What an adventurous day! We decided to take the girls to NYC to see the tree in Rockefeller Center. After breakfast and a bath, we headed to the train station. The girls were good on the trip there. Abby spent most of her time watching the "beautiful" scenery. Her words, not mine. The train doesn't run through the nicest areas. When we got to NYC, it was a beautiful day. The weather was perfect for walking around. We took the girls to get some lunch and then walked around. We stopped in the Hershey store and got the girls some candy. There were so many people out and about. There were lines to get into many of the stores and the streets were difficult to navigate with two strollers! The store windows were decorated for the holidays and it was so neat to see them. Some were absolutely gorgeous!  We made it to the tree and it was a mob scene. But, we got to see the tree! I can check that one off my bucket list! Mckenzie had fallen asleep but she woke up just before we were leaving the area so she got to see it too. Abby was upset we couldn't get closer. Scott and I were wishing we had been smarter and chosen a better day to go! We walked down to FAO Schwartz and there was a huge line to get into the store, but luckily, we got right in since we had strollers. There were so many toys. Abby loved the Barbie stuff and Mckenzie just looked around at everything. We stopped for dinner at the Brooklyn Diner. Nice place, but way overpriced! The kids' meals must have been $15 a piece! We made our way back to the train station. Mckenzie was getting tired and grumpy. She wanted to walk instead of riding in her stroller. Then she wanted to be carried. Abby was great and didn't complain at all. She is really growing up! We made it onto the train just in time and found our seats. Both girls were restless on the train, but it was understandable since it was past bedtime. Our train stopped on the tracks and we were told we were delayed for just a little bit. The girls were playing around, moving from seat to seat and Mckenzie fell off the seat and cut her lip. Poor baby! Then the train conductor announced that our train was now out of service because of a police investigation on the tracks ahead of us. Turns out the train in front of us hit a trespasser on the tracks. Craziness. So, here is was after 10:30pm and we had no idea how the the trains would be delayed or if they were even going to run again that night. There was no employee from the NJ Transit available and the phone line was automated with no answer. The girls were really good once we got inside the train station. Abby played her leapster and Mckenzie buttoned and unbuttoned her sweater over and over. We finally took a taxi to our car. It was a long, scary ride with a dude that looked like he was about to fall asleep at any moment. I kept coughing and making noises to help keep the driver awake. Abby fell asleep in the taxi as soon as I told her it was okay to suck her thumb this one time and Mckenzie fell asleep about half way to our car. But, we made it safely and that is what matters. A quick drive home and we pulled into our driveway just after one am! Poor Dakota had been in her kennel for a long time and couldn't wait to get outside. All in all, it was a nice experience. I am so glad we all got to see the tree in Rockefeller Center. I would go back to see it again, but never again on a Saturday night and I would never go back just to see the tree again. It was pretty, but it looks so much more impressive on tv than in real life to me! And, if the next time we are returning from NYC the train in front of us hits a person again, I think we will have to find another way to get there. This is the second trip to NYC on the NJ Transit and this is the second time the train in front of us has hit a person on the tracks.



So the tree is behind us, but we couldn't get a good pic of us and the tree!



Working so hard on those buttons in the train station!

Scott had a late sim last night and didn't get home until after midnight. But, he passed his sim check so that is good! Both girls had a great night and Mckenzie came over to our room around 7am and fell back to sleep. Scott took Abby to school and Mckenzie slept until 9:30! The house was so quiet! I didn't know what to do. I started working on addressing Christmas cards, but only got a couple done before Mckenzie woke up. Abby had a great day at school and she was so excited to see us when Mckenzie and I picked her up. I love her loud squeals when she sees us! Abby saw Mckenzie was wearing a different coat than she had been and wondered where her new coat was. When we got home, I showed Abby her winter coat and she decided she didn't like it and she would prefer to have a coat just like her sister. It turned into this huge tantrum and she ended up in time out. She behaved much better the rest of the day and even apologized (unprompted) for her behavior last night, saying from now on she would eat her dinner so she wasn't hungry at bedtime. I baked some peanut butter blossoms today and both girls helped me. I think we may have gotten more ingredients on the floor, but they love to help me bake. Once we had the batter mixed, Mckenzie's job was to unwrap all the Hershey's kisses and Abby got to roll the dough in sugar and put them on the cookie sheet. Both did a great job of helping and it made baking much more fun. This is the first year I have truly enjoyed holiday baking. I have always done it in the past but it always seemed like so much work. Not this year. It has been fun for me and I hope when the girls are older, they remember baking cookies with me as part of the Christmas tradition. After dinner tonight, the girls performed songs for Scott and I. Abby set up the fireplace hearth as their stage and both girls took turns singing or in Abby's case, just talking. Abby started out singing and then she stopped and said "I'm just going to talk" and started talking about all sorts of random stuff. About how if we want a candy cane, we need a grownup to get it for us and I can't even remember what else. When Mckenzie was singing, she didn't want anyone else to sing with her and kept putting her hand over our mouths to stop us from singing. She tried to sing We Wish You a Merry Christmas and did pretty good for a two year old.  These babes of ours crack me up! Both girls went to bed much better tonight. We plan on going to NYC tomorrow to see the tree in Rockefeller Center so let hope for good weather! It has been way to cold around here lately!

