Thanksgiving

Phil was lucky enough to have Thanksgiving day off. But that's all he got off. He was on call on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday. The poor guy is going to work himself to death. I wasn't particularly interested in cooking a big meal in my current pregnant state so our Thanksgiving was a little nontraditional. We went to Boone with my parents and had a nice relaxing dinner out. We did have to drive there, but there was no preparation and no clean up. We got to spend the day together and that is what matters the most. The girls ate their fill of rolls. They get their love of carbs from their parents.

After dinner, we went to a local Christmas tree farm. Phil is allergic to trees (and most anything that originated outdoors) so we usually have an artificial tree inside. But I've always liked being able to go to a choose and cut farm and pick out your own tree. Last year, we started what may end up being a tradition. We cut a small tree, about 4 ft., and put it on our front porch. I sometimes refer to it as a redneck tree. Because who cuts down a real Christmas tree just to leave it outside? Anyway, the girls love it! We put lights and few ornaments on it. We let Makena and Megan walk around and find their tree.
Pooh Bear got to help.

It was so cold!

Popaw and Nana helped.

Could this be the one?

"I like that one."

We went to a full service Christmas tree farm which means that we picked out the tree and they did the rest. They cut it, bail it and load it on your car at no additional cost.

They also had free hot chocolate in the barn. YUM!

They were getting a load of trees together to send out to Los Angeles. We thought it would be pretty cool if Phil's brother Lane and his family ended up with a tree from the same farm.

Happy Birthday Megan!

Yesterday, November 24th, our "baby" Megan turned two! Those two years have flown by! She has developed into an adorable toddler. This was Megan 2 years ago....

Such a sweet baby...
And here she was last year at her 1st birthday party.
I tried to make sure Megan and Makena had a fun day. We started off at Build a Bear. This is such a cute place. We had never taken the girls there and I'm glad I waited for a special occasion. Those stuffed animals are pricey! But since it was Megan's birthday it was okay. I let the girls pick out everything themselves. Here is Makena stuffing her bear.

Makena helped Megan pick a heart for her bear. There were only two choices but it was still quite a difficult decision.

Finally decided....

Giving it a smooch...

After the bears were stuffed, it was bath time!

They picked out adorable outfits for their bears. I tried not to discourage all the accessories since it was Megan's birthday. Megan named her bear Panda. She picked out an outfit with butterfly wings, Hello Kitty bedroom slippers and Hello Kitty panties. The bear tails sticking out the back of the panties are especially cute.

Megan loves Panda!

Here is Makena with her bear in the "dressing room."

Makena picked out a Cinderella dress with matching panties, glass slippers, and a blond wig with a hairband. The bear's name is Cinderella, of course.

They gave Megan a sticker that said, "I'm the Birthday Bear."

After Build a Bear we went and saw Santa Claus. Megan was a little hesitant but there were no tears. In the picture they're looking at one of Santa's helpers who was trying to get Megan to smile.

We still had a little time before lunch, so we went to the Children's Museum to play with some friends. We were fortunate to run into Clifford as soon as we came in the door.

Megan loves slides! Here's Megan sliding on Clifford's tail.

We waited until Phil got home from work to eat Megan's birthday cookie and open family gifts. The girls had already eaten dinner and were in their pajamas.

"I a mess!"

I'm so glad I pay attention to what our kids like. We got Megan a slide for the playroom. She absolutely loves it. She calls it her "present slide."

I let Makena help wrap one of the gifts. She told Megan what the presents were before she opened them. :) She said, "Megan you've got a nightlight and a baby Jesus toy!"

The "baby Jesus toy" was a Little People nativity scene. It's a Christmas decoration that they can play with.

Preschool Turkey

Makena's teachers had the kids decorate a turkey on a bulletin board outside their classroom. They sent a feather home with the kids to decorate and return to school. The girls and I enjoy arts and crafts and had a lot of fun with this project. Makena decided she wanted to paint the feather.

Megan didn't have a feather to decorate but we let her paint, too. :)
Makena wanted her feather to be sparkly so I let her add some glitter we found in our craft cabinet.

She also added some shiny rhinestones. We call it the "princess feather."

Posing with the finished product...

Here is Makena's "princess feather" on the class turkey.

Festival of Trees

This past weekend we went to the Festival of Trees which benefits Brenner Children's Hospital. Every year they have plenty of beautiful Christmas trees, wreaths and other festive things to get you in the holiday spirit. Megan loved the Winnie the Pooh decorated tree!

Makena and Megan had their faces painted. They picked candy canes with a Rudolph nose. The lady that painted their faces was really nice. When she painted their noses she told them to close their eyes tight and think about Santa Claus and Christmas trees and reindeer.

Here they are making reindeer food

and checking out the gingerbread houses.