It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Christmas!

It is definitely starting to look a lot like Christmas around here.  Mommy, Daddy, and Kara got the Christmas tree set up (Kara insisted on putting the star on top) the weekend after Thanksgiving.  The week after Thanksgiving, we got about 8 inches of snow in a storm and then another 5 inches of snow a couple of days later.  It's also gotten quite chilly the last couple of days.  The high today was about 10 deg F.  Kara has enjoyed playing in the snow (when it was warm enough to play outside).

Some recent Kara quotes:

A couple of days after Thanksgiving, Mommy asked Kara if she wanted some pumpkin pie for dessert after dinner.  Kara immediately replied, "Pumpkin pie and ice cream," with a big smile on her face.

During a recent snow day, Kara got a little tired of hanging out in the house with Mommy. So, after lunch Kara got her library bag out, put it around her neck and over her shoulder and said, "Goodbye. Ta-ta go see people, put shoes on".

When Daddy says "Night night," Kara replies with the proper "Good night".

Link to pictures

Look Who's Two!

Our little family has had a very busy November. On November 10th, we headed down to Alabama to visit Mimi and Papa. Uncle Trey, GiGi B., and Great Grandpa H. were also there.  Great Grandpa had never met Kara and GiGi B. hadn't seen Kara for several months, so it was great to see them.  Unfortunately, Mommy and Daddy got really sick while we were there, so that wasn't too much fun. Kara, however, had a great time.  We went to the Montgomery Zoo one day, the Cracker Barrel, and had a great time running around Mimi and Papa's estate.  While we were there, we celebrated Kara's birthday.  Mimi baked and Uncle Trey decorated a great Elmo cake.  Kara enjoyed blowing out the candle ("I no touch" as Kara would say) and opening her presents.

When we got home, we had another birthday party with Grandma S., Grandpa S., GG K, and Aunt Amy.  Kara really enjoyed it when everyone sang Happy Birthday to her.  She also enjoyed the cupcakes Mommy made and spent the rest of the day running around to burn off her sugar rush.  All in all, Kara had two great parties for her second birthday.  It's going to hard to top it for her third birthday!

Kara's latest sayings:
- Whenever we asked her how old she was, Kara would say, "Two years old.  Put birthday hat on top of head."

- Mommy took Kara to the doctor's office for her 2-year check-up.  While they were in the waiting room, Mommy told Kara that Dr. Miller was a good doctor and she'd be fine.  After the appointment (and much crying), Daddy asked her how the doctor's office was.  Kara replied, "Dr. Miller, he's good man.  Listened to Ta-ta heart."

- While we were at Mimi and Papa's, Daddy was drinking some orange juice during Kara's snack.  Once Kara figured that out, she said, "I want some."  To which Daddy replied, after you finish your snack.  Kara came back with "I really want some," and Daddy caved.

Pictures from our visit to Alabama:

Pictures from Kara's party in Colorado:

Halloween 2011

Halloween was A LOT more fun this year than last year.  We went to a Halloween party with a bunch of kids about the same age as Kara.  Kara wore her monster costume for about two minutes before she pulled it off.  But we all had a good time at the party.

For the last couple of days, Mommy and Kara have been practicing going trick-or-treating.  Kara would pretend to knock on the door and then say "Trick or treat!"  Tonight, however, Mommy had low expectations for going out.  Mommy got Kara all dressed up and planned to try and hit about 4-5 houses before Kara got tired.  After hitting about 6 houses, Mommy brought Kara back, but she kept saying "Trick-or-treat more!", so Mommy took Kara back out for another half hour.  Overall, it was a great night.  Kara's getting to be a lot of fun!

Kara also helped Mommy and Daddy "carve big pumpkin" into a happy pumpkin.  Here's a cute video of her helping out with that:

Link to pictures

Straight to Winter

This past Monday, the weather was a bit on the warm side, being sunny and almost 80 deg F. By Tuesday night, it had started to snow, and we ended up getting almost a foot by Wednesday afternoon. Kara and Daddy had fun testing out our sled in the backyard and made a snowman (Daddy called him Bob). Kara and Daddy also had fun shaking the snow out of the trees (luckily we didn't lose any branches).

Kara just finished up her second swim class. Kara's getting pretty good at blowing bubbles and her back float. We probably have one more class with Mommy and Daddy before she moves up to the next level!

Kara's newest favorite toys are her alphabet blocks. Kara's getting pretty good with the numbers and letter (P is her favorite, we don't know why). She can also stack six high pretty easily. Whenever she knocks over her stacks, she says "Knock over", and then knocks on the blocks like she's knocking on a door.

Link to pictures



Video of Kara helping Daddy shake the snow off a tree (click to watch video).

Pumpkin Patch 2011

This past Saturday, our neighbor from the townhouse, Lu, invited us to go to a pumpkin patch with her. We were all really excited about it. They had caramel popcorn, hayrides, pumpkins, gourds, and even a corn maze. Unfortunately for everyone, the weather didn't cooperate.  It was drizzling most of our time there, and it was pretty chilly (about 40°F).  By the time we left, it was pouring. It's a good thing we got there early!  While we were there, Kara had a great time playing in the mud and picking out pumpkins.  She especially liked the little pumpkins (which she called "tiny pumpkin" in a high voice).  We picked out about 5 good pumpkins.  Mommy got a little carried away with the gourds, and we now have enough to decorate everyone's house in the neighborhood.

Recent conversations with Kara:
Daddy: "I love you, Kara."
Kara: "I love Fifi!" Fifi is her nighttime stuffed dog.

Kara: "What's that?" - Her new favorite phrase

Kara walking to Mommy with her hand cupped (and empty): "Eat this!"
Mommy:  "What am I eating?"
Kara: pause...."Apples! mmm"

Link to pictures