Santa baby

Why yes, I *do* have the cutest Santa baby you ever did see!

Outfit--Santa hat found at Goodwill I believe for Raya by Grandma and Grandpa....vest was a baby gift when Brielle was born that she is just starting to fit into....skirt is from her holiday pjs....hand me down black jeggings from Raya :-)

Ha! I got the hat off!

What the hell?! Where'd that hat come from again?

You will never  win the hat battle Mama!

Today we decided to go into Toys R Us, just  to play haha. We needed to get out of the house for awhile and we had a great time! The girls looked so cute, I of course had to do a little photoshoot before we left. And Raya got her daily photoshoot sucker :-P

We tried a new hairstyle today :-)

Seriously child, can't you smile normally just once?!

Outfit: Jeggings from Target girl's section, plaid shirt from Gymboree clearance this summer, vest (same as Brielle's from her
pictures) from Toys R Us

We really hadn't intended to buy anything today....we just were playing. But Raya found a Barney and Baby Bop book (she has never owned one---just checked a couple out from the library before) and she carried this book around like it was gold and smiled and sang and danced along with the music, etc. I couldn't help but buy it for her! I planned to buy it for a Christmas present, thinking she'd forget about it once we got home, but oh no---she wanted her "barney book!!!!" as soon as we got home, so I just let her have it. She was over the moon excited. I have now heard the "I Love You" song no less than 50 times an hour! The things we do for our kids, I tell ya.

And to end, one more picture of baby Ryan--this one makes me smile with  all those chubby baby rolls hehe :-) Plus it's a good close up

Hope every else  is  having a wonderful  "hump day" as well! ...even if you didn't get to play at Toys R Us all morning ;-)

I want one!

This  morning during Brielle's nap I had Raya help me make her some comfy fleece pants :-) I had never sewn with fleece before and had an inkling, so the other  day when I went into town I picked up some fabric and today in about 30 minutes I had a pair of pants! Fleece is awesome because you don't even have to finish the seams. I didn't even hem the bottom of Rayas...just did a quick  zig zag around the bottom to fake a hem. Since fleece doesn't fray it doesn't  matter! Pretty sure I will never buy the girls another pair of pjs  again lol. I'm going to make Brielle  matching ones and then maybe even shirts too.  I  wish  I had bought enough fleece to make myself a pair!!!

Raya likes headbands so much now that she even leaves this giant one on! The perfect  accessory for loungewear :-P

Here she is pointing to  the candy on top of the fridge....she pretty much knows now that modeling = candy haha

Wanna know Raya's new "thing" today? Whenever  I  tell  her  no, as in "no  more treats" for example, she has been saying "Grandma told Ray Ray YES!"   hahaha....she knows how to play the game, for sure :-P

Brielle wasn't  cooperating for pictures this morning...but just  to  prove she's still here...

"Smile pretty"

Last night we began our book advent calendar! I know we were a couple days early, but I know there will be a couple nights we are gone/busy in December  so I decided to just  start (plus I was excited!) Haven't had a chance to wrap all  the books yet, but I wrapped up a few to give Raya options when  choosing last night. She had so much fun! Notice the cute owl wrapping paper we are using for the books? ;-)

As soon as we opened it she ran over to pick out another one to unwrap hehe. I had to explain it's only 1 each night!

Today during morning nap we also  squeezed in a couple  crafts. You can't really see, but the  snowman is made of letters in Raya's  name. She helped me put the  letter stickers on and arrange them in order...and then decorate the xmas  tree ...she  loves glue! We also did a handprint rudolph :-)

Lastly, my sister in law's sister put a collage on her blog yesterday that I thought I'd  steal for here too ;-P It's a collage of my new nephew Ryan with all  his cousins as babies. Isn't it funny how much babies that age look alike? At least I think these do!

And one  last  one for good measure...Megan sent  out more  pictures  and I just had to show you all  how much hair Ryan has! I mean seriously, why couldn't  my girls have  gotten that  head of hair?!?! Guess I married the wrong brother ;-)   (just  kidding! ...well, I *do* want that head  of hair  on my last baby lol)

As much as I hate being preggo and the early months with a new baby  are exhausting, don't ya just  wanna have another to snuggle after seeing that picture?! ;-)

What a mess!!!

So as I alluded in my previous update, last night we had a major catastrophe! Lee was watching the girls while I was sewing and he had them blocked off in the living room with the baby gate/playyard. Well when he left to go into the kitchen to make Brielle a bottle Raya tried to get out of the gated off area by pushing over the playyard and it knocked over our tall floor lamp, which then shattered the glass globe ALL OVER THE UPSTAIRS! I swear it looked like enough glass that it could have been 5 lamps---I have no idea how one lamp made so much glass! It was all in the carpet all over the hardwood floors, and even had slid over the staircase to the basement below! What a nightmare. We had to get the girls in bed and then vacuum about 6 times and sweep and then still  wear shoes in the house now because we can't be certain we got it all! Oy.

In other news though, our upstairs looks so pretty and festive :-) I got some lighted garland for the banister and I  have my little trees in the dining room to hold me over until we go get our main tree.

