Christmas Day

Christmas was a success, for sure.  The girls both loved their gifts from Santa and were spoiled silly  by the rest of the family.

Natalie got sufficiently "Barbied", against my better judgement, and is in pure Barbie bliss 2 days later. 

Audrey finally got her very own baby doll. Well, she's actually collected quite a few baby dolls of her own in the past year and a half but all she really every wants is Natalie's baby doll.  So, that smart Santa left her a baby doll that looks just like Natalie's except with green eyes instead of blue.  However, this picture below represents the only three and a half minutes Audrey has played with her baby-doll-that-looks-just-like-Natalie's since waking up to it under the tree on Christmas morning.   She still just prefers Natalie's doll while hers sits untouched, un-cuddled and unloved.  Oh, brother!  Or should I say, oh, little sister!!!

Lovely Christmas faces.

Aunt Kristen gave Audrey a tutu of her VERY OWN and it is soooo cute.  I'm a little afraid the" tutu of her own" will be as well received as the "doll of her own" but dress-up time will tell.

Natalie's gift from us was Corey's week long labor of love.  He fixed up his (and Amber's and Kristen's) childhood desk for her and it is AWESOME.  She loves it and it looks so great in the house.  He did a great job turning a rusty old desk into a real treasure.  And he did the same for Audrey but with a Schwinn roadster tricycle that he found abandoned and left for the trash truck in our back alley.  I didn't get a picture of it Christmas day but I'll post one soon.  It was a mess when he found it but with a lot of elbow grease, steel wool, a little wood stain and a new tire, it looks almost brand new.  Wonder if the neighbors who discarded it will recognize it when Audrey rides by!!

This was the happiest Audrey was all day...napping on her momma like a newborn.  I don't know if it was her age or the fact that she's not very into crowds and we had a full house but she was not a fan of Christmas.  She only opened a few of her presents on Christmas day and finally finished unwrapping the rest last night (the 26th!).  I think Hanukkah is more her speed.  One present a night for a week...Audrey would handle that pace a bit better I think.

Aunt Ashley hit the nail on the head for both kids this year. 
Elmo for Audrey and rhinestones for Natalie.  She knows them well.

I'm bummed I look like the walking dead in this otherwise cute Christmas picture.  It's called staying up for Santa until way too late, responding to two needy kids at different times during the night, waking at 6 to an EXTREMELY excited Natalie who had already inventoried everything Santa left under the tree for both her and her sister and not having time to look in a mirror all day long. 

Oh well.  I think it's called Christmas with kids!

We had a very Merry Christmas.  Thanks, Mom, Dad, Ammy, Ashley and Paul for joining us.  Audrey has calmed down now if you'd like to come back!

Christmas Eve

We had fun getting dressed up for our Christmas Eve church service.  Well, most of us had fun.  Audrey did not enjoy it all so much.  In fact, Christmas in general didn't really agree with Audrey.  She was a bit out of sorts for most of the festivities and the meltdowns started on Christmas Eve.  The cute party dress didn't really lift her spirits and she was a bit of a handful at dinner later that evening.  Wish I could say Christmas day was better.  But it was far worse.  But we had fun even with a screaming 18 month old in our midst.

Natalie is forever up for a reason to get dressed up.

Audrey had to be bribed with Goldfish crackers to allow me to put her in tights.

She clung to my dress the entire evening.  When she wasn't in my arms, that is.

Little girls in shiny shoes and shiny dresses.  I love it.

Haunted Gingerbread House

One of the Aunt Ammy inspired and executed baking projects this week was a gingerbread house.  Not the Trader Joe's $7.99 gingerbread house kit of Christmases past, mind you...but a made-from-scratch-using-a-pattern-of-cut-out-construction-paper-and-oodles-of-baking-sheets gingerbread house.  Only Ammy would undertake this project with a 4 and 1 year old.  Well, it turned out great.  And they used Natalie's unfinished Halloween candy to decorate it once Grandma Lala arrived.  So, it had skull and skeleton shaped Sweet Tart shingles on the roof,  Nerds paving the front walk,  and Tootsie Roll Pop post lanterns in the yard.  So cute.

What a fun project. 

Aunt Ammy

We had the best time with Auntie Ammy over Christmas.  I know Michigan missed her this year but we sure loved having her here.  She baked and she baked and she baked with the girls.  I think I'm going to send her the bill if either of them have a cavity the next time we visit the dentist.  At one point, Audrey was scooping handfuls of powdered sugar out of the mixing bowl and shoveling it right into her mouth! 

The results of their efforts were DELICIOUS!! And, in addition, Amber got to annoy Corey by sticky-ing up the kitchen, the children were happy, busy and  flour-dusted, and I had a house that smelled of sweet treats and edible holiday gifts for friends that I didn't have to make!! 

Even Natalie's doll, Noa, got in on the baking action.

Out, again, came the play-doh tools.  These work great for baking with little ones.

Such a fun time.  My children are both baking addicts now.  Audrey gets out her apron whenever she sees me reach for the stepping stool.  She just assumes I'm getting out the stool to begin a baking project that she's going to "help" with. 

Thank you, Ammy. When are you coming back???

Railroad Park

We braved the railroad park in Scottsdale last night and it was totally worth it.  I say that because Auntie Ammy (who's with us for Christmas and the super fun week before) was willing to wait in the 90 minute line for the train ride while Corey and I took the girls to the carousel and to visit the various characters who grace the place for the season.  We finished our tour and only waited for a brief bit before boarding the train.  Thank you, Ammy!!  If only we could have a "line-waiter-inner" with us for all future amusement park vacations.

The girls loved the carousel.  And the train ride was very cool.  The track was bordered with light displays, moving and grooving characters and went through a few illuminated tunnels...at the end of which one opened up to a snowy blizzard.  Super fun for Arizona kids (and their parents :0)).  Corey didn't ride the train with us but, instead, kept popping up at various spots along the route.  It was hilarious...and a bit spooky.  We'd hear, "Hi, Natalie!" and there he'd be in a place we didn't expect him.  I think he spooked our fellow box car passengers, too!

Natalie gave every character we encountered a big hug and posed for a photo.

We thought Audrey might do the same with some of her favorite Sesame Street friends...but, no.

Yes, we are still in Arizona even though we appear dressed for the arctic.  But it's CHILLY here right now and we've sort of become cold weather wimps. 

Alone Time

Audrey doesn't get a lot of time at home alone to play. While Natalie's at school, we're often out and about running errands or at the YMCA. So when she is at home alone, without a big sister to "remind" her what she can and can't touch and when she can and can't touch it, it's very sweet to watch her play. The other day she was sitting on the window seat in the sun playing with the Nativity set and since Natalie wasn't around to object she got the angel all to herself and she thoroughly enjoyed it.