In case you were wondering...

This is the reason I couldn't do any house work during Kaylie's nap.



As of right now bed time is great. She goes down fine but when she wakes up she freaks out so after being exhausted we decided to let her cry it out. Last night she cried for about 10 minutes and then when to her bed to go to sleep. This happened 2 more times but each time she went back to sleep without us even getting out of bed. Hopefully, this will set a new precedent!!!

Nap time has been a different story. Yesterday she refused to go to sleep. We had a ton of crying and frantic I want out behavior. After giving in I let her out. Today I did not give in. As hard as it is to let them cry it out I knew I needed to do it. She was exhausted and needed it! After about 20 minutes of some serious crying she got quiet. After another 15 minutes or so I went to check on her and before I got around the corner I could hear her snoring so I knew she had not made it back to her bed. Not knowing what I was about to find I took my phone out to see her smooshed between the baby gate and her door that she had tried to close. She was only able to close it half way. At least she is getting a nap.

Family Fun

On Saturday Jason and I realized that we have officially become parents. Our weekends are no longer filled with going out and staying out late. Instead, we got excited about having breakfast tacos at the whole in the wall mom and pop place in down town Frisco, going to Best Buy to get new phones for the house, and taking a trip to the brand new concept Super Kroger that had opened up the day before. I don't know about you but what a way to spend a Saturday!!! (please excuse the photo quality...all of these were taken with my phone.)

Everything a girl could need

This is everything she wanted to bring to keep herself entertained during dinner. If you notice the purse on her arm. She insists on bring that where ever we go. The brown dog is also her new right hand dog. Ruff Ruff has taken a back seat to him. Every once in awhile I hear him crying over being left behind. Poor Ruff Ruff!

2DCD

Today was a 2DCD!!! What does that mean...2 diet coke day. Why?!? The pictures below says it all!!!

As you can tell from the pictures Kaylie loves her big girl bed. She saw us shopping for it online and yelled in excitement, "big girl bed, big girl bed." Not sure how she knew it was for her but she knew.

Originally we thought we would convert her crib until we realized we only had part of the conversion kit. To buy the extra pieces it would cost us $180 + shipping/handling where as buying her a toddler bed that is low to the ground making mommy worry less was only $100 with free shipping. Not that hard of a decision.

We got it last night and set it up. At first taking her animals out of her crib and taking the crib down was traumatic for her. She isn't found of change so this was difficult for her to watch. We decided the best thing to do would be to make her a part of the process and this seemed to work.

As we finished putting it together we asked her if she was excited. Her answer came in the form of a happy dance. She was definitely ready for this transition.

Overall, she went down just fine. She stayed in her bed and fell asleep rather quickly. We decided for mommy's sake to put a gate on the outside of her door so if she did wake up in the middle of the night she wouldn't be able to wander the house. This worked wonderfully.

All said and done she woke up at 2:30 and really didn't go to bed until after 3:30 and then woke up again at 5:30 and was awake for good by 7:30. Each time she woke up she would go to the gate until we came to see her. Once we got to the gate she would run back to bed and go back to sleep. In reality it was pretty easy. I just needed a little more sleep. Hopefully she will start to wake up less and less in the next few days.

Done

I think I am finally caught up! I posted a ton in the last few days so make sure you keep scrolling down. I hope you enjoy. Once I figure out how to make our professional Christmas pictures smaller I will post those as well.

Sweetness

Here are a few fun pictures that had been taken recently.

I was working in our bathroom putting some things away when Kaylie climbed up onto my step stool to read a book.

Last night I was freezing so I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and walked around. She came running up with a blanket so she could be just like her mommy. We then proceeded to make capes out of them. This age is so much fun!

Even with her hair in her eyes this is one of my favorite pictures. She looks so beautiful!

I turned around to see this. One incredibly passed out puppy dog that decided to make his nest on the blanket. He didn't even flinch when the flash went off.

Cousins at play

We recently had a visit from Kaylie's Nonna and cousin Elias. They had so much fun together! They have so much fun together and really try and watch out for each other. It is so exciting to see the two of them grow closer and closer every time they get together.

