Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all of our friends and family that we did not get to see for Christmas this year! It was an exciting Christmas for the Jolleys... it was Sam's 1st Christmas & it was a white Christmas! Also, Alexis was much more fun this year. We even got an "Ohhhhh!" from her when she opened up her new coat and snow suit- she had already been wearing these out in the snow but pulling them out of her stocking was exciting.

We'll start with some pictures from our visit with Santa...

Quite an improvement over last year...

On Christmas Eve we decorated our tree (finally) and Alexis decorated a cookie for Santa. If you look hard you will see that our tree is leaning back into the corner. You would think that this is because a toddler, dog or cat was too rough with the tree but no- we could never get our stand to work properly.

Here are some highlights from Christmas day...

Here's a fun snow picture of the snowman Alexis helped make.

More Snow!!!

Today we woke up to even more snow! Traffic was horrible heading north into Seattle so Kris got to stay home and play with us. Although we all have colds, we went out for a few minutes to enjoy the snow. While we were out we discovered that snow suit + frozen slide = a lot of fun!

In case anyone was wondering...potty training is going great! Alexis has not had an accident during the day for over a week. We have gone Christmas shopping, sat in a traffic jam and gone to the library for story time with no problems. Night time is a different story but we are working on it.

Snow!!

Yesterday we woke up to snow!! Alexis has seen the snow before (I'm not sure if she remembers though) but it was Sam's first snow experience. She did not like it much when her hand fell into the snow. Here is a picture of the girls posing for a Christmas card picture- then Alexis got bundled up and made some snowballs with her dad.

Christmas with Jen Cruze

Last Wednesday we celebrated Christmas with Jennifer Cruze. First, we went to the Seattle Aquarium. Alexis has been there before but this time she was really into the fish. It was really fun watching her get so excited. Sam really liked staring at the bright tanks. I think she could have sat and stared all day.

Next, we went to Bellevue Square where we exchanged gifts and ate dinner. Alexis loves her new outfit! After dinner we went outside to see the nightly display of drummers & falling snow. The snow was cool but Rudolph was pretty scary.

Samantha Rolls Again

On Monday I went to get Alexis up from her nap. I left Samantha playing on the floor on her back. When I came back, this is what I found...

She learned to roll from her back to her tummy! And she has been doing it ever since. Last week she had her 4 month check up- she is now 14 pounds 10 ounces and 25 1/2 inches. We can't believe how fast she is growing!

Potty Training- Day 1

We have entered a new & exciting phase in the Jolley household- Alexis has begun the transition from diapers to the potty. For about a week now, she has been taking her diaper off once it became soiled. On Wednesday she went without her diaper for most of the afternoon and peed twice in her potty. This morning I took off her diaper and left it off. All morning she peed in her potty. I put a diaper back on for nap but she managed to make it through nap without soiling it. After her nap she pooped in the potty- she was so proud of herself! We went to the store and picked up some new big girl undies- Disney Princess. She only had one accident all day- tonight she didn't make it to the bathroom in time when she had to "oop." Let's hope tomorrow goes as well as today & that Alexis stays excited. As long as there is candy involved I'm sure she will!!!

What a Good Big Sister

Here is a picture of Alexis "reading" a book to Samantha. They were looking at a farm animal book and Alexis was telling Sam all of the noises that the animals make. It was very nice of Alexis!

Baptism

Alexis and Samantha were baptized Saturday evening. The mass was very nice and we were very impressed with our girls. They did great. The dress that Samantha wore is over 90 years old and is the same dress that both Michelle and I wore in our baptisms.

Happy Thanksgiving & Happy Birthday Grandpa Bob

Grandpa Bob's birthday fell on Thanksgiving this year so we spent Thanksgiving with the Kings. The food was great! I don't think Alexis ate any of her dinner, though. She left plenty of room for ice cream and pies. And Samantha had the usual- milk.

Earlier in the day...

Alexis has learned how to open doors so to get her to stay in her room and take a nap we had to tie her door closed. When I checked on her, this is what I found.

Samantha's firsts & Alexis learns

This last week Samantha had two firsts. She bounced in her bouncer for the first time. I thought she would be too young still but she caught right on to pushing against the ground and reaching for the toys. Then on Sunday she rolled over! She rolled from her front to her back. She has not done it again but she sure tries hard. I did not catch a picture of the roll but here's a picture of her trying and a picture of her playing in her bouncer.

Alexis has been playing with her new leap frog learning table a lot but today she figured out how to get it to play the "ABC" song. She played it over and over. Here's a video of her way cool dance moves!

Most of the time we think Alexis is getting pretty smart. She's learning new words everyday. Here is a video proving us wrong. Lasers aren't just entertainment for cats- they are good for toddlers too! (We're such mean parents)

Alexis turns 2!!!

Happy 2nd birthday Alexis! On Alexis' birthday (11/5), she started the day waking up to a decorated kitchen and a special pony t-shirt to wear. Alexis had her 2 year check-up. Aside from some pooping issues she is doing just great. She had to get a flu shot- not the best birthday present ever but I think she got over it. She got to eat her favorite foods for lunch and dinner- quesadillas & hot wings and she opened some pretty fun presents. The last 2 years have just flown by!

On Saturday we had the real celebration! Alexis had a "My Little Pony" themed party because she loves horses. The party was a lot of fun & Alexis loves all of her new toys, clothes, and books. Thank you all!

October Fun

Hello! After having so much fun reading our other baby friends' blogs we decided that it would be a great idea to start one too.

Here are some pictures of the fun we had last month going to the pumpkin patch, decorating our pumpkins and then finally trick-or-treating!!! Alexis, the elephant, loved getting "daddy" (her word for candy)- after each stop she had to stop and check her bag to see what goodies she got. Samantha, the hotdog, wasn't quite as excited and just slept the whole time.