Snowy Day

It was Neela's day to spend a little extra time with Mommy.

First, we went for lunch at Noodles and Company (Mac & Cheese, of course!).  Then, we had a small dish of ice cream at Coldstone Creamery... Cotton Candy with marshmallows for Neela.

At Target, Neela got her OWN Dream Light... a penguin, she calls him "Penguino", and she KNOWS Daddy and Uncle David will LOVE him!!

Next... we headed home to play in the NEW snow.  Kylie and Brooke had enough of being outside after a few minutes, but Neela wanted to play... Neela is the "snow girl" by FAR at the Estochen's.  She helped Mommy shovel the driveway, and then we failed miserably at building a snowman.  Mommy thought we could maybe make a "snow mountain"... and then we tried to add "lava"...

Well... Neela had fun making the "lava", but it kind of looked like "Blood Mountain"... guess we need more red food coloring diluted in water next time!!

Mommy & Me

Brooke does not always like to get out of bed... so today's bribe?  Do you want to dress like Mommy?  Brooke was very excited to wear her white shirt, blue jeans and "blue sweater"... just like Mommy!

Of course, Brooke calls it her "Cookie Monster" vest - and her daycare teacher reminded Brooke she needs to return the cookies on Monday!

And no... Mommy does not have a "kitty" hat!

Ultimate Easy Bake

The Mall of America wore Brooke out, but Kylie and Neela still had energy to burn!

Aunt Renee and Uncle David bought Kylie an "Ultimate Easy Bake Oven" for Christmas (Yes, she says it JUST LIKE THAT!), and she had been begging to try it out!  With Brooke napping, there were fewer hands to cause trouble... so Mommy gave in!

Kylie was very excited to make her own batch of chocolate chip cookies... The oven has many more safety features than Mommy remembered Aunt Heidi's having, and also the "batches" were pretty small... we gave up on making "little" cookies - and made one "giant" cookie on the pan before Kylie started baking.

While it baked, Kylie made her tiny batch of frosting... when we tried to spread it on the cookies, it did not work so well... so Kylie found another way to eat the cookies AND frosting together!

Kylie was also nice enough to share with Neela.  Since Neela does not like chocolate (sometimes), she made the pink cookies with the yellow frosting... with a little supervision offered by Kylie.

The girls cannot wait to test out their next recipe!!  Future chefs??

A Mall of America Day

On Saturday, David and Renee sent a package... it included new furry vests!  We LOVED them, and wanted to wear them immediately!  Mommy convinced us we could wait until Sunday to put them on - so we did... and we modeled!

When we got to the Mall, we ate sandwiches - then checked out the American Girl store.  Mommy could not find what she was looking for, so we headed to the Lego store.  We got detoured - to the Disney Store...  Mommy and Daddy picked out Rapunzel and Snow White dresses for Kylie and Neela to wear to the Daddy / Daughter Dance :-)  Brooke found a new set of Jake and the Neverland Pirate figurines...  she really did not want a new princess dress, but more Jake -- you bet!!!

At the Lego Store, we saw a few really cool new sets -- and then built Mommy a castle at the table outside.  After building, we "convinced" Mommy and Daddy riding just a few rides would be fun... although, Mommy and Daddy have now learned the "unlimited wristbands" are probably an even better choice!  The big sisters did a great job making sure Brooke had a place to sit, and a friend to ride with... on everything!

We ended the afternoon with a "family" ride on the ferris wheel... despite Mommy's protests about ferris wheels, she still rode along :-)

Dancing Queens

We got new leg warmers for Christmas, and were very excited to wear them when we returned to Woodbury Dance Center!  We look so grown up... and maybe have a little "80's (AKA Mommy's)" style thrown in, too!

PLAY DATE!!

We REALLY missed Addi and Katilynn while they were traveling for Christmas, and could not WAIT to have a play date!!  We played outside for a little while, then came inside to warm up.  We sat by the fire place, watched TV, tried out some new toys.  We also enjoyed having Danielle and Mady come to visit!

After lunch, we decided to test out the cupcake maker.  Did you know Red Velvet cake mix is VERY RED???  Mommy did not, but we certainly enjoyed every lick!!

While Brooke, Kaitlynn, Addi and Neela headed for the bath tub, Kylie and Mady mixed pink frosting for the cupcakes.  We ate cupcakes, then went downstairs to watch Alvin and the Chipmunks... and DANCE! 

When our friends headed home, we were tired - but still had plenty to pick-up and even a little more play time!

The 3rd Tooth!

We waited, and waited, and waited for the wiggly tooth on the top to fall out.

While we ate supper (burritos), Neela started screaming!  Her tooth almost got stuck in the burrito.  She FINALLY let Daddy pull her tooth... and the tooth fairy brought her two gold coins!

Happy New Year!

New Year's Eve... we were destined to make it until midnight!  We had a few friends over... Alyssa, Michelle, Sophia and Joey... and we had so much fun!

Alyssa enjoyed spending time with us - she was trying to talk to her Dad on the phone, but we were having too much fun playing with her.  We tickled her, played hot dog... and she kept talking while Cy tried to decide who to protect.

We had pizza, we tried chocolate fondue (it failed!), but we enjoyed everything we tasted!

We also had fun playing Just Dance :-)

At somewhere near 9:30 PM, the grown-ups thought it sounded like a good time for a countdown.  We got out our hats, horns, necklaces, noise makers... and counted down to 0... not once, but 3 times! 

(Who says New Year's countdowns only happen once??!?!?!)

Almost everyone went to bed, but Neela still intended to make it to midnight.  Mommy and Daddy turned on the TV - and woke Neela when the ball dropped... in New York!  She was thrilled she made it until "midnight" and the "New Year!"... and could not wait until she could tell Kylie and Brooke!

How long will it be before they understand time zones on New Year's Eve???