Crazy and Cute!

The girls started out in these outfits this morning....

And then changed to their Christmas dresses for a quick trip to the mall and a visit with Santa!

Hannah told Santa that she wants Sleeping Beauty (her latest obsession!) and Clara told him that she wants a dog.....Santa clarified that she must be talking about a TOY dog....Thank you, Santa!!! We made it into just a couple of stores because Hannah kept finding things that she liked, and she would clench it in her little hands and tell me "I want to have this under my Christmas tree!" It was difficult to part with so many beloved objects:)

Trimming the Tree

We spent a fun evening decorating our tree. Clara helped Joe wind the lights around and around the tree, while Hannah helped me make hot chocolate and whipping cream in the kitchen. She is always quick to climb up onto the counter any time I am cooking.....she enjoys the tasting:)
It was fun to see the girls choose their "favorite" ornaments. Hannah loves her new Sleeping Beauty ornament, and Clara's favorites are the angel on top of the tree and a shiny, silver ball. I remember each of my 5 siblings and myself having our own pile of ornaments that we would place on the tree, and then there were the "favorite" ornaments (like the tiny mouse in the thimble!) that we would race to see who could find first and get to hang on the tree!

Two happy little girls with hot cocoa!

Happy Birthday Hannah!!!

Hannah turned 2 on November 30th! She has been a bundle of fun and energy, keeping us on our toes for the past 2 years. Clara refers to her as "the feisty one", telling me that "God sure gave us an ornery one, didn't he?" She will also tell you that Hannah is "her favorite, best little sister in the whole wide world!" Hannah is showing us that she is very determined, competitive, and independent. She sat on Clara's tricycle at 20 months and took off pedalling down the street. She loves to climb, run and jump off or over things. We had to put together her twin bed when she started climbing out of her crib a few months ago, and she decided to get rid of her diapers and wear underpants like Clara on her own accord, doing the whole process "by myself", closing the door on us, saying "I need privacy"! She has a strong spirit that keeps us challenged, but gives the best hugs or "squeezes", shows us how thoughtful she is daily, and has the most joyful laugh and smile!

We have definitely entered the "2-year-old smile" phase! Clara had such a funny smile at this age, also, and my mom showed me pictures of myself at this age and in every one I had my right eye squinted shut!
Making their princess crowns for the party.

Nonna set up a fun tea party for the princesses with heart shaped sandwiches, sparkling juice, and sterling silver utensils.

Another classic smile!

Hannah's latest obsession is Sleeping Beauty/Princess Aurora....she can be heard singing the song "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream" all through the house, all day long!!! She had requested a Clifford cake about a month before her birthday, but quickly changed her mind after watching Sleeping Beauty to "princess Aurora". Thank goodness for Michael's and cake molds!!!

The princesses in their crowns, necklaces and boas. Aunt Molly is a Disney princess expert and introduced Clara to Cinderella, Belle, Mulan, and Jasmine this week while at my parent's house. She patiently answered Clara's 500 questions about the plot while the movie played!

Hannah decided to go straight for the frosted doll top!

Happy Birthday to our sweet 2-year-old!!!

Thanksgiving

After a delicious Thanksgiving meal with 20 of us around the table, the cousins worked hard to decorate a gingerbread house and gingerbread train. The bowls full of candy gave all the kiddos a boost of energy:) Hannah was eating candy faster than we could decorate!

Clara and Aunt Julie displaying the finished products....the top of the train was a little too candy-heavy, so they are both trying to hold it upright for the picture!

"Great Papa" with a few great-granddaughters to love. Papa has always been the best at rocking babies to sleep!

We bundled up and headed downtown Bend for the Christmas tree lighting. They bring the tree in from the forest using a crane and this year's was the tallest tree they have ever had.

The girls got an early visit with Santa and a big hug!

Cousins!

The girls and I headed to Bend for the week of Thanksgiving, and Joe met us there Wednesday night. We LOVED spending time with cousin Boden, who we hadn't seen since his birth 3 months ago! He has changed so much and is the strongest, happiest little boy.

Darien and Monica are so amazing with all the younger cousins, and kept them all entertained with princess games, movies, playing with dolls, and listening to their IPods.

We found a great indoor play spot, and the 5 girl cousins spent hours here!

They were able to pedal around this track on the trikes together.
Darien kept track of all the little ones, while Julie and I got to sit and talk!

Clara and her cousin Chloe were born just 4 weeks apart! They had such a great time playing together all week. Chloe and my brother, Joe, were visiting from Montana, and we don't get to see them often enough.

Sisterly Love

These two have their fair share of arguments, but they are also, most of the time, inseparable. They have discovered playing in the "rain" or shower together until I finally turn the water off, they work together to finish puzzles, they usually agree on which movies to watch and will laugh together at the silly parts, play hide-and-seek all over the house, and the other morning, I walked into their room and found them both sitting on Clara's bed, with Clara reading a book to Hannah. I am loving watching their relationship grow!!!

Goof Ball!

We had a fun visit from Aunt Molly this past week (sorry, Molly, no pictures!) I seem to forget my camera every time Molly is in town! But Clara has not stopped talking about Molly since she left. She is telling everyone that she loves princess movies just like Aunt Molly....I think they watched at least 4 of them during Molly's visit. Last night, Clara came into the kitchen and grabbed my oven mitts. I went to see what she was doing with them, and found her in this interesting outfit....she informed me that she was taking care of the new babies just like Aunt Molly does (Molly is a NICU nurse). She is wearing the oven mitts because "babies are really sticky and have yucky stuff on them when they come out"! As for the bib and cowgirl hat.....I'm not sure what that has to do with taking care of babies....I'll have to ask Aunt Molly!

Clara put this outfit on when we had friends over for dinner last week....cowgirl hat, snow hat, goggles, superhero cape, swimsuit, and high heels. I'd say she is ready for anything!

She has recently learned how to cross her eyes and keeps us all laughing with her new trick!

Just another crazy outfit