We spent a lot of time running errands today. We drove to the base to do a couple of things there. The first errand took forever and the girls got tired of waiting. There were getting tired and they were hungry. Then we had to run to the clinic to get a referral renewal for Mckenzie's optometry appointment in January. I had tried to do it earlier, but they wouldn't let me and today when I got there, the lady told me (after waiting several minutes for the lady to finish up a personal conversation) that I had to do it over the phone now. They no longer did the paper form. Seriously? Then why the heck did you tell me to come back to fill out the paperwork last time I was there. So, now all of us girls were cranky and ready to head home. We picked up lunch since we had only a short amount of time before we needed to be at Abby's dentist appointment. That went very well. Abby went back by herself and sat very still while they x-rayed her tooth. Good news, the discoloration is normal and her tooth shouldn't fall out any sooner than expected. Yay! When we got home, we made a gingerbread house. The girls had so much fun eating the frosting and decorations. I think it turned out pretty well for our first house! The girls were a bit feisty about bedtime tonight. Abby suddenly decided that she was starving and Mckenzie didn't want to go to bed either. I kept going back and forth between the rooms and it took quite awhile before both girls settled down for the night. I hope tomorrow night is better:)

Abby was very excited to get back to school today. When I dropped her off, I overheard her tell her teacher how much she missed her. I am so glad Abby enjoys school and her teachers. I hope she will continue to enjoy her education throughout her lifetime. Our day was pretty quiet. Kenzie was in the middle of eating her lunch when she decided she was tired and it was time to go to her bed. When we got upstairs and into her bed, she looked at me and told me she was no longer tired, but she was hungry. So, back downstairs we went to finish her lunch. She ended up falling asleep on the couch for about 45 minutes before I had to wake her to pick up Abby from school. Abby gave me the biggest hug today when she got out of class. I love when she does that! I asked her what they were doing in school today and she told me she couldn't tell me because it was a secret. She has been very good at keeping the secret all day too. We played outside for a little bit this afternoon, but the wind was so chilly. Mckenzie is like me and doesn't like the cold. She kept going inside for a few minutes at a time to warm up and then she was ready to be back outside for a few more minutes. I made hot chocolate for the girls when we came in, but neither one touched their drink. Scott was home earlier today than normal. What a nice change. I had a headache so he was nice enough to keep the girls entertained while I took a short nap. We went out to dinner. After finding mouse droppings in the kitchen, I am not really in the mood to be eating from there. I would prefer to move out until I was sure there were no more mice in this place. I don't like mice and I don't want mice around the girls. Scott has set more traps but he thinks the droppings were from the mice we already caught. I hope so. We haven't caught any since he set the traps last night so I am praying we have seen the last of the mice. We tried out a different restaurant tonight. It was decent. They had a good salad bar, but the steak was nothing to brag about. It was late by the time we got home so the girls headed straight to bed. Abby insisted she wasn't tired, but she was asleep within minutes of putting her down. Mckenzie must be tired too, because she hasn't come out of her room yet. That or she is learning to stay in her room at bedtime. As nice as that would be, my wager is she is super tired.

