Santa

We have been trying to go see Santa for weeks now, something always came up and tonight Daddy was home sick with the flu, so a Brave Papa Murray ventured to the mall with me, on what was I'm sure one of the worst days ever to go to a mall...

Alyssa was grumpy going and almost flat out refused to go see him...Leah was excited to see Santa but when it came time, Alyssa's little face lit up and she happily sat with Santa and chatted while the other 2 screamed...

The wait was 1 hour, the whole time with Santa was likely less than a minute...he handed them each a candy cane and off we went to collect our picture...The babies were very pleased with their candy from "Anta" and sadly Alyssa dropped hers not too long after...Not that fun of an hour but at least we got a picture!

Thanks Dad for helping me out, there is no chance that would have happened if you hadn't have come!

Just for fun here is last years

Winter time fun...

Time is just in fast forward over here the past 2 months, I can't believe Christmas is this weekend! Gulp! I have faith I will have everything ready and perfect but thinking about makes my head spin a little! I am mostly ready with the big stuff, (other than my Kirk who is likely getting a few IOU a gift at a later time kind of gifts...)

We had Kirk's Christmas Party out in Banff this weekend, it was a lovely time and it really felt like Christmas in the mountains, we woke up to a beautiful snowfall which made for a pretty slow drive home...

The babies have been having fun out in the snow, we haven't gotten them out a lot but enough for them to have had some time to play, get cold and come in for some Hot Chocolate...

Leah has had fun shovelling the driveway with Daddy...She lasts outside for about 15 minutes then she's done...She loves her Cow hat and mitts and almost flat out refuses to wear boots...I don't usually argue if its a quick trip but it was a big ordeal to get her in the darn boots...

 Blake wasn't too sure about the snow, he was a quite concerned that his car had snow on it...We had brought it inside before winter but he was getting so mad that it wouldn't drive on the carpet, we finally just put it back outside and a giant wind storm flew it off the deck where it got majorly snowed on...He did look pretty stinking cute in his monster hat...

 Alyssa loves the snow, she could stay and play out there all day...She likes her sled, her slide, her swings, making snow angels and building snowmen...I hope over the holidays we can get outside more for sledding etc...thankfully the temperture hasn't been to ridiculous yet...

We've had the tree up since Alyssa's Birthday, I just failed to post about it...It was suppose to be a magical night, we had our traditional Rum and Egg Nog, our favorite (or I should say my favorite) Boney M Christmas CD that I've been listening to since I was a kid...and pulled out all of our bins of Christmas stuff...Alyssa was so excited to put the tree up...she patiently waited to put on the ornaments and organized them and protected the breakable ones from the 2 little ones...We had some light issues and could NOT get them lit on more than one little section...It ended up turning into an 4 hour totally aggrivating night, the babies went to bed with an unlit, undecorated tree...and we let Alyssa stay up until 10:30 so she could actually put up some decorations... 

In the middle of this post last night, I was interrupted with a crying Alyssa who had just gotten sick in her bed...She got sick a few more times in the night...Please PLEASE fingers crossed we don't have a repeat of last years Christmas with all 5 of us sick...So far the babies are ok...Knock on Wood!

Happy of the Day...

This picture makes me Smile!!!



Alyssa's Birthday Parties

This year I decided to do a smaller party than our Puppy Party last year (HA!)...I attempted to anyways!

I told Alyssa she could pick 2 friends to go to "Color Me Mine", which is a little paint your own pottery studio right down the street from our house...Alyssa picked 2 little kids Layla and Braxton from her Preschool class...they are always together at school so it wasn't a shock she chose them...Layla is a whole year younger than Alyssa and just can't get enough of her, its pretty cute to see...there was lots of others she wanted to invite but I tried to keep the #'s low...Her Bestest Bestest friend cousin Sophie was an automatic...

It was lots of fun, the little kids painted for an hour while us mom's watched and drank coffee...Alyssa meticulously painted for the whole hour and wasn't even close to being done...We left and went to Boston Pizza for lunch and presents...After that the others went home and Alyssa and I went back and spent another whole hour so she could finish her perfect little Ice Cream Sundae (Piggy) Bank...

I thought we should also do a small family birthday too...but then as it turned out I thought it was maybe better to do 2 smaller family parties, Kirks side and my side...Sheesh...in the end I should have really just done 1 big party...although I don't think Alyssa minded having 3 parties!!

I still can't believe our girl is 5, it seems like a Milestone Birthday...Half a decade old...

Hope you had a fun time at ALL your parties Alyssa!

5 Years Ago...

Happy 5th Birthday Alyssa Marie!

5 years ago we welcomed a Beautiful 7 pound Baby girl into our family...5 Years ago we became parents and started a new journey down the road of parenthood...

