Christmas

Where did this year go? I feel like I was just pregnant, and now Alexa is ten months old and taking steps. I feel like I have been so busy up to Christmas, and now it is over and I am busy getting ready to go on vacation. I have been without a fully working keyboard for almost two weeks. One morning Alexa grabbed my mug and I spilt coffee on our old one. Jon went and got me one after work today, so finally I can type.

Jon's grandparents came up for Christmas. It was really nice getting to spend the holiday with them. Talia gets really excited about seeing great grandparents, but when she actually sees them she gets very shy.

My favorite part about Christmas was that after the presents were all unwrapped Natalia spent most of the time playing with Alexa's toys, and Alexa was most interested in the clothes and packaging.

Natalia likes to be a part of what goes on in the kitchen. When she saw Great Grandma and Grandma in the kitchen she ran and got the stool so that she could see what was going on. When I cook at home she always stands on a chair at the end of the counter.

Even though this winter has been pretty nice, I'm excited for our trip. My parents are coming down this weekend to celebrate Christmas with us, and then the following weekend we are flying to Key West. Every day for the past month Talia has been asking about the beach and the pool.

When did it become December?

Yay! It is December 4th which means it means there is only a month and 3 days until we leave for Key West. I know Christmas is coming, but I am more excited for warm weather.

The other night I was exercising and I put Alexa in her exersaucer so that she wouldn't get kicked or her fingers squished under a weight. The next time I looked over she was asleep. It looks like a super uncomfortable position, so I took a picture and then put her in her crib.

Natalia has really been into her Barbies. I'm not sure why she sat them backwards, but I thought it was cute.

Sometimes she decides to share them with her sister.

Other times she tries to take them away. This time she only got Barbie's head.

I made some photo canvases the other day. I liked the way they turned out, so I think I'll do some more. It is one of about 10 projects I'm currently working on. Hopefully soon I can finish my scarf. It's getting cold out.

Thanksgiving

We drove to my parents house on Wednesday and got there around 10:30. My mom had made Talia ice cream, so we let her have some even though it was late. Natalia has only had a few bites of ice cream and that was over a year ago so I don't think she really remembers. I have read lots of allergy websites and most of them say that any store bought ice cream runs the risk of being contaminated by nuts.

We spent Thanksgiving Day at the nursing home visiting my grandma and Carol. It was really nice getting to spend some time with her. The rest of the visiting company was flying in that day, so it was nice having her all to ourselves.

My mom made her Thanksgiving meal on Friday. I was busy helping so these are the only two pictures I have from that day. The above one is Talia mopping the floor in a pair of my old heels, and the one below is Alexa taking a nap.

Snow

I'm a little late on the snow pictures. I forgot they were on my camera. Talia loved playing in it for the three days it stuck.

Natalia is into nursing her babies. She tells them to "eat the boobies".

She also likes to make herself pretty every time she gets her hands on makeup. Because of the flash you can't tell how much eyeshadow she has all over her cheeks, but if you look at her shirt you can get a good idea.

Christmas Card Preview

Saturday I took pictures of the girls for our Christmas card, and I ordered them yesterday. Personally I think they are super cute. Look for them in early December.

Two Sundays Ago

I discovered the peppermint oreos last year when I was pregnant. I saw them in the store again this year and had to get them. I left them a little too close to the edge of the counter in the kitchen, and when I went to go get one they were all gone. I found all of the cookie parts on Talia's table.

I have been super bad about keeping the blog updated. These pictures were taken two Sundays ago at Joan and Jeff's.

Joan got a stroller for Talia to play with. She absolutely loves it. She has stopped using her stroller at home and asks everyday were the pink stroller is.

The other day I showed Talia pictures of her in the pool in Key West. Now she asks multiple times a day if we can go to the pool. The above picture is what I get when I ask her to smile for the camera.

Baby Lexa is finally starting to get her first tooth. Her bottom right tooth is beginning to push through her gums. She has gotten pretty good at gumming goldfish and cheerios, but I think she'll like having teeth. She can stand up on her own now from the floor. Sometimes she even picks up a toy on her way up. She can walk behind a push toy and along the sofa so I think she'll be walking on her own soon. She says dadadada and babababa a lot, and only occasionally says mamamama.

Minnehaha Falls

On Saturday we went to Minnehaha Falls to walk around. It was a nice day, a little windy, but since it is bound to snow soon we wanted to spend some time outside. Talia was not interested in the falls at all. She was only concerned about pushing Lexa in the stroller.

Halloween

Natalia woke up from her nap a little cranky. I love the picture below because Alexa is so happy and Talia is so upset.

We took the girls trick or treating in Lakeville. For the past few days Natalia has been repeatedly saying "Trick or Treat" and whenever we go anywhere she is super friendly and says hi to everyone.  She was super shy when we went trick or treating. We went to about a dozen houses and the only thing she said was "Grandma's house" once. Between houses she would talk, but she wouldn't say a thing once we got to the door.

Playing in the leaves

I have been terrible at posting on here. I feel like I've been super busy, and I haven't been taking that many pictures. Jon was away this past weekend, but he came home last night so everything is back to normal.

Alexa is getting very good at standing. Most of the time she uses whatever she can to stand and can balance well only using on hand to hold herself. I'm excited for her to start walking, but terrified to have both of them that mobile.

I wasn't completely on my own with Jon gone. My parents were around all day Saturday and most of the morning Sunday. Then Sunday afternoon we went over to Jon's parents' house.

Lexa loved the leaves. Anytime she could get her hands on one it went into her mouth. Talia was busy running around, so it was much harder to take her picture.