Early Christmas

Since Papa and Grandma Michaelson drove down for Audrey's birthday, we let the girls open their presents from them on December 12th before they had to leave. We definitely spread Christmas out through the whole month of December.

The girls were so excited to open some presents!
Rachel thrilled with her new barbie car:
Audrey so excited for her present:
And even more excited to play with it:

Rachel also got a tool set, since she loves playing with Grandma's toy tools whenever we go to visit. Rachel loves the tools, and of course the safety glasses! Her boy friends have had fun playing with her tools as well!

Thanks Papa and Grandma Michaelson for coming down to visit and for spoiling us. The girls are still having fun with their gifts! :)

Priceless

I loved catching Grandma playing with Rachel last weekend... :) She even made sure Grandma had a comfy pillow to sit on. And there was a funny conversation as they played:

Rachel: Hi friend, (speaking to Grandma's barbie doll) can you come over to my house for a sleep over.
Grandma: I don't know, let me go ask my mom... (So, Grandma goes to another barbie doll who's the mom.) Can I go spend the night at my friend's house?
Grandma (playing the mom barbie doll): No, but you can go play and then I'll come and pick you up before bedtime.
Grandma (original barbie doll): Okay. (Grandma goes back to Rachel's barbie doll.) I'm sorry I can't spend the night, but I can come over and play until bedtime.
Rachel (not playing barbie anymore): Okay Grandma, I need to play the mom barbie doll. I won't be mean and I'll let her go to the sleep over!

Poor Grandma! She was just trying to put in a plug for the Michaelson's disapproval of sleepovers. Lucky her though, she's not going to have to be the mean one for this generation. It's going to be my turn to fill those shoes some day. Wish me luck...

Celebrating Audrey

We had so much fun celebrating Audrey's birthday this year! December 11th fell on a Saturday, so my parents drove down to spend the day with Audrey. It was fun to spoil her on her day. I have decided to be very protective of her day until she's old enough to do so herself. So, nothing Christmas was allowed on her birthday - including our church Christmas party.

Our first stop of the day with Build-a-Bear. We've never been there before and boy was it intense! Next time I think we'll try to go on a weekday... Anyhow, the girls did enjoy picking out a bear and some outfits amid all the chaos. And then we headed out to the mall, found a quiet bench, and dressed their bears.

Audrey named her bear Rainbow:

And Rachel named her bear Cassie:
We couldn't resist buying the matching shoes for Audrey's bear:
And of course the Birthday shirt was a must as well:

After Build-a-Bear we headed to Chuck E. Cheese. The girls had fun playing games and they always enjoy pizza.

Probably Audrey's favorite little ride:

Don't you love it???:
A picture with Papa:

After all of our tummies were full we headed home to get the birthday girl a nap. And then after her nap, since it was 78 degrees that day, we headed to the park. Audrey had requested, "Papa push me high on baby swing". So, that's exactly what he did! I think for a good 20 minutes... Audrey loves swinging!

After dinner we opened presents. Audrey enjoyed opening her presents. It's always fun to watch how she insists on getting every piece of wrapping paper off her gifts...

I think the ladybug pillow pet is a hit:

Feeding her new baby doll and Rachel ready to help Audrey open her next present:

All done, now what do I play with???:
Enjoying her ladybug tent:
Figuring out the guitar:

Audrey (well neither of the girls) are a big fan of cake. So, we decided to have a cheesecake for Audrey. And I must say that I definitely recommend the Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes that are available at Sam's Club. Definitely the right price and very delicious. We got a plain one and topped it with fresh raspberries and blueberries. Yummy!

Audrey grabbing a blueberry:
Loved the 2 candles:
Singing "Happy Birthday" to Audrey:

Enjoying her cheesecake:

What a fun-filled day Audrey had! And I was pretty close on Audrey's stats... She weighs 21.2 pounds and is 32.25 inches tall. We are looking forward to the next year of adventures with our Audrey...

Work Christmas Party

There are definitely some benefits to budget cuts... Well, others may not agree with me, but I was thrilled that Andy's work had a family party option this year. Since our friends who we used to hang out with at the fancy adult party have moved, this is a much more enjoyable option for us. Everyone was much more comfortable and had a lot more fun. Plus, no need to worry about rounding about a babysitter during the busy holiday season.

On the evening of Thursday, December 9th, the girls and I met Andy downtown at his office. The girls were very excited all day to be going to daddy's office. We first took pictures with Santa, which we haven't gotten copies of... Audrey simply asked for toys and Rachel asked for a unicorn pillow pet. We then took a family holiday photo and everyone was looking and 3/4 of us were smiling! After enjoying some food the girls wanted to get their faces painted and get an air-brushed tattoo. Their air-brushed tattoos are finally fading...

A stocking:

An angel:
A unicorn (Guess what was on her mind?):
A snowman:

A picture in front of the massive Christmas tree in the lobby:

After we were done with the festivities at the office we crossed the street and went ice skating at Discovery Green. Well, Andy and Rachel went ice skating. We didn't think it would be worth it to take Audrey. Although they did have double-bladed ice skates and Rachel did really well on them. Maybe Audrey could have joined in on the fun... But Andy and I plan on returning before our tickets expire (since we got 4) and call it a date night. Anyhow, Rachel enjoyed skating and Audrey enjoyed watching. Definitely a fun little holiday tradition that we hope continues. If not on E&Y's dime, then on our own. It's always fun to go ice skating...

