Winter Fun!

Kate and I have been having a blast in the days leading up to Christmas. She gets so excited every morning; as soon as she comes downstairs, she reminds me, "Mama, we gotta do our calendars!" I got us each an advent calendar from Woodman's and she has so much fun finding the numbers and, of course, eating the chocolate! We've also been doing a lot of our holiday baking; she is quite the helper when it comes to cutting out cookies and frosting them! (She may go a bit heavy on the sugar sprinkles, however...)

And then today there was a heavy, heavy snowfall; Dan actually worked from home since they advised everyone not to travel. He took a break while she was napping to build an amazing snow fort; she was so excited when she got up and saw it. I swear she could have spent all night in there, never mind that it was freezing, windy, and eventually lightning (yes, lightning). She is definitely a little Wisconsin baby in that the cold doesn't seem to phase her!

 Having fun with Adelaide

 This little guy makes me have baby fever, I must admit!

 Rocking her new headband from Target

 Told you she went a little heavy on the sugar

Holiday Fun!

Kate & I have been having a great time getting into the holiday spirit the last couple of days. On Thursday, we went to our Tiny Tots dance class before heading to Olbrich Gardens with a playgroup we recently joined to see the holiday train show. We both loved it! Not only did she enjoy seeing the other kids, but she adored the multiple trains snaking their way through a jungle of poinsettias. Afterward, we spent time wandering through the humid conservatory; a very pleasant experience compared to the cold outside! Kate loved looking at all the plants, flowers, fish and birds. Oh, and climbing the stairs repeatedly was at the top of her list, too; not that I'm complaining! It must have tired her out, because we came home, had lunch, and then she took a three-hour nap, which enabled me to get a big chunk of work done. Win/win for us both!

Saturday night we made popcorn, watched Rudolph, and then tried to make gingerbread houses out of the kit we had. Unfortunately, the kit was a year old, so the gingerbread icing didn't stick very well; all but one of our houses crumpled. Oh well; we still had a great time making them!

And then today there was SNOW! Kate was so excited; we went to the park by our house and played there this morning, building snowmen, making snow angels, and just stomping around in the winter wonderland. Even though I could tell by her red cheeks and nose that she was cold, she didn't want to come back inside!

 Before heading to Olbrich

 I love her candy cane dress!

 

At the train show (the pics are smaller because I took them with my phone)

 Making our gingerbread house

 Oops! Oh well; Kate said this was her house to decorate. Fine by me!

 "Get my coat, please! I want to go outside!"