Oh the perks...

As I was driving to school today I realized how fortunate we are to have a GARAGE!!! The simplest things in life can make your life so much easier. Justin and I have NEVER had a garage in our three years of being together!! While away at college, the good ole' parking lots were where are cars were parked. Now granted, when I lived in Palatine, I did have a garage however once we moved in together in Arlington Heights, we went through 4 years of Chicago winters without a garage. Needless to say, it was a great feeling to get into a warm car this morning and not worry about Kayin being bundled from head to toe (not to mention scraping the frost off the cars)!!

'Round and Around We Go

During their visit, Gwamma and Gwampa took Kayin to the mall. What I forgot to tell them is Kayin always enjoys visiting the carousel. She must have convinced Gwamma to ride a pony with her.

Oooooh Stinky!!

Thanks Nana!!

Need I say more??!! My mom taught her this a couple of weeks ago....

Hide N Seek Harper

Kayin initiated this all on her own. I guess she has learned that Harper will is patient with her as long as she plays nice with him and talks with him after she is done! As I was cooking or unloading the dishwasher on Saturday morning, I noticed out the corner of my eye that Kayin had gotten a blanket from her bedroom and was playing peek-a-boo with Harper. She was even saying "Where's Harper? Where is Harper?" and then would uncover him and say "Here he is!"

I love this picture of her and Harper together! I think they are going to be great playmates, as long as he can handle this early "Terrible Two's" we are starting to see. (She has had to have a couple of time outs, but is learning quickly!!).

This picture is as if she is really trying to tell him something serious. There will be moments throughout the day that she will just rattle on and on about something and this was one of those. Harper just laid there like a good ole' boy and listened to her babbling.

Daddy's Juice

Over the weekend while we had two extra sets of hands, I was able to get out some of our Christmas things, one of them being the Christmas tree and ornaments. If you have ever been to my house, you know how I LOVE to decorate for the holidays, including a tree for every family member. Kayin has her special tree in her room with all of the ornaments she has been collecting since my pregnancy. I have our wedding tree with a set of Marshall Fields ornaments I received from a teacher in Illinois. And Justin, well, his is a soccer/bar tree. Kayin found this six pack of beer ornament his parents found in St. Louis (or around there) and not sure who said it, but she refers to them as "Daddy's Juice". I wish I could figure out how to insert a video because it is too funny to put into words what it sounds like.

Beauty Parlor

Gwamma and Gwampa Brinkmeyer came out for a visit this last weekend and we captured some great moments with them!

Here is Kayin playing beauty parlor with Gwamma. Thanks to Auntie Amy, Kayin has the works, from sparkly lotion and nail polish to glittery lip gloss and chapstick! I have a feeling we may be playing dress up (make-up included) at Christmas time when the Brinkmeyer's are all here! :)

New Headpiece

This sits on the coffee table downstairs with a candle in the middle of it (unless we are down here with Kayin). Need I say more??!!

It's Feeding Time

Many of you know that Kayin loves her babies! Well, today we were cleaning through some of her toys and she came across another new baby! I continued to clean around her toy area and she took her new baby to the futon (in another area of the room where I couldn't see her) and she started talking to her baby and telling her "it's okay, it's okay". This was not a posed picture at all...I guess the baby was hungry! I have a feeling Kayin is going to be a nurturing individual in the future. Hmmm....wonder who she gets that from?

Thanks Aunt "Mimi"

Aunt Mimi is notorious for shopping at Gymboree (and she has pretty darn good taste I might add). However, it seems as though she has been frequenting their "family and friends" opportunities anytime she can. She also takes advantages of using her "Gym-bucks". A couple of weeks ago, she brought Kayin a box of Christmas goodies which included all the components of several different outfits...and when I say all the components, I mean all of the components down to the shoes and bows for lil' missy's hair! Well, last week she ran across the new line of pink and brown polka-dots. If you have ever seen Kayin's closet, it's filled with mostly browns and pinks. So, here came Aunt Mimi with another round of clothes. This is just one of many outfits that has filled Kayin's closets. Amazingly enough, she even has brown and pink bows to match...and brown shoes with pink polka-dots. Kayin will also be sporting a new swimsuit at the Brinkmeyer family vacation down at the Ozarks this summer! More pictures to come! (It was hard enough getting her to stand for these poses!