Enjoying the little kid rink:

Out with Daddy on the big ice rink:

The next day when Rachel was telling her grandparents on the phone about going ice skating, she kept on talking about skating on the human being ice skating rink. I guess adults are human beings and kids are kids. We've since explained to her that she's a human being... It sounded funny to hear her say, "I went skating with the human beings!".

16 Days

Today is the first day of 16 days of good, old-fashioned family fun. We are looking forward to having Andy around for meals, naps, and play time. It's going to be wonderful! It's been about a year since we've had him around that long. I'm sure there will still be work to be done, but no going into the office. I'm not sure who is more excited, the girls and I are probably all tied in our excitement for various reasons...

Rachel's Christmas Program

On December 7th we were invited to attend Rachel's music class at her preschool and watch them perform the Christmas songs they had learned. Andy was able to go as well and it was fun to see Rachel in action at school. She was quite self-conscious of us being there. She might have glanced at us 2 times during the 25 minutes we were there... Anyhow, here are a few videos:

I love that Rachel is able to celebrate Christian holidays at her school this year. Next year it won't be so... I was just discussing this fact with 2 friends yesterday who have little girls in kindergarten. Their girls have learned about Kwanzaa and Hanukkah, but Christmas hasn't been touched. It's really a shame. I think all the holidays and traditions should be included.

Anyhow, we enjoyed watching Rachel at her little performance. And maybe next time she'll look at us a smile! :)

Sinterklaas in Texas

We have decided to keep some Dutch traditions alive. This year the tradition of Sinterklaas worked out beautifully! A dollhouse is kind of hard to haul back home in a suitcase, so Sinterklaas brought the girls their big gift this year. A week (in the Netherlands they actually do it for several weeks) before December 5th the girls put a shoe out each night and Sinterklaas left little trinkets and treats for them to discover each morning. And then on the evening of December 5th Sinterklaas dropped a present off while we were visiting Santa Claus. We came home and the girls checked out each door to see if something had been left (normally you'd hear a knock, but we weren't home to hear it). The front door didn't hold any surprises, but the back door did:

It was love at first sight... The girls are certainly enjoying their dollhouse!We then continued on with opening our gifts from each other. The girls received some more accessories to go with their dollhouse from me. Rachel was thrilled with the roller skates that Audrey got for her and both of the girls have enjoyed watching Toy Story 3 (to Audrey, from Rachel). Rachel loves her new pajamas from her daddy and Audrey is enjoying her new book from Daddy. Here's a few pictures of the girls opening their presents:

We are definitely going to keep the Sinterklaas tradition around. Each year will vary, depending on our holiday plans. But it's definitely a tradition we want to keep reminding the girls about. We don't want to forget about our Dutch experiences...

Need a good laugh?

Here comes Audrey to the rescue!

Last night we all cheered Audrey on as she went potty on the toilet for the first time. I think it was just a lucky night... We always put her on her little toilet each night before she gets in the bath. Anyhow, Audrey enjoyed all the cheering she received. Today she requested twice to sit on her toilet. And the good mother that I am, I allowed her the opportunity. Well, both times nothing happened and Audrey simply concluded, "It's not working right now!"

Boy do we love Audrey and the things that she says! :)

Gingerbread House & Santa Claus

The Christmas drama continued as we tried to decorate a gingerbread house. This year we bought a kit and we still struggled. Next year I'm going to have my mom help out. She always made it look so easy and fun. I don't know what I do wrong, but it's never easy...

Rachel had a lot of fun sprinkling sprinkles and putting candy on the house. She's a bit of a perfectionist... And Audrey just wanted to eat the candy... Anyhow, after two nights of working on it, here's the finished product:

We have some friends at church who have a special relationship with Santa. So, every year they have Santa over to their house and invite families to come take pictures. So, on the evening on December 5th, we did just that. And both girls did well - no tears from either of them, a big smile from Rachel, and a teeny bit of a smile from Audrey:

We certainly appreciate our friends who open their home to us. We never have to wait in line or pay money for pictures with Santa! :)

Tree Drama

Last year we came home to the U.S. for Christmas. The day after Christmas my parents watched all the kids while Paul, Cristy, Andy, and I hit the sales. Top on our list (well, really the only thing on our list) was a pre-lit Christmas tree. My parents were willing to store it for us until we got home for good. We found one at Lowe's and it was a steal. Normally $300, it was marked down to $75. A great deal - especially for a tree with 1000 lights. Happiness is, right????

So, fast forward to this Christmas season... We got home from spending Thanksgiving weekend with my parents on Sunday night. We had hauled the Christmas tree home with us of course. So, that Sunday evening we were going to set-up the tree, fluff it a bit, and be set... Easy peasy! Well, not so much. We soon discovered that 1 whole strand of lights was out and 3 other strands only partially worked. After trying to change out lights and fuses Sunday evening, nothing worked. To try and make a long story short, the next few days weren't pretty. Lowe's wouldn't do anything for us because they have a 90-day return policy. So, I ended up taking off the strands of lights that didn't work and restrung lights just like they had been. In the end it looks great and it was worth it. But boy were my arms and hands all scratched. That's some tough work! And if we set up the tree next year and more lights are out, I think I'm just going to cry... But we are hoping for the best. Lesson learned though - a pre-lit tree isn't always easier... And if you are thinking of buying a tree on clearance this year, set up and check it out even though Christmas is over! You never know...

So, after four days of work, Andy took some video while the girls started to decorate:

The next morning I was able to snap this picture as the girls continued to decorate and rearrange: