goofy girl

I love this goofy girl.

Goga

Yesterday we were bored to tears so I found an OnDemand Channel for Kids Yoga, or Goga as Zoe calls it. Speaking of Zoe, she was really pretty good at listening to the instructor. And I'm impressed with their website: www.activitytv.com

Happy Saturday!

our little world

Ahhh. All seemed right in our little world yesterday. We cleaned, crafted, snuggled, the girls took naps, I read a few chapters in my book, I did a few miles on the elliptical, the neighbor kids came over to play and have snacks, I made homemade lemon bars and pizza, my mom came over and took the kids home for a sleepover, and Dave and I watched old episodes of The Late Night With Jimmy Fallon Show.

I really enjoy this life. I am lucky to be able to watch my girls grow together. And this is an excellent enviornment for me to grow in too. :o)

Introducing.... KAYLEIGH!

For as many weeks as I can remember as soon as Kayleigh is done eating breakfast she changes her clothes. She actually does it multiple times a day. Anyways... The first outfit is always a dress paired with a necklace and a pair of princess heels. Today her first outfit was a mini skirt and a t-shirt. She was so upset when I told her she couldn't leave the house with those clothes on. I guess it's good practice for both of us when she's older right?

My Little Darling loves music and constantly suprises me with the lyrics that she knows- sometimes even before I know them! She kept singing the same song one day so I had her write down the lyrics. I'll frame it for her and give it to her when she is famous! :)

We took the girls to Ruidoso for while Dave had time off between Christmas and New Years. It was Zoe's first time to see snow. She was not a fan. Kayleigh loved it for about 5 minutes. Then we couldn't get her to get her jacket/hat/gloves on to play again :( However, with a huge effort we managed to get her dressed warm enough to go on a sleigh ride. It was such a nice ride- horses, snow, family, and hot cocoa. For the girls, the highlight of the trip was watching the deer that came to the house on a daily basis.

Baking

Today Dave informed me that he received the highest mark IBM gives for a performance review for the 3rd year in a row. So, I decided we needed to celebrate the best way I know how- with food! While Zoe was napping Kayleigh and I made lemon cupcakes and lemon cream cheese frosting.

I'm on a big fat diet so my extra baked goods go to work with Dave or to the neighboor's house. NO LEFTOVERS!! Yesterday I made my first Key Lime pie with my first meringue. yummy!

Anyways... The Frosting was the highlight of the cupcake (receipe follows)

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 cups confectioners' sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter, lemon juice, lemon rind, and vanilla together until smooth and fluffy. Add confectioners' sugar in 2 additions. Beat until creamy.

dress up

My little darlings love to dress up. Naturally Kayleigh is the ring leader- dressing up her sister with various hats, necklaces, shoes, hats. She also decideds if they are princesses, doctors, or the teacher and student. Nevermind suggesting new outfits and or roles they could play. Kayleigh is the boss. It's her world, we just live in it!

On doctor day the girls were taking care of puppies.

New Year Resolutions

1. Take cake decorating class
2. Start and Complete sewing/needle point projects
3. Lose at least 15 pounds and keep it off!!!
4. More armchair adventures
5. Play more

Valentine Plate Pockets

This morning the girls made "valentine plate pockets." I still have to punch holes in them and add string to hang... I thought they turned out pretty cute! (although probably cuter if I had the correct paper plates.) Zoe's is first, Kayleigh's is second.

Christmas Eve

Finally! I'm caught up on December!!!

We spent Christmas Eve with my mother and father-in-law. Dave's friend Kristen also came over for dinner. It was a great meal. We had salad, green beans and carrots, mashed potatoes, prime rib, and apple crisp. It was just too bad that we ate two hours late :( Oh well, live and learn.
The girls were good sports about the whole evening. I loaded up a serving tray with kid-friendly goodies and let them watch cartoons.Well, I didn't get PJ pants made for 2009 Christmas, but this year I will get 'er done!Dave's Mom let the girls open these cute poppers and the tissue paper was a hit!And Tada! My new beach cruiser thanks to my wonderful husband who is an awesome gift giver. Dave must get his thoughtful gift giving skills from his mom, because she always has given the girls awesome toys and games that we play all year. She also knows Dave and I well too. I wish I was more like that!

Other December Events

I got to hang out with SOME of my favorite people.
Kayleigh and I attened our town's Annual Tree Lighting Festival.

Kayleigh and Zoe spent time with Grandma and Grandpa Tobkin working on their new old house.

At a local mall they make it Snow. We met up with Dave's dad and his nephews for snow and dinner.

The girls celebrated their birthdays with Grandma and Grandpa Acorn with birthday sundaes. They were very excited.

Twenty Ten

When I say Twenty Ten you may be thinking that I'm talking about the New Year, but I'm really talking about is: It takes me 20 minutes to clean something and it takes the girls 10 minutes to mess it up. ;o) Poof in the below photo.

So far in the year 2010 we have been busy cleaning, organizing, and playing with new toys. Kayleigh even gave up a trip to Grandma's house to stay home and play (which has NEVER happened before).

Today the girls played school a lot. Kayleigh was the teacher (because she's bossy) and Zoe was the new girl in class. It was her birthday so she dressed up like a princess. They had playtime, storytime, snacktime, but they didn't get to show and share. "That's for tomorrow. We didn't get to it today."

When that picture was taken Kayleigh told Zoe to "stand here honey and say cheese."

Zoe took a nap in her toddler bed today for the first time. No such luck getting her to sleep in it for bedtime though. Z and K have been sleeping in the same bed for a few weeks now...

Zoe's First Real Haircut

Oh boy, my baby was not a happy camper! She cried for me the entire time she was getting her hair cut. Didn't move an inch just sat there and cried. We didn't cut much off the bottom, just evened it all out so she didn't have such a fem-mullet.

You can kid of see how long it is when it's straight-it's past her shoulders.

Kayleigh got her hair cut that day too. She did much better. :)

Gymnastics

On December 17th Kayleigh got to show off her stuff at her Gymnastics class to me, Shana, my mom, and Zoe.

Kayleigh's Birthday Party

Kayleigh had a cupcake themed birthday party. I made jumbo cupcakes, a ton of butter cream frosting, set out assorted toppings and let the kids go to town. When they were done we put them in little white boxes and tied them up with ribbon. The party favor was a little wire whisk. The kids dined on juice boxes, orange slices and chicken nuggets. I also served up some cake which I made. The kids seemed to have a good time. They even treated us to an impromtu performance. We nicknamed them the "Cupcake Cuties." A few days later Kayleigh said it was the best birthday party ever. yay!

Zoe's Birthday Party

For Zoe's birthday Dave took the day off and we drove up to Phoenix with my mom. We started out with lunch at IKEA (you must try the princess cake), met Shana at the Children's Museum of Phoenix, then ended the day at my Grandparents house for cake first then pizza. It was a good day! :)

Oh, and I must not forget... Kayleigh wanted to make pancake faces for Zoe's birthday breakfast. It was a cute/easy/fun/yummy thing to do!

Happy Birthday to Kayleigh

Our little girl turned 5 years old on Dec. 16th. Just 5 days after her sister turned 2. Kayleigh is such a neat kid. She loves all things animals, doesn't like to get dirty, loves to dance, amazes us with her ability to learn the lyrics to songs, loves Taylor Swift, her favorite cartoon is Caillou (like her sister), She has a hard time sitting still, she's not a picky eater, doesn't like to snuggle but she'll always tell you she loves you, and she likes to have books read to her.