Christmas in Oklahoma

We started off our Christmas break with a quick trip to Oklahoma to celebrate Christmas with friends and family.  The girls always have fun seeing everybody, but this year the highlight was definitely getting to play with their cousins and getting to visit their great-grandmothers:  

Early Christmas

Every year, our dear aunt sends early Christmas presents.  The girls really enjoy getting to open some gifts before Christmas Day, and it seems to make them even more excited about the holidays.  This year was no exception:

Sophie loved her new book and her new math toys (which she has been playing with non-stop since she opened them):

Even with all the fun toys, Helena's favorite gift was her kitty shirt (she loves Buster and Louise and "kitty cat" is one of her favorite things to say).  She liked it so much that she insisted that we put it on her immediately, over her pajamas:

Helena was upset that we would not open the cats' gift, so she tried to open it herself:

She was convinced there was a snack in there for her.  She was very sad to learn that it was really for Buster and Louise.  I guess the cat on the front of the bag didn't tip her off.

Despite the disappointment over the cat food, both girls had a blast opening their gifts and they spent the whole weekend playing with all their cool new toys.

Gingerbread House

Last weekend, Sophie and I decorated our gingerbread house.  You might remember that we didn't get to decorate last year's until Valentine's Day, so we wanted to be sure we got to it on time this year.  Sophie was very proud of the finished product, and she was also very happy that there was lots of leftover candy:

Christmas Program

Tonight, Sophie had her first school Christmas program.  She was very excited and could hardly wait to get to school:

The Second Graders put on a play while the Kindergarten and First Grade classes helped by singing cute songs:  

Sophie really seemed to enjoy performing and we enjoyed getting to watch.  It's hard to believe that she's old enough to be in school play, but I think we have a lot to look forward to as she gets older.

Helena: Post-Nap

No caption necessary...

Winter Wonderland

This past Friday, we visited a nearby park with some friends to see the "Winter Wonderland" Christmas display.  They had over a million lights this year, and the girls enjoyed seeing everything.  We decided to rent a carriage to take us through the park, and although it was cold, it was a great way to see the lights:

Helena - 16 Months

It's hard to believe, but Helena is 16 months old now.  Yesterday, we went to the doctor for a checkup and some shots.  Helena is now 31 3/4 inches tall (80th percentile) and she weighs 22 lbs, 14 oz (45th percentile)!  Here is a recent photo:

And here's another recent photo we just wanted to share (this is what happens when Helena "helps" me bake - she samples all the merchandise):

New Pictures!

This weekend we went to have some new family photos taken, and we just wanted to share a few that we really liked:

Fall is finally here!

For the past several months, it has been unseasonably warm here, but the past few weeks have brought us cooler weather and the leaves have been rapidly falling off the trees in the backyard.  Last weekend, much to Sophie's delight, we finally decided to rake.  Sophie really looks forward to jumping in the leaf piles every year, but Helena wasn't so sure at first:

Although Sophie doesn't usually like making a mess, she can't get enough of playing in the leaves:

Although Helena is usually my child who loves being in the middle of the mess, she initially hated the leaves.  She eventually warmed up to them, though:

Happy Halloween!

Earlier this evening, we went trick-or-treating.  Sophie has been looking forward to this day for weeks!  She was very excited to help me choose the theme for this year's costumes.  Sophie ultimately decided on superheroes.  Here are a couple of shots of the girls in their costumes (I especially like the first one because Helena looks like she's getting ready to take down a bad guy):

Pumpkin Carving

This afternoon, we did our annual pumpkin carving.  This was a special year because Sophie actually touched the inside of a pumpkin for the first time (she normally refuses to participate in anything that involves getting dirty):

Helena, on the other hand, would have loved being in the middle of the mess, but we had to keep her contained for safety's sake (I did carve a baby pumpkin for her, though):

Of course, Nick was excited to be able to use power tools, although he did do some of the work by hand:

All in all, I think the pumpkins turned out pretty well.  We can't wait for everyone to see them next weekend!

10th Anniversary

Yesterday was our10th anniversary!  It's hard to believe it's been that long already.  We celebrated by spending some time alone (without kids), which is something we rarely do anymore.  The most exciting part of the day was our helicopter tour of the city.  Although we've already visited all the landmarks and I was very nervous about being in that tiny helicopter, it ended up being a pretty amazing way to see everything:

Here are a few of our favorite shots from the trip.  The Arch:

The Budweiser campus:

Busch Stadium:

The Botanical Garden:

Soulard:

Lafayette Park:

Cooking

Last weekend, the girls and I decided to whip up some Oreo truffles while Nick worked in the yard.  Sophie is always very excited to help me cook or bake, but only as long as she doesn't have to do anything that would result in her getting dirty.  This means no kneading, mixing, egg cracking, etc., but if you need someone to hand you a utensil that's still clean, she's your girl.  So, Sophie mostly ends up watching but it's fun having her there nonetheless and she always asks a lot of questions so she can learn what I'm doing.  As for Helena, I'm pretty sure she was only hanging around because she spotted food.  And in case you were wondering, our counters really aren't super short; the girls are both standing on stepstools: