]

If you are detail-oriented, and noticed, don't be confused by the date of this picture. It is from a fetal echocardiogram ultrasound on 12/31. When we had the ultrasound on 12/17 she moved too much to get any good profile pictures.

As per tradition the last few years, we just went to dinner on our own and then Christmas shopping - the one time we go shopping together. Plus we looked for a baby blanket for our new little girl. It's our tradition to choose a blanket once we find out the gender, and that has become THE beloved blankie for each of the girls so far. We ate a the Oswego Grill and it was yummy - we both splurged!

Then more big news! Kelley was offered a new position with TEKsystems so we discussed that in depth. He had just had the interview the past Friday afternoon, and it was now just Monday so it was so much quicker than we had anticipated. [They could immediately tell how awesome this man is!] They requested an answer by the end of the following day.... so pressure for us. So many aspects to think about - it's a huge switch when we're expecting a new baby and Kelley is in school. But, we decided to move forward with it (with some negotiations).... and it's been a blessing thus far! 

[He is employed by TEKsystems as a contract employee to Bonneville Power Administration, and works at the BPA office in Portland. No, he does not work on the Bonneville Dam :) Haha!]

This is what we have now because Kelley proposed and was patient with me.

Happy Anniversary to us! To another year of adventure and memories!

This picture is actually from February 2013.

{December 17, 2012}

Christmas dresses and silly antics!

I loved the way these Christmas dresses came out. Are they perfect? Not by a long shot but I'm still pleased.  I appreciate that although I do this just twice a year these went much quicker than previous years. Partly it was a pattern I am familiar with, plus I am keeping up with some basic sewing skills.

Next year with three girls? I'll have to ponder on that.... until the last minute, of course! The girls call these their ladybug dresses. Sydney chose the red with polka dots.

My attempt to get a "lovely" picture of them together wasn't a "success" but I do think there are some cute pictures so enjoy!

Cell phone picture so it wasn't the best quality, but I like the picture.

I have no words to describe this face. Pretty sure I just said, "Smile!"

Seoul smiles!

These are their versions of curtsies.

More ballet - tip toes!

They thought they were SO funny waving their hands so it wouldn't be a clear picture. Look at that adoration for each other. Makes my heart melt.

"Smile nice, please!" - take one.

"Smile nice, please!" - take two...

Well, at least Sydney's eyes were open on this one...

Little ham!

I pray they love each other this much throughout their whole lives!

We couldn't ask for more beautiful, loving, fun girls!

{December 2012}

Santa visits!

Sydney really got into Santa Claus... much more than Seoul did at age 2. We went late to see Santa this year because of the sickness that got us down.

First visit: Ward activity for a Christmas dinner and Santa visit. As soon as Santa made an appearance, Sydney yelled, "Santa!" and wanted to go see him. Seoul took a little coaxing. Surprisingly, though, she went and sat on his lap and talked to him - she wants a Princess scooter for Christmas. Sydney refused to sit on his lap but did tell him she wanted Princess books when he asked what she wanted for Christmas.

Blurry, but couldn't help but include this sisterly love picture.

Second visit: Bridgeport - 2nd year we've gone there and we really like it. It was freezing cold while we waited and the girls were kind of grumpy. The picture turned out cute, though. Seoul was so good and Sydney cried for me, which actually surprised me. I was excited to have their matching dresses done for the second year in a row.

Next year we will have three girls. Maybe no crying since the baby will be itty bitty...?

Merry Christmas!

{December 2012}

Creche Exhibit

The girls loved going to see the creche exhibit in Milwaukie. It's so sweet they know the story and who the characters are. Seoul's favorite were the glass globe nativity sets. Sydney loved the musical performances. They made it through most of it before getting a little tired so then we moved onto the kids' activity room.

This is as far as I got trying to get Sydney to dress up in the costumes.

So curious...

Sydney loved baby Jesus. Then she dragged him around by the swaddling for a minute. Yes, I will have to explain that our new baby will have to be treated with more gentleness.

Seoul LOVES all kinds of art projects. It was hard to drag her away from the craft tables.

{December 2012}

lovely babies!

My dear friend, Jennie, had a baby girl and she is so cute! We went to meet the little princess and my darling girls held her more than I did!! Sydney didn't want to give her up. Seoul couldn't get enough of her either, and even kept her while she was a bit fussy! Reminded me of how sweet she was with Sydney, and how great she will be with our new baby.

My "babies" are so big now...

{December 2012}