We longed for a family for so many years, and even leading up to our little Alyssa's Birth it all felt so surreal...We knew we were having a little girl, we had picked her name almost as soon as we found out it was a girl...We had Alyssa's room ready for her, all painted pink with a white crib and hanging canopy above, outfits hung in the closet picked out specially for her, diapers stacked in the drawers and everything just perfect...and we were ready, I was very uncomforable and we were so anxious and nervous and so ready to meet her...

I remember crying quite a lot right before she was born...they were turning on the lights in the little baby warming bed, more people were coming in and out, and despite being in labour for 24 hours, it just didn't feel real...How could a whole human life just suddenly appear, and the craziest thing of all is that she was ours! We were going to be her parents forever...what if we weren't good at it, how would be know what she needed, and were we going to be good enough for her...

The moment our little miracle was born and placed on my chest, it finally felt real and I held her tight and told her I loved her, I remember being surprised at how heavy she felt...she was perfect and we felt so overjoyed we were her parents, and from that second our whole world changed...

Its really hard to believe its already been 5 years...

Alyssa has been such a good girl, she was an easy baby and has always have a mild disposition...she is sweet, caring, sensitive, creative, smart and witty and a pure delight to be around...It has been the best 5 years of our lives to be blessed with such a wonderful little girl...

We love you so much our Beautiful Baby Girl!!!

Flashback Friday

I didn't really think my girls looked the same, but seeing some old pictures of Alyssa I can certainly see the resemblance. I just showed Alyssa some pictures and she said, Oh wow we look exactly the same!

Leah December 2011

 Alyssa December 2008

 Alyssa December 2008

 The whole Gang December 2011

 A poor quaility phone picture but too funny not to share...

Little Miss Grumpy Pants



Alyssa's Birthday Interview

Alyssa's 5th birthday is coming up on December 6th...I stole this idea from another momma, and thought it it would be fun to compare answers year to year...

 Alyssa's 5th Birthday Interview

1. What is your Favorite color? Pink

2.  What is your favorite toy to play with? Ponies

3.  What is your favorite fruit? Grapes

4.  What is your favorite TV show? My little Pony

5.  What is your favorite thing to have for lunch? Noodles and Tomato Juice

6.  What is your favorite outfit? A dress, any dress

7.  What is your favorite game? Candyland

8.  What is your favorite snack? Any kind of crackers

9.  What is your favorite animal? A Horse

10. What is your favorite song? Old Mc Donald, Don't stop the Party-Black Eyes Peas

11. What is your favorite book? Dora loves Boots

12. Who is your best friend? Sophie & Riley from school

13. What is your favorite cereal? The little boxes daddy buys for camping

14. What is your favorite to play outside? I like to play on my slide and my swings

15. What is your favorite drink? Water, oh and milk you can write that one too

16. What is your favorite holiday? Easter and Christmas

17. What do you like to take to bed with you? Meme (her favorite crocheted blanket from Grandma Leanna, Puppy and Glow worm

18. What is your favorite thing to eat for breakfast? Buttered toast

19. What do you want for your birthday dinner? Pizza, carrots and Hello Kitty cake

20. What do you want to be when you grow up? Doctor

Lots of Birthdays

First  I want to wish my darling Kirk a Happy 34th Birthday (it was yesterday)!! He had a rather awful day working on some major work issues, he spent 12 hours in our bedroom on the phone and his computer...Hopefully this weekend we can go out for a birthday dinner or something fun and celebrate...
We made Kirk these Hot Chocolate cupcakes..I saw them on Pinterest and had to try them out!

We've had a few busy weeks after the babies birthday, and my cousin and her new baby were here for the past week, so I am just now posting pictures from Blake and Leah's Birthday...yes a few weeks late I know, life just got in the way of my blogging ;)

We went to Village Square Rec center, we had a private jungle gym reserved for an hour, where the Babies and all their cousins got to play...we then moved to another room for some food, cake and presents...we had a wonderful time, and the babies were exhausted when we left...Leah actually said at one Point "All done!" Thank you to our familes for sharing such a special day with us!

 Leah loved to play with her Big cousins Marko & Mate...Blake had a great time watching everthing did lots of running around. Baby Maja was happy to explore and crawl around...Little Gabe was a excited to have his picture taken and look at it on the camera...and Sophie & Big sister Alyssa had a blast hanging upside down on the bar....I even saw Grandpa Murray going down the slide!

 Leah is in love with Dora these days, so she got her very own Dora cake...Blake is in love with Thomas, so he got his very own Thomas cake...They seemed to know the party was for them and were pretty interested the candles and blowing them out. Leah dug right into her cake and Blake took a more cautious approach...

I can't believe my babies are 2!! Oh wait, yes I can...we have officially entered the terrible two's (well at least one has!)

Me and my nephew Marko share the same birthday in October, and Mate's is just 2 days before Blake & Leah...Grandpa & Grandma Slone were back for the birthdays, and are now settled in to stay for the winter...We've had a lot of nice family gatherings the past 2 months...

