The Seventh Day of Christmas

On the seventh day of Christmas, Claire and Lucy gave to me...... wrapping paper and bows. They had much more fun with the boxes and wrapping paper than they did with the presents themselves!

The Sixth Day of Christmas

On the Sixth Day of Christmas, Claire and Lucy gave to Daddy, a lesson in patience! Here are some pictures of Daddy trying to put together the new tent that the girls got for Christmas. It was all smiles to start out and then, by the end, Santa's little helpers were not so helpful. Daddy decided to just wait until they went to sleep to attempt the construction project.

" Don't forget this piece, Daddy!"

"Aren't we good helpers, Mommy?"

"I don't know Daddy, maybe you should read the directions."

Daddy realizing that he can't say what he really wants to say in front of the girls.

The Fifth Day of Christmas

On the fifth day of Christmas, Claire and Lucy gave to me.... family and new toys! Here are some pictures of the girls enjoying Christmas day.

Here are my new sunglasses! Oh yeah, and my Grandma, Aunt Molly and Uncle Scott!

Claire and her buddy Nick showing off Nick's new toys

Nora trying out Claire's new carseat

The kids eating lunch at Grami Tami's. Owie got a new hockey helmet from Santa!

The Fourth Day of Christmas

On the Fourth Day of Christmas, Claire and Lucy gave to me, priorities. "I know that we've got these presents to open but look, Santa didn't eat all the cookies that we left for him!"

The Third Day of Christmas

On the third day of Christmas, Claire and Lucy gave to me..... finding and eating, I mean decorating, the perfect Christmas tree.

On the Second Day of Christmas

On the second day of Christmas, Claire and Lucy gave to me........ peeping out the window for Santa and Rudolph. Okay, really they were looking for the garbage truck. I grabbed the camera to capture this rare moment of sisterly affection.

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Welcome to the first of twelve daily posts to get you through the holiday season....... On the first day of Christmas, Claire and Lucy gave to me..... a 'not-so-happy' picture with Santa. Who is this guy? Where is my shoe? Where is your shoe? Can we go home now?

Cousin Slumber Party

Nick and Max came over this past weekend for the girls' first slumber party. We all had a great time, baking cookies, eating popcorn, playing guitar hero, making breakfast and being wild. Some of my favorite quotes from our time together are; "Nick..... Max" (the girls know the boys' names!), "We should do this more often", "I sure am glad that you had the BOGO's", "We are so lucky to all live in the same place", and perhaps my favorite, "Aunt Laura, your house is a bigger mess than it usually is"...... ahhh, around here, that is the sign of a good time! And yes, we are definitely blessed to have such wonderful family close by.

Look what I did!

This icing is good stuff!

I think I'll sit back and enjoy my work!

I need to get a closer look, up on the table

All for me!

Sprinkles on the cookies... or right in your mouth

What goes better with cookies than milk?!

Pajamas, Pigtails and Pasta

Here are some recent pictures of the girls in action!

Claire enjoying a meal of pasta and hot dogs
Lucy and her pigtail ready to go down the slide

A hug turned into wrestling

I just love them in pajamas

The First Snowfall

That's right; the girls had their first memorable snowfall on Friday night. While it quickly melted on Saturday afternoon, they managed to enjoy it for a little bit. All bundled up in their new snowsuits and gear, they weren't quite sure what to make of all of it. Grandad came over with a sled and pulled them around the yard. Claire was a little more excited than Lucy was. All in all though, they weren't really happy until they were back on their swingset. What can I say? They are girls of summer!

Two Boo-tiful Butterflies

The girls were butterflies for Halloween. They had a wonderful time, partying with friends on Friday and then trick-or-treating with more friends and their family on Sunday. They absolutely loved their costumes. Lucy ran around holding her arms back like she was flying. Claire brought us her costume three hours before trick-or-treating started and wore it until we left. She then wanted it on again Monday morning. They even got into the pumpkin carving!

Halloween Party at Azley and Bly's house

Claire in costume and ready to go... at 2pm!

Thank goodness for the flameless candles!

Claire, Lucy, Owen and Nora

Lucy, Claire and Lucy's blankie

We get the WHOLE bowl, right!?

A Little Lucy Love

I am sorry that this is so delayed! There was a problem and the blog wouldn't allow me to post videos. Better late than never though!

Lucy is such a darling. She has more and more of a personality everyday. She has developed quite a vocabulary. Her favorite words are "ball", "fish" and her cousin, "Nora" which she pronounces "No-wa". She also loves to babble. We aren't sure what she is saying but when she is quite excited, she gets her tongue into it (see video). She has also learned some sign language. She is our little bird watcher, making the sign for bird and pointing out the window or up in the sky on a walk. There really are birds too, she isn't just making it up! Her favorite outdoor activity is climbing on the swingset and going down the slide, which she does all by herself now. As adventurous as she is, she is just as happy getting a book and sitting down in your lap to read. If you are on the floor, she will turn around almost two feet ahead of you and back all the way up until she is in your lap. She brings so much joy to our lives. I love watching all the wonderment and awe that she finds in the simplest things.

A little Claire time

I thought that I would take some time to do individual updates on the girls. Since Claire is the oldest, she's up first. While Claire isn't growing much hair yet, she is definitely growing into her own personality. She loves to be active and explore EVERYTHING! Her favorite activity is tickling; being tickled, tickling others, tickling her bear, even tickling herself! She also enjoys being outside where she is a great help in the garden. The minute that we are out the back door, she is immediately in the tomato plant, picking ripe and unripe tomatoes. I don't know what we are going to do after the first frost! She is going to be devastated! She is also getting quite good at learning body parts and making animal noises. Here are some pictures and videos of our darling. We hope that you enjoy them as much as we enjoy her!

Our Two Little Pumpkins-Take 2

We took the girls to the same pumpkin patch that we went to last year. Wow, how they have changed in a year! Last year, they couldn't sit up and this year, we couldn't get them to stand still! One thing hasn't changed though.... mom's still putting them in silly hats! Here's a comparison :)

2009-Claire (left) Lucy (right)
2010 Lucy (left) Claire (right)