Christmas Preparations

We are hosting Christmas Eve dinner this year.

And we're taking the easy way out.... Pizza!!

But we are making some homemade desserts.

The kiddos helped me with the Chocolatey Pumpkin Bars.

(*please excuse my insanely messy kitchen!)

Milo was giving his last chocolate chip to Xandra - such a sweetheart!!

And then, the hardest part....

Waiting for them to bake up!

After all that prep, it was play time! 

Milo's is currently into Avengers.

I love watching that imagination at work- even though it's totally different from Xandra's.

A lot more "fighting" & smashing & general destruction.

I've said it before, I'll say it again-

Boys are simply wired differently than girls!

"Mama wook! Faw dow (fall down)!"

Xandra was playing with a few Littlest Pet Shop animals.
And looked up with the most beautiful expression.

Then she moved over to the crayons & started drawing.

After dinner, Matt made milkshakes
(ice cream sandwiches & milk - really good, but really thick!)

The kiddos were in heaven!!

We had a really good day yesterday. 

Even though we were essentially stuck in the house all day (sniffly noses & coughs don't play well in the cold outside!), we had a really good time together (without too many fights!).

Because she's rarely on here... this is our dog Lexie (a  chihuahua & miniature pinscher mix= a chia-pin!). She's 10 years old this year, and starting to show it - arthritis has set in & most of her teeth are rotting out. She's not been the sweetest dog ever- she really doesn't care for the kiddos being around her too much, but she's still our family. And she's a really good personal heater!! 

I'll have more pictures of our Christmas festivities coming up!!

Linking up with Stephanie this week!

Chalk {Sunday Snapshot}

Chalk is so much fun

but needs to be timed just right...

on Bath Night!!

Always deep in thought..
she loves her artwork & takes it very seriously

A boy & his dog

Milo didn't last too long with the chalk. 

He thought it was much more fun to go trucking down the sidewalk "running away."

He looked at me, grinned, & yelled "Bye Bye Mama!"

Lexie kept by his side the whole way (down to the next driveway).

By the way- this is how Xandra's hair naturally dries (no hair dryer for this sensitive one).

Disgusting, isn't it?

Making Friends

When our dog Lexie came back home from our friend's house after we got back from China, Milo was petrified. He screamed & wouldn't go any where near her. And if she dared to come near Milo... more screaming. Over the last few days though, there has been somewhat of a truce.

 Milo has discovered the power of sharing food.

Then he realized what he did. "Oh man!! Now I don't have as many snacks for myself!"

Matt & I went out tonight for a date night. Our nieces Hannah & Megan came over to babysit for us. We went to an early dinner & a movie so that we'd be home in time to put the kids to bed. We had a good time. But the best part above all for me at least, was walking in the door at home & hearing a little belly laugh & seeing our son walking toward us! Then we heard Xandra laughing while playing with her cousins. Best sounds in the world, hands down. :)

SPRING & Eating my Words

Our dog Lexie, perched on the arm of our couch (her favorite spot), so she can soak up the sun (she's kind of a solar dog)

Why, is that sun I see in that picture?! Today was the first day of the year that we hit decent temperatures- above 60!! Spring is on its way!! Matt noticed yesterday that the sun was actually still up at 6:00 pm! We haven't seen that in what feels like forever - the new Daylight Savings schedule really sucks in that aspect.

Eating my Words

Ok, a few posts back I complained about my jack-in-the-box daughter who continually pops up at night. Yes, I do still find this a rather annoying habit. But last night when I heard her stirring in the middle of the night, I went in to check (she was whimpering & she's prone to having bad dreams). So, I walked into her room & this is what happened:

"Are you okay, honey?"

Her reply was, "Mooommmmy...hhhmmmmuuuhhhhhdddddddddmmmmmmm."

"Sweety, are you alright? Cause you're not using real words."

"Mooommmmmmm... Iiiii..."

"Ok, let me tuck you back in. Love you! Night!!"

She was apparently still asleep. It was beyond adorable. I've been having a hard time recently realizing how much she's growing up. And I mean that literally - she's insanely tall! But she's also doing so much more on her own- becoming so independent. It's good, I know. But kind of bittersweet for me. I miss my baby.

I never thought we'd get out of the infant stage, and we had a difficult time with her. Her first year and a half, she had crazy reflux - it seemed that all she would do was eat, vomit, eat, vomit, eat, sleep, pee, & repeat. For every 1 bottle a "normal" baby would have (yes, she was a bottle-baby.. we tried really hard, but breast feeding just never worked for us), Xandra would need at least 2 or 3. She wasn't diagnosed with reflux until she was 6 months old, though I knew there was a problem way before that (the darn doctor just wouldn't listen to me). I was so happy when she finally began eating & keeping it down. Of course, by then she was walking & a whole new set of problems began. It was a pretty miserable time while we were living it day in & day out.

Of course, now I look back on it, and miss being able to cuddle with my baby & spend so much time with her. She doesn't want me to do that any more. She only wants me when she needs a snack. At least it feels that way at times. She does run to me when she gets hurt, or feels some injustice has happened to her. But now, she just comes to me for reassurance, and quickly runs off to find her new favorite toy of the moment. It's good... but it hurts my heart a little. She's becoming a little lady.

Well, this post has gone way off track! I didn't intend to write about any of that tonight... :) Oh well, I tend to ramble.