The Wiggles play center

Willow Bend Mall play area...They have recently redone it in a Looney Toones theme. It gives the kids a few new things to climb on that they did not have before.

After a lot of playing it was time for some Sonic.

Is this not the most precious picture you have ever seen? I love that they are holding hands. This picture was in no way staged...it was all them.

This was the first nice day we had had in awhile so why not go to the park.

Gaylord Texan Ice Exhibit

A few weeks ago Jason and I were able to have a date night at the Gaylord Texan. We have been wanting to see the ice exhibit for a few years and decided to go to dinner at one of their restaurants and then venture the freezing cold temps to see the Dr. Seuss themed ice exhibit.

Since the temperature inside is between -5 to -9 degrees they give you these insulated jackets before going in. That in addition to an incredibly warm jacket and a hat and I was good to go. I was not afraid to look like the stay puffed marshmallow man to keep warm.

The thing that cracked me up the most was with your camera. They stressed the importance of making sure you keep your camera inside your coat due to the temperatures. If you never put it up your camera battery would freeze. I never thought of that.

The exhibit itself was amazing. It was so nicely done and the colors of the ice were amazing. I was definitely in awe of how they could pull something like this off. Towards the end they have a slide that is made out of ice for you to go down. It definitely makes you feel like a kid all over again. Definitely a great date night!!!

You can tell we hadn't gone in yet because our noses are not bright red.

This is the best view of my stay puffed marshmallow man suit. I have a heavy winter jacket underneath this.

This picture was taken inside an ice cave.

Jason and I thought the chairs were fun.

The Christmas dinner feast from the Grinch

My favorite character from the Grinch is his dog. He is so stinking cute!

At the very end of the exhibit they had this. It was beautifully done. Incredibly breath taking.

New Years Eve

This year New Years was a blast. We pack up Kaylie's pack and play and went over the the Hicks' new home for some holiday celebration. It has been so much fun to watch all of our children grow up and grow into their personalities. Right now the ages range from baby to little boy and watching them all play is priceless. Once they were all down and out for the night we brought out some board games. I know it sounds cheesy but let me tell you we peed in your pants laughed at times. Thankfully, no one actually peed but it was close.

As I looked back through my camera I realized I did not take pictures for very long because the only pictures I have from the night are of Kaylie and Fletch. These were taken right after we got there. I guess I did not feel like messing with it.

Being the first time we have gone out on NYE in a year or two Jason and I loved getting together with good friends. Thanks for inviting us. We will have to do this type of stuff more often.

Christmas Leander

Usually we spend Christmas going back and forth between both our families. This year we decided to do things a little different so instead we decided to do Christmas at my mom's house the day after. Jason and I really enjoyed being able to stay in one place for an entire day. It allowed us to enjoy both of our families and not feel as if we spent most of our time in the car.
It made for a really good Christmas!!!

Kaylie and Elias waiting patiently for the unwrapping to start.

Pre present meal

My momma and I. You now know who I look like.

Nonna with her grand babies.

Making sure she got everything. I really thought she was going to fall into the bag.

When Kaylie unwrapped a present she had to make sure every last bit of paper was off before she was happy. I think it drove her crazy to leave it on there.

This was given to her by her Nonna in Italy. In the US it would be her great grandma. This has turned out to be one of her favorite things to play with. If you look closely she is petting the puppy.

Kaylie and Elias are very close. They love each other so much and play so well together.

For some reason this picture reminds me of the movie the Christmas Story. Not sure why but it does.

Grandpa Bill opening up his picture from Kaylie.

Now that Michael has his own place we thought why not buy him something he can entertain with. This is a washers game he can play with friends outside while barbecuing.

Uncle Ryan and Elias

Elias gave Kaylie a matching kitty. The funny thing is that they both carry it around by its tail. It is so cute to watch them with the same stuffed animal.

You know she approves of something when they get to take a ride on something. At home it is usually her stroller but the push car will make due.

Fish maracas

Lil bro with big sis

Nonna keeping Kaylie happy before a feed.

Ryan having to retrieve the possessed helicopter. It kept flying even when it wasn't turned on.

I thought this picture showed the sweet face of my little nephew. I love him so much!