Merry Christmas to All!

 We had a wonderful Christmas.  It was our first Christmas with just our little family.  No visitors and we didn't go anywhere.  Wait, now that I am thinking about it...our first Christmas we were married we were actually alone on Christmas day...Nels had to work.  Then we flew to Chicago after Christmas.  So technically this was our second Christmas alone.  Anyways...

It was very low stress and relaxing.  For Christmas dinner we actually had Costco pizza. haha.  We made an actual Christmas dinner two days later.  We just played with the kids and relaxed the whole day.

Nels's sister Kierstin had us for gift exchanges.  She did a 14 day Christmas gift.  We opened a gift everyday.  So fun and thoughtful.  One of the days was window decorations.  The kids had fun with them.

 Christmas Eve we tried to implement some traditions.  haha.  Tried being the key word. :)  We opened the Christmas pj's and I just wanted a cute picture...this is the best one.

 Isak was not cooperating very well.  I love Kira's expression though.

 They are both coughing in this one...yes, both of our kids were sick for the holidays.

 Kira let us know she was DONE and to put her to bed.  Poor girl.

 But we, the parents, wanted to do one more thing.  Read the Night Before Christmas.

 The kids endured.

 Christmas morning we read Luke 2 and then opened presents.

 So fun!

 This is the most Kira touched her doll.  Both kids were kind of scared of the doll.  It remains in the closet most days.  We bring it out once in a while.

 Isak's big gift was this Jeep!  He can ride it, push it, play music and more.

 The boys giving the "This is awesome" look.

 My parents gave the babies this church book.  I love that Kira is surrounded by her new toys but just looks at the book about Jesus.  She already knows the true meaning of Christmas.  We are so lucky to have both Isak and Kira.

 This was the day after Christmas.  So happy with their new toys!

 This was our tree...The tree started out with decorations on the bottom, but as they babies explored everything got moved up and out of their reach.

I made this tree skirt.  It's ruffles.  Fun to make and I think it turned out well.  I finished it completely on Christmas day.  So I am excited for next year when I can enjoy it a little longer.

I enjoyed these two ornaments this year.  The babies footprints.  So tiny.

This Christmas was special with our two little ones to celebrate with us. 

12 Month Progression Pictures

My favorite part about having Isak and Kira in our family is watching them learn, grow and change.  Looking at these pictures it's just amazing how fast they progress.

Below you can see how Isak's hair started out brown, then fell out and grew back red!  Such a cutie.

 You can see how little Kira just smiles bigger and bigger.  She's definitely a people pleaser.

Together they have figured things out.  Month 5 is probably my favorite picture.  They both have the same body movement!

We count our blessings everyday and Isak and Kira are always at the top.  We love them soooo much!
P.S. Thank you Larysa for the adorable bears.  I have enjoyed taking pictures of the babies with them.  Thank you for your thoughtful gift!

Wrap Up for November

Here's the last of the pictures for November.

Kira is so funny and talented. heehee.  She figured out how to hold the circle shape in her mouth without her hands.

Ta da!

My kitchen cupboards were discovered and are a constant source of entertainment for both kids.

He likes to create an obstacle course for us.

Snuggling with dad.  I just love Isak's red hair. :)

Cute Kira girl.

Kira is attached to this dog blanket toy.  It's actually Isak's, but he doesn't realize it.  She loves it and carries it around everywhere.

Kira in the cupboards.

I made this tutu for Kira for her birthday.  Um, it's big!  I took this picture and she hasn't worn it since.  Yes, that's the snot sniffer she's holding in the picture above and below.

Nels is taking guitar lessons.  The kids LOVE it when he plays.  They will stand at his knees for a while and sway back and forth.  Precious.

This is what happens to Nels the minute he walks in the door from work.  He jumps in right away.  Poor guy doesn't get a break until after the kids go to bed.  Although, I try to give him a few minutes to at least change his clothes...because I'm nice like that. :)

After the babies turned one, we switched them to whole milk.  No more formula!!!  Then I got tired of washing bottles, so now they only use sippy cups.  Hooray!

The girl I visit teach was pregnant (she had her baby on New Year's Day!!  3 a.m. the first of the new year!) so I made her little girl an owl hat.  I got Isak's out to see it and he thought it was so cool.  He played with the hat for a while and carried it around.
I had to take a picture!

It doesn't fit him at all.  But he's such a cutie.

This is what one morning looked like.  Isak in the cupboards and Kira playing with her walker.

Nels worked late one night and I found the kids waiting at the door for him.

Make yourself comfortable Isak. :)  I hadn't had a chance to put the diapers and wipes away after a Costco run.  So he was climbing all over them.

One day I put Isak to bed upstairs for his nap.  When I came down I found Kira entertaining herself...

"uh,oh, am I in trouble?"

"Oh, good, mom thinks it's funny!"

Wipes are easily put back in the holder.  Not a big deal.  I mean, isn't she too cute to be mad at anyways??

Just the Two of Us

We went on the best date ever!  Nels's parents watched the babies for the whole day.  So we got to do a few things.  

First up, mountain biking.  We went to the whitewater rapid center.  Since we have our own bikes we only had to pay $5 for parking.  

We went on the easiest course which provided plenty of excitement for me. :)

Pictures are compliments of Nels's phone.

 After biking we drove uptown Charlotte.  We walked around for a while.  This huge tree stood in the center of the outdoor shopping area.  Fake snowflakes even fell on us making the scene even more magical.

 We were both craving pizza so we tried out Brix.  It has unique pizzas and is health conscious, meaning they offered gluten free and vegetarian pizzas.  It was okay, but we probably won't eat there again.

Queen Charlotte, wife of King George III of England is pictured below.  Charlotte is named after her. She was known to be a gentle, kind woman.  She was short, had 15 children (13 survived to adulthood), loved her little dogs and walking in the garden.  That's what the plaque said. :)

After dinner we went to a movie!!  We saw Hunger Games 2.  Awesome.
We absolutely loved our date, but we also loved coming home to our two beautiful babies.