The Fighter's

Our good friends Krista, Dan and their little peanut Lydia came over to welcome in 2009! Doug made dinner (with Dan's help)...a Rachel Ray menu....beef tenderloin and spinach with shallot sauce and shrimp. We nicknamed the guys Rachel and Ray and they were so proud of their concoction. We had a great night...catching up (and watching Dick Clark...oye). Happy 2009! Rachel & Ray... The final masterpiece...Krista & I were impressed! Had to post a few baby shots....sweet Lydia & Kate the bouncy seat/binky stealer...

A few pics from our trip to the zoo...lights...and afterwards...Olive Garden. See Doug's new beard...he's been on vacation for a week and a half, and has enjoyed not shaving:-)

Me and my girls... The girls and their friends...

The girls woke up around 8:15, and we came down to open presents. You could tell Ava was so excited to see her presents...but as usual, very even keeled. More determined to tackle the mission at hand of opening presents, as fast as possible. Kate headed straight for her new "Little People" bike and did not want to get off. So excited to have a "bike" where she could touch the ground. She also loved her new "cleaning supplies". Another favorite moment...as we were opening presents, we turned around to find Kate quietly eating Santa's left over cookies (see pic below...along with others of her hamming it up). Grandma & Grandpa Conover, uncle Pat, Lindsay and Grammy came over later that day and we had an excellent Christmas dinner (despite the fact that I burnt the ham...oops)! It was a super Christmas. Hope yours was just as great!

Christmas Eve festivities kicked off with 3pm service at our church...such a beautiful service. My favorite part was (as always!) the candlelit portion during Silent Night. I love how the candles serve to remind us of The light that came into the world over 2000 years ago. Instead of a candle, kids got a glow stick. Ava thought it was the best thing ever...she kept waving it around extremely ferociously in between (and despite) our efforts to remind her we were in church. She must have kept "forgetting"...just so excited (and it cracked me up!). I also had flashbacks to Christmas Eve service growing up...standing next to my Grandma Louise...while she sang along to Silent Night in German. Then it was off to Grammy J's for Christmas Eve dinner with the Fighter family, the Hayhurst family and...Uncle Pat and Lindsay joined us this year. Mom F. made the BEST beef tenderloin with twice baked potatoes , fresh green beans, rolls and salad. I about licked the plate. At around

Some of my most favorite days are filled with staying at home and just playing. Here are some shots from our day today. The girls' imaginations have been taking off lately. Ava with her train tracks and "Little People" village. She loves to set up her track, build tunnels and "Little People" towns around it. She puts the little people in the trains and takes them to different destinations...the zoo, town, their home, etc. Katelyn on the other hand loves dolls and her toy kitchen. When she's not inadvertently stepping on her sister's railroad track (which then causes havoc), she's feeding her baby's, pushing them in a stroller or patting them on their backs. And for me...I just absolutely love watching them play. I love watching them talk to their baby's, trains and little people in mini voices (Kate babbling all the way...but saying something for sure). I love watching them figure out how to do new things (like build a lego tower into a "

Ava and I made a few batches of Christmas cookies this season. Spritz cookies, soft gingersnaps, peanut butter blossoms and cut outs. She especially loved rolling the dough, and the sprinkles. She LOVES sprinkles. I even caught her at one point, lying on the floor, on her belly, trying to get every last sprinkle into her mouth. A true sweet tooth. Here are a few pics. I especially love the last one...she's really getting into it!!

Every year some of my best girlfriends and I get together for an annual Christmas cookie party. We started this tradition 7 years ago. We were ambitious then...got together and everyone brought cookie dough or ingredients to actually bake cookies at the party. After a few years of that, we just brought cookies (already baked), traded and focused more on having fun. The past few years....we have become lazy and dropped the cookies...and moved towards an ornament exchange. But...we still call it the annual cookie party??? Not ashamed to admit that none of us are Martha's! This year we traveled up to our friend Alicia's house in Cleveland and I think it goes down in history as one of the best cookie parties ever. We kicked it off right by changing into pajama's about 1/2 hour after we got there. Then we proceeded to pig out (courtesy of Alicia), drink " Flirtini's " (courtesy of Kristin), play a fun game of " Guesstures " (love this game... ensues sill

I finally ventured out for my first day of Christmas shopping Thursday - DSW our first stop. Mission...to find Doug a nice pair of brown "going out" boots. I always have trouble picking out clothes/shoes for him and was just so excited because I found a pair (on sale) and thought for sure he would love them. A score for sure...so proud of myself (you know how it is after you find the perfect gift?). Fast forward Friday night to Doug, Kate, Ava and I eating dinner around our table, talking casually about the day's events.... Ava: (out of no where) "Daddy...we got you shoes for a Christmas Present." Christmas surprise spoiled. I about choked....Doug laughingly prodded for more details. No secrets here in this fam ! Moral of the story...don't take your 3 year old Christmas shopping with you!

Ava has always been skeptical of Santa Claus. She has never had any desire to sit on his lap...preferring only to observe from afar. While Christmas shopping today, Ava decided without any prompting...that she wanted to meet Santa Claus. When it was her turn, she confidently walked right up to him, stepped up on the stool, hopped onto his lap and said..."trucks and trains" with a big smile. Her sister on the other hand...cried the entire 10 seconds it took to snap the picture below (which was to be expected)! One of these days she'll find out that Santa brings the good stuff...and will learn to butter up Santa with a big grin, just like her big sis did! When we were leaving, Ava told the elf that was helping us that Kate didn't like Santa. She also was insistent that Santa would have to go through the door because he was too big to fit down the chimney. I told her that Santa was magic and would be able to come down the chimney, to which she responded..."you'r

We put our tree up today. Ava & Kate were our little elves. Merry Christmas!

We traveled to Philadelphia for the annual Conover family Thanksgiving get-together. This year there were 23 people! We had a great weekend filled with fun family time, lots of food, a thanksgiving parade right in front of our hotel and sights around the city. The girls were great on our 8 hour car ride (thank God for DVD players!) We are so thankful for such fun times with family and the ability to get together like this. Here are some shots from our weekend! Thanksgiving Dinner... The girls...before and after dinner... Adventures around town...Ava's first subway trip, Liberty Bell, silly grandpa Snuggling with Daddy... Just a few of my super dooper cousins and I at a trendy, fun bowling ally....