Important Things from Last Week...

Yes, last week was Christmas. Very important date indeed, especially when you have a little angel who is having her First Christmas.

But it was also the week where we all got to meet my little brother's new girlfriend, Miriam. She was delightful. We all got along great! She keeps him in check, which is not always easy to do and she makes him happy. (She is also a photographer and she picked up my camera on Christmas and I got some pretty cool photos because of that. Thanks, M!!)

It was also the week Aubrey turned four months old!! I can't believe how fast this has gone. I need her to be my baby for just a little bit longer.

Happy 4 Month Birthday, Aubrey Barrett!!

Christmas

Well, this Christmas was so much fun!! Katelynn is understanding Christmas more and more. She wasn't too sure about Santa this year so we didn't have our pictures taken with him but she was enamored with the Baby Jesus. Baby Jesus was out of the nativity scene more than he was in it. He was wrapped in a blanket, put into the swing and I believe once I was told he had a dirty diaper. (I just didn't feel right changing the Baby Jesus' diaper, though.) Christmas morning Katelynn informed us it was Baby Jesus' birthday so we had to sing happy birthday to him. I think that might have to be one of our traditions. Katelynn loved opening the gifts and she loved being able to see all of her family. My little brother was here from Chicago and Brian's sisters were in town from Tulsa and Dallas so Katelynn got to see EVERYONE!!

We woke up Christmas Eve morning and made cookies for Santa. We had so much fun doing that. K kept sneaking bits of dough but Aubrey was an angel.

Christmas Morning it was just the three of us for a bit. Aubrey decided to sleep in and we let her. It is her first Christmas and she gets to pick what she wants to do and the girl wanted to sleep!!

Katelynn was excited to see her gift from Santa and she really liked her stocking but was not too happy to find out that Santa had eaten some of "her" cookies. She kept looking at the plate of half eaten cookies saying "He ate my cookies!" Next year I will have to be a bit more clear on why we are making cookies.

I am already looking forward to next year. More cookies, more fudge, more presents, more traditions, more memories and two little girls running around and making us smile. That means matching pjs, matching pigtails and another voice singing Happy Birthday to Jesus on Christmas morning. I love my life!!

Been Crazy....

It has been super crazy around here lately. We've had the last of the football games, been trying to get the Christmas decorations up, Brian has been traveling for work and I hosted a baby shower. On top of all of that, each one of us has been a little under the weather. So I am going to try and post lots of pictures to show you what we have been up to. We'll see how that goes.....

Katelynn is reading the Christmas Story to Aubrey. (I love how A is looking at her.)

I'm the Mommy, and even I don't trust that smile.

Bless You!

"I hold you."

So tired, but...must..keep...facebook'ing.....zzzzzz.

Super Big Girl Bed (aka Super Big Mommy Headache)

It is time for the BIG GIRL BED!! K has recently been trying to climb out of her bed so Brian and I decided it was time to convert the baby bed into Super Big Girl Bed!! Katelynn seemed to like this idea. She crawled into her bed. Asked to have Aubrey put in the bed with her. Even Aubrey seemed to like it. B and I were cautiously optimistic. I mean we had heard horror stories; parents sleeping on the floor outside the little one's bedroom; children who ended up being terrified of their room after the changeover; etc. But K was having a great time playing in it and crawling in and out of it. This was going to work. It was not going to be easy, but it was going to work.

Yeah, not working so well.......

Football Game

K wanted to get all OU'd up for the game last Saturday night.

She enjoyed having all her little friends over to play. They wore her out!!

School Pics

I am not sure if I am ready for this, but here is Katelynn's first "School" pictures.

How did they get her to smile like that?!?

Okarche's Littlest Firefighter....

Happy Birthday Katie Bug!!

Katelynn's Birthday Party on Saturday was a HUGE SUCCESS!!

I was exhausted afterwards so I guess that means we did good. =)

Here are a few pics. I didn't get any of the cupcakes or goodies. We moved into the "Party Room" and then chaos commenced.

So Pretty......

Happy Halloween!

