Ummm...

It was just one of those days when the smiley mug wouldn't cut it.

Lauren was drinking her milk out of Mommy's Little Dam Mug from the Dam Store. Damn that is good!!! When my sister and I were younger, we would go visit my grandparents in Pennsylvania. We would pass the Dam Store and used it as an excuse to say damn. Oh, what fun times!

Unrelated....
I have recently posted a ton of new pics in different posts. Check them out so you don't miss a thing.

We miss you and love you so much, Keith!

Playing in the Snow

Lauren and I played the snow while Lilly was napping and had a chilly but very fun time.

Here is Lauren's first snowman. She loves him. She waves out the window to him and is always talking about his hair.


Lauren and her toddler-sized snowman.


Little snow princess.


Here she is making snow angels. I have never shown her how to do this. I guess she just figured out that laying in the snow and having your arms and legs glide across the snow was a fun thing.


Lauren taking her first step into the snow with her new Disney Princess boots. They light up.


Such a sad little girl. I was taking too long to get my coat that she thought we were not going out anymore. But we did and it was fun!

Snow Day

Our pretty snow from earlier this week. You left too soon, Kelle. It may have been cold but it wasn't this pretty.

Visiting Santa

I have already posted a photo from our visit with Santa and you can anticipate another one after I pick up the ones I paid for. Until then, here are some more pictures I took while we were visiting Santa.

In front of the store, they had this adorable sleigh that looked like it was begging to have toddlers in it. So we did just that. Lauren went in first and she did not want to come out. She loved it!


Lauren sat on the floor of the sleigh and Lilly in the actual seat.


Lilly was harder to control in it. She is not entirely stable at all times so she needed a little assistance.


Inside the store is filled with wonderful displays. They are known for their flowers and wonderful arrangements they do for weddings, parties and for commercial and residential decorating but their gift shop is fantastic. Overpriced but fantastic. Lauren loved the room filled with gifts for babies especially the bathtub filled with stuffed animals.


Lilly and Pa.


I loved this angel. She was nestled in between huge plants and woodsy displays including a small tree filled with candles in glass.

This bird feeder was nearby.


We missed these guys right away when we were with Santa because they are usually right next to him relaxing after pulling Santa's sleigh in to town. We found them wandering through the poinsettias.


We would have taken this little one home if we could.


My pretty little lady.


In complete and total awe of Santa. I think she just realized she forgot to ask Santa for anything. Don't worry, Lauren, Santa knows exactly what you want. ;)

She Has a Problem

I swear to you she is drinking juice! She wanted to be like Mommy so I rinsed out a can and put a little juice in it. She was so excited!!!

Family Pictures

Here are some more of our family pictures.

After many, many photos attempted, this is Grammy and Pa "in control" of the kiddies.

Grammy was the only one ready for this picture but she losing points for losing her kid.


Mommy and Daddy didn't fair much better.


While Aunt Kelle was still here, we managed to snap a picture of all of us together. As you can see, we have a new television and love it so much we wanted it to be in the picture with us. After all, it is a part of the family! (We got it a couple days before Keith left so he didn't get a chance to mount it on the wall.)


I may be alone in my love for this picture but it is too funny. Take a close look at the girl on the television. She looks like she is popping out of my head! Cracking myself up!!!

Instinct Kicks In

Lauren knew exactly what to do with the mixer beater... use it as a microphone. She was singing her new favorite song, for the moment, "So What" by Pink. She IS a rockstar and she knows it!

HealthyToys.org Lead Check

Because many of us are busy finishing up or, perhaps, starting our Christmas shopping, I thought I would add this search tool to my sidebar. This will allow you do a search on any product, especially toys, to see how much lead content is in it. You can never be too safe. I just saw on the news tonight that the Nintendo Wii has excessive lead in it!?! What!?! Plus, a lot of High School Musical items, if you are into that. The Healthy Toys website has a lot of helpful tips, lists and ways to contact politicians to get them to recognize and do something about the safety of toys.
Now, someone, please, help me off of my soapbox! Thank you.

Living Vicariously

So my brother-in-law, Kurt, and his lovely wife, Erika took a trip to the Big Apple recently. Tonight, I opened my email and found some great pictures that they chose to share with us and I am taking the liberty to share them with you. (I hope you guys don't mind, Kurt and Erika.)

Some of you may remember a few years back when Rachel and Tim visited the Today Show and suddenly became famous by talking to Al Roker on tv. (It was Al, wasn't it? Mommy brain.) Well, Kurt and Erika did what any NBC-loving, NYC tourist would do... trekked to Rockefeller Plaza! Here are there pics...

Meredith


Matt - personally, my favorite pic!



Al

For those of you who do not watch the Today Show with fierce loyalty, this guy is ALWAYS there. He just hangs out when they are taping and they often talk to him. I can't remember his name right now, but it is almost 1 in the morning. (I know I need to go to sleep, Mom, but I was just up with Lauren and I am going to bed right after this.)

Thanks to Kurt and Erika for the pics and I would like to make a request. If you get a chance, I would love to have some of your pics from the Christmas Story house to share with everyone. 'Tis the season! Besides, I have never seen those pics. Can't wait to hear how your NYC trip was!

Now, I am going to bed. Happy, Mom?

He Travels, Again - Ugh!

Well, Keith is gone, again. He left this morning and is on his way to northern Minnesota. He got up this morning, drove his hour commute to Plymouth and then turned around and drove to Mackinaw City for the night. I saw the weather forecast for where he will be spending the next two weeks and it is COLD! We already miss him terribly. At least we got to celebrate Thanksgiving before he left. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures from Thanksgiving day because, gasp, I forgot my camera! However, we had a very nice day at Grandpa and Grandma Swartz's house. They have a beautiful new addition on to their house which includes a huge dining room and a large, yet, cozy family room. Gorgeous. Lauren even gave it a, "Wow. Lots of room! WooHoo!" Yes, both girls are 'Woo Girls!"

Also, before Keith left, we took the girls to visit Santa and Mrs. Claus. We watched The Polar Express the night before and Lauren was really looking forward to visiting Santa. This is her third year visiting the same Santa and I was afraid of this... she wanted nothing to do with him when we got there. I decided it would be best for her to sit on Mrs. Claus' lap and tried to convince her that she was a Grammy. You will notice that neither girl is happy.




Oh well. We will try again next year. I just love going there. The pictures are done in the greenhouse area of Gerych's flower shop. It smells good and is decorated so beautifully and I swear that has to be the real Santa Claus. Pretty authentic looking, don't you think? Anyway, I have many more pictures that I will share at a later time; perhaps tonight I will upload them. These are pics from my mom. I use Keith's laptop all the time anymore and I have my camera software on my desk top so when I find time to use that computer be prepared for picture overload!

Before Grammy and Pa left, we took some family pictures. I love the look on Lilly's face. Again, I have a lot more of these plus pics of Grammy and Pa with the girls. Just like with Santa, these pictures were not easy to do.

One last thing...
Lauren is now in a big girl bed! She needs me in there for a while each night but it been for shorter stretches of time each night. She is still waking up, freaking out and only wanting me. She is extremely attached to me. She won't even go to Keith most of the time. It is always, "Mama, Mama, Mama." Strange that I wanted her to say it for so long and now I wish she would say, "Daddy!" Anyone else go through this or going through this now? How long does this last? I really need some advice on how to handle this especially since Keith is out of town and it is just me for two weeks. I need some way to keep sane and stay even tempered. Help!!! Advice from ANYONE!!!! Please!