Abby slept through the night and has been feeling fine all day long. I am so glad she seems to be over whatever bug she had yesterday! Mckenzie had a very restless night and I ended up sleeping on her floor. She slept in until 1030 this morning! I can't believe she slept that long! We spent a quiet day at home. The girls played while I did some cleaning. I made an appointment for Abby to get her tooth checked out by the dentist. A couple weeks ago, her tooth collided with another girl's head and it is now slightly discolored. I hope she isn't going to lose it too early and I hope she does ok at the dentist. After getting her filling, she said she never wanted to go back. I hope this appointment makes her remember seeing the dentist isn't a bad thing.  I made baked potato soup tonight for the first time and it was tasty! Mckenzie didn't care for it (I guess she prefers the watered down Campbell's soup version) and Abby only ate a little bit. But, it was really good and very easy to make. Scott and Abby played Connect 4 after dinner while Mckenzie laid down on with me. She was squirming around and before I knew it, she was sound asleep on my chest! Scott carried her up to bed and she didn't even wake up!

Whew! What a long day! It started off nice with breakfast at home and then off to church. We tried out the contemporary service today that caters to the kiddos. It was a bit different, but Abby really seemed to enjoy it so I think we will go to that service again next week. The sermon wasn't as good this week and both Scott and I were very disappointed. It seemed more like a rant than a sermon and I hope this was just a one time thing. We came back home for a bit and then brought the kids back to the church. The youth group was offering babysitting this afternoon for the kids. Abby was excited to go and couldn't wait to get there. Mckenzie acted excited, but Scott and I were betting that she wouldn't want to stay. Turns out we were wrong. She didn't cry or whine when we left. Scott and I went to finish Christmas shopping for the girls. I only have to order one gift and the girls are done!!!! It was nice to get in and out of the store quickly without anyone whining or having to use the restroom! We then grabbed some lunch at one of our favorite places and watched some Vikings football! It was nice to be able to watch a winning game without the distractions we normally have at home. When we picked the girls up from the church, I peeked through the door window first just to see the kids. Mckenzie was having fun, talking to another little girl. Abby was kind of off by herself, sucking her thumb and holding lambie (that should have been my first cue something wasn't right with her!). Both girls were excited to see us and Abby didn't want to leave. The kids got to make some crafts and watch movies. It sounded like they had a lot of fun and we may have found a couple of babysitters out of the whole thing too! Mckenzie fell asleep on the ride home and took a short nap. I took a nap too while Scott and Abby just hung out. Scott and the girls were headed out to the store when poor Abby threw up in the foyer. When I told her she couldn't go to school tomorrow, she was so disappointed. That upset her more than throwing up! She has been sick all night so far and just fell asleep on the couch. I am hoping she gets some good rest and feels better tomorrow. I hate seeing her sick :(
Btw, we got the proofs today from our photos taken last week. I will attach the link if you want to see the pictures.  It is only good until Tuesday so you have to check it out quickly! http://www.emaphotography.com/slideshow/riley/

A wonderful Saturday morning. The girls both slept in which was very nice. Now, if only we didn't have to get up so many times in the middle of the night with both of them. Abby ended up sleeping in our bed again. I have no idea what time she came over but I have given up on sending her back to bed. It takes way more effort to get her back to sleep in her own room than it does to let her sleep with us. I forgot to move Buddy the Elf last night before we went to bed, so I had to race downstairs before the girls saw he hadn't moved! We had a late breakfast and then headed out to run some errands. We were looking at toys in the store today and the girls seemed to want everything! It is so fun to watch them play with the toys. I know most days I am very impatient when it comes to them playing in the store, but having Scott along made it much easier! We spent most of the afternoon driving around. Both girls fell asleep in the car on the drive home. We spent the rest of the evening hanging out at home, playing games with the girls. At dinnertime, Abby and Mckenzie decided to share a bowl of food and Abby fed Mckenzie. It was cute to watch them share so well. Mckenzie had another one of her terrible fits. I hope this isn't going to be a very long, drawn out phase that she is going through. It is very cold here and I guess that means winter had really set in :(

