{ cookies }

I love baking cookies. So over the weekend we had a baking extravaganza in our house. I was lucky enough to have lots of help from these two little monkeys.

A little different scene from last year when Oliver helped make cookies!

I narrowed it down to 5 different kinds of cookies. I'm not one to make the standard, fancy Christmas cookies but here was my lineup:

Peppermint Crunch Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cheesecake Cookies

S'mores Cookies

Oreo Chocolate Chip Cookies

Cran-Pistachio Cookies

The s'mores cookies were by far a clear winner in taste tests, followed by the cheesecake cookies. I would give the oreo and peppermint crunch an average rating and say not to waste your time with the cranberry pistachio cookies.

Stella learned quickly that milk goes best with cookies

Yum!

{ winter wonderland }

With the recent weather we've had, Minnesota is anything but a winter wonderland!

This past weekend on Sunday it was in the 40s. Amazing! Although it is much more festive to have snow on the ground for Christmas, I must admit that I love being able to easily get outside with two toddlers.

We used to do daily morning treks to Lake Nokomis in the summer so it was nice to be back there.

The fresh air was good for all of us, especially with the germs we've had in our house.

Lets hope we don't pay for this weather with a below normal April 2012!

{ sick }

Ear infections, runny noses, fevers, coughs, croup, vomiting. We've had them all in our house in the last few weeks.

It started the first week of December when we took Stella in because she had woken up screaming a few times one night. Turned out she had a really bad ear infection. And because Oliver was with me in the office, I had the doctor check his ears. He had one too.....either it wasn't bothering him or he is really tough!

After finishing antibiotics last week on Monday, we thought we were good to go until the next day when Stella's runny nose and cough that had cleared, returned.

Oh, and Oliver threw up before eating breakfast while sitting in his highchair. We thought it was an isolated incident because he was his normal self all day until right before putting him in his crib when he threw up all over me.......twice. Ugh.

The next morning Stella woke around 5:00am and while rocking her to try to get her some more sleep, I noticed her breathing was very labored and she was wheezing. Her temp was 102+. Becoming worried, we took her to the ER since no urgent care or doctor's office was open. After an oral steroid and 2.5 hours of sitting in the ER, we headed home with a diagnosis of croup.

What kid doesn't take advantage of sitting on the couch, with a snack, watching a video? This one.

It lasted about 2 minutes and then she was off.

We knew it wouldn't be long until Oliver got the same virus and we were right. Over the weekend it seemed to get the best of him. Fever, runny nose, cough. And then vomiting again last night in his crib.

He woke this morning at 4:40 and wasn't able to go back to sleep on his own. Here's to hoping this week gets better from here and I am able to stay clear of this bug which seems to possibly be creeping into my system......or maybe it's just the lack of sleep!

We're not dreaming of a white Christmas, just a healthy one!

{ snow much fun }

I will NOT take credit for the ridiculously cheesy title to this post. That is all Chop. But I was too lazy to come up with anything else so we are going with it.

We got the first "real" snow of the year overnight on Saturday. By Sunday it had tapered off enough and we decided to introduce O & S to the white stuff. We told them they better like it since they would have a close relationship with the stuff for the next 18+ years.

As every parent knows, 90% of the work is tied up in trying to get two toddlers bundled to get out of the house. At that point, we were sweating and exhausted and O & S looked like stuffed marshmallows.

Oliver quickly learned that snow gives way when stepped on. The fence had formed a 8 inch high pile and when we opened the gate, he paused.

Then lifted his leg as high as he could.

And then realized it probably wasn't that necessary.

They took their first sled ride.

And helped deliver a few Christmas cards to neighbors.

Oliver mostly preferred to stay close to dad and help shovel.

The snow and gear didn't slow Stella down. Give this girl open space and she will run.

We couldn't stop making Randy from the Christmas Story comparisons.

And in the end, I was the one who had to call it quits after about 20 minutes. Next time I will wear gloves.

{ wordless wednesday: kisses }

{ here comes santa claus }

Saturday morning we skipped swimming lessons to visit Santa Claus at the annual Minneapolis Junior League's "Breakfast with Santa". We purchased tickets for it last year and plan to make it an annual tradition since the money goes to a great cause, it includes breakfast, and mainly because we can avoid long lines at the mall to see Santa.

And the best part, the Santa is 100% authentic. Check this guy out.

We took a few minutes to stand nearby and get O & S warmed up to the jolly man. That seemed to work for Oliver.

But he had his work cut out for him in trying to keep Stella on his lap.

It was by no means a major meltdown but she didn't want much to do with him. Pretty sure that if it wasn't for the stuffed animals he was handing out, that she would have gone nowhere near him. Once she had it, she wanted out.

This girls loves herself some stuffed animals. She can't get enough of them.

Compared to Santa, breakfast was a hit.

Family photo time by the Christmas tree was a major fail, but Oliver was semi-cooperative for one with me.

 

We can check our Santa visit off the list for the year!

{ out & about }

Cold(er) temps have arrived which means no more playing outdoors. This is a major bummer for several reasons.
1. It means winter has arrived for the next 4 months
2. 2 toddlers + endless energy + 1,100 sq foot house = stir crazy
3. No more heading to the park or out for a walk to kill time during house showings (come on, you know you want to buy our house!)
4. Finding enclosed, indoor, reasonably priced play areas in the city isn't always easy. The key term there being enclosed.

My case in point to number 4. This week we had a showing at 6:00 pm. Luckily Chop got home a little early so he was able to help me get O & S out of the house, fed somewhere else so they wouldn't make a mess at home, and then kill time during the showing. We headed to the Mall of America and treated them to Noodles (WI mac and cheese, of course) and then I had a momentary lapse in judgement and thought they would be fine if we let them out of the stroller in the LegoLand area.

We spent the next 30 minutes doing this. Chasing.

With a break or two while they took a peek at legos.

Or when Stella decided she needed to lay down.

Not wanting to make this mistake while I was flying solo with these two runners, I found a contained spot to go during another showing. Thank you Edina Community Center open gym. If only you could be open all day, every day instead of two hours, two days a week.

The rings were a hit with Stella.

The firetruck Cozy Coupe was all Oliver needed.

And friends McKenna and Audrey joined in the fun.

No doubt we will be frequent visitors here this winter!