SUYL Christmas!

Kelly's Korner is hosting a Christmas tour, so I had to join in. I'm late (shocking, really) but better late than never! This post has lots of pics, but I promise it could have had more. I decorate EVERY room in the house for Christmas. I just love this time of year!

This is a shot of my oldest daughter's tree. I usually put up one 9 ft tree, three 6 ft trees, and two mini trees. This year we went with two of the 6 ft and the baby's smaller tree. She's into everything, and I figured it was just smarter/safer this way!

Kayt's room is all the bright happy colors.

I love this girl on her tree...naughty or nice?

Every tree I own has a bird on it for luck, but I love the butterfly ornament here.

Last year, Kayt asked Santa for a tree for her little sister who wasn't born yet. Of course, he had to comply with a wish as sweet as that one!

How fitting this ornament is for her!

I went with black, pink, and silver on this one. I think I took ballet for way too many years...can't get away from it!

Even though I didn't put up the tree (9 ft) in our living room, we still had to do the mantle. The urn above the mantle has tons of berries in it, but I couldn't get them to show up well in a pic.

I picked up this wrought iron tree a few years ago....I love it wrapped with garland!

My dining room is always my favorite room in the house. Probably because it's used the least and stays looking the best. Ha!

The tree in the dining room is all pine cones, birds, and berries. Very natural...I didn't even do lights this year.

Love the top of this tree!

I tend to do the family room in snowmen. Since it's open to our entry, they always wind up migrating.

My husband has gotten better about Christmas since we've had kids, but we got him these blocks a long time ago. He gets frustrated when people forget the true reason for the holiday.

All of the bedrooms have bedding and a theme....ours is classic Christmas...full of Santa! I have spared you pics of every room...just ours this year.

My favorite, favorite Santa!

And, did I mention that all the bathrooms have Christmas towels? Ours just has simple snowflakes, but we go all out in the other two.

I had to get this guy a few years ago. We have two labs, so it's very fitting!

My Christmas geese on the mantle in the hearth room.

And, since I don't have a window by the sink, we hang this here. It definitely brightens up the kitchen. The entire kitchen is done in gingerbread men. I'll try and get posts up of the rest of the rooms for people who are interested in seeing them! Can't wait to see what everyone else does!

Carie

A very busy weekend

This weekend was busy at our house. Well, let me rephrase that...it was busy for me. Kaythlen has the flu, so she was on house arrest. The doctor said Steve had the onset of flu, but he apparently caught it quickly enough. Kennedy was catching up on sleep, so that left me and the massive amount of Pinterest projects I had set out to complete.


The first project I had to complete were the snowmen ornaments that I showed in this post. Next on the list were some paintings I wanted to try. I found the Christmas tree idea here. The one on Pinterest was on a plate, but I put it on a canvas and hung it in my bedroom. We decorate all rooms for the season!




The next was Christmas lights. I thought it would be fun to do it in the colors that matched Kayt's room for Christmas. She just thought it was fun to stick her thumbs in all different color paint!




I found this project here and thought it would be great to do for Kayt's teachers. I have one more to go. In her school, every kindergarten teacher has an assistant. How nice, right?



And finally, this project I found here. I made one for a friend who is sweet enough to take care of and transport Kayt whenever we need it. I have to moved the "Merry Christmas" ornament up so you can see it better, but I didn't take a new picture.



And, since I had all the stuff, I made one for Kaythlen's room too. Yes, I know, Kennedy is next!

I have some painted ornaments to complete and another pinterest project on the way. If they turn out, I'll let you know! I'm so addicted!

Carie

Quick and Easy Ornaments

Kayt came home with a note the other day requesting 22 gifts be sent to school with her this Wednesday to share with her friends on Friday. 22? Argh! What happened to one gift and you do an exchange? Yes, I'm that cheap. But, alas, that was not to be. I wandered around Hobby Lobby the other day (my home away from home) and this is what I came up with.

I bought white (unbreakable) glitter ornaments, paint, random Christmas ribbon, and orange pom poms. I had the hot glue and brushes at home.

And we came up with these guys. Kayt got to help by picking ribbon and gluing on noses. I love that she got to participate and so the gifts will mean more when she gives them.

I told you...22 of them!

And I think they look pretty cute hanging on the tree!

Carie

Kennedy is 11 months old!

My sweet little Kennedy, you are 11 months old. Time is flying by. Here is what you have been up to lately:



*You are wearing 18 month clothes. They are a little long in the arms, but they are the right size everywhere else.

*You are still in size 3 diapers. I have another HUGE box, so let's get that one used up before you move up!

*You are into everything! You crawl and climb all over the place. You think everything belongs to you and get mad when you are told that it doesn't.



*You can stand up without holding on to anything. You even took two steps the other day before you fell. I hope that since we got tubes put in your ears yesterday, your balance will improve and you will be off and walking everywhere soon.

*Speaking of yesterday, you were the sweetest baby in the hospital. You didn't cry when they took you back or when they gave you the mask to help you sleep. You did cry a little bit when it was done, but as soon as I gave you food, you were a happy girl again. Even the doctor and nurses were talking about how sweet you were. I was so proud of you.



*You still have a much bigger temper than your sister ever had. And you scream....LOUDLY. But, again, now that you can hear yourself cry it might quiet down. Note that I said "might".

