It's gonna be a long one....

Another long post....it seems like when ever I feel like I am finally able to stay on top of my blogging, life its super busy and I fall behind! But I'm trying my best to get caught up on it!

We celebrated Hailee's 2nd birthday on December 5th 2009 with an "Under the Sea" birthday party! It was so much fun! She had around 18 kids (yes...all in my house...plus parents!) come, and we all had such a great time! Thank you to everyone who was able to come! It really made her day so special!
At her party we had a mermaid come and take pictures with the kids (Amanda Lake). She did such a wonderful job and the kids all loved her! We had many games...."Go fishing" , "Treasure Chest Hunt", parachutes, play do, coloring and a bunch of toys to play with! It was definitely a great night and I am so happy that Hailee had such a great time! And thanks so much for my Mom, who helped me out soooo much with this party! And also a big thanks to Amanda, the mermaid and Cathy for the wonderful cupcakes!

Hailee and the mermaid

My Mom and Amanda. My mom made the amazing mermaid costume! She is so talented!Starting to play the gamesOpening presentsHailee and her cousin Brooke....they had so much fun playing in there!The darling cupcakes!

We decided to wait until after her party to set up our Christmas decorations. So, Sunday afternoon, we took down all of the birthday decorations and set up our Christmas decor! We had so much fun! Hailee absolutely LOVED helping hang ornaments on the tree and loved watching Daddy put the lights on it too! She was a very lucky girl that night because Daddy even put special Christmas lights on her play house! It is so cute because every morning she runs down stairs and turns on the lights to the Christmas tree, her play house and our house plant that has lights on it! It is so enjoyable seeing the joy of Christmas through her eyes. It really makes the holiday season seem so amazing!Notice Hailee doing a summer sault out of the window. She loves doing that!

(Dec. 7th) Hailee LOVES yard work. Actually, she loves to help clean everything! She will wash all my dishes for me before I put them in the dishwasher (And let me tell you, there isn't any food or spots on them after she is done washing them!) but she also loves to help rake leaves, pull weeds and sweep! She has her own rake and broom, and both of them have special hooks on the wall in the garage right next to Daddy's tools! She is such a great helper!

On December 12th, we went up to my parents house to decorate Christmas cookies and hang out for the evening. Hailee had so much fun! She would have sprinkle shakers in both hands and completely cover the entire cookies with them! She also LOVED my parents Christmas animals. For those of you who are wondering what Christmas animals are...well, I'll explain.

When we were just little kids, my Dad brought home 6 or 7 mechanical animals that were from a Christmas Santa Mall display. They look like they all belong in the forest, one is chopping a tree down, some are picking up sticks, but they are all amazing and when they are plugged in they all move! My parents would set up a whole "Christmas scene" in the house each Christmas when we were growing up....with the tree, fake snow and the animals scattered all through out!
Now that us kids are all grown, we still won't let my parents have a Christmas without them. I know every year they would love to keep them in storage, but to us kids, Christmas at Mom and Dad's wouldn't be the same! And since there are grand-kids now....I guess Grandma and Grandpa will have to continue on the tradition with these animals forever! Woo hoo!

(This is not one of the original animals, but one that my parents have added to the collection. It is by far Hailee's favorite!)

December 13th, I took my 20 week belly shots. It was so cute because Hailee wanted to be a part of the pictures too! We didn't tell her to show off her belly, but because "Mommy" was...she wanted to also!

And lastly, last night, December 16th, we made the transition of putting Hailee into her new big girl bed! I was honestly nervous about how it would go, but I have to say it has gone amazing! Last night I read her a story in her bed and then she told me "Bye Momma" and wanted me to leave! I couldn't believe it! She closed her eyes and with in ten minutes she was sleeping peacefully! So today comes around and I was thinking, "Okay, nap time will for sure be hard" but nope....just as easy! And same as tonight's bed time! She really LOVES her new bed! We really tried making it extra special for her and I guess she knows it really is a special thing to be sleeping in her big girl bed now!

This last picture is just cute and I don't ever want to forget this....Hailee has a love for her baby dolls, especially this one...she takes it everywhere, along with its diaper bag. She also has to have it right be her at every meal! She is such a good mommy to her baby and is going to be such an amazing big sister in April!