Kate...almost 1

Kate was the best Christmas gift last year! She arrived on the 21st. She came with such a fun personality too! She is very sweet but also a little feisty and wants to part of the party. She LOVES to play and is so so so busy! She moves from one toy to another really fast and pretty much wants to explore everything. 

She screams when something is taken away from her and definitely states her option when she does or does not want something. 

I can ask her, "are you hungry...do you want to eat." And she will shake her head yes or no. 

She also knows the things she is not supposed to play with (AKA the plants) and will stop and look at me before she tries to touch it. Haha 

 Kate loves Claire! She loves to chase her, play with her stuff, and grab her hair, clothes, etc. 

 She still doesn't crawl, just scooting. And she is very fast! 

 She's eating like a champ and I know that once we introduce table food she will want to try ALL of it! She really wants to eat anything we are eating. The other night I was making ginger snap cookies. She squawked at me until I gave her a piece of one. silly girl!  

Caught in the plant...it's hard to see but she has a mouth full of dirt I had to fish out. :( 

She will only keep a headband on for a few minutes. After that she will pull it off then try and put it back on her head. 

 Kate is up to 5 official teeth...and 2 more trying to come through. She has the funniest faces! 

This is her "really excited face!" 

And her ...I'm so tired face!" 

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Kate is starting to pull herself up and gets so excited to be standing. She often does downward dog just in the middle of the floor. :) 

 

The other day she found this pan in kitchen and within a few minutes figured out how to get in and out of it. Once she's in it she scoots herself around. It's pretty funny to watch. Kate is definitely going to be a climber. Just yesterday she was trying to climb on our kid piano. There's going to be a new level of craziness at our house soon once she starts walking. 

We sure LOVE this fun girl or ours! 

Happy Birthday Miss KATE! 

Christmas Parties!

We've been able to attend a couple of really fun Christmas Parties this year. Before our Branch's party (the church party) I tired to get some pictures of the girls with the Christmas tree. It's pretty comical the series of events. :) 

 Shaun got a some cute ones of the girls. 

 Our Branch party was REALLY fun! We had a nice dinner and then Santa came. We haven't really talked much about Santa at our house. Claire knows of him but doesn't really get the concept, which I'm okay with. We told her when people ask her what she wants from Santa to just tell them things she likes, i.e. mickey mouse, paints, etc. That seemed to help. 

Santa gave the kids a book, coloring book and a candy cane! Claire was SO excited! 

The next day when we asked her who she got to see last night, she said, "someone." 

While we were doing Santa the others were getting ready for the program. They did an incredible program. The manger scene was breath taking. They had a simple narration, beautiful music, and spirit filled room. It was very nice. And it was awesome because I wasn't in charge! It was nice to come and enjoy! 

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The other party was Shaun's work party. It was held at his bosses' house about 40 mins from us. Each year the city of Brandon has a light parade. The parade goes right past her house. So we had delicious food and then watched the parade. It was 70 degrees! 

Claire found a little stool to sit on and eat at the party. :) 

Sherry's house was amazing. Just as if we walked into a pottery barn catalog. Kate wanted to crawl around and get into everything. so I mostly just followed her around. 

The parade wasn't as cool as I thought it would be but we still had fun. Claire got a ton of candy! She just started holding her bag out and people would throw it in by the hand fulls. 
It was so fun to get out and enjoy some festivities! Shaun's boss even sent us home with a gift bag for the girls with all sorts of fun things. Great times!  

O Christmas Tree

We LOVE Christmas trees at our house! Claire especially loves them! 

Our current tree (given to us from my mom) has been great! It looks pretty small with our 12 ft ceilings so we may need to upgrade in the future. I still love our tree though.  

It has some fun new additions. 1- little violins that I found at a consignment store and gave to Shaun. and the little OSU man. I found that for Shaun at one of the Amish shops in Ohio. It's kind of a fun memory of our time in Grand school. 

This year we got a small tree for Claire. When I was little I LOVED having Christmas lights and a little tree in my room. Claire's is a little bigger than I had anticipated but it was an awesome black Friday deal. 
She decorated it with Shaun's help. The little crystals were a gift from one of my former students years ago. They look great on her tree. 

Claire has since decorated and re-decorated her tree. She has made the ornaments into "steps." Hanging on each other. 

We've been talking about some of the symbols of Christmas and the prophecy of the new star. Claire looked at our tree. "Mom, something is wrong with our tree. It's missing something." What's it missing Claire? "It's missing a star....That's okay, we can go buy one." 
So sure enough on Saturday we went to walmart and found a star. Later on Saturday I asked Claire and Shaun where the star went. I said we need to put it on our tree. Claire said, "Mom I put it on MY tree." She was so excited! What a cutie! 

The station tree.... brought to you by the head grounds keeper, Peter. Fully decorated with pop cans, construction tape, wire, and big paper holder clips. Topped with an aluminum foil star. The only thing that would be better is if it lights up. 

Yes, that is blue sky you are seeing! we are really enjoying this nice weather! 

