Christmas #4

We made a short day trip back to Chillicothe for the last Christmas on December 30.  It was also Charlie's birthday, but Hannah took care of the candles for him.


Steve wanted a family picture to use our new tripod.  He was accidently taking pictures while people were assembling, which turned out pretty funny...

The final product:

For the first time in her life, Hannah didn't take her nap.  She didn't even get that cranky.  At the end of the day we put the girls in pjs and headed for home.  

Christmas #2 and #3

Our second trip to Chillicothe was for my parents' Christmas and the Hickman Christmas.  We didn't take many pictures of either one.

Steve, Grandma, Hannah and I went to Simpson Park to look at the lights.

Our trampoline pictures are getting better with our new DSLR camera!

Even with all of the other presents, the iPad is still a favorite.

Playing peek-a-boo at Hickman Christmas

The Hickman family 2nd cousin picture...minus Bryson and Ainslyn.  They were a rowdy group and this was the best we could do!

Some Christmas Memories

 * Listening to Christmas songs on the way to work. Hannah's favorite is Jingle Bells.
* Hannah decorating her own tree in her room. Ornaments and decorations kept disappearing around the house and ending up on her tree...all in one spot on the top.
* Olive trying to eat the fake Christmas needles.
* Driving around looking at lights. Hannah shouted, "Christmas lights!" at every house. Olive groaned. Hannah's favorite place was Candy Cane Lane.
* Stopping at this house in Prairie Village. They had display cases on their roof and front of their house with lots of movable stuffed animals.

 * This was the garage.

 * Making hand print ornaments for the grandparents. Neither girl liked doing it. I'm hoping for more willing crafters next year.
*Unwrapping presents on Christmas Eve morning since we were in Chillicothe on Christmas. I was so excited I couldn't sleep. Hannah was more excited about unwrapping presents than the actual toys. Her favorites were a Thomas the Train ornament and giant keyboard. Both girls liked Olive's Leap Frog activity center. Olive also liked eating wrapping paper.

Olive Stats- 8 months

December has been so busy that it took me awhile to remember that Olive passed the 8 month birthday!  It has been a big month for her.  She is a crawling machine now and she can also pull herself up.  We had to lower the crib.  The living room and dining room are carpeted, so she spends most of her time in there.  If she notices the gate isn't up, she makes a break for it and crawls all around the main level.  She thinks it is really fun to pull herself to standing on the bottom stair.  She also loves to walk if you hold her hands.  She is a pro at feeding herself table food, even though she still doesn't have any teeth.  She also enjoys eating paper and complains loudly when Mama takes it away.  Olive lets us know her likes and dislikes with squeals and groans.

Union Station

When we told Hannah we were going to Union Station she said, "That sounds wonderful!"  I think Union Station is heaven for a train-lover.  Of course her favorite model train was Thomas.  She has memorized all of the trains and their numbers from the Thomas books we read.

We also got to see the Holiday Express.  It was a fun surprise...and it was free!

Inside the Express every car was decorated with ornaments, toy Santas, and lots of trains.  

And best of all, there were no tears when it was time to go!

Christmas #1

Our family Christmas get-togethers ended up being on three consecutive weekends.  We made the first trip back to Chillicothe last weekend for Grandpa's side of the family.  It was a quick trip.  We drove up Saturday morning and back that night.  The great thing about driving in the morning is watching the sunrise.

It was a beautiful, sunny day and Hannah loved being outside.


But she also loved being inside, decorating the Christmas tree on Grandpa and Grandma's new ipad.

It was nice to have a Christmas dinner instead of lunch.  Since the girls take a nap at 1:00, we are always rushing off right after we eat. But with a dinner we had much more time to talk and relax.  Although the night still ended like this:
 

Sisters

Even though everyone assumed I would want a boy for my second child, I always wanted a girl.  I thought sisters two years apart seemed perfect.  I pictured them playing together when they were little...maybe fighting when they were teenagers...but eventually being the maid of honor in each other's weddings.  However, I did worry a little about Hannah adjusting from only child to oldest child.  I've heard the stories of how I was less than thrilled when my brother was born 22 months after me- there was potty training regression and biting!  Thankfully Hannah is a much better big sister than me.  She loved Olive right from the start.  She liked to help with diaper changes and baths.  She proudly introduced her to everyone as "my sister Olive"...and she still does this.  She constantly reminded us "Don't forget Olive!" if we were going somewhere.  When Olive cried she was quick to offer advice ("Maybe she's hungry") or entertainment.  Her favorite thing to do is make Olive laugh.  And of course Olive's favorite thing to do is watch her sister.  Her face lights up whenever Hannah comes into the room.  Now with Olive sitting up and crawling they can do even more things together.  Usually the first thing Hannah says after she wakes up is "I want to see Baby O."   They are inseparable.  Miss Pat said she has never seen siblings get along so well.  

I can't begin to explain how much I love my daughters.  I love them individually and I love seeing the relationship between them.  I feel unbelievably blessed to have two happy, healthy girls.  They make my heart happy.

one of my favorite pictures- taken when Olive was a couple weeks old

now

At the Playground

Over the weekend it was warm enough to walk to the school playground. Love days like that! Although Hannah is really hoping for some snow soon.

Rocking Bear

Olive is pretty steady on the rocking bear.  When I took her picture I remembered I also took a picture of Hannah in the same pjs.  Both girls are 7 months old.

Tunnels

Since Olive is a crawling machine now, we got out the tunnels for her to show off her skills. Of course Hannah still enjoys crawling, too.  It's so fun to see them play together!