34 weeks pregnant

Dylan is getting pretty good at taking pictures for his mom. Here's a belly shot of me at 34 weeks.

Reindeer cookies

I'm not a very creative/artistic person but I saw these reindeer cookies in Family Fun magazine on Saturday and wanted to attempt to make them for Dylan's Christmas parties this week. I cannot tell you how easy they were to put together. I was able to make 24 of them in 15 minutes! They are adorable...check out the pic. Dylan couldn't wait to show them to all of his friends this morning.

Oh Christmas tree!!!

I let Dylan and Brynnie have a field day and decorate the Christmas Tree. You can tell if you look at the bottom of the tree Brynnie did that. It does look beautiful at night all lit up though.

The Polar Express

Reading this book is quickly becoming a holiday family tradition in our house. The story and illustrations are fantastic and both kids will sit down to hear the entire story. I love watching Dylan's face light up when he gets to the end and says "Santa gave him the bell back mommy!". I want him to believe in the magic of Christmas for years to come. If you don't have this book, or movie, it's a must have this holiday season!!!

Spike the Dinosaur

Okay I'm going to admit this (but don't tell my husband)...I love to shop! Not only do I love to shop, I really enjoy Christmastime, more now than I ever have. Dylan really understands "christmas" this year. Not just the part about getting toys, he believes in Santa, we try to teach him how important it is to give to the needy and he understands that Christmas is the time we celebrate the birth of Jesus. I have to give his preschool and Sunday School teacher tons of credit for teaching Dylan the religious aspects of this holiday.

We sat down weeks ago and wrote our official letters to Santa where Dyl asked for a couple Thomas the Trains (of course), The Night at the Museum DVD (which he already has), a dollhouse for his Brynnie and Spike the Dinosaur. I honestly was not going to buy him such an expensive toy but Dylan has mentioned this toy daily to me. Black Friday Stephen woke me up early and I headed to Wal-Mart to finish (yes finish) my holiday shopping. I walked around the store and found Spike. Thankfully I purchased it because I know how much Dylan really wants this from Santa. He has seen a couple of "Santa's helpers" here and there at holiday parties and has mentioned to each one that he really wants Spike. It is a pretty cool toy and I think Stephen is going to enjoy playing with this more than Dylan is. You got to love watching kids this time of the year...

Cheese and Crackers

Here's a cute clip of the kids. There new favorite saying when I take pictures of them is "cheese and crackers"...Brynn is too funny when she rocks her head back and forth and says "cheeeesse and cwackers"

Matching pjs

My husband doesn't like when I dress our kids alike but I couldn't resist these matching pjs!

Christmas dresses

As long as I can remember I always said when I had a little girl of my own, I would always put her in dresses. Anyone who knows me, knows how I love to shop and my new weakness is girls outfits. I have to buy everything that matches, tights, hair clips, you name it! Now that Brynn is older, it is so much more fun shopping for girly things. Luckily she doesn't mind wearing dresses (although we do fight over her putting tights or stockings on in the mornings). This past weekend I went to the mall and went to Gymboree where they had the cutest winter outfits. I found last month though in Sears this Christmas dress that I fell in love with. It is red corduroy material and has holiday embroidered decorations all over the bottom. Brynn will probably be able to wear this dress again next year since I bought it a little big. Look how cute she looks (well minus the hair...this pic was taken right after her nap)!