Norman Rockwell we ain't-

It is Christmas Eve, and our little family is spending it together. I made a ham, sweet potatoes, and a spinach salad. We were all four sitting down ready to say Grace when Sara announces she has to go potty. So we tell her to go ahead and go. Then Katie starts in. She doesn't like anything on her plate, she isn't hungry, and when can she have some of the gingerbread house we made earlier in the day?

We tell Katie she can chose to stay at the table and enjoy the family dinner or she can continue complaining in the confort of her own bedroom. She chose the latter, decided we were due a screaming temper tantrum, and then wet her pants.

About the time Nate is dealing with Katie's mess, Sara starts screaming and crying that she does not like her dinner and she wants santa to bring her candy. All of this time of course our spring loaded dog is jumping up and down like crazy trying to steal someone's dinner off of the table.

Silent Night it is not at our house, but we do have a home filled with love and as crazy as it is, we are truly blessed.

Turning Charlie into a baby doll

The girls love to play with their dollies. They enjoy dressing and undressing them, pretending to feed them, changing their diapers, and pushing them in the stroller, but their favorite thing is to tuck them into bed. They love covering dolls up and telling them to go night night. Well since we brought Charlie home, he has become their real live doll. At least he is a good sport about it most of the time.

Hunting for the perfect Christmas Tree

On a cold Saturday, we went in search of a place where we could cut our own Christmas Tree. (For those of you who don't know, Nate has a thing about cutting his own tree) We followed some signs, and somehow missed the last one... so we kept driving until we found a great family owned tree farm somewhere past Fall City. It was really beautiful, and the girls loved running through the forrest.

This was the first Christmas tree we have gotten with the girls since we are usually traveling for Christmas. It was so exciting to see the girls' eyes light up at the prospect of taking each tree home. We finally found the perfect tree, and when we got it home Katie had the time of her life decorating the tree. We found all of the ornaments that Nate and I had gotten or made as children. Unwrapping each ornament was like opening a new present for Katie. It was really fun seeing her excitement over every little ornament.

The Nightly Ritual

For the past 2.5 weeks or so, Katie and Sara have had this nightly ritual where after dinner they pull Sara's potty so that it is facing the toilet, they both take a seat and then they sit together chatting about their days, singing songs, and sometimes reading books for about 30 minutes, or until their "business" is taken care of. The really funny thing is that somehow, they have both gotten on the same schedule where they actually do their doo-ty, together.

Neither Nate nor I have been thinking much about potty training Sara, but Katie has taken it upon herself to teach her llittle sister. Tonight after dinner, we noticed thnigs seemed a little quiet in our household. When Nate went to check on them, he found their "vehicles" (trike and scooter) parked outside the bathroom door, and the door was closed. Here is what we saw...

Katie and Sara's Nightly Ritual

The Holidays aren't complete without a visit to Santa!

Our Seattle friends have been taking their girls to visit Santa in matching outfits since the kids were a few weeks old. We have been a part of the group for over a year now so this year we were invited to join in. It was a memorable event. Sara and Katie both are OK with Santa, but the chaos of so many children screaming "Mama" and crying in fear was a bit too much for Sara. As you can see, she just wanted to get out of there. Santa, you deserve a good stiff drink after our group!

Lyla, Evan, Emerson, Katie, and Sara in front