Princess Tent

Aunt Pat & Uncle Jim got the girls this cute princess tent for Christmas and they are obsessed. They are constantly crawling in and out, all whilst giggling up a storm. 

And of course Bails would never pass up the opportunity for a photo shoot. Of course only on the condition that she gets to see all of the pictures as soon as you are done.

Cute Bailey

One of those rare outings when we actually convinced her that it isn't hot and she should wear a coat. 

Great news: partly to keep her warm and partly so that we don't have to be scolded by other adults for taking our child outside without a jacket on.

...the mouse will play

I'm not sure if I should be considered the cat while I am cleaning up dinner and the house or if Sam is the cat taking a nap while he is supposed to be watching the children but...

 

nonetheless, while the cat is away one mouse will be sucked into the television while the other one will reap havoc...

 all while talking on her pretend phone...

 She is lucky she is cute.

Revolving Doors

On Sunday morning we were the last car to pack up and make the trip home. My Mom and Dad left bright and early to head to Northern California to visit my Grandma who checked into the hospital that weekend, and the rest of my siblings were a few hours behind them. We took our time, partly because our children were having a naughty morning and partly because the 7 hour car ride did not sound appealing. When we finally got our act together it was around 11 am. The hotel was busy, we had two tantrum kids, a butt load of luggage to carry, and about a half mile walk to our car; which basically added up to one of the most hectic 30 minutes of our lives. I would have paid a lot of money for a video camera following us during this walk, but since I walked away with nothing but a mental video of the ordeal you will just have to settle for this picture of Sam that I demanded he pose for as soon as we get home. After a lot of coaxing he finally agreed, but he told me he was not going to smile.

We head out of our room and start the long hallway trek to the elevator; it is maybe a football field distance away. Sam looks like this, while I am carrying Hazel, the diaper bag, the food cooler, the camera bag and trying to usher the angry, defiant 2 year old along. I get to the end of the hallway and start to regret my decision of carrying so much. My arms start feeling a little shaky from all the weight. I become a little apprehensive knowing that if Bails decided to make a run for it, she can most definitely beat me which makes me sweat a little. We finally get to the elevator which has a few other people waiting as well. This is good news because Bails stopped screaming and clings to my leg because she gets really shy when strangers try to talk to her. When we get to the bottom floor everyone walks off the elevator except for Bails. She gets angry again now that we are alone and refuses to get off the elevator. Once again a stranger saves the day and steps onto the elevator which makes her come running off towards us. Sam takes off walking towards the car at this point, leaving me with the two children and my arms full. I start walking slowly, hoping that my movement will just force her to follow me in anger. This makes her more angry, but it works and she temper tantrums the quarter of a mile to the front doors of the casino. She is throwing her purse of toys and then running to pick it up before I can bend down to pick it up. People are staring at me and Sam is long gone at this point. I just keep walking and she follows. I am trying not to laugh at my situation when all of a sudden I reach the end of the hallway and see the front revolving doors. At first I notice the doors are not moving, which is a first. Then I realize why they aren't moving. I notice Sam, still carrying all of our things, stuck in the door with THREE other men. I start laughing out loud and debate whether to pull the camera out of the bag. I decide against it for fear of peeing my pants. I am sure people thought I was crazy dragging my two kids across a lobby while nearly falling over laughing as Sam literally took like 3 minutes to inch his way forward and out of that revolving door. One of the funniest things I have ever seen. Especially because the other 3 men stuck with him were not little by any means and they were all trapped together in a small space while they inched-wormed themselves out. I am pretty sure I broke into laughter every 20 minutes the entire 7 hour drive home as he just rolled his eyes and told me to leave him alone.

Ice Cream

When I was pregnant with Hazel I would hear plenty of stories from people saying with the second, third, fourth etc child parents become way more relaxed with different rules. I used to tell myself that would never be me, I would stay the same with all of my children. Well, less than a year into having my second child I am that parent and then some. Little Miss Hazel got her first taste of ice cream thanks to adoring Aunts and Uncles that love to share their treats. And I think it is an understatement to say that she was a huge fan. 

 

 She is already Miss Independent and throws a fit if you don't let her do things herself. She must hold her own spoon and attempt to feed herself. However, with ice cream she will make an exception and eat off of your spoon as well. And by eat off of your spoon I mean steal your bite from out of nowhere like a shark attacking its prey.

 And she does love being the center of attention and making everyone laugh.

 She was quite proud of herself. Cheering and applauding herself for taking a yummy bite.

 And doing her best to make sure that Robby did not get anymore of his ice cream.

