Snow in New Mexico

Lots of places up north haven't gotten winter weather or even snow yet, but for some crazy reason we did in southern New Mexico!   Last night I had to go to the post office and on the way back home people were slipping and sliding everywhere.  All the schools were shutdown today because of the snow and the ice on the roads.  People here just don't know how to deal with it.

This is when we first came outside.  The girls were both so excited about playing in the snow.  I think their excitement dwindled the longer we were out there though.  It was a balmy 24 degrees .  We tried to build a snowman but the snow was too powdery, so Whitney and Brooke made snow angels instead.

My cute little snow angel.

My cute littlest snow angel!!

The girls spent about ten minutes playing in it this morning and then they were ready to come inside.  You can see Whitney was ready to come inside by the look on her face when I asked them to stand there for one more picture.

Brooke's Birthday party with the cousins

Last night we had a huge party for Brooke.  All the local family came and so we had a full house.  Brigham cooked out burgers for everyone and I made the cake.  Whitney picked the Dora theme for Brooke's party because she didn't really care, at least she didn't object to Dora and Boots on her cake. 

My mom and sisters-in-law brought toppings, chips and ice cream to help out with the food.  Here are a few pics from the party.

Right after she blew out her candle.  It was funny because she did a short little blow and the candle went out.  We were all a little shocked and Cousin Cameron in the background thought it was great too!  Brooke acts really mellow and shy around other people.  She didn't even smile when she blew out her candle on her cake and everyone cheered.  When we tried to get a video of it, she just sat there in a daze and didn't move.   

What a cute family!!

Brooke and Uncle Abe.  Brooke always just stares at him and is reluctant to give him any kind of satisfaction when it comes to a smile or a hug.  She's even turning away in the pic lol. Don't feel bad Abe, she's like this with most people.

Brooke tried to go play with her new doll and stroller before she was done opening all of her presents.  I had to refocus her attention to the unopened gifts.

 I wanted to get Brooke something special for her b-day.  When Whitney turned 2 we got her a play kitchen and she's played with it everyday since.  I decided on a doll cradle and high chair for her baby dolls.  Both girls love to put their babies to bed and feed them, so I thought it would be nice to get them doll furniture.  Brooke opened tons of presents from family members(which was really nice of them to bring her a gift...thanks!).  At the end I brought out the cradle and high chair covered with a blanket and when Brooke took the blanket off she was so excited!  More excited then she'd been all night!  Thanks to all that came, we had a great time and hope that you did too!

Happy 2nd birthday to Brooke

Today my little Brookie turned 2.  I can't believe she's growing up so fast.  Here are a few things about her:
-she can talk in long enough phrases that we can understand mostly all of what she says.  Her grammar is even correct most of the time.
-she climbs into our SUV by herself and then into her car seat too.  Brooke gets mad if I try to help her into the car or her carseat.  If she could just buckle herself up that would be great!
-At pre-school she goes potty on the toilet and stays dry all day.  When she gets home though, she forgets all about the potty. :(  I try at home, but I guess her teachers are magic because she cries when I make her sit on the potty so I have a hard time doing it.
-Brooke only uses a binky at bedtime.  For naps at school she goes to sleep without one.  They just never offered it to her so I guess she doesn't think they have one for her, which they do, but I'm okay that she doesn't use it as long as she sleeps!
-Brooke loves to play with Whitney and tries to do everything like her.  They play with their dolls or with their kitchen all the time.  They laugh and give eachother hugs and kisses too.

Today at Pre-school we had a little birthday party for Brooke.  I brought Dora cupcakes to share with her class.  Everyone enjoyed the cupcakes and there were lots of messy pink faces afterwards. 

We all sang to her and then she blew out one of her candles and then I think got embarrassed because I couldn't get her to blow out the other one. 

Brooke got totally messy, which was expected, of course. 

Her teacher had a birthday today too so I just had to get a picture of them together.

On Friday night I'm planning a party at our home where we'll cook out hamburgers, eat cake and then open presents with cousins and family.

Thanksgiving Lunch at Kid's Kountry

We had a huge Thanksgiving feast at the Daycare where I work and the girls go to pre-school.  I bought precooked turkeys, which was definitely the way to go.  The rest of the dinner was the traditional corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie, etc.  The kids ate all together in the eating area by the kitchen, so it was a little crammed, but well worth it because they all had so much fun.  All the kids made a hat to be an Indian or a pilgrim. 

Whitney and Brooke were the cutest little pilgrims I've ever seen, but I'm biased of course! 

The little cousins that live in town were there that day, so it made it extra fun for Whitney and Brooke because they enjoy their cousins so much! 

Pumpkin Patch

In mid-October our cousins from Utah came to town for a visit. While they were here, we did all sorts of fun things together. The pumpkin patch was definitely a favorite! A local family here in Las Cruces sets up a fall amusement park each year where you pay a bundle to get into, but there are a bunch of outdoor fall activities for kids and adults so we could have been there all day.  

This is the group of cousins that went to the farm.  There are still 5 cousins missing.  What a group!!!!

At least we all got a picture together even if everyone wasn't looking at the camera :o)

Brookie and Mommy

Whitney was so proud that she picked her own pumpkin all by herself!  With a little help, she was even able to pull it off the vine.

Lunch break.  Brooke already finished her corn dog and her fruit snack. Whitney eats a little slower then everyone else, so she's still working on it.  Aren't they the cutest?!  Everytime I look at these two little girls I am just so thankful to have them healthy, safe, and most of all loved!

This is the girls in the corn box, much like a sand box just with corn instead of sand.

Whitney being silly.

The girls peaking out of the corn box just before we called it a day and went to Grandma's for naps!