Happy New Year!

We have been a very busy family since my last post, so I will do my best to fill you in on all of the details. With threatening weather predicted for our holiday travels, we had a hurried family Christmas here at home before we headed to Rembrandt a day early. Santa brought them each a belt (Maysen had been the one asking, but they each got one) and Mommy and Daddy gave new Puma outfits and Dora jammies (among other things).


Once in Rembrandt (Dec 22-26), Myah and Maysen were excited to see their Grandpa and Grandma Smith, Uncle Brent, Aunt Jamie, and especially cousin Caden. Caden is only a day older than Myah and Maysen so they truly are the Three Muskateers when they are together. Santa also visited at Grandma and Grandpa Smith's house, and we once again left with many presents. Clothes, vacuums, memory games and plenty of Dora gear accompanied us home. The gift that's probably gotten the most use so far is our family gift-a portable DVD player for the car. With the "iffy" weather during our travels, we haven't heard a cry, whine or scream from the girls since we got it.


On December 26, we continued our travels to Lake Mills and visited Nana and Papa, Kiki and Ric, and Uncle C. We had Christmas with the Grotewold family on the 26th and with Nana and Papa (and crew listed above) on the 27th. Santa found us once again bringing new princess jammies (with tutu and all!), name puzzles, lap desks and more! More fun clothes, Leapfrog Tag Readers, Dora Coloring books and Playdoh from various family members. Playdoh was an entire family affair as you can see below!


We were invited to Kim and Kevin Sorenson's for New Year's Eve. We watched the Insight Bowl featuring our own Iowa State Cyclones and their victory over the Minnesota Gophers. Kim and Kevin have two boys, Jacob and Bryce, that Myah and Maysen enjoy playing with. Bryce is just 20 days older than the girls and you can see them all "chilling out" here on New Year's Eve.


January 1st brought us back to Lake Mills to celebrate with my Christianson family on the 2nd. One of the traditions is that the kids have to put on a "program" before they can open any gifts. Here, Myah and Maysen are joining in singing Jingle Bells, The Wheels on the Bus, and the ABC's.

We returned to Ames on January 2nd so we could take the girls to Curious George Live! in Des Moines on the 3rd. In addition to all of the gifts mentioned throughout this post, the girls also received some money so we decided to buy them tickets to see George. Most mornings before school, the girls watch Curious George on PBS and have enjoyed watching "A Very Monkey Christmas" throughout this holiday season. They loved the musical very much. Myah was disappointed afterward, however, when she wanted to go and tell George "hi" and couldn't. We told her he had to get going so he could be on TV for her to watch in the morning.


I told you we've been busy! I'm tired just thinking about all of it again! We all head back to school tomorrow, Monday, January 4th. We are looking forward to a great 2010. We have some big events coming up this year and you won't want to miss out on hearing about them, so be sure to check back often! We hope your holidays were as bright and merry as ours were, and we wish you a fantastic 2010!
Kari (and family)