Lucky little Hazel-roo.

Football, A Birthday, & A Wii!!!

Friday we woke up nice and early for David's birthday celebration. We watched a little television propped up on some pillows and then sent the little girls next door to wake up Robby and Rachel.

Then it was time for the birthday celebration. We headed back over to Aunt Pat & Uncle Jim's to watch the Nebraska football game and eat some yummy birthday cake. Bailey was beyond excited to help decorate and mostly eat the cupcakes.

 

She started off really well applying the sprinkles after Aunt Pat, Janet, and Rachel frosted. And then before I knew it I looked down at her and she was licking the pink frosting off a cupcake. This is when we retired her from her job and sent her to off to eat one. I guess my cake loving two year old could only withstand the temptation for so long. 

 

 

She devoured every last crumb of that cupcake in about two minutes. She only stopped for a second when I asked her to smile at the camera. 

 

Unfortunately she has been hanging around Robby too much and so her "smiles" are more like silly faces which she finds hilarious.

 

Lucky for Hazel, Robby was around to sneak her bites of frosting and other treats.

 

She also re-found her love of water bottles. 

 Thank goodness for Papa reading some stories; it put Robby right to sleep. 

 And I would like to take this last second to brag about myself. My Aunt and Uncle are the best and bought the Deal or No Deal game for the wii. They set up a tournament where every person had 2 chances to play and total up their winnings for their very own chance at the grand prize: their very own wii! Score #1 happened throughout the day on Thanksgiving. Sam put in a decent showing for our family, but I had pretty much no shot of taking home the bacon. And then Friday rolled around and we finished off the game. Connie started round #2 off and between her two scores I figured I had no shot. Since David was very intrigued with the Nebraska game I skipped him and decided to just get my turn out of the way. I kept hitting no deal, no deal while I just knocked out big number after big number. Pretty soon I had the $750,000 and about 4 or 5 cases remaining from the left side. I decided to keep going for it just for fun, until I found myself with two cases left, the $750,000 and the $15,000. I decided to go big or go home and switched my case (because statistically you always should) and walked away with the big money, and eventually the wii. Wahoo!

 I am pretty sure nobody was more surprised at this outcome than me. 

We finished out our weekend in Reno with the Aladdin show. I was unsure how Bailey was going to do sitting through the 2 hours and besides her 20 minute power nap during the middle of it she was enthralled and loved every second. Poor Hazel got left behind with Janet. 

We had such a great Thanksgiving weekend with everyone. Thanks so much Aunt Pat & Uncle Jim for everything. We had a blast.

Thanksgiving Day!

Thanksgiving morning the runners in the family (Connie, David & my Dad) headed over to run a race. The rest of us were invited, but when we heard it was a 10k and not a 5k we all opted out and headed down to the hotel gym instead. Then it was time to head over to Aunt Pat and Uncle Jim's house. It is mandatory for bails to bring her purse stocked full of her favorite toys.

We were greeted with this gourmet lunch. Delicious sandwiches, chips and dips that tasted like heaven, and a yummy fruit tray that Bails would not leave alone. (She also wouldn't leave the little bowl of marshmallows alone either). 

 I had to keep reminding myself to stop eating so I could at least save a little room for the delicious turkey dinner a few hours later. 

In between eating sessions there was a lot of talking, watching football, chasing around little girls and dogs,

 dancing with the wii, naps, and fun prizes to win. Bails was the first winner and of course she picked the basket full of movie treats and (much to Sam's delight) the Avenger's movie!

 Luckily we were able to distract her with just dance so she didn't devour all of her treats at once. Robby and Rachel duking it out.

 Bailey was loving just sitting around and watching the games as she played with her mickey mouse figurines.

 And then she decided it was her turn and gave everyone a sound beating. She most definitely did not inherit any of my rhythm; the kid can actually dance.

 Before we knew it, it was time to gather around and eat once again. And I wish it was time to eat it all again right now. Everything was so good.

 Bailey was quite the happy camper. Hello Kitty on everything was a huge win with her. She demanded Sam go back and fill her bowl with more mashed potatoes just so she could use the bowl too.

Hazel was also in love. She ate and ate and then when she couldn't eat anymore she decided to feed the dogs. Unfortunately Rex and Bobby don't like carrots as much as she does.

 Bail was hitting that apple juice pretty hard...

 

Our evening ended with massages...

And we are still unsure what is wrong with Rob. 

 Thank you so much Aunt Pat and Uncle Jim for having us. We had such a great time and everything was wonderful. We love you guys so much.