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was very unique and definitely one we will remember. 

It started out Wednesday. Shaun got off work at noon! We were so excited we couldn't wait! The nearest flu shot clinic for the girls was in Jackson so we planned to go get the girls' shots so he could help me and then do some shopping. (I tried to go to a local clinic and waited 3.5 hours in a filthy place...long story). 

Anyway, after naps we drove to the clinic. When we got out of the car I noticed it was smoking. There was black smoke coming out of our hood. :( 

Shaun called his dad and then found a local mechanic. So I stayed with the girls to get shots and he went to have them look at our car. 

We needed a new radiator. We had a big hole in ours. Thankfully the mechanic was able to fix it in a few hours so we didn't have to rent a car for the weekend. It was a long afternoon for the girls and I in the waiting room but we are counting our blessings that it turned out okay. We ran a few errands but were worn out from since a long and expensive afternoon. That night we just crashed. 

Thanksgiving in Mississippi is really warm. It's been in the high 50s-60s. Today was even 75 degrees. Crazy! It's been awesome to get out and go for walks. 

Besides the lovely flu shots the girls have been fighting colds this week. Kate had a fever of 103.8 and then caught Claire's nasty cold. This was the best picture I could get. Kate is mid sneeze. Haha 

Enjoying the parade! Kate loved snuggling with mom during the dog show. Wednesday night I told Claire about the exciting parade. and all the balloons. She said, "I want a purple one and green one." I had to tell her we weren't getting balloons just watching them. it cracked me up. 

While we watched the parade Shaun slaved away in the kitchen. He loves to cook so he was enjoying his time in there. When we first moved here a few ladies from church asked what our plans for thanksgiving were. I told them we didn't have plans...their response was, "I'm sure someone will invite you over." haha. We have laughed about that. We tried to invite a family over but they already had plans. It turned out better to just stay home since the kids were under the weather. 

THEN...

Then...when I was reading stories to Claire, Kate crawled into the kitchen and was playing by Shaun. Our oven door doesn't get hot so in the past we have let Kate play on the floor in the kitchen. Well, we didn't realize when you open the bottom drawer of the oven the metal strip gets boiling hot. Kate put her hand in there and sure enough she burned her little fingers. OUCH! She has NEVER screamed like this before. I felt terrible. 

Kate sure had a rough first thanksgiving. Just when we thought she would catch a break we noticed she also had two top teeth trying to push through. Serious! So her first thanksgiving can be summed up as: fever, cold, flu shot, burned fingers, and new teeth. 

A highlight for Claire was making chocolate pudding with dad! 

The Chef! Tasting is a must! 

Living in the South we decided we would try and have a true southern pie. Sweet potato pie. People claim it is better than pumpkin. verdict... stick to pumpkin 

Unfortunately Shaun caught the same nasty cold the girls had. So since Thursday night he has been pretty down and out. I did talk him into getting the Christmas stuff out. There is something magical about putting up the Christmas decorations.  

We have so much to be grateful for! I'm so thankful that I haven't gotten sick and have been able to hold down the fort! We are also so grateful for this wonderful opportunity we have to be where we are! For FHE we did thankful turkeys. I asked Claire to tell me things/people she is thankful for. Here is her list: 

friends (her stuffed animals), parks, library, kate, mommy school, toys, stick, shows, chase (she loves to run around with us chasing her), mom & dad, Heavenly Father. Some of her answers were prompted. But a lot of them were not. 

Shaun's Turkey: 

mom, Claire, Kate, My career & financial situation, that my clothes are magically cleaned each week, that nicolette lets me cook and buy cooking stuff, our fast computer, lots of space for family walks, health, my wife being a great example of love, and church  

Nicolette's turkey: 

Family, sister, library, Shaun, dishwasher, washer/dryer, health, beautiful place to live, that I get to stay home with kids, Jesus and Heavenly Father. 

I think this is a tradition I want to keep doing! 

Here's to everyone getting healthy so we can enjoy the Christmas festivities the next few weeks! 

November so far...

 Kate is now 11 months old...I seriously can't  believe how fast time has flown! Kate has such a fun personality! She smiles ALL of the time and is so happy! She has also recently started making these fun faces when she's excited! So cute! 

She's still scooting around and getting quite fast at it! 

As long as she's not hungry she will pretty much go to anyone which is really helpful at church. Shaun and I both teach during the second hour now so Kate stays in Sunday school. 

Kate also loves to scoot over to the plant and pick the leaves off. She's definitely starting to understand the word no. Claire tells her that often. "No, no honey." 

 Finding fun activities for Claire to interact with other children has been quite challenging for us. In Jackson the Museum of Art had a special event where they brought in an author/illustrator. She read one of her books and then the kids got to paint. What a fun day for us. We are trying to help Claire feel more secure playing and interacting with other kids. She gets really shy and nervous. You can see in the pictures she is a little worried still. I found out they have an activity once a month at the museum. We will definitely be going back. Kate was so mad she couldn't get on the floor and play with the paper and paint. haha 

It was also a great opportunity for me to chat with other moms. It's been a little lonely lately. We still go to the library and store, etc. but when you are the only one with kids there and only get to talk to the ladies when checking out once and awhile it's nice to have face to face adult interaction. We are so lucky to have Shaun home for lunch every day, and face timing with family and friends also helps too!  

