Holiday Photo Shoot

This year's photo shoot was much easier than last year's...hoping it just keeps getting easier from here on out...these are just a few photos from the occasion.

Christmas Day

The magic of Christmas was definitely felt in our house. Both girls were so excited about Santa's visit. Santa's elves were up very late assembling the gifts for Lindsay and Kendal. They wanted to make sure everything was just perfect before going to bed. There were squeals of delight early the next morning! Lindsay was in love with her Princess Vanity and Kendal enthralled with her new kitchen. There were so many other wonderful gifts...and they just seemed to keep coming. Auntie Alina and Uncle Rick outdid themselves with the Princess Tent for the girls...it has already withstood multiple hours of use...thanks to everyone for the incredible, thoughtful gifts!!

All Dressed Up For Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve at my dad's house. The girls were so excited to wear their fancy dresses and shoes. Kendal is following in her sister's footsteps by twirling around as soon as the dress is on, to watch it poof out. Kendal kept looking down saying "pretty dress, pretty dress". Lindsay was thrilled with her shiny shoes and tights...oh the little things in life. We enjoyed good company, a wonderful traditional fish dinner and many many presents.

Christmas Cookies for Santa

The girls enjoyed decorating cookies for Santa and themselves of course. There was frosting and sprinkles all over the kitchen for days after...but they were thrilled to frost and sprinkle away.

This is the darling plate I ordered for last year and it did not arrive on time for Christmas...so I had to wait an entire year to put it out...and was so proud of how cute it was. I did forget to capture it with cookies...but there's always next year!

Kendal 20 1/2 months

If I were more on the ball lately of course I would have posted this at the 20 month mark but...20 1/2 months will have to do. Yes, our Kendal (aka Moose, Mooseroni and Moosey Goosey) is well on her way to being a 2 year old. She has quite a stubborn streak but can still be the biggest snuggler around. Kendal will start pre-school this January and will attend 2 days a week with her big sister. She has already had a couple trial runs and seems to be quite ready. Our Mooseroni is very attached to our nanny Estela and promptly throws a fit each day when Estela leaves. She has an incredible vocabulary and pals around with Lindsay each day...playing all sorts of games and creating new adventures. It is heart warming to see the two of them together when they're getting along and snuggling on the couch watching a movie...their current favorite is Nemo. Kendal enjoys many different types of food...especially beans and lentil soup...we love that she ventures out and not only tries different things but likes them. We sure are fond of the littlest Syver girl and can only dream of what the world has in store for her.


Snuggling with sissy watching a movie.

Hunting for spiders.

Oh...and the pacifier's days are numbered...believe me!

Disneyland 2009

We spent the day at Disneyland on Tuesday. Despite the frigid temperature...we had a wonderful time. Highlights: Lindsay braving the Pirates of the Caribbean ride with her daddy, Kendal's elation that the horses on the carousel move, both girls faces during the entertainment in the Tikki Room and the awe both girls were overcome with during the holiday parade. Everyday should be a Disneyland Day!!

Missing These Faces

Going to work each day; makes me realize how quickly time is flying and how fast my girls are growing and changing, makes me more appreciative of the time we spend together as a family, and often leaves me with a lump in my throat as I am driving away from the house early in the morning...because the fact of the matter is that I miss them when I'm away.
Not that it surprises me...it just catches me off gaurd all the time. I knew I would miss them when I returned to work fulltime I just couldn't comprehend the extent I guess until I was living it. So yes, I miss those faces...a lot.
Lindsay just seems so grown up all of a sudden...her face just looks older to me...I study her face alot. Kendal...well she is just talking up a storm and is so adorable. Each morning when I go into her room to get her out of bed, she begins telling me everything she knows...all at once...while I'm changing her diaper she will go from discussing my shirt and what color it is to the trash truck outside and how Terra is scared and we have to tell her it's okay. It's as if she was sitting in her bed before I arrived and was thinking of all the things she wants to tell me. Then there is the two girls together lately and how they play together. They play dress-up, blocks, playdough, hopscotch...and so on...and seeing them get along and play is enough to bring me to tears daily.
Lindsay will have moments each day where she hugs her little sis and tells her she loves her. Kendal now says "I love you" and that could melt your heart in a minute. In fact we were at my dad's the other night and as we we're pulling away Kendal said "I love you Poppy", when I spoke to my dad the next morning he was still marveling at her words...so cute!
So my point of this very long post (much longer and mishmoshed together than I anticipated) is that I miss these faces multiple times throughout each day...I just do!

