Riley Family Christmas

The Riley family got together on Christmas Day. It was so much fun and crazy with 6 kids running around. Everyone was there early Saturday morning, except for Josh he was in Alabama. The opening of gifts was crazy, somehow the kiddos, including Claire, just started opening their gifts as soon as they were laid in front of them. It was hard to keep track of who got what and yet it was still fun to just let the kids go nuts. The family got the Just Dance game for the Wii and I must say it got very interesting. We had a good time dancing, especially Claire. She didn't want to stop playing. Everyone but mom and dad danced and unfortunately it is on video.

One of the highlights was on Sunday, our Christmas Present from Josh...Josh. It was so good to see him since we don't see him often. Josh confided in Jared that he was coming as a surprise and that Jared had to get everyone there for his grand entrance. It made Christmas so special with Josh here. I am so thankful for my family and a little shocked that Jared kept a secret from me!

Merry Christmas!

Opening presents. Claire opened Quinn's here as well.
Quinn's favorite gift, a mini candy cane!
(She seriously hung on to that all day)

The girls dancing to the Wii

Yes, that is Jared shaking his groove thing!

Claire singing and dancing to Who let the dogs out.

WHO WHO WHO!!!

Lieser Family Christmas

The Lieser family got together on Thursday afternoon and Friday this year. It was an awesome visit and the girls had a good time playing. Megan, Preston and the boys were not able to make it because they were sick...it was a little creepy with only girls in the house. We missed those boys!!! We are looking forward to meeting up this weekend to have Christmas with them!

Claire helping Allie open her gift.
Claire helping Quinn open her gift.

The Lieser Girls

Playing so quietly.

Sweet girls!

Best Christmas Ever

This Christmas may have been one of the best Christmases ever, for several reasons. This year was so much fun. We decided last year to have an ornament tradition where the girls can pick out a new ornament every year to put on the tree. (In a previous post I posted a picture where Claire was putting hers on the tree) It was so neat to let Claire pick hers out and be excited about hanging it on the tree. Quinn's was picked out by her daddy this year. We also will have a new pajama tradition. This year Claire and Quinn got pj's that they got to wear for Christmas morning. We also have the tradition of Jared reading the Christmas story after we open gifts, both girls actually sat near him as he read. I am so excited about starting new traditions with my family. I absolutely love this time of year and love what Christmas is all about...Jesus and family.

I witnessed Santa putting the girls gifts under the tree the night before we opened gifts and I was truly giddy. Yes, I said giddy! I was anticipating their sweet faces lighting up as they opened their gifts. I could barely sleep I was so excited...I truly felt like a kid again. I couldn't wait until morning!! We had Christmas here with just the 4 of us on Thursday. Claire noticed the presents under the tree but no reaction, she was still tired and wanted to cuddle with me. I must admit I was a little disappointed, I guess I expected squeals of delight. Once I told her she could open the presents she hopped off my lap and started collecting as many as she could in her arms...the squealing began. This is what I was waiting for!! I knew from Claire's birthday that she was going to be very excited to open presents. I also knew she would probably want to open Quinn's...and she did...and Quinn was a good sport and let her. Every time a gift was opened Claire would say WOW or would have a wide open smile. Priceless!

This was Quinn's first Christmas! I am glad she was old enough to enjoy her gifts and even willing to let Claire open all of her gifts. She played with the wrapping most of the time anyway. Quinn got a few outfits this year, and Claire loved opening them and telling Quinn exactly what she got. "N..shirt." "N...pants." "N...toy" We didn't get Quinn very man toys this year, I figure we could get away with passing down Claire's old toys, so she mainly got clothes. It was a very good first Christmas for Quinn.

We then went to Enid to spend Christmas with Jared's and my family. We went to The Lieser's first and then the Riley's. (posts to come) Claire and Quinn were able to open presents Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. I was afraid Claire was going to think that it was going to be an everyday thing after that. (How cool would that be?!)

I am very bummed that the Christmas decorations have to come down. It means that the season is over and now we just have winter, I am not fond of winter. So I am already looking forward to next year.

Merry Christmas!
Claire gathering the gifts

Opening!

Helping each other open

WOW!

Not sure what this look means...but she ended up liking it. :)

Hmmmm...Bowling?

Yeah for bowling!!