Claire's becoming more independent these days. She loves to brush her teeth, wash her own hands, and anything else that involves standing on her stool by the sink. :) 

My friend, Kari, gave me these awesome socks with the bows on them when Claire was born. I always get a little sad when they start getting too small. Kate's feet are almost too big. 

Also, it actually got cold here. It was down in the 20s for a few days. I was definitely enjoying it. The humidity is still really high right now 85% so it feels much colder than it is. I was excited Kate actually got to wear a coat and hat.  

 This picture is kind of an inside joke for us. When we had the branch Halloween party they were serving hotdogs and chips. I decided to bring a vegetable tray. Well, the following Sunday when they were thanking eveyone in Relief society they said, "thanks Nicolette for bringing the vegetables. You can bring vegetables from your country anytime." Apparently healthy eating is not too trendy down here. haha 

Well, then we had a family over for dinner on Sunday. We made grilled zucchini, grilled chicken, sweet potatoes and biscuits. They had NEVER had zucchini. They didn't like it or the sweet potatoes. So they pretty much left hungry. The girl also told me that she doesn't eat fruit. WHAT?! I was just floored. It will be interesting to see if this is more common in Mississippi or just a coincidence. 

When I saw this picture I showed Shaun and we laughed at the idea of bringing it to the branch Christmas party. Shaun's joking comment was, "it probably won't even get touched so we shouldn't bother."  We will start introducing the good things in life to them. :)

So this is our main living room. On the left side is our couches, tv, etc. This side of the room is currently our office, music room, and craft room. Someday we will have more "extra" space. In the meantime we are making it work. 

We bundled up to take a walk out in the sunshine! I love how kate's cheeks are a little squashed from all the layers. 

Bath time is a fun time at our house. I typically bath the girls together at the same time. I just have to make sure Kate's hands and face are wiped up so she doesn't get wheat in the water and on Claire. Anyway, this one bath Kate was getting a little too excited and bonked her head on the side of the tub. After she was just playing again Claire found the wash cloth. Claire said, "I'm going to put this on Kate's head so if she bonks her head it won't hurt." I thought that was so sweet! It is so fun to watch the girls play together and make each other laugh! 

We are so blessed!  

getting settled

We are starting to feel a little more settled in Mississippi. Shaun's working on getting his lab set up and really enjoying things so far. The girls and I are also starting to get into a regular routine. I'm still trying to find fun things for us to get out and do without having to drive 30+ minutes to get there. 

Claire just turned 3 in September but was able to be in this year's primary program. In our branch they only do nursery 2nd hour. So the little ones go to Relief Society and Claire stayed in primary. She seems to really like it so far! She did awesome in the program. She recited the first article of faith and had a few other speaking parts. What I loved was they had previously asked the kids questions and then used their answers in the program. For example, They asked Claire what her favorite part of the temple is. She said, "There is an angel on top." 

They also asked her what was her favorite of God's creations. In the practice she responded, "Mickey Mouse Clubhouse." Haha! We had to help her think of something else. :) She settled with flowers...although Mickey Mouse is pretty much her favorite thing right now. 

My sister bought matching shirts for Daphne and Claire when they were little. Now the matching shirts fit both my girls! SO fun! Now if we could get them to smile at the same time we would be in business. 

Claire has entered the stage of the silly smiles...

Kate is quite the messy eater... I mop my floor just about everyday. 

She also started sticking her hands down by her legs. So now we change her clothes into rags before she eats and then change her back after she's done. I think secretly she just wants a bath. She LOVES bath time.  

Claire and I love Mommy School! It's some one-on-one time for us while Kate is napping. 

Bubbles are also a big favorite! 

Kate is now in a big girl car seat and that means she's now claimed the top seat in the shopping cart. Claire is okay with it because she gets to sit on the blue pillow. 

My cute shoppers! 

Yes, we have mice AGAIN! I guess that's what we get for living in the country. It's worse this time, though, because I have seen them and their droppings. EKKKK! 

I screamed, "ahhhh" when I saw one and for the entire next day claire would say, "ahhhh" to anything she saw. haha! 

Some other fun things Claire says, "It's okay, sweetie." "Oh, honey." 

Also, if you tell Claire something new, or when explaining something to her she usually responds, "oh, yeah," like..."oh" ...it's really cute! 

We are also enjoying some delicious pecans! The station has around 50 pecan trees. We went out picking several times. We had to buy a nut cracker because they are pretty tricky to get open. In the process, though, we discovered that Claire is also allergic to them. Bummer. Shaun and I are still enjoying them, though. We probably have 4 grocery bags full of them...now just need to start shelling.