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.

The Girls check up.

The girls went in for their check up yesterday. They also received their flu/swine flu shot. I got mine as well. Emma weighed in at a whopping 30 lbs 6 oz. Olivia weighed in at 26 lbs 8 oz. Although Livi weighs almost as much as Emma I think Livi will be slowing down with her weight gain.

Their doctor doesn't seem to be concerned that our 3 & 1/2 year old weighs only 30 lbs. Emma has a lot of energy, is healthy, and eats pretty normal for her age. So, we just think she will be a petite little girl----at least for now anyways. I feel so blessed to have healthy kids.

Oh and Livi HATES the doctors office. She doesn't like it when people are all "up in her business" as Aaron would say it. She screamed from the second the doctor came in until the doctor left the room. She calmed down pretty fast. The doctor came back in a 2nd time and she started screaming again-----until she noticed the doctor had a "treat" for her. Then she was happy again. Most doctor's offices give suckers or stickers to the kids. Not this doctor-----their doctor gives them a special treat. It is a golden coin for the toy machine in the hallway. All they need is 1 golden coin to get a toy. So every time we leave the doctors office the girls always have a new toy. They love the toy vending machine.

After their doctors appointment Aaron and I took them to South Towne Mall. They played on the indoor playground and then when they were finished Aaron and I rode the train with the girls. It goes around the lower level of the mall. They had a lot of fun making choo choo noises. After we were done riding the train we all went and got some lunch and then stopped at Mrs. Fields cookies and the girls each picked out a cookie to eat for the ride home in the car. On the way home Emma said "I had so much fun today." Livi said "yeah."It really made me happy that although they started off in the doctors office getting their flu shot---they didn't even remember that. All they remembered was the fun day we all had at the mall.

When we got home Aaron and I put up our Christmas tree(with the girls help of course). The girls were so excited. I would get an ornament out of the box and hand it to Livi or Emma and they would hand it to Aaron to put on the tree. When it was all decorated Emma said "Our tree is so beautiful."

Tag.....

I was tagged by 1 of my friends to fill this questionnaire out and post it on my blog. So here it is:


1. What is his name? Phillip Aaron Christensen
2. Who eats more? He does----thank goodness.
3. Who said, "I love you" first? He did, but we both wanted to at the same time. I was too scared to---but after he said it to me then I said it to him.
4. Who is taller? Aaron. He is about 7" taller than me... I love it!
5. Who is smarter? I know he is. 
6. Who is more sensitive? Me, thank goodness!
7. Who does the laundry? I do. I don't mind though. I don't love doing laundry but it really doesn't bother me----if I stay caught up on it.
8. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Aaron does because the window is on the right side of the bed. Sometimes we leave our bedroom window open at night and if I sleep on that side I get cold.
9. Who pays the bills? Aaron does.
10. Who cooks more? Aaron does most of the time. He likes to cook. I cook sometimes too. I don't mind cooking-----I just think Aaron is a better cook.
11. Who is more stubborn? We both are.
12. Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Aaron. That is one thing that I admire about him. I wish I were more like that.
13. Who has more siblings? I do. I have 2 younger sisters. Aaron has 1 younger sister.
14. Who wears the pants in the relationship? Neither of us do. We both like to think we do sometimes though! Although I bet if you were to ask Aaron he would say him lol.
15. What do you like to do together? We love to play with our kids, watch tv, go to the movies, hang out with friends and family, and just relax around our house.
16. Who eats more sweets?  Aaron eats more sweets----but I like sweets more. If I could eat more sweets without gaining weight I know I would. Aaron could probably eat a whole bag of Oreos and not gain weight.......I know it isn't possible but I think I gain weight just by looking at the Oreo.
17. How did you meet? We met through a mutual friend named Ben. Ben tried to set us up on a blind date-----but with different people. Somehow, Aaron and I just ended up going together. It was meant to be.....
18. Who kissed who first? Aaron kissed me, because I am too chicken to pull a move like that!
19. Who proposed? Of course Aaron did. 
20. Who drives when you are together? 99.5% of the time Aaron.
21. Age difference? Aaron is 3 years older than me.
22. What High School? Aaron graduated from Skyline in 1996 and I graduated from Bingham in 1999.
23.  How long have you been together?  10 years, but married for 8
24. How old are each of you? I am 29 Aaron is 32
25. Do you have any children together?  Yes----2 daughters.
26. What about pets?  We have 3 cats,  1 dog and fish!
27. Where do you eat out most as a couple?  Z' Tejas Southwestern Grill-----we love that place!
28. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? New York.
29. Who is the neat-freak? It bothers me more to be messy, but I do not think either one of us is a "neat freak!"
30. Who hogs the bed? Aaron would say me...and I would agree :)
31. Who wakes up earlier? Aaron. He works days-----and I stay home with the kiddos!
32. Who’s better with the computer?  Definitely Aaron!
33. His best features and qualities? I love how giving he is. He is a very self-less person. He doesn't like to talk about people, or see them hurt in any way. I love how he makes me laugh and smile everyday. I love how he compliments me everyday, and I know he is sincere about it. He is an awesome Husband and a wonderful Father to our kids. I just love him---everything about him!!


A picture of us ( sometime in 2001 )

I tag Mandi and Chris. I expect to see it soon!

A conversation with Emma

I decided that I want to try and document ALL the cute things my kids say. It will be neat to read them later when they are older.

Today Emma and Olivia were watching one of their favorite cartoons--- Dora The Explorer. It was about a Mother wolf and her cubs. We had a cute conversation. It went as follows:

Me:  Wow, that Mommy wolf has a lot of babies.
Emma: Yeah
Me:  How many babies does Mommy wolf have?
Emma: 5.
Me: How many babies does YOUR mommy have?
Emma: You have 2 babies....but we need to buy another baby at the store. Do you have money to buy a baby at the store Daddy----because all I have is pennies.
Aaron and I laughed--it was so cute!

Kids say the cutest things! Pretty soon Livi will start talking more and I will need to document all of her cute sayings too.

Olivia's 2nd Birthday.

Today is Olivia's 2nd Birthday. We had a small immediate family get together at our house and Olivia opened her presents---with Emma's help of course.
This is the look Emma had on her face when she saw the stash of presents on our stairs:

We told Emma that it was Olivia's party and that the presents were Olivia's. Here is how the conversation with Emma went:

Me:       Let Livi open her presents----it's Livi's party
Emma:  They are OUR presents
Me:       No, they are Livi's presents
Emma:   Are they?
Me:       Yes, but Livi will share her toys with you--if you ask
             her to
Emma:   She will? Ok Mom......

After Livi  opened her presents we had some yummy Baskin Robbins Ice Cream Cake. The cake was delicious.

                                                     Livi's Dora the Explorer Cake

Blowing out her candles

Livi loved her cake

Emma ate all her cake too

 It was chocolate cake with mint ice cream and the girls DEVOURED their piece. The girls had fun and really enjoyed THEIR new toys.

New at blogging.

So I have a sister and some friends who live out of state. I have been asked by several people to start blogging so they can keep up to date with everything going on in our lives. I have actually been debating for some time to start a blog----I have just never gotten around to starting one.
I am new at this so give me some time to figure everything out, but I will try to keep you all updated.