Christmas Eve

Well, her stocking is hung:

And she's all nestled snug in her bed, waiting for Santa's arrival:

The day started out a bit rough. L has a bad cold and she's just been such a trooper this trip, all smiles and giggles but I know inside she feels miserable. You can just hear it when she breathes. So, this morning she took a big nap with mommy and this afternoon, she took one with daddy (she normally takes the two anyway, she just got some extra cuddles today):
After her second nap, she got up and in her Christmas Eve outfit, which also happens to be the same one I wore for one of my first Christmas'. It was so fun to see her in it, though, I'm sure that my parents will get even more pleasure from it. Here she is with daddy:

And one with mommy:

We went to the Christmas Eve service here in good old Findlay, OH. Logan had fun singing the Christmas carols, but, of course, she decided to CONTINUE to sing once everything else got quiet. Consequently, she and I spent the service in the hallway watching it on one of the TV monitors. Life has changed, hasn't it?
I made a couple of valiant attempts to capture the cuteness of her outfit, but she's such a mover now that it's hard to catch her still unless she's sleeping! She has had such a blast with her Aunt Kim's dog, Luckey, they're just about the same size and so they play together very well. Or...Logan acts really brave until Luckey gets near her and then she strikes this pose:
(ummm....are those shoes not the cutest thing you've ever seen? Baby shoes are the BEST)
So, anyway, we hung out, ate some snacks and then opened some presents! Tomorrow L will open the presents from mommy and daddy and Santa and then when we get home we'll have another little Christmas bash and open all of the gifts from my family. She's had Christmas ALL WEEK long! (I have to add that she's uninterested in opening any present that is her own, she only wants to do it if it's a gift addressed to Mike or I.)

Little Friends and THREE Years

Wednesday was our 3rd wedding anniversary. What a special day! Two days before, I got a call from someone who had found my name in the seminary talent pool and needed a one day babysitter for her 10 month old son. It was perfect because it provided us with a bit of cash so that Mike and I could celebrate our anniversary out somewhere nice.

Logan had SUCH a great time with her new friend! I was a little nervous about having two 10 month olds for an entire day (he's 2 weeks younger than L), but it actually went surprisingly well. They got along great, shared the toys, played together, babbled to each other and had a really good time until about 40 minutes before his mom picked him up-- then they both wanted undivided attention and that wasn't happening. This little boy is already walking, so I was incredibly thankful to have just purchased the play yard to keep him in one place.

We watched the My Friends Tiger and Pooh Christmas special, because at a crisp 38 degrees, it was too cold to take them out, and it had both kids just captured them:

Later that afternoon, we received a big ol package from L's great grandparents. I think she was more interested in the box and popcorn than she was with all of the wrapped goodies inside:
Our wonderful neighbors came over and hung out with Logan while Mike and I went out to dinner for the first time, by ourselves, since Logan was 4 months old. It was glorious! We went to an all you can eat, create your own stir fry, Mongolian restaurant. You pick your meats, veggies, sauces, load them up and watch them grill it for you. SO YUMMY!

We sure did miss our little monkey, though! We were happy when we got home and got to snuggle her.
After she went to bed, we devoured this chocolate cake that was in a package Tita sent to us and we watched the new Harry Potter movie. It was just the perfect day!

Life Just Got A Bazillion Times Easier

So, we've turned a new leaf in the life of mobility here at the Kayle house. Yesterday, after we had an incidence of spaghetti sauce being spilled on the carpet, something being thrown into the toilet causing it to clog , this:

And some of this:

We decided it was time to invest in a play yard. We would have just done babygates but with me taking on other kids in the house...I need somewhere I can keep them all wrangled. Mike was a little concerned with how Logan would react to being restricted because she becomes a bit of a screamer when she's put in her pack and play to play, but so far, she LOVES it! She just crawls in circles over and over and over again. I tell you what, all of the sudden little things like going to the bathroom and checking on dinner have become easy again! And the best part? Her mess is contained! Hallelujah! I can keep the rest of the living room and kitchen clean.

Pigtails

Oh yes, those are pigtails. And yes, she kept those in all afternoon without even noticing them.

Logan Meets Santa

The good folks in the town of Wake Forest must have heard our woes about Santa being too expensive because they decided to bring him in to our town square and let people take pictures with him FOR FREE! We were elated when we found out Logan would indeed get to have her picture taken in his lap.

She was thrilled too.

I'm sure of it.

What do you think? (click image to enlarge)

...at least she didn't cry.

More Traditions

In my family, the big Christmas tradition is making aebleskivers, a round Danish, buttermilk pancake. Nothing screams Christmas more than these sweet treats, to me. We usually make them on Christmas Eve, after church is over, and share a big breakfast for dinner. It's such a wonderful memory for me and I'm so excited to be able to carry it on with my own children! This year, we'll be in Ohio for Christmas, and so I woke up early this morning with Logan and we made them for breakfast to celebrate a little bit early!

Logan got to eat one of her very own. I cut it up into small pieces and let her go to town with it. And that she did:

At the end of the meal there was not a single crumb left.

This is new...but I like it!

Let the tradition continue!

Janie and Jack

I won't lie and tell you that my favorite children's store is somewhere like Walmart or Target where I can get kiddie clothing for a nice, frugal price, because I'd be sorely mistaken. I can't even tell you that it's Carters or Kohls, though they come in a close third and fourth (respectively). No, if I had all the money in the world, I'd buy Logan's wardrobe (in it's entirety) at Janie and Jack. Think....Dick and Jane meet 2009. Very sweet, classic, well made children's clothing. Sometimes I just sit and look through their website drooling and check repeatedly for my favorite items to end up on clearance.

When we lived in Miami, we HAD our own Janie and Jack at one of the local malls. Oh yes. I spent too many hours browsing their racks when we lived there trying to figure out what combination of body parts I'd have to sell to outfit L's wardrobe for fall/winter/spring/summer. Arm and leg? Two legs and an arm? Still probably wouldn't be enough. I'd probably have to break out the big guns and sell an organ to get all of the things I really wanted. It'd be a viable option if I didn't need them so much. :) (really, please sense the sarcasm dripping in the last paragraph and don't call me asking me why I'm psycho)

Anyway, on rare occasion, if I looked hard enough (and they were having a sidewalk sale), I could find some items that I'd previously drooled over on a super clearance (and by that, I mean MOST of the items were under $15), meaning that I could (kind of) afford it. Enter this outfit:

Umm...really? Look at that outfit and tell me it's not the most adorable little thing you've ever seen. I could seriously just look at it and smile. (not to mention the model is pretty stinkin' adorable)
Last spring, when they had their sidewalk sale I found several fall/winter items on clearance and picked them up, once again, thinking that the time when she'd fit them would never come. It has, though, and I was so excited to pull these items out and put them on her yesterday. Even though she does look like a little French baby.
She happily kept her little Beret on all day long, pulling it off only once to show me that she was still in charge of what gets put on her head (ha! I have news for her!).
Then, she found my scarf and wouldn't leave it alone, so I put it on her and she just smiled and smiled...until she tried to crawl when she decided the scarf tripped her up a bit too much. She hasn't touched it since. Score: mommy: 1 Logan: 0