Bass Pro Christmas, Bella the Elf and Parties Galore!

Y'all. It's less than 2 weeks until Christmas. Um, for real?! Because I was wearing flip flops yesterday and I feel like it should NOT be almost 2016. 

Chris was off Friday so we took the girls to Bass Pro. They have a pretty big holiday set-up. 

Waiting for Santa, racing each other.

The girls jumped right in the snowball fight room.

Obviously the smallest person in the snowball fight was Sydney. You wouldn't know it. She was right in the thick of things. Look at her bossing her crew around.

BUT as confident as Sydney is, she just cannot wrap herself around the idea of Santa. She is MEAN-MUGGING the jolly fella here.

She smiled immediately after though. Sigh.

And, of course, any trip to Indiana calls for Pizza King.

Then, for a very special treat we took the girls to Schimpffs confectionary. It opened in 1891 and has retained a lot of its original theming. I got a Modjeska, Chris got some caramels and the girls got rock suckers. Yum! I have always loved candy stores.

Friday night, Chris and I had another Christmas party with his co-workers. We had a great time and the girls loved staying with nana and grandpa.

I love this pic!

On Saturday AM, I had a holiday brunch with my Humana ladies. After, we got pedicures. And! Not only did we have a private room but they brought us wine. We had a great afternoon talking and laughing.

Saturday night we had dinner with some friends at our house but I failed to take any pictures. UGH!

We stayed somewhat low-key on Sunday. 

And, in between all of these things, we've been moving Bella.

 So far, she took a swing ride on our fan, zip lined across our kitchen and scaled our 12 foot tree. She almost always remembers to move at night but there may have been one morning where Chris got up at 5 am to move her. HA!

Another Winter, another ear infection.

Deja vu, right? I know you are asking yourself if I have used this title before. Oh, I'm sure I have. Probably at the start of Winter 2014, and Winter 2013 and...

But I digress. Anyways, Sydney has been running a low grade fever since Thursday. She was complaining only about her tummy hurting so we assumed she needed to go bathroom. (Maddie's MO was also to run a little 99-100 temp when she had to use the bathroom.) Sydney was acting rather happy until she woke us in the middle of the last night.  I went up to get her and she was on fire. But with goosebumps and shaking. 

I got a look in her right ear and saw no infection and the tube looked clear. I couldt get a clear picture of her left ear. But, since that ear doesn't have a tube she has to go on antibiotic anyways for an infection. So, we ran to the clinic and got our official confirmation and a prescription. Nasty ear infection.

She was NOT happy. 

May the official count start now. Winter - 1, Sydney's Ears - 0.

We are on antibiotic and seem to be trending up so let's hope she wakes up without a fever in the morning. And, more importantly, lets hope she actually responds to antibiotic. My gut tells me she will have round 2 of tubes before this season is over but my fingers are crossed I'm wrong!

Also over the weekend, we had Chris's company holiday party. We had a great time with his coworkers.

I also took Maddie to Stella Murph's birthday party. It is really sweet watching Madeline with her preschool friends. She has a pretty tight little group of girls she hangs with every day.

 This little Maddie of ours is going to be 5 at the end of the month!!

Our week in pictures!

On Sunday, we woke up to discover Bella, our elf had come from the North Pole with treats and breakfast!

Daddy and Sydney went to the Y while Maddie and I wrapped up our holiday shopping. 

On nana Monday, Sydney convinced nana and grandpa to take her to Chik Fil A for lunch. 

On Tuesday, Tara and I did cardio hip hop at the Y, while the guys ran. We stayed late for the holiday party. We listened to a band, had some snacks and made home made candy canes! It was pretty cool. 

Maddie and Tara, flouring their hands, ready for the candy cane syrup.

Dave and Chris rolling and shaping their candy canes.

Sydney did it for about 15 seconds and then decided she wanted a cookie instead. Smart kid!

Tonight we took Madeline to see The Good Dinosaur with Hudson. It was pretty sad actually. Not a great pick me up! HA! I took some pictures and none turned out. Boo!

This week has been busy and is just an indication of things to come for us in December. It's jam-packed!

Thankful!!

Chris and I are relaxing after a great two days with our families! We hosted Thanksgiving again (I think this is year three!) for our parents and siblings...except Tia who is still in Disney. Miss you, tia!

But first, let's backtrack.

A few weeks ago, my girlfriends and I did Breakout. I had told them how much fun I had with my work team so we gave it a whirl. And busted out with 59 seconds to spare! It was close but we had a great time!

I went to Sydney's Thanksgiving lunch at her school. Her class was dressed as a little turkeys. They were so cute. I tried and tried to get a good picture of her but just couldn't make it happen. She doesn't love the camera as much as Maddie does. The school provided the staples and the families brought desserts and sides. I sat with the other families in Sydney's class and had a great time! 