Scott didn't have to work until later this morning, so I took Abby to school by myself. I like my alone time with her because it is so rare these days. I miss our one on one time before Mckenzie came along, but I wouldn't change that for anything. I just need to be better at spending time with each child separately. After class, the girls and I had a playdate at Chick fil A. The girls were both so excited when I told them. It was cute to watch! They all had a great time playing and did so without any major problems. Mckenzie got scared one time when she got separated from Abby and she was surrounded by a bunch of other kids. But, a few minutes of mommy time and she was good to go. Oh, and the pacifier helped a little too! We ran to Target to pick up a step stool for Mckenzie's bed, but they were out of stock. Seriously?! I really need one and they only have the single step stools, not the double. I will have to see if I can find one tomorrow. The kids were misbehaving so much that I didn't want to keep looking. We can home and Mckenzie fell asleep on the drive. I was able to put her up in her room and she took a nap. Abby and I had fun playing piano and singing together. I played We Wish You a Merry Christmas while she sang. I think she could have kept singing all day long! It was so fun! When Mckenzie woke up, we had to run an errand and then we stopped at the Hallmark to pick up our Elf on The Shelf. It is this great book that comes with an elf that watches over the children during Christmas and then he reports their behavior to Santa. So, every night, the elf flies to the North Pole to talk with Santa and then he reappears in a different spot in your house each day. I think it will be a neat tradition to start. The girls named him Buddy. If left to their own devices, I am not sure what they would have named him, but I placed plenty of hints for the name so that is what they picked! Abby always seems to pick out of the ordinary names for her dolls that I can't pronounce, so I wanted something a little easier for us all! The girls are having a sleepover in Mckenzie's room tonight. It is hilarious to watch them on the video monitor. They are getting along so well right now. They are not getting to sleep, but it's a weekend. Maybe they will sleep in! HAHAHA!!!

Buddy the Elf!

She doesn't like the flash!

We had family photos taken today. I wanted to get some pictures of Scott and the girls before he leaves. I know he is going to be safe, but I would never, ever forgive myself if something happened to him and the girls didn't have a recent picture taken with him. The gal who took our photos was great. She really seemed to connect with the kids. Mckenzie didn't want to cooperate towards the end, but she found a way to make it work. Abby, of course, loved having her picture taken by herself. She loves to pose and she had plenty of opportunity to do that today. I am so excited to see the pictures. She said we should have them in a few days!  When we got home, Scott took apart the crib (for the last time) and put up Mckenzie's big girl bed! I am happy and sad all at the same time. We closed a chapter in our life today. We have no more babies in our house. I am excited though, that we have a preschooler and a toddler running around. They are so much fun and I thank God for them every day. Mckenzie liked her new bed, but she can't get up without a step yet. One of the things I forgot to buy for her room. Guess I will need to go to Target tomorrow! Scott had to fly tonight, so the girls and I spent the afternoon together. I was busy sorting through Mckenzie's clothes and the girls, for the most part, were playing very nicely together. I heard a few disagreements, but they managed to work most of them out themselves. The last one though, was a doozey! Mckenzie wanted Abby's leapster and threw the biggest fit I have ever seen her throw. She was screaming and crying so loudly and for so long, I didn't know what to do. Holding her, singing to her, none of it worked. She finally ran to our bathroom to be alone and instead of following her, I let her be. A minute or two later, she ran to me and crawled onto my lap and eventually, she fell asleep. I was blown away by her tantrum. She has never acted like that before and Abby has never had a tantrum like that either. So, she took her first nap on her big girl bed this afternoon and she was out. I didn't want her to sleep for too long, so I vacuumed her room and even that didn't wake her. I ended up waking her and we ran a couple of errands. Both girls were great in the store. I had a school board meeting tonight at the house so the girls didn't get to bed until pretty late. I didn't want to try earlier to put Mckenzie to bed since she napped so late in the day and I know it would have been quite the struggle to get her to bed. Both girls went to bed without difficulty. Mckenzie only climbed down from her bed once and Abby was out before her head hit the pillow! Lets hope both girls sleep in their own bed all night long! I know we have a big bed now, but I would prefer not to share it with anyone else!

Scott trapped another unwanted visitor this morning. I hope this isn't a sign that we have lots of mice living in our house. If we find more, I may be living in a hotel until the problem is fixed! After dropping Abby at school, Mckenzie and I headed out to run errands. It was so cold and rainy and windy that I would have rather gone home and turned on the fireplace, but we were all out of milk and the girls love their milk! So, we did a little Christmas shopping and picked up a few more things for Mckenzie's big girl room. We came home and hung out for a little while. I was talking on the phone and noticed the family room was very quiet. Turns out Mckenzie had fallen asleep on the floor. She looked so sweet that I couldn't wake her. This afternoon, the girls and I started making Christmas treats. They helped me make chocolate covered pretzels. I think they preferred eating the chocolate over actually making the treat!