12.25.11: Merry Christmas! {128}

Another amazing Christmas morning :)

12.24.11: Happy Birthday Audrey! {127}

This idea came from Pinterest and I'll definitely be doing it for each girl on every birthday :) Hard to believe that 3 years ago I didn't even know if Baby Burns was a boy or a girl...and look at her now! Definitely the best surprise ever!

12.23.11: Christmas at Grandma's {126}

Chris got me an awesome gift- the Kindle Fire! I've had it for a week now but have barely had a chance to play around with it. I can't wait to download some books!

12.22.11: Audrey's 3 year pictures {125}

I took advantage of the gorgeous weather we had and took pictures of sweet Audrey Cate. It was a great way to spend the first day of winter break! I just followed Audrey around, snapping away. She really liked walking down the hill in our front yard, then to the tree line at the street, then all the way back up the hill (aka "mountain.") She loved looking back and seeing how far she had walked. I'm so happy with how they came out! More here.

12.21.11: Butternut Squash {124}

Abigail loved it! She kept grabbing fistfuls and shoving it into her mouth. So cute! So messy!

12.20.11: Crinkle Cookies are Back! {123}

I love these cookies from Panera! I craved them when I was pregnant with Abigail but they're carb count was way too high...not this year!

12.19.11: Cocoa for my class {122}

I didn't want to wait until Wednesday to do something special with my class. So I decided to serve them hot cocoa while we watched Charlie Brown Christmas. The kids needed a little break in our routine and they've been so good with Winter Break approaching. I was setting up while they had recess and a bunch of them wanted to help...so a few of them poured the packets and a few of them stirred. I'm definitely doing this again!

12.18.11: Mr B's Light Show {121}

As we were feeding the girls dinner, Chris randomly suggested we head out to see the Light Festival. Audrey *loves* Christmas lights! When we drive home from Grandma's she's always on the lookout and screams when she sees them :) It was pretty cool- a bunch of little displays and lights strung up everywhere. Audrey loved it!

12.17.11: Santa!! I KNOW HIM!! {120}

12.16.11: This works! {119}

Frozen pancakes work wonders for her teething issues :)

12.15.11: Giving Tree {118}

I'm so proud of my class! The brought in a bunch of presents (coats, clothes, & toys) for our little 4 year old girl. I took this picture before school started and 4 more kids brought in gifts that day! I bet she had a very Merry Christmas!

12.14.11: Yum! {117}

She loves carrots!

12.13.11: Teething is rough stuff! {116}

12.12.11: Playtime! {115}

I love that Abigail can just sit and occupy herself with a basket full of toys :)

12.11.11: Teething! {114}

Poor little pumpkin will teeth on anything!

12.10.11: Birthday Party {113}

Audrey's tea party was wonderful. She had so much fun playing with all of her friends and family. My favorite part was this moment, the moment we sang Happy Birthday. She looked so very happy. Three. WOW.

12.9.11: Footprints {112}

I was going back and forth between Abigail in her bedroom and Audrey in the bathtub. At one point Abby started laughing hard core. Audrey was in the bathtub and overheard us. I guess she didn't want to be left out so she got herself out of the tub and walked into Abby's room, stark naked! Her little wet footprints were all over the wood floor.

12.8.11: Cake balls! {111}

I've starting making cake balls and if you listen to Chris, they are the best things you'll ever taste. They are so easy! Bake a cake, crumble the cake. Add frosting and roll into balls. Refrigerate then cover with melted candy. Audrey helped me make the ones for her party. She pours all the ingredients into the mixing bowl. She runs away when I get the hand mixer out ("It's too loud! It's too much noise!") Actually, this time she came back and watched (very timidly) as I mixed, lol. They were heaven!

12.7.11: First Comic Book {110}

I hope she always loves to read!

12.6.11: Spaghetti {109}

Owned it!

12.5.11: Dad's Helper {108}

When Chris started taking apart the vacuum, Audrey immediately went to get her tools to help. Chris was so cute with her :)

12.4.11: Advent thief! {107}

Audrey brought her step stool into the kitchen, took down the Advent calendar and opened door #24. I found the calendar lying in the dining room, in the corner. The only thing shocking about this is that more doors weren't opened!

12.3.11: Teething {106}

Abigail has 2 bottom teeth and her 3rd is just now appearing (right next to the bottom right.) She loves to gnaw on everything!

12.2.11: Leg Lamp {105}

My favorite Christmas movie is A Christmas Story. We watched it all the time when I was growing up. I love that TBS plays it for 24 hours on Christmas Eve. I really hope that my girls like it when they get older, too. I found this leg lamp a few years ago at Rite Aid. We also have an ornament for the tree :)

12.1.11: Sleeping Cinderella {104}

Audrey had to make sure that baby Cinderella was tucked in, too! Side note: the bed is from her doll house. It's way too small, which makes this even funnier :)

11.30.11: Advent Calendar {103}

Audrey super loves chocolate (like her mom!) So when friends gave her an Advent calendar that had little pieces of chocolate behind each door she was thrilled! And she really wanted to open all 24 :)

11.29.11: Love {102}

11.28.11: Comfy Couch {101}

Audrey wasn't feeling great so she came home and went directly to the couch. I love how the couch is such a place of comfort to her; whenever she doesn't feel well she asks to go "relax on the couch with a blanket."

