More Christmas Photos

My Uncle Maynard and Aunt Sharyn(my Dad's sister) with my Grandma and Grandpa Hamilton. They came up to see us yesterday and we had a nice visit.
A present that both the girls enjoyed, it has a dancing princess.
My Mom's Christmas presents hanging on her dining room wall.
Keira and her cousin Kyle (age 17) watching a movie together.

Christmas in Rochester

This is our little one sleeping on the plane on the way to Grandma's house. The girls really enjoyed our trip to the airport and flying on the planes. And, even though we snatched them out of bed at 5 am, they handled the traveling very well.
Cayleigh and her Aunt Rachel are having a fabulous time doing girl things together. They are playing with dolls, dressing up, being creative, and giggling a lot.
My parents asked us all to give them a framed family picture for Christmas. Here they are opening my sister's photo.

We had a very nice Christmas together. We enjoyed our stockings this morning, then my older sister and her three teenage boys joined us for brunch. We opened our presents with them after cleaning up. Unfortunately, my brother and his family did not join us for our Christmas celebrations.

Electric Safari

Our friends gave us tickets to the Electric Safari at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. We bundled up and visited the animals at night. The girls really enjoyed touring the zoo with their Daddy and seeing all the lights.

Locked In?

Have you ever been locked in a room? I was locked in our tiny bathroom yesterday with my four year old, thanks to my four year old. I put our two year old down for a nap, and then I went to use the bathroom. My four year old followed me like a little puppy dog as usual, but she just happened to lock the bathroom door before shutting it. Usually, this wouldn't be a problem, but it just so happens the the doorknob is on backwards and we became locked in the bathroom. Not just any bathroom, but our bathroom which is barely big enough to turn around in. And we were both locked in! So, I first tried to unlock it with no success, because they were not any resources to work with except a piece of cardboard in the trash. I then thought maybe I could take the hinges off the door. Surprisingly, I was able to get the hinges out without any tools, but the door would not come out. I thought about calling to our two year old, but really, what could she do? I also thought about sitting there until my husband came home. No, this definitely was not an option. My last option of course was the window. Yes, there is actually a window in our tiny bathroom. You might think that this would be my first thought. Normally it would be, but there just happened to be four foot drifts right out the window. Oh well, at least I didn't have to jump down from the second story! I did have some trouble getting the screen out, but I ended up dredging through the snow almost losing my slippers in the process. It was very cold, and I did have some trouble opening the gate with the drifts piled high around it. I did make it around to the front of the house where I was very thankful that my husband had installed a remote garage door opener even though I had told him that we really didn't need one. I think I'll tell him that we really need a new doorknob for our bathroom!

Our Afternoon Walk

We went for a walk today. When we left it was sunny and warm and Cayleigh was riding her bike. By the time we got home, Cayleigh was riding piggy-back and I was pushing the stroller and the bike. And we were very cold, except Keira because I had bundled her properly. For our next walk, I will have to make sure we get home before the sun goes behind the mountains.

Christmas Cookies

Here are some photos of the sugar cookies that we made. It was lots of fun, and a little messy. Cayleigh put on way too much sugar, and Keira just licked the icing off every cookie I gave her to decorate. I guess they were a little too young this year.

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

Here is our youngest daughter admiring her two little ponytails in the mirror.

Here's our oldest daughter at age two playing at the park in her little ponytails.

What could be cuter than a two year old girl in ponytails?! I guess my mom thought it irresistable too, because she took this picture of me. It is one of my favorite pictures.

The Gingerbread House

For the last three years, we have gone to our friend's bakery to decorate a gingerbread house. It is so much fun. The girls had a great time, covering the house with icing and candies. Of course, I had fun experimenting with my new camera!

Early Christmas Present

Drew gave me my Christmas present early this year! He wanted me to be able to learn how to use it properly before Christmas day. This is my favorite Christmas gift! I have been wanting to get a digital SLR camera for some time now and improve my photography skills. Now I have a fantastic camera, and I can't wait to get shooting. Drew bought the camera at a camera shop so that I could also enjoy the digital photography classes that come with a digital camera purchase. Now, if I can just get my computer to handle the high resolution photos, I will get some posted to my blog.

Happy Mother's Day?

For Mother's day this year, Drew and the girls gave me flowers and a gift certificate to Lowe's to buy plants for our yard. A wonderful gift. I didn't spend it all, so I used the rest of it this week. We bought new light fixtures for our family room. When we moved in to this house, the family room had some ugly white and black spotlights. Uggh. They were very functional though, so we spent our money and effort on other more important house projects like the kitchen and bathrooms. Last week when replacing a bulb, Drew told me that one of the lights was broken and it was time to replace them. Yay! We ended up buying some inexpensive lights that were not the right color and simply spray painted them the color we wanted. So for $25, I have two beautiful new lights in my family room. Thank you Drew!

Another Perspective

Everyone is always telling me, "Children grow up so fast, enjoy them while they're young." Well, I am trying to enjoy them. I do enjoy them very much. However, it isn't always easy. It is difficult to enjoy them when you are in the second week of potty training, and your two year old has again left a puddle on the carpet. It is difficult to enjoy your four year old when she starts practicing her alphabet with pink chapstick on your beige carpet, or with pen on your off-white walls. (By the way, she can write, "cat.")

I am often reminded by another person's perspective of how wonderful it is to be a mother. I was at the store today and received several comments about my girls. One lady was delighted to hear my precious girls squealing with delight in the toy department. Another lady was tickled by my two year old who was excited about using the potty like a big girl. Another day I had a lady tell me how refreshing it was to see a mom teaching her children about produce in a gentle voice rather than yelling at her children in the store. It is these perspectives that often spark a renewal of love in me towards my children. So, thank you to everyone who helps mothers of young children with their comments and smiles that help us to love our children all the more.