The New Oven In Grandma's Kitchen

There are so many wonderful things about my new oven/stove: 1) it was not built in the 1950's 2) it does not make my kitchen 30 degrees warmer 3) all of the burners work 4) one burner on the stove has 19,000 btus and boils water in record time...but best of all the girls can watch things cook and bake inside the oven. I must say Kendal is very excited about this. I usually bake every Saturday morning when I wake up and Kendal sits in front of the oven and repeats "cake, cake, cake"...she loves to watch and check the oven...even when there is nothing in it. In the pictures here I was making pumpkin bread and the girls were watching it bake...I know my grandma is smiling down from heaven at this sight...this was her kitchen once and she did bake a lot...we just weren't ever able to watch from the outside.

Mutt

We love our dog Terra...aka Mutt Mutt and about 10 other nicknames. As I was in the kitchen doing dishes and cleaning up lunch one day the girls were giggling, quiet, giggling, and quiet...hummmm is what I thought...this must mean trouble...I came out to this picture below. Terra was covered in blankets and pillows...Linday looked at me and said "we're making Terra cozy mom". She must have been cozy because she was fast asleep...what a good dog!!!

Minnie and Minnie Minnie Mouse

Yes, my Halloween post is very late. I am waiting on my brother to send me the pictures he took...which include the photo of Minnie Minnie Mouse...Kendal. Both girls were Minnie Mouse. Lindsay was very excited to wear her costume and had plenty of Halloween dress rehearsals before the big day...while Kendal was not so enthused about her costume...she loved looking at it and talking about it, but when it came to wearing it she would say "off, off, carry it, carry it"!. I am not certain at this point if we were able to get a picture of her in it, for the 10 seconds she wore it...the good news is that my sister-in-law was able to get Kendal to wear her Minnie ears...which were adorable. So we'll add some pictures to this post once I have them. We enjoyed our evening together; my dad, step mom, brother, sister-in-law, and our family of four.

Tanaka Farms

Our family (and about 500 other families) decided to make our annual trip to Tanaka Farms Pumpkin Patch yesterday. We had a grand time. Kendal loved all the pumpkins, Lindsay found one with warts all over it that was extremely gross. The petting zoo was a huge smelly hit...Kendal enjoyed the view from the outside while Lindsay went in with her dad to get a closer look and feed the animals. The tractor ride was enjoyed by all especially when they shot a pumpkin out of a canon. Lindsay covered her ears for the rest of the ride...even with no canon in sight. We always love our family trip to Tanaka Farms.

Bedtimes Conversations

Most nights when I put Lindsay to bed we say our "amens" chat a little bit about our day and she goes to sleep. I always find this time of day so sweet and special because usually something funny or touching happens. Last night our conversations went something like this:
Lindsay - Where is god?
Me - Up in the clouds honey, watching over all we do each day.
Lindsay - Is grandma Johnine (Mike's mom) up there?
Me - Yes
Lindsay - Is Shasta(the Wright's dog)up there?
Me - Yes
Lindsay - Is that the person who poured water over poor baby Kendal's head at the big church?
Me - No sweetheart, that is someone who works for God.
Lindsay - Is God a boy or a girl?
Me - silence...what do you think?
Lindsay - I think God is a girl...

Brown Bows

I suppose if we cannot yet put on our fall clothes at least we can have fall bows. We headed off to the beach yesterday to watch one of my students play in a volleyball tournament. It was 85 degrees when we arrived at the MB pier at 11am...not so much fall happening here yet...we're still waiting! The girls enjoyed their time getting sand everywhere, climbing in and out of beach chairs, playing with the multiple volleyballs and cheering for Presley. I think we brought half of the beach home with us so now I am off to vacuum out my car. We're hoping our trip to the pumpkin patch next weekend proves to be more fall-like.