busy busy December.....

Aaron's sister Mandi gave Emma a haircut on the 22nd. She looks so grown up with her new style:

and here is what it looks like on the side:

She loves her new haircut and so do we. Thanks Mandi! Later that night we went to the Christensen Christmas party. Santa came and the girls sat on his lap. 

Santa asked Emma what she wanted for Christmas and her reply-----a phone! Yes, Emma wanted a cell phone. I think she just didn't know what to say because she didn't expect Santa to ask her that question. Emma did very well with Santa this year.

Olivia----well this is the Before picture.......

and this is the After picture. AFTER Santa asked her what she wanted for Christmas:

Olivia did NOT want to talk to Santa. Oh well, maybe next year she won't cry.

This is my 2nd post for today. Read below for todays first post.

Snow.....

On December 21st we had 10 inches of snow fall. Later that afternoon after it stopped snowing the girls wanted to go outside and play in the snow. We got the girls all dressed up in their warm winter gear.....

.....and we went outside. Aaron made a snowman with the girls. Then while Aaron shoveled the driveway the girls and I played in the snow. The girls had a lot of fun. Olivia wasn't too sure of playing in the snow----but after she watched Emma play in it for awhile she began to play in the snow as well. 

Emma:

Olivia:

Look at ALL that snow----10+ inches fell in one night/morning. Two days later-----completely melted and gone. Emma said "my snowman melted but we can make a new one when it snows again." She sounded disappointed that their snowman didn't last longer than 2 days.

On another note Emma said something funny a few days ago----it went like this:

Emma: Daddy, I want to be like you.

Aaron: You do?

Emma: Yeah, I want to be strong like you and have muscles..........but I don't want a beard.

It was a cute conversation.

Family pictures.

Merry Christmas everyone! Today is Christmas----but I am going to make another post before I make a Christmas post. For Christmas this year we thought that we would get family portraits done for both sides of our families. We haven't had a family portrait taken for awhile. Here are a few pictures that were taken for my side of the family:

The Christensens 2010

Emma:

Olivia:

The Girls:

Emma being silly:

Aaron and I:

and these are the photos we had taken for Aaron's family:

Aaron's sister Mandi and her husband Chris and their son Shane----and us:

The Girls with their baby cousin Shane:

Olivia thought she should be done taking pictures. Emma looks like she is contemplating something:

Gingerbread House.

Last Saturday on the 11th Aaron's Mom Loretta (Nana) came and picked me and the girls up--Aaron was at work. Loretta wants to make the girls their own quilts so she took us to some of her favorite fabric stores and let the girls pick out fabric for their quilts. Emma picked out a light purple fabric with white flowers and Olivia picked out a light pink fabric with dark pink flowers.

After the girls picked out their fabric she took us back to her house. Mandi, Chris, and baby cousin Shane were there and we decorated gingerbread houses. I put the frosting on the house and helped just a tiny bit------but Emma did 98% of it. It was her first house and it turned out very cute. 

Olivia put a few things on the house but when her fingers got frosting on them she didn't want to decorate it anymore. She absolutely HATES getting her fingers messy or sticky. 

After Aaron got off work he came by and picked us up on his way home. The girls had a lot of fun visiting Nana, Papa, their Aunt Mandy, their Uncle Chris, and their cousin baby Shane.

Here is the house Emma decorated:

Yesterday....

Yesterday Aaron and I took the girls to the Megaplex 20 movie theater at The District. We took the girls to see the Disney movie Tangled:

The girls each got their own kids tray. It came with child sized popcorn, a child sized drink, and an airhead candy. It was Emma's 2nd time to the movies and she did very well. However, it was Olivia's 1st time to the movies---and she did better than we thought she would. She sat through 1 hour of the almost 2 hour show. For the last hour she got antsy and stood up----and she would walk between Aaron and I. She never wanted to wander off. She did very well and we were able to sit though the whole entire movie. I highly recommend this movie---even for adults. It is a very cute Disney movie and I am glad we all went.

Here is a picture of Emma's favorite character from the show---Pascal the Chameleon:

Here is a picture of Olivia's favorite character---Maximus the Horse:

This is my 2nd blog entry for today. Scroll down for today's 1st entry............

Another update...

Olivia has learned to take off her clothes and she thinks it is quite funny to run around our house in just a diaper. When at home, it isn't that big of a deal-----but I have a fear that she will start taking her clothes off in public or at other people's houses. At first it bothered me. I thought Olivia was weird----because Emma never went though a naked phase. But the more parents I talked to, the more I learned that what she's doing is completely normal.

An article on www.babycenter.com also assures me that my daughter running around naked is completely normal. The article asserts that when a toddler undresses herself, it involves very advanced motor skills, demonstrates independence from Mom and Dad, and shows that she's capable of making her own choices.

Also, it states that she needs practice taking her clothes off and it should not be discouraged because it could help her potty train faster. 

I hope she doesn't want to stay in the naked phase for very long.......

On another note, here is a picture of Emma with our big cat Barnaby ---who everyone calls Iggy. He is a giant in appearance--but he is gentle at heart. No, he is not pure fat---he is mostly muscle. I think it is in his genetics to be a big cat---because he is FAR from lazy. The girls wrestle him and tackle him and he is so patient and loving with them. He may get frustrated with the kids and if he does he will leave the room---but he has never hurt them. He is such a sweetie.

Yes, I am a Stay At Home Mom and I LOVE it..........

I was talking to someone the other day and this person said to me "you are only a stay at home mom." It got me thinking......

I do not think people fully comprehend what it requires to be a stay at home mom. Only is the word that bothers me. It is MORE than a full time job! No one can really know what it is like until they have done it themselves. It requires being a teacher, a nurse, a librarian, a nutritionist, a counselor, a friend, a disciplinarian, a maid and cook, and so much more.  Not to mention all the other housemaking duties such as laundry, dishes, vacuuming, dusting, mopping,  and bathroom cleaning duties.  Yes, Aaron helps me with those if I get behind or if I am too exhausted. However, I feel like it is MY duty since he has to go to work -----I can't help him at his job so I feel it isn't fair to him if he needs to help me with mine. There's no denying that being a full-time stay-at-home Mom is both rewarding and challenging.  

This is how I feel almost everyday:

That said, I would not trade doing it for money, fame,or anything else. I love that I am home because I get to talk with my kids, laugh with them, teach them, help them, and simply be with them.  

There are so many moments that I would never be able to experience via Mommy-cam. Today for instance, Emma sat in my lap and lovingly brushed my hair out of my face and kissed me sweetly on my cheek, just as I have done to her countless times. When Olivia runs up to me and wraps her arms around my legs and squeezes me and gives me a kiss on my leg before running into the other room to play. I have seen both my children's first steps, I have heard their first words, I am there to care for them when they are sick. I have the joy of seeing them wake up everyday with a smile on their face. I am very thankful to have the best job in the world.