(look at new pajamas...I love them)

This is how I bowl

Claire playing and enjoying Quinn's toy

This picture makes me laugh so I had to include it.

How did Santa know that I loved to color and needed more coloring books?

Reading the Christmas story and learning the real reason for Christmas...

JESUS!

The Christmas Train...Choo Choo!

Jared was given tickets for our family to the Christmas Train as a Christmas gift. The Christmas Train is at Dry Gulch USA near Adair, OK put on by Church On The Move out of Tulsa. The Christmas Train is an old-fashioned steam train, as you ride the train you are going past different artwork and actual live scenes depicting the creation all the way to the Resurrection of Jesus. There were also pony rides, wagon rides, gift shops, Santa Clause, a puppet show and more. If interested check out their website www.christmastrain.com.

We had tickets originally for Thursday the 16th of December. We got the girls all bundled and loaded into the car and start our hour long (maybe a little longer) drive to ride the Christmas Train. Claire was super excited about the choo choo! It was about 35 degrees when we arrived and we were starving so we went to the Stew and Chili house to eat and warm up. The stew and chili were amazing...Claire enjoyed the chili so much she ate about 1/2 to 3/4 of the bowl. She has always been a good eater but we thought wow this child is hungry tonight. Once we finished we got in line for the train. We arrived in line at a good time, not many were there yet and it didn't look like we would have a long wait. While in line Claire started acting like she didn't feel good. Jared was comforting her and then all of the sudden she got sick everywhere! Jared and Claire were covered along with the sidewalk. (Not sure we could ever eat chili again!) Jared and I were like "What do we do?" I had brought a blanket so Jared started cleaning up where we were standing the best he could while I tried to keep Claire from touching anything or anyone. We hadn't been in line that long but already we were trapped by people behind us waiting. Once we cleaned up as much as we could we had to excuse ourselves under the ropes and find the nearest bathroom. We ended up leaving Dry Gulch and the Christmas Train without a train ride. Jared thought he would try and email the Christmas Train organization and tell them our story. We were there all of about 45 minutes, no train ride, and an hour long drive back with a sick kiddo. He was thinking maybe they would discount us some tickets for next year or something. He must of made it sound pretty pathetic because they called and gave us new tickets for Tuesday the 21st!!! They even asked if Claire was feeling better.

So fast forward to last night. We ate dinner before we left, no chili this time!!!! The best part was that it was 10 degrees warmer and barely any wind. We arrived and went straight to the train line. We only had a ten minute wait and as we passed the spot where Claire got sick we laughed and were secretly crossing our fingers that no one was going to get sick again. Claire had a good time on the train and the message was good. Claire loved it when they blew the whistle. We also attended the puppet show at Sawdust Theatre. It was a reading of The Night Before Christmas. It was so cute and so funny. Claire got a kick out of the monkey puppet and would yell monkey every time it came out. She would laugh and dance and seemed very entertained. We visited other areas of the place also but I think these were Claire's favorites. Quinn was enjoying the ride, she is a people watcher and had plenty of people to watch. It was worth the 4 hours total driving, the dry cleaning bill for Jared's coat, and the cold weather. We had a good time and are very grateful that The Christmas Train was gracious enough to give us a second set of tickets.

Conversation with Claire on the way home.
"Claire, did you have a good time?
"I do"
"Did you like the puppets?"
"PUPPETS!!!"
"Did you like the train?"
"I do...Train...CHOO CHOO!!!"

Picture of Claire the first attempt, not feeling good.
The puppet show!

They were enthralled.

In line for the train.

In the train depot, we have our boarding passes.

On the train looking out the window.

In front of the steam train

These two got in our picture without us knowing. :) Awesome!

Christmas Lights

We took the girls to see the Christmas lights at Rhema last night. It was 35 degrees with the wind blowing about 15 miles an hour. It was FREEZING!!! We had Claire wrapped like a burrito and Quinn was a snuggle bunny in the car seat. I was wishing I could have been Quinn, she looked so comfy and warm and was blocked from the wind. The lights were beautiful and Claire loved it. So much in fact that when we told her we were going home she started to say "No, no, no" in a very sad and pathetic voice. Once we got to the car she refused to get in...freezing didn't matter to her, she wanted to see lights. When we finally got her in the car we drove around to look at lights and she was satisfied with that. We had a really good time. Snuggle bunny

WOW!!!!!

She really loved the lights!

