Christmas Cookies

Last week while I was snowed in from work I decided to make some cookies for us to decorate for the holidays. I made a small amount this first time since I have never done this before. Killian and I waited until Sean came home from work to frost and decorate the cookies. I think for our first attempt we did pretty good. Killian tried to just eat the frosting and not put any on the cookies. Sean had to keep on his toes to not let her eat all the frosting.

The finished products!

Eating the frosting only!

Finally taking a bite of cookie.

All done!

Happy Birthday Killian!

Our little baby girl is TWO!
Here are some pictures and videos from her party we had last weekend. I hope to write a couple more blogs soon, but we have been so busy that I haven't had a chance.

Killian reading her birthday card with Dad.

Awww, puppy pillow.

More presents and Sammy eating a card.

Sammy messing up my photo of Killian.

Cook Kiki

Now for a video:

TuTu much fun!

This last month or so Sean and I have really been making time to do more stuff with Killian and making more time to do things that have been on our To Do List. It has been a lot of fun, I wish we could do a lot more of this stuff instead of work stuff.

Here are some of the things Sean and I have been making:

My giant craft table (I LOVE IT!!!)

All folded down

Open all the way

One-side up

Cabinets for storage

Kid Chairs (aka Time Out Chairs)

Diaper Covers (and learning to sew)

Tutus (my current obsession)

Killian has made it a requirement to dance in circles
while she wears her tutus.

Edwards' Orchard

A couple of weeks ago Sean and I decided to go for a short road trip and visit our friends in Northern Illinois. They have 2 little girls, Arista and Aislyn, that are close in age with Killian. We knew that winter was quickly approaching and we wanted to go to the gorgeous orchard up in Poplar Grove, so off we went.

Killian was awesome in the car. It is about 2 1/2 hours away and she was happy as can be watching her Backyardigans and talking to us non-stop. We pretty much got to the house, relaxed for a minute and off we went to the orchard.

This place is beautiful. It was a weekend, so it was slightly busier then our friends were used to, but we had a blast. The girls were all bundled up and very excited to play with everything. Through out the huge barn there was all these foods you could buy such as: apples, apple butter, peanut brittle, homemade fudge, and much much more. We took the trip around the barn to get as many free samples as possible. The fudge was AMAZING!

After our samples we headed outside to the kids area. There was a small barn with some animals to pet and some wooden structures to play on. The girls all loved the animals, maybe not the smell. They got to pet some baby goats, which Killian just fell in love with so I guess I need to goats. The wooden structures were really neat. There was a pirate ship, train, a small house and they even had some old tractors kids could play on.

Killian petting the goats.

Killian sliding down the plank.

Arista and Killian on the train.

Killian and Arista playing in the house
(I promise despite their faces they were having lots of fun)

Killian on the tractor.

Arista has been to the Orchard quite a bit and loves taking a ride on the horses. So that was our next stop. Arista and Killian got in line to ride a horse. I was a bit nervous having not ridden on horses much myself and being overly worried about everything, but Killian did great! Sean walked right there with her. She kept petting the horse and had a huge smile on her face the entire time. After about 3 circles around she was done! She turned to Sean and said "okay done, get down!"

Yee Haw!

Arista enjoying the ride with her mom.

Killian and Daddy!

When the girls were done we headed inside again to warm up with some hot apple cider and snacks. Again, it was delicious. In this barn there was old farm equipment. Growing up in the land of John Deere, it is always very interesting to see how it used to be and how far we have come.

Killian all bundled up!

We headed back to our friends' house so the girls could play and us parents could warm up. We were all well prepared to keep the girls warm, that we all forgot our winter stuff. At the house the girls had such a good time playing for hours and hours. The grown ups all got to catch up and have some laughs. It was such an amazing day thanks to John and Jennifer and their adorable girls. If only we lived closer!

Killian woke up the next morning and the first thing she wanted was to play with Arista!

Halloween

This year Killian was really into Halloween. Our neighbors really get into the spirit and decorate like crazy. Every time we went out the front she would start clapping and yelling "Look mom, Halloween. Ohhhhhhh! Boo!" This made going anywhere quickly pretty much impossible. As we would drive if she saw any yard decorations, lights, pumpkins or pretty much anything she would yell at me to look.

