Thanksgiving...the start of Christmas!

What a whirllwind of excitment the past few days. The holidays are in full force and it's starting to get a bit crazy! Luckily, it's a fun crazy :) The girls are simply worn out now, but I have pictures so you can share in the crazy last 4 days we've had! I'm going to go in reverse, starting with just yesterday and our trip to cut down the Christmas tree!

It was a long journey through the woods to find the perfect tree....

But we finally settled on one that wasn't too big, too small, too fat, or too skinny. Lilly helped dad cut it down....

I think Carolyn was wondering why she had to come along though....

Once the tree was in place at home, Lilly loves to sit her chair in front of the fire after the long days to relax and kick back :)

But before the tree cutting, we had a party at the Streitmarters! One question, what is wrong with this picture? Is there a random baby getting into something while the adults watch football?

And before that was of course the wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, ala Grandma Shafer. It was quite a crowded room this year, but Justin made sure that Baby Kanski and Momma Kanski were comfortable :) I would love to have pictures of the girls eating turkey, but both decided they weren't hungry for dinner!

And this is Carolyn's input to the whole thing.... Happy Thanksgiving and next up, Carolyn's 1st Birthday!!

Mom and Dad's trip to Wine Country

Well, my apologies for taking such a long time to post something new. It's been a bit crazy with me working more, vacations, bearcat games, and now preparing for the holidays and a 1st birthday! But it's all fun! Justin and I recently were able to skip town for a long weekend to Napa...like a honeymoon all over again! It was awesome, like it always is, and I think we were either drinking wine or sleeping the entire time...we strongly endorse you all opening a bottle of Toad Hollow if you can :) Luckily, the girls had an even more fun time hanging out with all their grandparents, aunts, and uncles. Lilly still says "Momma far away. Now back." with a big smile.

Tasting in a wine cave... ah relaxing...

We're all so happy to be home now though!!!

Halloween! Halloween! Trick or Treat!

If that title sounds familiar to you, it's because you've been watching too much Dora :) We had an awesome Halloween weekend. It would have helped if the Steelers or Bearcats won, but the excitment of the girls at both Homecoming and Trick or Treating was enough to make even the saddest person smile just a little :) First the Halloween pictures, because frankly they are too cute to make you wait for :) The girls LOVED the whole trick or treat experience, from the outfits, to the pumpkins, to the candy! They were bumble bees (handmade ala Alyssa of course) and the cutests gals on the block! Here's a little before... (pretty cute)

And after costumes (REALLY cute)

Family picture!!

After trick or treat, everyone was diving into the Candy...

Lolipops were the favorite! And the messiest... baths for everyone when we were done!

And here's some tailgate pictures from homecoming. I was not so good at snapping pictures this year. But here's Lilly and her bearcat friend comparing pink coats...

And sitting around the grill with the elder Bearcat. Lilly's favorite part of the day was watching the cheerleaders and band go by. She loves some good dance music!

The Wedding Weekend!

The wedding weekend was amazing. All of Alyssa's hard work paid off and I think everyone enjoyed the big party! Carolyn didn't make it much past the ceremony, but Lilly made it until she finally passed out on daddy's shoulders at about 11:30. It was pretty nuts how good the girls were. I was insanely impressed. Who knew that some good naps and pretty dresses would make them such angels! The bride on the other hand, was no angel, as my picture below shows :) Actually she was one of the prettiest brides I've seen... the only problem is that I didn't take any pictures on the wedding day because I figured the professional ones would be so much better than mine.... so this is just a sneak preview, and when she gets back the real ones, I'll be sure to post!

Some pictures of Dress Rehersal....Lilly LOVED having her cousins in town for the weeknd. She's still asking where Madison and Tyler are!


Who says matching dresses aren't cute!

Carolyn loved being in her formal wear...

Pumpkins and Dancing!

One of the cutest days I've experienced with our family of 4 and friends :) Something about kids dancing will never get old for me.



The theme of the day was that the girls were interested in Food and Pumpkins... if you didn't have one of those, you weren't important. They loved the walking taco and funnel cake the best!

Lilly spent quite alot of time picking out specific pumpkins for everyone. She wanted a small pumpkin, and wanted Carolyn to have a big one.

She wanted to get in the goat's pen :)

Something tells me that this one is going to be a little shopper...

Turkeys and the Diva

Who says we don't live in the wild-- we have wild turkeys!! Lilly did not care for the Turkeys, but hopefully by Thanksgiving she'll understand how good they taste :) I guess they are just a sign of fall... along with all the football we've been watching! The girls love their Steeler gear, but I'm afraid both are going to be too much of girlie girls to be into watching it all weekend. Carolyn is starting to appreciate the purse, and Lilly is OBSESSED with her nails. She even got her first official manicure this weekend while Auntie Alyssa practiced her wedding hair. (Auntie is going to look amazing by the way! ) Lilly tells you everytime she chips a nail, and doesn't understand why Mommy's nails aren't as pretty as hers. I have a feeling it might be my daughter that finallys gets me into nails, hair, and makeup :)

Please Pray for Max

Max is an extreamly cute and amazing little toddler who has been through quite alot. He was diagnosed with end stage renal disease while still in his Mom's tummy, was operated on before birth, and recently recieved his Mom's kidney. He and his family need many prayers, as his kidney is showing signs of rejection. Please keep Max in your thoughts and prayers as they continue this difficult journey.

http://www.maxlivingston.blogspot.com/