11.27.11: 7 months old! {100}

I took Abby's 7 month pictures a day early (rather than 6-7 days late!) These pictures are getting harder to take because she's so distracted by everything around her! I got a few good ones nonetheless. She's such a pretty little baby.

11.26.11: Abigail's First Ornament {99}

We have one for Audrey from last year, so when we were at Kohl's today we picked up one for sweet Abigail. I remember this time last year being thisclose to picking up one for Abigail and another for Ben :) Audrey held it the entire time we were at the store and she's very excited to give it to her little sister.

11.25.11: Black Friday {98}

I'll take this over the crowds and "deals" any day! Our black Friday was spent in our PJs, playing, and taking naps :)

11.24.11: Thanksgiving {97}

As a kid we celebrated Thanksgiving in New York with my Nana and Pop. I loved their house- it was small and cozy and warm. Nana made the best food. They would set up the ping pong table for dinner and it was perfect for our large family. Before and after the set up, however, we'd play ping pong. Great memories! Audrey watched us all play and she had a great time!

11.23.11: Christmas Card {96}

Photo Card

View the entire collection of cards.

11.22.11: Oh, Christmas Tree! {95}

I can't believe it! Chris agreed to get the tree out before Thanksgiving (usually it goes up on Black Friday.) I'm amazed at how this year has flown by. Seems like just yesterday we were packing it up! I remember thinking, "By this time next year we'll have a 7 month old. Wow, that's a loooong time from now!) Sheesh.

11.21.11: Pretty girl! {94}

Abigail's bangs have gotten so long! Chris wanted to cut them so badly- I of course, refused. A little bow was the quick fix she needed. I love how sweet she looks!

11.20.11: Thankful {93}

I made something from Pinterest :) I am constantly praising my kids and using positive reinforcement. I really believe that part of my job as a teacher is to boost their confidence. I wrote each one of my kids a reason why I'm thankful for them. I will definitely do this every year going forward!

11.19.11: Party time {92}

Audrey had 2 birthday parties today! Cousin Skylar had a Wizard of Oz party and friend Alora had a cowgirl party. Both were so fun, but we were all wiped by the end of the day!

11.18.11: Baby thug {91}

Miss Abigail is so content all the time that she won't complain even if her hat slips to completely cover her eyes, lol.

11.17.11: Bey blades {90}

I never knew what these were (and apparently they were popular like 10 years ago, too!) My kiddos love them (boys and girls) and pretty much beg for indoor recess so that they can play with them.

11.16.11: Sick day {89}

In between getting sick she managed a few smiles for her mom :)

11.15.11: Helper {88}

Audrey wants to help with everything lately! Here she's making chocolate chip muffins. She's actually very good at pouring ingredients into the bowl! I can't wait to get her a play kitchen for her birthday!

11.14.11: I'm sexy and I know it {87}

This song automatically popped into my head when I put on the gown for my xray. At least it was pink!

11.13.11: Hot chocolate {86/366}

Love this stuff! I love my coffee in the morning but lately during the day or even right before bed this is what helps me relax!

11.12.11: Again with the mimicking! {85/366}

"Mom, I want to wear your boobies!" is what I heard before I saw Audrey sporting my bra. Ha!

11.11.11: Basketball {84/366}

This was a Christmas (or was it birthday?) gift from last year that I decided to finally give her :) She really loves it, but probably not as much as Chris. When he misses a shot she says, "It's ok! Try it again!" It's exactly what we tell her when one of her creations (aka "towers") falls. I want so badly to instill in her perseverance and a can-do attitude. I love that she's trying to encourage her dad :)

11.10.11: Late night {83/366}

I had conferences until 7:30 and Christopher had a board meeting so it was a late night for everyone! Luckily Grandma was able to keep both the girls (we are SO LUCKY!!) I snapped this when we arrived home before I got Abby out of the car (and realized I hadn't taken a picture all day!)

11.9.11: Chic-fil-a Night {82/366}

Spirit Nights are always so fun but we get home so late! I'm trying to go to as many as I can while the weather is still decent. Audrey loves socializing, especially with Mrs. J (who always gives her a balloon!)

11.8.11: Hopping stones {81/366}

This sweet girl is so funny! I mentioned before how she's into mimicking everything...well, in dance class Mrs. KK lays out colored dots in a pattern (2,1,2,1, etc.) The girls have to jump with their feet together on the one dot, apart on the 2 dots, kind of like hopscotch. Audrey always says the pattern out loud, "Together and apart. Together and apart..." Well, I walked in to find that Audrey had arranged her books into her own pattern. She calls them her "hopping stones" and when she jumped she would say, "Big, little, big, little..." It took me a minute to realize that she had arranged her books in order of thickness. On the thick books she'd say, "Big" and on the thin books she'd day, "Little." OMG, I just love her creativity!

11.7.11: Awwwwww {80/366}

Chris brought the girls to Grandma's on Monday and I snuck into Abigail's room before I left for school (as I always do!) I found her like this and just had to take a picture. Then I moved her because I didn't want her to break her arm. Since becoming a mother, I have the unique ability to look at any situation and think of a way it could somehow harm or kill my child. A blessing and a curse!