She has really been getting into wearing dresses lately so her outfit had to be dress-like, but when we are notorious for snow on Halloween, I made sure we had a warm back up. And much to Sean's satisfaction Killian wants to wear her Packers cheerleader outfit all the time. So why not save some money and call the costume done!

We have a Halloween party every year at work. It turned out to be a lovely evening for a party, not too cold and not too warm. Our good friend Stefanie (who also works with me) and I dressed up as Old Librarians. People got a big kick out of it. We even won first place in the costume contest. When everyone started clapping we jumped up for joy and then remembered we were in character and immediately starting shushing them. Killian even got in on the prizes, winning 2nd place in her age group (I have to admit the baby Yoda was adorable and deserved 1st).

Stefanie and I as Old Lady Librarians

Sean and I made plans to head over to my Grandpa Joe's for Halloween. We wanted to help him pass out candy and make sure Killian got to see him. We were joined by my sister, brother-in-law, nephew and my mom and Jim. Which turned out to be a blessing for Sean. He is in charge of the yard and I think every leaf on the trees fell that week and were everywhere! The boys got to work outside while the gals stayed inside entertaining grandpa.

Killian helping Daddy get all the leaves.

Wow! That's a lot of leaves.

Jump! Jump!

As the trick-or-treating hours neared it was getting a bit cold and Killian was having a lot of fun inside so we decided to have her help us pass out candy. She loved seeing all the kids and costumes. She tried to take off with a couple families but I had to burst her bubble and demand she stay with us.

Killian with Uncle Dave and cousin Sammy (he was a devil).

Team Kiki

Our dear friend Stefanie always has a "photo shoot" with Killian whenever she comes to hang out with us. I thought these were especially cute so enjoy.

p.s.- I believe there was 3 outfit changes for this shoot.

p.s.s.- it was actually the day before Stefanie's birthday. Killian and I had just gotten her a card at the store. Killian decided she had to see her Teffy immediately. Luckily Stefanie was wrapping up lunch with her Sean and was able to visit. While we were waiting for her to come over I had turned on the TV and was watching Say Yes to the Dress. This is a show on TLC about wedding dresses, Killian loved all the dresses. She loved them so much she decided she needed to change into a dress for Stefanie. And that is how the dress up photo shoot began.

Go Team!

It's hard work being that cute!

Here is a video of Killian practicing her moves. She was watching Stefanie off-camera
and trying to do everything she did.

Cake, Candy and Crowds.

This last month we have really been trying to take Killian out more. Sean and I have been working lots of overtime and doing new projects (more about that later).


On labor day we went to the parade. The nice part about the parade is that it is only 4 blocks from our house and the same for my sister. We met up in the middle with Sarah, Dave and Sammy, my mom and Jim and even Grandpa Joe came to the parade. The kids had lots of fun the first hour. But this parade became the never ending parade! There were so many organizations, schools, bands and businesses that it took 2 hours to get through it all. The highlight for many was when the fire department got a call and had to send a fire truck and ambulance across the very crowded street. People were grabbing their kids, chairs and blankets and running all over. You would have thought the cops told the people the fire truck wasn't going to stop and wait for them to move. We were safe in the grass watching all the people try to fight for their previous spots back.

Sam eating a freezer pop.

Sean and Sam enjoying the parade (this was during hour 2).

These two pictures were from a bicycle club.

Not sure how the steer them but they did.

My nephew, Adam celebrated his 9th birthday at the end of August. He had requested a BMX bike cake. Apparently this is not a popular request so I decided to make one for him. It turned out pretty cool if I do say so myself. I put crushed Oreos and chocolate chip cookies on top of the giant cupcake to look like dirt and rocks. I made regular cupcakes for the rest of us and mini cupcakes for Kiki.

Adam's BMX cake.

Killian and Sammy getting into trouble.

Sammy playing basketball.

Adam also started tackle football this year. I think we were all a bit nervous since this is the kid that tackles himself more then other players. But he did great! His football team has given him the nickname Sack Master because he tackles the quarterback so much. Killian has become his personal cheerleader on the sidelines. She is so loud and never stops yelling his name, except to eat some popcorn!

Adam (#65) playing football.

Killian cheering for Adam!