*You are still my sweet sleeper.

*We went to your Auntie Alison's for Thanksgiving...you thought it was great fun to climb her stairs. No worries, they were blocked off unless someone was with you to make sure you were safe.

*You are a VERY picky eater. Your sister ate everything. You will eat something one day and spit it at me the next. You tend to like things without color and you can't stand juice. This ought to be fun (ha!).

*You still LOVE your bottle. I plan on taking it away next month, so let's keep trying to figure out this cup thing, okay? It's not to throw on the floor or bang on the tray. You drink from it. I keep telling you this...you keep disagreeing.

*You only use your paci when you sleep. I'm thinking this one will be easier to get rid of. I let your sister keep hers until she was 2, but I don't see you keeping it for that long.

*I can't wait for your first Christmas. I'm thinking I'll just wrap boxes for you. I figure your favorite part will be eating the paper and bows, anyway.

We love, love, love our sweet little almost-a-one-year-old biscuit!

Carie

A bit at a time...

In October (yes, I am THAT slow), this boat...

took me to places like this....

to be with these fabulous people!

Memories to last a lifetime!

Hope to edit/post more pics soon!

Carie

Losing it!

We're not sure if it is a stomach virus or congestion draining into her tummy, but this baby has not been happy ALL day! I took her to the doctor and even he couldn't figure out why she was screaming non-stop. I think he felt more sorry for me than for her...after hours of screaming, I was losing it! However, she has kept pedialite down for a while so we decided to try a few puffs.

Finally, she's not screaming!

Crazy kid!

You see where Emma hangs out when Kennedy eats. Kennedy figured out at this meal that she could drop food and the dog would eat it. What a fun game! Now I'll never get the dog to leave the kids alone when they eat!

Carie

Ups and Downs

My poor, sweet baby is sick....AGAIN!

This is what she looked like yesterday morning. She was a little congested, per usual, but happy and into EVERYthing!

And here's my baby today. I had to leave work early to pick her up because she was throwing up. Here's hoping it's just the mucus draining into and upsetting her tummy and not a virus come to take us all down. If you don't hear from me for a few days, you'll know which it was!

Carie

No place like home...

This weekend we ventured to my parents' house. Steve went to the Razorback game (do you detect a trend here?!?!) so we decided we'd head out too. I loaded two kids and two labs into the van...not something I want to try too often. All in all, the trip was quite nice.

On Saturday, we dressed the girls in their new Razorback ditties. Aren't they precious?

Kennedy can stand up without holding on. She really thought it was cool to bend over and pick up leaves. I was impressed she could do it all without falling. I'm giving her 2 more weeks before she's walking. Yikes!

We took both of the girls to run errands yesterday. Kennedy was tired, Kayt was whiney, and I was pulling my hair out. I had all these things I wanted to get at Hobby Lobby so I could try some new projects. I grabbed and ran. I'm scheduling an "alone" trip to Hobby Lobby soon!

Today we are relaxing. It's been quite nice. My girls always come back from my parents house more rotten than when they arrived. I'll have to put them through detox when we get home! Hope everyone had a great weekend, and WPS!

Carie

Kennedy is 10 (gasp!) months old!

My sweet Kennedy, you are 10 months old today! Here is what you are up to!

*You crawl like a "normal" baby now. You still like to stick that leg in when you are only going a short distance. It makes it easier for you to sit back down.

*You pull up on any and everything! And once you are up, you think it's fun to let go and see how long you can stand on your own. I counted 10 seconds yesterday. Momma and Daddy are in trouble. I see walking in your near future!

*You cruise around. You crawl faster, so when you're in a hurry you go back down, but you can cruise and hold on to anything and anyone. You love to crawl to the back door and talk to Lambert through the window. We can always find you there.

*You finally got an ENT appointment for next week. We are hoping to get tubes in those ears and get you well! Ear infections since August is craziness!

*You should be talking up a storm once you get those tubes. You say "Momma" consistently and only to me. You call your sister "Kiki" or "Shishy". You raise your hand and say "hi". You don't wave, you just hold up your hand. Your Daddy has adopted that as well, so I don't see you actually waving any time soon. It's pretty cute though.

*You tried dog food last night. Must have liked it, because you fought me to get it out of your mouth. That was after your Daddy had taken it way from you...twice. Emma shall eat outside from now on.

*You have not adapted to the time change yet. So much for that extra hour I was supposed to get. Now you're just up at 5:30 instead of 6:30. Hope you catch on to that one soon!

*You don't like baby food. You want REAL food, which is hard seeing as you still have NO teeth.

*You do not like juice....or drinking from a cup. This is going to be a challenge since I want the bottle gone at 1 year.

*You only use your paci to sleep. Otherwise, you don't want it at all.

*You are wearing size 3 diapers (but I think we will move up as soon as this package is gone). You are wearing 18 mos clothes and size 3 shoes. When we went to the doctor for your ears last Thursday, you weighed 21lbs, 15oz.

Momma, Daddy, and Kayt love, love, love you, little biscuit!

Carie

One of those days...

When I have one of those days,

and I wonder if I have the patience to make it through...

I just look at one of these faces,

and I know God will pull me through.

Carie