Wrapped up nice and warm

Quinn Update

Pulled up to the couch.
In Claire's closet.

Quinn had her 9 month well check this last week. Here are her stats. She weighs 17#4oz (23%) and is 29" tall. (91%) Tall and skinny! She did so well at the doctor. Probably because this was not a vaccination visit. :) That was good for us all. Claire of course needed to be the center of attention so she drew a circle and showed it the doctor and told her it was a circle. She then kept drawing and then interrupting the doctor to show her what she had drawn. So cute.

Quinn started pulling up at Thanksgiving...a little bit. She is now pulling herself to standing against anything she can get her little hands to support her on. She is not scared or worried she just pulls up. She loves to stand up next to the couch and pull things off. This used to be were I would lazily keep things that I didn't want her to have. I guess it is time to actually put things away now. She is leading me to believe that she will be walking soon but I am hoping she is just syking us all out.

She loves to play with big sisters toys. If she wanders away it is usually to Claire's room where she can play. Her and Claire will play for long periods of time in there. I love to listen to them. Usually it is Claire telling Quinn "No, no, no, Quinn. No touch" I wonder where she has heard that before.

Quinn is talking quite a but herself. Still just mama and dada and bububububu as far as words but she likes to speak jibberish a lot. She loves to squeal real loud to get your attention and then she will tell you quite the story. I love her voice...I love that she is willing to out speak Claire to get noticed if she has too.

Claire Update

Claire had her two year well check a couple of weeks ago and I would like to share her stats. She weighs 27#14oz (65%) and is 34.65" tall. (72%) She is not too keen on the doctor and likes to do everything possible to keep the stethoscope and the ear thing-a-ma-jiggy from getting anywhere near her. She starts to freak out as soon as she gets sat on the table. Once the doctor was able to check her out she did say she was very proud of Claire and thought she was doing great developmentally and physically. The doctor asked how having a two year old was going so far. It had only been a week so I said so far so good ask me again at her three year appointment. :)

Claire is talking a mile a minute. I can't always understand what she says and she sometimes gets frustrated with me when I guess what she said. I love how everything she says she thinks is important and how she cocks her head to the side and will look at me so seriously and just jabber away.

The "Terrific Twos' have been good so far. We have had our meltdowns and tantrums for sure and she says the word no more than any other word and with a lot more conviction but I am looking forward to watching her learn and watching her eyes light up when she figures something out. (I am still trying to be positive, only 50 weeks to go!)

This was on our handout given to us by our pediatrician.

It is important to understand right from the beginning that you cannot reason with a two year old and it is a waste of time to try to argue with one. Once you have accepted these facts, this important year with your child will become one of the best you may ever have.

*Picture of the week*

This picture was taken seconds before she dropped and broke her snowman ornament.

(Silly me...what was I thinking? We replaced it the next day.)

Teether

Quinn has 4 new teeth!!! It has been the worst teething experience I have ever dealt with. Poor Quinn, it must have been awful. For the last week and a half she had been teething big time, the top 4 teeth were all coming in at once. She was fussy during the day and then would be up 2-3 hours at night. I felt like all I was doing was rubbing orajel on her gums and giving her Tylenol. She was putting anything and everything in her mouth to chew on. On Thanksgiving day one had broke through and by Friday all of them had come through. Wednesday and Thursday were the worst of the nights and I apologize to the Lieser family for having to hear her cry at 3:00 in the morning. They have not come down too far but I think the worst is over...until the next tooth comes in. On a good note she has been sleeping through the night since they came in. Yeah for Quinn and YEAH for mommy!!!

Terrific Two

MO MO!
Cute little "TWO TWO" girl

Birthday Donuts

Claire is now 2. I am trying to be positive about this new milestone so I am calling it the Terrific Two's!!

I look back on the last 2 years and I can not imagine my life without Claire. She is such a joy and I am truly thankful that the Lord has in trusted her to me. She is still a very serious child and I love that about her, I love that she wants to take it all in before she does things. Over the past couple of months she has blossomed into a very funny and active little girl. Once you have warmed her over she will talk your ear off or will demand that you play with her over and over and over. She loves to sing and dance. She can hum most of the theme songs from her favorite cartoons and has the cutest little bottom shake dance that she does. I am not sure where she learned that but it is quite adorable.

