The Fighter's

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....

Kate keeps us on our toes constantly...you cannot turn your back on her for a minute (as evidenced by the following pics). She gets into everything, climbs on everything, crawls into, under, on top of everything, eats everything...and I mean everything ! I was in the laundry room (2 feet away from the bathroom) when I heard a clunk in the toilet and found this....cringing at first then using everything in me to keep from laughing. I do love her curiosity and lightheartedness...and she does make us laugh constantly with her little antics, and giant cheeky smile. As Ava and Grandpa Conover would say.... "oh Katelyn".

I can't believe it's already been 3 years since our Ava bean came into our lives on that 2005 Turkey Day. It has been SO much fun to watch her grow and learn...she truly is such a genuine sweetheart and brings an amazing amount of joy to our life. We had a Thomas the Train party for her with a few of her best buddies...complete with hot dogs, macaroni and cheese (at her request), conductor hats, lots of playing and a fantastic train cake brought by Grammy. She had a blast and just loved having all her favorite people there for her big day. Here are a few pics from her party and actual birthday!

Recommendation: Never take two children under the age of three to the BMV ...especially around lunch time. Dummy me thought..."my girls are usually good...I can entertain them for 20 minutes...no problem, piece of cake." We managed well with trains and books for about half of our long one hour at the BMV . The other half was a different story including but not limited to...Two falls and head bumps for Kate who cried ( screamed) for 5 minutes at the top of her lungs after each. A three year old who was mad she wasn't getting the attention her little sister was getting and started to roll around on the floor (yes the dingy floor) ignoring my "mom" stares and warnings. Kate coloring all over the BMV counter with a pen...as I filled out my paper work. Oblivious me...she was sitting on my lap ( and I was even thinking....oh good...she calmed down ) but between Ava rolling around on the floor, paperwork, the BMV lady's questions and coats/bags hanging off of m...

Doug and I are loving watching this sister dynamic develop. Granted...we definitely have our daily moments when it's hard to share, swat fights and attempts to out-scream/out-do each other. But we have been noticing more and more...their communication and giggles growing...in a fun, fun way. Just tonight, we were at Home Depot and Ava insisted on holding Kate's hand. It warmed my heart watching Ava take the lead holding on tightly to her sister's hand...Katelyn following close behind (wobbling in her fluffy pink coat). Other favorites lately... Ava getting down to Kate's level, talking to her in a high pitched, sweet voice, trying to teach Kate about a toy she's playing with, or a book she's reading. Kate's little legs running to keep up with big sis Ava's every move. Or the two of them jumping and giggling into couch cushions pulled onto the floor. Ava jumping or dancing, and Kate trying to do the same...not quite able to catch any air...just bouncing...

Have you ever gotten one of those "tag" things through email...where you're tagged to answer things about yourself, then get other people to respond and do the same? They're kind of fun (especially when procrastinating on other things...cleaning, catching up on to-do's!). My good friend Libby tagged me to write 7 things about myself. Thanks for thinking of me Lib! I struggled to come up with some, and realize I am not the most interesting person in the world by any means...but here it goes... 1. I have one arm that is longer than the other. My left arm is about an inch longer than my right. 2. I have been known to tell really long (sometimes pointless) stories…better known as Kim stories. I’m not the best story teller in the world. I like to include more details than not and often get off track. I also get a kick out of small little things that other people may not find as humorous and people often stare at me while I’m talking and cracking myself up (ask Doug). ...

Can it get any better than this??? Fall time fun with Grandma...

I never thought I would get Doug to that place up north, but I did and I think he enjoyed himself! My good friend Haneen rang in her 30 th birthday with friends and fam and we drove up for the celebration! We had a fantastic time...eating at an excellent little Italian restaurant (maybe the best Italian I've had in a long time) and spending time catching up with Neen & Tarek and laughing lots . And not to mention...it's always nice to have a kid free night out with my hubby!

Ava & Kate had a blast! Ava couldn't wait to get into her Thomas costume...choo chooing every 5 minutes and at one point saying to me..."mommy...what does a train say when it stops?" To which I replied, "I don't know hun ..." and tried to imitate a screeching brake noise. She very confidently exclaimed..."no mommy...it goes..." and she let out a " shhhhhh " sort of noise that sounded like a compressor releasing air. I was impressed...because she was so right! She has this train thing down pat! Grammy came to trick-or-treat, and helped pull Kate in the wagon. Towards the end Kate was anxious to walk, and once out, walked right up to a front porch, arms outstretched going " teet ", " teet ". She picked that up pretty quick (anything with food!). Here are some pics! Waiting anxiously... Us and our girls before the big night... Our little Thomas... Grammy & Kate... Enjoying their bounty... Our good friends the ...