Deck The Halls

I love having the house decorated for Christmas.  It just feels so warm and cozy!

Charlie loves to play under the tree :)

Annual Cookie Extravaganza

We had our annual cookie making with the Griesenauers over the weekend.  As always we made tons of yummy cookies!  Peyton enjoyed helping make the batch of chocolate chip with Jason and me and she loved making her first ginger bread house!  I am loving watching her participate in all of our holiday traditions this year.  It's so fun to experience it all through her eyes!

The other day I was sitting on the couch in the living room while Peyton was in her room.  She was suspiciously quiet but I didn't think too much of it.  She finally came running out of her room and I noticed something shiny on her face...she had smeared Vasoline allll over her face and neck.  There was a jar in a basket on her changing table and we've been putting it on her cheeks at night because they have been so chapped due to the cold weather and having a bit of a cold.  She was so proud of herself for putting in on - I couldn't help but just laugh!  I have a feeling two is going to be a lot fun and I will have many little stories like this to share!

Happy Birthday and Santa

On Sunday we continued the celebration since it was officially Peyton's birthday.  We spent the day as a family and packed in a lot of birthday and Christmas fun!

We started the morning by giving Peyton one last gift.  A high chair for her babies.  She put it right to use!

We decorated the tree and Peyton enjoyed helping.

Then it was off to Bread Co. for Peyton's favorite lunch - grilled cheese!


















After lunch it was home for naps.  When Peyton woke up we asked her if she wanted to go see Santa and she said "Sure!".

Waiting to see Santa

The closer we got I could see Peyton's hesitation growing and I wasn't sure how things would go.  As we approached Santa she got very shy and hid behind Jason.  Santa was very kind and even sang Happy Birthday to her when I told him it was her big day.  She didn't want to sit on his lap but was happy to sit on the little stool next to him.  Charlie was content and just staring at the crazy lady trying to make them smile!

After visiting Santa we decided to drive through Tilles Park to see the lights.  However, when we got there the line of cars to get in was so long we decided to go home instead.  It was close to dinner time and we didn't want to push it.  After dinner we got in our PJ's and decided to try Tilles again and this time we drove right in.  No line at all!  Peyton was getting tired but enjoyed seeing all the pretty lights.  Charlie was not as impressed and cried much of the time.

It was the perfect way to cap off a great weekend of celebrating our big TWO year old!

Purple Owl Party

We celebrated Peyton's 2nd birthday with a Purple Owl party.  I don't consider myself a great party planner but I've attended several toddler parties now for my nieces and nephew and have picked up some tips from my sister to make them successful!  Peyton had a great time and got so many nice gifts.  I'd say it was a success all around!

Ready to party!

I was pretty proud of the decorations I made.  I'm so not crafty so these were a big accomplishment for me!

I can't take credit for the cake.  Another awesome creation by my sister!

One of the tips I've picked up from my sister's parties is to have an activity for the kids to do.  I found these cute little owls at Michaels and the girls had a great time decorating them!

Peyton was a little overwhelmed when it came to opening gifts.  She loved everything she got and wanted to play with each toy as she opened it.  It took a while but we managed to open them all!  She loved her Bitty Baby and Elmo.  The Elmo talks and gives hugs and she looked at it like it was the real Elmo she sees on tv.  She was so infatuated with him!

We had great company as usual but missed Scott and Teddy (Teddy was napping) and Peyton's friend Harper who wasn't able to make it.

Auntie was on nap duty.  She was successful in getting Charlie to sleep!

Peyton enjoyed everyone singing Happy Birthday to her and enjoyed her cake even more!

Peyton had a great time and crashed after everyone left.  After her nap we all snuggled in bed and watched the Mizzou football game.  A perfect day!