Today during  morning nap the  big  kids did winter  crafts :-) First we did egg carton snowmen! They kids used chalk to draw a winter wonderland scene and then picked out ribbon and poms to decorate the snowman. I glued everything on just the way they wanted and presto--cute snowmen pictures! They even have hats and little straw arms :-P

I had them name the snowmen and I wrote it down for them. Sawyer named his "ala kazam kazoo" and "the witch" ...Raya named hers "little  girl" and "Raya" hehe. It's hard sometimes because we often forget that Raya is more than a year younger than Sawyer, but times like this you really notice the age difference because Raya just couldn't grasp the concept of "naming" something lol. And what really made me laugh and laugh was that after Sawyer declared his snowman to be "ala kazam kazoo" he looked at Raya and said "Raya, I think you should name your snowman 'Henry'"  hahahaha....I just  love that *his* snowman got a very elaborate name and then the next name he though of was "Henry" :-)

Then we also made christmas tree ornaments with foam stickers

New fav outfit alert! Raya is so hard to fit for jeans and I love the  idea of "jeggings" but the ones for toddlers are usually not *real* jeggings...they are more like leggings just printed with a jean-like pattern or something. Well Target has REAL jeggings that are super cool, but in big girl sizes. So I bought her a size 4 in the big girl and just rolled them up...they worked perfectly! And her dress was a $4 clearance from Target. I wish I had taken a picture of her standing b/c it got a elastic waist so it "balloons" at the top and it's so stinkin' cute!

Lastly, don't all fight over who is going to stay overnight as guests first! Lee created a guest bedroom in our storage area the other night haha. So far his parents have just slept on a mattress on the floor out by our fireplace when they've come b/c we don't have a designated guest room, but our storage room is big enough for a bed so Lee created one---doesn't  it look super inviting?! ;-)  Lee plans to evenutally dry wall  this so it'll work great, but for now it's a little scary looking haha. At least it's toasty warm and has carpet!

Oh, and I tell ya, that *other* Aunt (Megan's sister) continues to one up me--she figured out how to get the picture of Ryan off her phone and onto the computer! :-) This was one I hadn't seen yet---isn't he sweet? You can't see his hair in this one though--I tell ya, the boys get all the hair! hehe

That's  all  for today!

I'm an Aunt!!!! (Again!)

Ryan Carl H. was born tonight--9lbs and 20.5 inches long. We are so happy for Lee's brother and  wife Megan...wish we lived closer  to  go give the big guy some hugs and  kisses! Megan has texted a couple pictures and although it's always hard to tell  what a baby *really* looks like this early, I'm seeing Shawn's darker coloring but a lot of Megan's  features...we'll see if I'm right! Megan promises to send more pictures tomorrow ---but oh my, the after bath picture she sent awhile  ago had tons of chubby baby deliciousness hehe :-)

Oh, and get this! The little stinker  decided to be born on his OTHER aunt's birthday! I mean, if Megan's sister thinks she can win favorite aunt that  easily she's mistaken. I need to come up with my own claim to fame, but so far I got nothin' lol. ...but I did say I'm buying him a pony :-P

HAPPY BIRTHDAY RYAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll post a "real" blog  update on the girls tomorrow---too tired after working in my sweat shop all night, and after cleaning up shards of glass  with Lee all  evening after Raya  broke our floor lamp and managed to shatter the glass lamp globe so that the entire dining room and living room was covered in glass bits. Oy.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

....so tonight we got out our new holiday pjs and said "Merry Christmas!" hehe

I swear, that  "smile" of Raya's  keeps getting more and more strange!

A little tutu wrestling--a staple in this house!

Brielle looked so stinkin' cute in her "santa's little  helper" pjs...I kept finding myself singing "Santa baby" to myself hehe

Today we got our some of our decorations and the fake tree. The fake tree is the "man room" tree, covered in all of Lee's hunting and fishing decorations that his mom buys him. Even has a shotgun shell "garland" LOL. We get a real tree every year of *my* girlie tree upstairs---not sure when we're going to go do that this year  yet.

...but Raya was thrilled helping with daddy's tree today

Kissing a moose :-P

Brielle was sequestered in baby jail during the decorating lol

...and when I got her out to "enjoy" the tree a little, she had a major meltdown! I think she's just waiting to help with Mama's tree. :-)

Gunner was just like "I remember the good old days when *I* got to help decorate the tree.

Since this is Brielle's  first Christmas, I feel  the need to document all her holiday attire! (oh, who am I kidding, I decorate all attire period, whether it's a first anything or not! :-)  ....anyways, here is Brielle wearing one of Raya's hand - me -down festive outfits

Getting excited!

Crash and burn :-P

My beautiful girl

Raya dressed festively today too. I tried to get her to model the ribbon tree shirt (which hasn't been nearly as popular as my other holiday shirts for some reason! I wonder if it's because people think they can just glue on some ribbon themselves? My ribbons are machine stitched all the way around so they look extra cute and wash up really well :-)

....anyways, Raya  wasn't being a great model for me. She tried though!

And her effort earned her a sucker reward of course!

Lastly, in case there was any doubt, Baby Bop lives  the good life around here. Today Raya came to find me and asked for milk--for Baby Bop. I showed her how her pretend cup could have milk in it and next thing I know she has Baby Bop all set up for a wonderful little snack hehe

Then she found  her  blender and fake fruit and she said "Baby Bop really likes this" haha. Good to know! Brielle helped add the strawberry :-P

Hope everyone had a great Friday! Ya  know what's sad? When I have a variety of items I need to get in town (basic groceries, sewing supplies, etc.) and I'm too terrified to leave my house because of the black friday crazies! Guess the rest of my Etsy orders will have to wait a day or two!