Next Up...Alyssa's Birthday!!!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

Happy 2nd Birthday Blake & Leah!!!

I just can't believe my little Twinkies are 2 years old...Its gone by super fast, and super slow all at the same time...I think back 2 years ago to their birth and NICU stay, and it feels like a lifetime ago...but its hard to believe my teeny preemies have grown so big and changed so much...

 Leah Marianne - 2 pounds 10oz                                Blake Ross - 2 Pounds 12 oz 

If you want to read their birth story you can read it here, and it you want to see a video from their NICU stay you can see it in the first half this video here...

In the past year Blake and Leah have gone from Babies to Toddlers...They've learned to crawl, then walk...eat real food and learned to feed themselves with utensils. They gave up bottles, and sleep a solid 11-12 hours each night...They've learned to speak real words and Leah can almost even say a full sentence...They have grown into their own little people and they continue to bless our lives every single day...

Blake probably weighs somewhere around 23-24 pounds...He has all his teeth and is a very gentle natured and sensitive little guy. Blake loves all things boyish...Cars, truck, trains...He loves his Daddy's red truck and insists on going to the garage daily to look at it, all well making car sounds over and over...He particularly loves Thomas the Train and is constantly asking to see "ChooChoo"...He likes to line up his tiny cars in a perfectly neat row and get down on eye level to look at the wheels...He enjoys playing alone, and I think he quite likes when his sisters aren't around to bug him...He loves snuggles and to give kisses, and needs to be reassured with love, but only for a second and then's off to play...he can't sleep without his little blankey baby and always goes to sleep with a car in hand. He does like to be held often by Mommy, and it melts my heart when he comes running over Saying "MAMA!" with such love in his voice...He is a tenderhearted, agreeable little guy who loves everyone...
Happy Birthday Sweet Boy!

Leah is a little heavier than Blake, probably about 24-25 pounds. Leah is still missing 6 of her teeth. Leah is the funniest little girl, she has so much personality and keeps us laughing and on our toes all day long...Leah likes to be silly and joke around, she sometimes pretends to be sleeping and then will open her eyes and laugh like she's really tricked us. She likes all things girly..Dresses, Dolly's, and jewelry like her big sister. She is really into Dora and Elmo right now, and will always ask to watch "DoraBoots". Leah has Octopus Jammy's that she is obsessed with,  and when they get dirty after insisting on wearing them many days in a row, she will announce several times a day that "Octopus is Stinky". Leah is also into imaginary play, she loves to play in her kitchen cook and feed her babies. I think her and Alyssa will have some fun times playing babies and house. Leah loves to eat, she easily eats more than the other 2 combined, and she is not too picky...she is always in the panty looking for food, and asks all day long for a cookie or juice...Leah can at times be snuggly, usually when she wakes up, or if its her Daddy, she'll give out snuggles to him anytime! She has a strong and determined personality, and I know she will always be fine in life...no one will be pushing her around and her funny sense of humor will keep people laughing...

Happy Birthday to my Silly Girl!!

Its been amazing watching you 2 little miracles transform from teeny babies into rambunctious little toddlers...You makes us laugh, you make us smile, you bring us so much happpiness...you are also lots of hard work and sometimes drive us crazy....
and we wouldn't have it any other way!

We love you both more than you could ever know!! Happy Birthday Babies!!!

The Cowgirl, The Skunk, The Witch & The Chicken...

Wow, did we ever have fun!! Ok truthfully, getting them into their costumes was a bit of a challenge, including Alyssa who's pants were bugging her, and she didn't want to wear a coat and opted for dressy uncomfortable foot wear...there were plenty of tears for Leah and promises of Candy...Once they saw a few kids come to our house and put candy into a bag...I think they got it!

We went next door where our neighbour always has special bags made for our kids...they were hooked! Leah wanted to help herself and would often take handfuls which we'd put back and give her one treat...Alyssa had a great time, I think though her favorite part was handing out her treat bags she made...we were left with 5 so we did pretty good estimating...

These pictures are terrible quality, a new camera is on our Christmas list, plus uncooperative children made it tricky...

Our Little Cowgirl for her School Halloween Party...She looked Adorable!

 What is going on out here?? 

 Our Lil Stinker...

Alyssa wanted to be a witch for Halloween night, so a Witch it was...

Bribery to get the Chicken into her Costume...

 Trick or treating with Daddy

 Blake does not want to be All done..

 Alyssa was trying to make a scary face all night long...

Leah says Uh-Oh the Smarties are empty!

 It was a little chilly, their hands and noses were pretty cold when they were done...

 Ohhh Scary Witch

 Mommy and her loves...

The best I could get of the 3...

Next Up...Twins 2nd Birthday...This Friday!!