We had a really fun Halloween this year. The weather was perfect and the girls and I were able to spend the entire weekend with some really good friends.

Saturday we all participated in a Pumpkin Patch our Sunday School Class puts on. This is our second year to do it and it is so much fun! Katelynn had a lot of fun with all of the kids and tried out some of the games. We didn't go trick-or-treating but she didn't seem to miss that.

Sunday night we went to our church's Pumpkin Patch. Katelynn started to get the hang of playing the games on Sunday night. She needed mommy or daddy to walk into the room with her, but after that she figured out pretty quickly that handing someone a ticket meant getting a couple of prizes. (Although, since that night she hasn't even looked into her pumpkin, which is probably a good thing. Maybe B and I can "hide" some of those smaller toys.)

Aubrey seemed to have a good time also. Saturday night she rocked her lobster outfit. It got a bit too warm so when Lolli and Pop came to pick her up, she was a bit "crabby". =)

Sunday night she was the octopus and slept the entire time we were at church. Who can blame her, it is hard work being so cute.

Well, I told B that next year we were going to dress up as a family. There were some really neat costumes this year. He agreed, so we'll see. I am already coming up some ideas......

She Makes Me Smile

We have been receiving quite a few packages this week (which is evident by the many boxes on our living room floor). I haven't been able to sleep lately, which means I have been able to do some late night/early morning on-line shopping. Katelynn has recently become the proud owner of rain boots, new dishes and some "play" pettiskirts. Aubrey has received some new clothes and a cute headband. I used a birthday coupon and Friend and Family discount from Sephora to get some new make-up. The UPS man is our friend!! =)

I had ordered Katelynn and Aubrey pettiskirts a week or so ago for pictures we were going to be taking in November. I thought they would look just precious. Well, they were delivered today (and by the way, they are STINKIN' ADORABLE) and as soon as I unpacked them K wanted to put her's on. (Which is a good thing. It is cute in theory, but if K doesn't want to wear it, it usually won't happen.) Then she wanted to dance.....

Storybook Forest Adventure

Katelynn and I met up with some good friends on Sunday evening for some good food, some fun times and made some great memories with two very adorable girls!! We met up with the C Family and headed out to Pops for dinner. It was pretty tastey for my first time eating there. I am definitely glad I listened to A and saved room for the milkshake, dee-licious!! Next time I will go with a different flavor, but I thought chocolate would be safe to share with K.

then we headed to Spring Creek Park at Arcadia and went to the Storybook Forest. It was really neat. K knew a lot of the stories from reading books (I read the books, not her) and watching cartoons and singing songs, so she really enjoyed it. But she has been looking forward to hanging out with E all week long so I think that was her favorite part.

They got along great this time. (Last time we got together there was a small "going for the throat" incident, but E seemed to have either forgotten all about it or forgiven K for that slight indiscretion.) K was being a bit friendly at Pops. She was all up in E's personal space but I realized she was the exact same way with E as she is with Aubrey.

At the Forest, while waiting in line to enter, K was trying to convince E that cutting in line would be a good idea. But E, being the good girl, convinced K that they should probably stick close to the adults. =) We will definitely do it again. Maybe on a weeknight next time (cheaper and probably shorter lines) and maybe get there a bit earlier and next time we will bring our own stuff to make s'mores and sit with the girlies around the fire.

I just love Halloween!!

How sweet are these two faces!!??

Katelynn had told me at Pops that she "loved the little pigs!" I guess she was right....

Peter Peter and The Old Lady Who Lived in a Shoe.......

Things that make you go hmmmmmmm recap

Saturday morning came and so did the picture appointment. I did make the appointment a little early, though. 9:30 came really fast!!

The morning didn't start off all that great. Putting the costume on Katelynn did generate a few tears and it took both B and I to get it on, but afterwards, she was happy to be wearing it.

Silly little girl. But she looked adorable

. They both did. Well, judge for yourself........

(pictures were taken by Portrait Innovations on Memorial. Kristen, our photographer, ROCKED!!!)

Pictures of Pumpkins and Pjs......

FAIL!!!!!!