Weekend #1 of December--Super Busy!

We hadn't seen our friends Nevaeh and Jordan for a while, so they came over to play on Friday morning. Ro and Jordan had a good time sharing blocks.
The girls had a great time playing princess.

A shared princess secret?

Then, on Saturday we headed over to Michaels for some kids crafts. Kaylee painted a Christmas Box which has yet to dry (almost 48 hours later...)

She also decorated a stocking by making a felt snowman.

Rowan made a snowman stocking too. Ok, ok, Mommy did most of the work for her.

But Rowan did help, I swear.

Mostly she just had fun watching.

On Sunday, Daddy's company hosted a Christmas Party for its employee's children. This year was the first year we got to go as it is intended for children 3-9. Kaylee had a blast and even Rowan liked meeting Rudolph and his shiny red nose.

Kaylee especially liked Frosty and Crystal.

Of course, who wouldn't?

Pooh Bear? Well our standards might be a little high after Disney. So we'll just call him Christmas Bear.

Snoopy and Donald(?--again, I'm a Disney snob now) were on hand too, and Kaylee wanted to meet them all.

Even Clifford showed up. Rowan really loves "Dogs"...but this one was so big she preferred to wave from a distance.

Then it was time to go inside and see the show. It was really fun, they had a magician and a very talented clown. Kaylee was riveted. And Rowan, well, she was Rowan, but considering she did very well.

Then all the characters came up on stage to say Merry Christmas and welcome their special guests.

Santa and Mrs. Claus! They came up and said hi to everyone and then revealed the toys they had brought for each good girl and boy. Kaylee's toy was really excellent, she's played with a lot since. We had a great time and are especially thankful for Daddy's company for hosting this event, especially in a year when I think no one would have been surprised if it were skipped.

Afterwards kids could get their picture taken with Santa. Now this was Kaylee's 3rd or 4th opportunity to say hi to and sit with Santa this year. Each other time she refused to go anywhere near him. The secret to success is obviously Mrs. Claus. But hey, at least I got a picture of both girls with Santa. (I would have preferred to stay out of the picture, but Rowan is definitely in stranger anxiety phase, so it was this or screaming Rowan on Santa's lap.)

And that makes us caught up and timely again!

November Round-Up

Not too many pictures to share for the end of November...we were really busy and not in a good way. Sickness struck our home. This is what a 15 month old looks like with the flu. She had a tough run of it...it lasted over a week; but the good news we have fully recovered and are all smiles again.Rowan learned quickly during her sickness + double ear infection that motrin and tylenol were her friends...were "teasingly" referred to her as our future little drug addict because of her eagerness for the pain-killers during that week.
Unfortunately her still-present-symptoms prevented us from going to our usual big family affair for Thanksgiving. I did my best to celebrate the holiday, I got the girls dressed up and I made a 14lb turkey with all the fixings. (Note: this was not worth it for what really was just a regular meal with the 4 of us...however, leftover turkey is always welcome in our home.)
Somehow Kaylee remained relatively unscathed during all this sickness...suffering only from a moderate cold. I am not complaining mind you...1 sick child at a time is more than enough.
Thursday was the 2nd to last day Rowan had symptoms so she was feeling much better and acting much more like herself...but you can still see it in her eyes. Poor thing.
On a happier note, Rowan found a new toy at the end of the month...her laundry basket.
This little game lasted quite a while.
Naturally Kaylee had to get it on it.
She wanted to point out to Rowan that she had discovered this toy a couple of years back.
And the girls even played with it together...sort of.
Sorry about the scant posts for November...December of course promises its own batch of pictures, so things should pick up again soon.

NYC

This past weekend we got to go to NYC and spend some time with the Uncles. Rowan wasted no time getting to know our weekend benefactors.Kaylee was intrigued by Uncle Chuck's technology...she is her daddy's girl after all.
She also showed off her ballet skills. I believe this is passe.
Leave it to the 3 year old to make a nice leather chair into a jungle gym.
We got to see a few of Mommy's friends while in New York. Here, Kaylee charmed Alex into a game of Go Fish. I don't think Alex realized he wanted to play Go Fish...
Irina and Alex's baby, Veronica (Nika), was a fun new friend for Kaylee and Rowan.
They did a good job sharing their toys.
Nika especially liked Rowan's shape sorter...so get right on that Irina.
Nika and Rowan.
Nika and Mommy Irina.
On Sunday we went to the Bronx Zoo...the biggest hit was most certainly...
the sea lions.
Both girls especially liked this big guy who talked a lot.
We spent a good deal of time at the Sea Lion pool.
Rowan nor Kaylee really wanted to leave to see the rest of the animals.
So we kept shuffling who was holding who until the adults finally prevailed.
And it was off to see the rest of the zoo. We love this picture...meaning we love our camera, as this shot was obviously taken through glass.
We spent a good amount of time in the monkey house too...appropriate for our little monkeys.
The zoo monkeys weren't necessarily as entertained as my monkeys though...
Rowan's favorite part of the zoo, you ask? Why the hanging strips to help keep the birds inside the Bird House of course.
She spent quite a bit of time going back and forth.
Naturally Kaylee had to get in on that action.
They seriously spent a good 5 minutes at this game...
luckily the zoo wasn't that crowded so we didn't get in anyone's way.
But we think the purpose of the zoo trip itself may have been lost on our 3 and 1 year old adventurers.
And a smattering of a few other pictures...a genuine big Kaylee smile.
A silly Kaylee smile.
A very serious Rowan.
And a very happy Rowan.
That is all.