A Dakota Christmas

If you remember from my last post, I went up to South Dakota a week before Christmas to help get everything ready.  I sure did have a fun time.  I was able to spend a lot of time with my cousins, aunts & uncles, and grandma & grandpa.  We went to one of Connor's basketball games and we were able to see Kayla dance at halftime -that was pretty cool.

Hanging out with Kayla & Adam.

"My alligator is getting you Liz!"

I spend the first couple of days on the farm with aunt Karen & uncle Bret.  Me and Bret would plan the work that needed to be done on the farm and then Liz and I would go feed the cows in the mornings.  In the afternoons, it was time to make Christmas cookies.

 "Mmm, tastes just right."

Once I had everything on the farm taken care of, I spent a night at aunt Kathy & uncle Brian's.  No cows to feed here, so Adam and I were able to eat a relaxing breakfast -with trains of course!

Next, it was on to grandma & grandpa's house.  As a perfect surprise, mommy & daddy had driven up to see me.

The weather was so nice this Christmas, that we were able to play outside at the park.

We also had a chance to drive around and look at some of the pretty Christmas decorations that people had put up.  Maybe I'll have mom and dad do something like this next year???

With the big Christmas Eve dinner quickly approaching, it was time for me and grandpa to get ready for our guests.

Daddy doesn't have a big family, but what they lack in numbers, they make up for in presents!  I sure hope that one of these is for me.

As it turns out, there were a couple of presents for me under that tree this year.  A big thank you to everyone!

Now it was time to get serious, for the man in red was expected in just a few hours.  I laid out the stockings and made sure that he had plenty of treats for his long night ahead.

Since I wasn't at home, I sure hope that he could find me.  On Christmas morning, daddy brought me down from my room...

 ...and I could see that some of the cookies were gone and the milk was too.  Santa must have found me!

All of those trips to the mall to see Santa paid off!

 "Thank you Santa!"

The next day was papa's birthday.  It was also the day that I had to go back home.  Thanks to everyone for making my week so enjoyable and for taking such good care of me.

 When we got back home, what a surprise, Santa had been there too!!

Aren't I just the luckiest little girl?  See you soon,

Kaitlyn

Christmas is Coming!

It was beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here.  We had some snow for about a week, but now it is all gone.  That's OK though, I was able to take advantage of the snow and sunny weather and do some sledding with dad.

The snow didn't last very long, but neither did my interest in sledding.  Going down the hill is fun, but daddy is just too slow when he has to carry me back up the hill.

Our Christmas tree is still looking good.  I rearrange it every evening and have added some of my own home-made ornaments.

You can't see them in this picture, but I added some play-doh to the tree to give it my own special touch :)

When grandma Mary was in town, we got in the Christmas spirit by going to a live nativity scene.  That was pretty neat.  They had live horses and soldiers and I got to see the manger where baby Jesus was born.  That was really fun.

Me and mommy wrapping presents!  It's so much fun.  I can't wait until I get together with my extended family to open presents.  I've been a good girl this year!

A chocolate Santa, pajama pants, and relaxing on the floor.  I just don't know how it could get any better.

My potty training is still going pretty well.  It figures though, I start using the potty and guess what.....I get another chore :(

Last Saturday, our tradition of making Christmas cookies with Frank continued.  I like to think that I'm a little more help now that I'm a big girl

2009

2010

2011

 Nobody said that baking cookies was a clean job

 "See Frank, you put flour all over the table like this."

 If you get some sprinkles stuck to your fingers, you can just lick them off!

 "Daddy, no eating cookies until they'll all done!"

After Christmas we exchanged presents with Frank.  Frank got me my own computer!

"Thank you Frank!"

 After a busy day, relaxing with mom.

On Sunday, I thought it would be a pretty relaxing day but there were two surprises coming my way.  Mommy and daddy took me up to Blair for a movie.  We went and saw Alvin and the Chipmunks: Chipwrecked,  tt was so much fun.  And guess who was in the lobby afterwards....

I thought that was the end of my surprises for the day, but there was one more.  I "got the call" from South Dakota and they needed me up there right now!  I met aunt Karen and Liz half way between home and their house and waved goodbye to mom and dad for the week.  It's a good thing I went too 'cause I've been awfully busy -feeding cows, entertaining the cousins and showing off my dance moves to everyone.

Merry Christmas everyone,

Kaitlyn

Big Girl Stuff and More Traveling

Ever since I came back from Denver, I've really started to become a big girl.

First, I've now stepped up to a toddler bed!  The first night didn't go so swell and I made daddy convert it back to a crib.  After a few days though I was ready for the switch and I haven't looked back!  There is plenty of room for me and all of my animals.

The next change is that I've started to use a big girl potty!

My little potty is the best.  When I use it, it plays little songs and cheers for me.  I don't make it to the potty every time, but I'm getting better at it.

Grandma Mary visited us for a weekend.  We did some shopping and read some stories.  Thanks for visiting us!

Cleaning up in the kitchen!

Just like cousin Kayla, I love to dance around the house.

Pretty soon it was time to get on the road again and go visit everyone in South Dakota for Thanksgiving.

Baking pies with Grandma Judy.

Baking pies was much more fun than what daddy did.  Daddy and Adam ran in a 5k on Thanksgiving morning, brrrrr.  Adam did so great, just hopped out of bed and with no training ran the entire way and even beat dad!

Getting some couch time with the family.

Cruising the streets of Henry with Connor.

Sharing some pumpkin pie after Thanksgiving dinner with mommy.

Grandma, Grandpa and all of us cousins.

The day after Thanksgiving was a busy day too.  I spent the afternoon at the farm with Bret, Karen, Liz and John.  I'm a little farm girl at heart, I just loved feeding the cows and riding in the tractor.  After all of the farm work, me and Liz had a little girl time and she painted my nails.
Friday evening we went to a parade before going to Kayla's birthday party.

Of course we took a little detour after the parade to help warm us up :)

Kayla's party is always so much fun.

Taking a bubble bath before heading back home.

Thanks everyone for making my Thanksgiving weekend so much fun!

Back in Omaha, it was time to start getting the house ready for Christmas.  Mommy had a special surprise for me, a tree that is just my size!

"Thanks mom, it's the best!"

Mommy and daddy were jealous that I have my own tree, so I was nice and went out and helped them find a tree too.

"Nope dad, that's not the one"

 "Here it is!"

 With the tree in the stand, I just needed to make a few small adjustments."

 Time to put the star on!

 This tree is so perfect, I just had to take a picture.

 The fun of decorating begins.

Thanks for stopping by,

Kaitlyn

I'm a Traveler

It has been way too long since my last update.  You know how this time of the year gets, busy, busy busy.

The last time we talked I said I was going to have something fun to talk about, and I sure do.  Me and mommy got on a plane and went to Denver!  We went to visit Melissa, Mathew and Emmitt.  They are moving to Canada for a couple of years and I just couldn't let them go without going to visit them before they left.

I had never been on a plane before, so I didn't know what to expect.  It was sure big.

I was a really good girl on the plane, I colored and read stories all the way to Denver.

Emmitt and I sure had fun being able to play together again.

One day, our mommies took us to the aquarium and to a butterfly exhibit.  Not sure why, but this lady thought that I'd like to see a big spider -I held back and didn't try to stomp this spider like I do at home!

Readying some stories with Emmitt and Melissa.

It wasn't all play in Denver though, we had to help pack too!

Then it was playtime when Mathew came home!

We had such a great trip, thanks for letting us stay with you guys for a few days.  And good luck in Canada "eh" :)

Kaitlyn