Claire is still very independent and can be a little stubborn, she wants to do everything on her own. This can be a blessing and a curse depending on if we are going to be late somewhere or not. She likes to put on her pants and her shoes by herself. She is working on the shirt but has not mastered it yet.

She is such a big helper when it comes to Quinn. She likes to give Quinn her paci and toys and she still gets very upset if her sister is crying. She has a really big heart and she loves her family very much! She gives the best hugs with a little pat on the back at the same time. (She learned this from her daddy) Claire is picky about her kisses and doesn't just give them away but when she does they are awesome! (Jared hopes she will be picky with kisses the rest of her life!!!)

We are trying to teach her that she needs to share her toys with her sister. So far it is not working, everything is "MINE!". I am really hoping this is just a stage and that it ends quickly.

When she was 18 months old she only said mama, dada, and no. I was more than a little worried that she wouldn't be talking by 2, boy was I wrong! In 6 months time she has quite the vocabulary. She repeats everything and can say big words that I am surprised she even knows. She can recognize the ABC's and knows what sounds the letters make. She can also count to 10 and can recognize most numbers but not quite all of them. She is a very smart girl and Jared and I are very proud of her. I am pretty sure everyone knows that.

My favorite thing about Claire is her laugh and her smile. It is so beautiful and pure and innocent. I hope she never loses that.

The Terrific Two's have begun and I pray that in the middle of a tantrum or a stubborn fit that I remember that it is just a phase and somewhere in there is my sweet smiling Claire. Wish me luck, I can't wait!

Cuteness

I have to share the cute things that the girls have done the past couple of days. It makes me so happy and glad to be their mommy.

In the car on the way to church last night Claire was making faces and shaking her head from side to side in her car seat. This made Quinn squeal with delight and she would laugh...which made Claire laugh and then want to continue on with the game. It went on for about 15 minutes. I turned off the music and just listened to my girls laugh and play. It was the best!

Today we were in the car on our way home and Claire and I were singing to her favorite CD. (VBS CD from July that we still listen to daily. Claire can start humming what song is next...that is how much we listen to it) Suddenly Claire is shushing and saying night. I look back and she has her finger up to her lips she is looking at me and saying "Shhhh, Shhhh, N night, N night!!!!" Translation- Be quiet mommy Quinn, Claire calls her N, is sleeping or night as she refers to it. I have only seen her put her fingers to her mouth and shhhh a couple of times but never to me. It was pretty cute, she was just doing what I do to her when Quinn is asleep. Oh how they watch and imitate us.

Claire wanted my attention so I asked her "What do you need Claire?" She laid on the floor and started rubbing her belly and said "Ticka, Ticka, Ticka!" with the biggest smile on her face. She was wanting some tickle time. :) Too funny.

Quinn is an amazing crawler and gets where she wants to go quickly. She loves to follow Claire around especially in Claire's room with all of the toys. The girls will play for quite awhile together. Quinn stares at her big sister alot and Claire is always ready to make her laugh. Dinner time is near impossible, Quinn is always watching her sister and not paying attention to her food. Needless to say there are lots of laughs and lots of baby food all over the side of Quinn's face.

I am blessed to be able to stay home and watch all of these special moments that I will always remember. Thanks to Jared for being willing to let me stay home and for him "bringing home the bacon".

*Picture of the week*

Claire-23 1/2 months

Quinn- 8 months

Jared- 28 years

Claire is a rock star

Claire has been pacifier free except for naps and bedtime for a whole week!!!! Yeah!!! We had wanted to get rid of it when she was one but we knew Quinn was coming and that there was no way she was going to be able to do it. We could have been wrong because she has been a rock star all week and has hardly asked for it. I was so afraid of taking it away from her, I only thought the worst and did not give her nearly enough credit. She is such a big girl and has handled it very well. I think I may have been more terrified to let her get rid of it than she was. Hopefully soon she won't need it at all but I am not setting an end date just yet. I am now worried about getting rid of Quinn's.

*Picture of the week*

This may come as a shock to some, it did to me anyway. I did not take one picture this week!!!! I don't think that has happened since Claire has been born. For those of you that did not know that about me, I am usually a crazy mommy with a camera. :) There is always next week!

*Pictures of the week*

THE MIGHTY LION QUINN
ROO CLAIRE AND JOEY

MAKING SURE THE CANDY IS SAFE?!?

WHOOHOO CANDY!