Girl's Night and Gingerbread Houses!

Last Thursday night we had a girl's night out and it was great fun! We went and got dessert at The Cheesecake Factory and then headed over to the theater to see Twilight!! I have to say I enjoyed it and I think the only reason I enjoyed it was because I was with a group of friends. If I had gone with Nathan I would have picked it apart the whole time and pretty much hated it. =) Books are always better! I'm just not very good at seeing a movie after I read the book. But, it was the perfect girl's night movie and I had fun cheering when Edward walked into the cafeteria and laughing when he sparkled! Jasper's face was hilarious the whole time! SO - to sum it up, I don't regret seeing it but I won't be buying it or seeing it again. =) I will be reading the book again soon because I need to make sure that my imagined Edward hasn't been ruined forever by the movie Edward.

And we can't forget Andrea and Heather who joined us at the movie!!On Saturday we made gingerbread houses with some friends. The girls LOVED it and have been carrying their houses around OUR house for the last couple days!

SNOW!!

YOU KNOW the girls are outside lovin' it right at this moment!! I was with them for awhile but I am still an AZ girl at heart and I just didn't have enough layers on. I don't like to be cold!!! My toes are still defrosting!

These pictures crack me up. The way they are posing makes them look like a couple - I think Nathan and I have this exact picture!

I couldn't get Keslie to look at the camera again - she was too intent on licking the snow off of Anika's hat. =)

Let the Smiling Begin!!!

Today was the big day! He has been doing some smiles here and there for us but he was full of them this afternoon! Since Nathan was home we were able to catch one of them on camera!!


And, for your viewing pleasure, here is Miss Keslie at exactly 1 month old. Doesn't she make Brenan look skinny??!! Oh! She was the cutest, rolliest little baby!! I can't believe she's 3!!

Brenan Stats and Christmas Dresses!

This is the most recent picture I have of Brenan! I'll take some new ones soon!!

He had his doctor's appt. yesterday. He is 5 weeks 4 days and he weighs 13 lbs 11oz and is 25.5 inches long. He's a chubby little guy! I don't think he is as big as Keslie was though! He is trying so hard to talk and smile! His eyes smile and occasionally he can make his mouth do it too! His little noises are still mostly grunts but when he does coo it is SO cute!! He is still sleeping a ton and I have yet to hammer down a good schedule for him. He eats every 3 hours (ish) and sleeps in between! I don't worry too much about a strict schedule until my babies are around 2 months. I don't think they are ready for one until then! He still is a bit jaundiced. The doctor thinks it's just "breastfeeding jaundice" but I had to take him in for another heel prick today. He is the sweetest little man ever! The girls just love him (a little too much sometimes!)!

I took these pictures when he was 4 weeks old.

The girls got to wear their Christmas dresses last week! They both felt like princesses! I LOVE their dresses this year and I only paid about $10 for each one! I love EBAY!! Anika was not in the mood to pose! We got a couple normal ones and then the rest are her being a goofball.

She wanted Nana West and Grandma Kivett to see how it twirls!

And here is Miss Bodess:

Here is Anika's letter to Santa! The words are ALL hers - I was helping her with spelling at first and then I just let her do her own thing!
Translation: Santa Baby, I love Rudolph's red nose. Please bring me a pet. I will leave you cookies. Love, Anika West
And a couple random Keslie ones:

Why did I do it??

Is it the memories?? Is it the seriously fun beat that get's my shoulders groovin' side to side?? Is it because it was only $1? I'm not sure. All I know is that I am now the proud (???) owner of this CD:


It's one of those that I will only be able to enjoy when I'm alone in the car (and I will enjoy it!). Goodness knows Nathan won't EVER listen to it and I don't really want the girls singing "I'm a Barbie Girl"! I need a sister or my Mandi so that we can drive around with the music blasting, singing at the top of our lungs!! OR I need one of my CT friends to shake off the shackles of coolness and join me. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!! It's just so FUN to be a dork sometimes. All the time! Seriously - how can you not like a group that makes music videos this cheesy?!!

Anika Bananika is 5 Years OLD!!

It's true. We have a 5 year old! Her birthday was last Wednesday and I think she had a pretty great day. =) She wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese just like Keslie so we did! Here are some pictures from her special day!

Here they are at Build-a Bear. They LOVE this place!! Of course Anika had to have the Christmas moose! Oh well - it was one of the cheapest ones so I guess I should appreciate it! Anika named her moose Rudolph and Keslie named her puppy Kito.

Birthday morning (this is her dragon costume - she had to see if it still fit now that she's 5!!) When we went to choose an outfit that morning she was really concerned because none of the clothes in her drawer were going to fit now that she was one year older! Lucky for her, I've been buying size 5 for awhile!

For her birthday breakfast she chose cinnamon sugar toast and a banana.

Getting ready to make a wish. She is such a HAM!!
AND I know - those aren't real birthday candles! We were all out. She didn't seem to mind!

Anika is the most amazing little girl. She is so sweet and so kind. I couldn't have asked for a better oldest child. She is best friends with Keslie and is so helpful with the baby. She is very smart and loves to ask "WHY???" to EVERYTHING! She's hilarious! Anika has so many wonderful talents. Is going to be fun to sit back and watch her fly as she starts school and gets more opportunities to develop them. Her little voice is SO cute and we love the way she pronounces different words. Her pronunciation of the letter L is our favorite right now. =) We love her so much. I can't believe it's already been 5 years! It seems like yesterday that I was holding her at the hospital and thinking she was the most beautiful, perfect baby to have ever been born to the world.

These are my favorite people ever.

Happy Thanksiving Everyone!!

I hope everyone had a wonderful turkey day!! Ours was good - kind of weird. =) We decided to stick to simple and not invite anyone over this year because we have such a fresh baby in the house. =) I still made a full on Thanksgiving dinner! It sort of felt like Sunday dinner though. It's just not the same without family and/or friends! We did a couple little crafts with the girls and watched Frosty the Snowman tonight before bed while eating Chex muddy buddies. Actually, we watched it twice!! =) Here are some pictures from today - Nathan seems to be missing! I will be sure and get some of him tomorrow on the big Christmas set-up day!


We are so grateful for your friendship and love and hope that you and yours enjoy the holiday season!