This is Peyton, the only the other girl in Sydney's class. You wouldn't know it but they are the best of buddies. They both were being shy for the camera.

We got a new Christmas tree this year! The girls were so excited to decorate it. About 75% of our ornaments were below 2 feet. Since it's a 12 foot tree, we had to do some rearranging after bedtime. ;)

We got out and ran some errands. Maddie asked if we could go to Home Depot and I swear, Christopher's whole face lit up. 

We had a late dinner at Qdoba one night with the McKinleys and my girls were so happy. Dave and Tara shower them with a lot of love and attention.

On Thursday, the girls went over to grandma's early to help her make some appetizers for our Thanksgiving meal. But first, we took a few pictures in their Turkey 'fits.

I mean seriously, they are so cute that it actually hurts a little.

Maddie and Sydney working on their turkey.

So proud of her handiwork- she did almost all of it by herself!

While the girls were gone, Chris and I spent some time cleaning. Our house was in desperate need of some loving. I got the table set and it looked pretty good. Maddie had made the place cards last week.

Finally, bellies full, we got the kids in bed and Laura and I headed our to do a little shopping. We always have a blast!

We are loving the extra family time this long weekend. So thankful for family, health and friendship!

Our ENT Winter Check-Up and a Mommy/Daughter Lunch Date

On Thursday, Maddie met Stella Murphy at the Y. Amber and I took a class together and then let the girls swim for a bit. 

After we swam, the girls played in the locker room. They can have fun anywhere together. They laughed and laughed as they squeezed in and out of the lockers.

On Friday, I took the girls for their 6 month ENT check up. 

We never have to wait very long for Dr. Brown, but we managed to squeeze in a few selfies.

My 2 main girls.

Feeling the fish faces.

It all went downhill from there. Sydney was NOT in the mood. Not in the mood for a strange guy to be looking in her ears. And she LOST IT. He brought his otoscope near her and she went nuts. I think she might actually have some PTCSD (post-traumatic cat scan disorder) so I'm going to blame it on that.  It wasn't pretty. She pretty much roundhouse kicked him with her hard red Mary Jane shoe. In a place guys don't want to be kicked. Sigh.

So it ended up taking three of us to hold her down just to get a good look in her ears. I already knew one tube was out, and the other was in. We basically have to just monitor how she does this Winter. If she can keep the number of infections down, we can ride it out. If not, we may have to pursue a second set. I'm hoping that's not the case!

As for Maddie, her left tube finally fell out! We've been waiting for that one for awhile now. Both ears are healed and she has officially graduated from the ENT. She loved this word and told several people that day she had graduated. 

On Saturday, Chris got up and ran 19 miles. I took the girls out for a bit and Maddie chose Steak N Shake for lunch. We all squeezed on one side of the booth. My lefty (Sydney) was poking me on my right side and my righty was poking me on my left side while we all ate. I was basically squished the entire meal. But, they sure are sweet!

We ended the Saturday with snuggles!

Hanging with my Sydney...

Now that Madeline goes to school four days a week, I have Wednesdays off with just Sydney. I am loving having this 1x1 time with her each week. She is at such a fun age.  Her speech has literally exploded so she chatters nonstop. It's really great watching her learn and explore.

We usually start our mornings with snuggles on the cough. Maddie likes to GO GO GO as soon as she sun comes up, but Sydney is content to be in her pjs with me on the couch eating, reading and snuggling. Most Wednesdays, we go to the library in the morning for story time. Last year she was easily the wildest kid in the room, but this year she sits nicely for the stories and loves to sing. Last year I was constantly pulling her off the parachute (she would run and jump on it!) but this year she knows to hold her handle and shake. What a difference a year makes!

Big girl Sydney!

Then we usually go to lunch after. When grandma is able to come, she meets up with us. Typically we go to Chik Fil A because that's Sydney's favorite place. Sometimes she picks Chipotle.

Then, after her nap we pick up Maddie early. The last few weeks we've invited Lizzie over to play for an hour or so before dinner. 

 The girls are making raspberry fingers, in case you can't tell. They thought this was hilarious.

Sydney still goes to nana and grandpa's house on Monday and they usually send me little updates on her throughout the day. This one cracked me up. Sydney had eaten 2 cups of ravioli, a peanut butter sandwich, some fruit and then had asked to go to Chik Fil A.

Such a cute girl! But, we are slowly moving into "Terrible Two" territory. Now that she can speak more, she loves to shout the word "No." She can also tattle, "Maddie did it!" and boss around the dog, "Sit down Tell-a!" She hasn't thrown any MAJOR fits, but she's starting to get a little more impatient when she doesn't get her way. I fear the first big public fit is on its way. HAHA!

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AND! This weekend, Chris and I went to Kensley's birthday party. Kensley was born at 25 weeks and weighed just 1 pound. She turns one today and we are so happy that she is doing so well! What a miracle baby!