MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

This morning began with this mischievous grin...

We're getting her started early with the piano, Grandma!! :)

I don't think anyone opened any gifts by themselves...Hailey was always there to lend a helping hand.

Every item had to be opened and tried out before we could continue on to the next thing...

Hailey was really excited to find "Bob Mado" (Bob the Tomato) in her stocking!!

The Christmas morning hit was the doll that Hailey got from her cousins Gabby and Mason.

She kissed it, and fed it a bottle...

I'm pretty sure it made it's way into her bed for a nap this afternoon! :)

Here's some fuzzy slippers that Santa brought for Hailey. Sadly, they don't stay on very well. :)

Hailey is already very comfortable with her new "computer" she got at Nana's house. Here she is chillin' in the middle of the family room playing her alphabet game. :)

Hailey's always trying to use mommy and daddy's laptop, so she got her own...

Caser had fun, too.

Aunt Lynn Honey is always good for a toy that talks!! This is a froggy puppet that sings songs. :)

Caser got a little baby "Melmo" (Elmo) in his stocking.

And Hailey got a mini "Dabby Abby" (Abby Cadabby) in hers. :)

Our Fun Snow Day...

After finally coming to the conclusion that I could NOT spend another day in my house staring at my husband (no offense, Todd) we ventured out yesterday to spend the day at my parent's house. It turned out great since Chris, Christy and CASER came too. Sheesha was home, so it was an official Family Day. THEN Aunt Stacy and Uncle Keener came over!! Good times...

We ate, did some sledding (not me, of course), ate, watched the Hawks game, ate, had lots of fun visiting, ate dinner and then went home. :)

My folks just re-did their big family room complete with comfy new couches and a gas fireplace, so it's cozier than it's ever been at their house.

All in all, one of the best snow days ever!

What's Been Up with Us...

As per usual, Blogger messed up and put these pictures in the wrong order, so I'll tell you about our last few days backwards...this is Todd bringing Hailey in from the snow after maybe 3 minutes because the wind was blowing so hard in her face that she wasn't feeling it and hated being that cold.

Here's a picture from the 3 minutes they were out there. Her mittens didn't stay on. Bummer.

And here she is bundled up like a burrito. She could barely walk. :)

These snow days make for lots of time to kill, so we've been making breakfast a lot as a family. Here's Hailey stirring the french toast mix with her dad.

And here's Hailey stirring the waffle mix. She can eat two full-sized waffles! Crazy... :)

And here's the rest in bullet form:

*SNOW!! It was fun at first, but now I'm going stir-crazy! I'm the kind of wuss who gets scared of the icy roads, so I guess I'm a self-made shut-in right now.

*Christmas Shopping - almost done!

*Wrapping Presents - almost done! My awesome husband ran to the store for me to get all my supplies I need to wrap all my gifts later when Hailey goes to bed. How nice will that be to have done?? (P.S. Christmas isn't until next Thursday, people!! I'm so proud of myself!)

*Trying to get creative with activities to break up the days at home. So far today we've played Play-Doh, busted out a new Little Mermaid toy for Hailey to play with, and had tons of time with books. I have no other ideas!!

*I'm actually starting to count down the days until our big ultrasound sometime on or around Jan 7th. I have NO idea what we're having, but want to know so bad! Thankfully next week I have a doctor's appointment and then Christmas, so there's some distraction from the waiting. :)

That's about it...really boring, but at least now you're informed...

Todd Quote...

While on our way home from the FWHS basketball game tonight, we were tailgated and then cut off by a car being driven by a young high school girl. Todd was perturbed, to say the least, and murmuring things under his breath...

Me: Todd, stop speeding...let it go...would Jesus speed up and tailgate her back?

Todd: No, he'd bash her and then tell her about himself.

Me: Not so much...

Todd: Maybe He'd follow her home and then tell her about himself.

Me: Todd, we're not following her home to tell her about Jesus...just let it go. :)

You Stinker...

Hailey and I were just sitting on the couch watching "Gabby Dancin" video for the third or fourth time in a row when she lets out a little "tooterbug".

Hailey: Mommy tooterbug.

Me: Um, no...that was NOT Mommy...that was Hailey.

Hailey: Gabby tooterbug.

Me: Nope...Gabby didn't do it either...that was Hailey.

Hailey: Mason tooterbug.

Me: Nope...still you. Just own it Hails.

Hailey: Hailey tooterbug.

Me: yeah...

What is her father teaching her these days??? :)

Happiness is...

Sitting down to a homemade mocha treat on a snowy night...

Mocha Treat -

-1 Nestle Hot Cocoa packet
-1 small cup of decaf coffee (brewed fresh in my Sanseo coffee maker)
-topped off with a nice dollop of homemade whipped cream

Yum... :)

Hmmmm...

I don't recall putting you to bed with your froggy boots on, Hailey...

Calling all Generous People...

So, I have a favor to ask of all of my blogger friends.

I'm helping put on a community Christmas party for some new friends. Our new middle school director here in Federal Way has been getting to know a large group of young kids that live close to the Young Life house. Some of them have become involved in the middle school ministry, but many of them are too young to participate. Leslie made a "pinky promise" to these younger kids that she'd do something special for them for Christmas...you know you can't go back on a "pinky promise"!!

One thing we're trying to do is to make sure that there are prizes for each kid there. We're expecting close to 50 kids...therefore we need 50 prizes! If you would be willing to spend maybe $5 and buy a gift for a needy kid this Christmas or have any questions on how you can get involved, please email me at jessicaannyost@gmail.com. You can either donate an item, funds or your time.

Thanks in advance for helping make this a special day for these kids!! We want this to be a day to remember. :)

Camera Fit

Here's one of Hailey's camera fits...so pathetic, but so cute! :)

Dance, Dance, Dance...

Silly girl...

Christmas Cookies!!

This past weekend Steph, Kelsey and I got together and made Christmas cookies for our Young Life girls. Then we packaged them up really cute and delivered them to school along with an invite to our big Christmas Bash! We had so much fun...and SOOO much sugar!

Hailey found a new fave friend in Kelsey. She even insisted on praying for Kelsey before her nap. So cute...

Can you tell we were busy??

Hailey helped, too...although she ended up eating more frosting than cookies...which then resulted in a meltdown of massive proportion later that evening. :)

Kinda like "Where's Waldo"...

Can you find Todd in this pic? This is the heart of being a Young Life leader...hangin' with your kids. :)

A Love for Her Cousins...

Every morning without fail Hailey wants to see her cousins - Caser, Gabby and Mason. She sees their pictures and squeals with delight!

She looks at this picture and says, "Caser football popo!" (Popo is another name for buns in our house...)

Then she looks at this picture and says, "Gabby crying!!"

And lastly, this picture...and says, "Mason take a baff!"

She loves these kids...like CRAZY! :)

Miss you, cousins!

Thanks, Dave...Hilarious... :)

Dave Barnes.

What more can I say?

Miss Independent

Yeah, here's the exchange this morning between my daughter and I while trying to get her dressed...

Me: Okay, Hails...stand up and let's put your pants on.

Hailey: (while making no effort to begin standing) Hailey help you?

She proceeds to try putting her pants on by herself...to no avail.

Me: Can Mommy help you? (I reach for her jeans to help her pull them on)

Hailey: (SNATCHES the jeans from my hands and says firmly...) HAILEY DO SELF!!

Me: Okay, but can Mommy just help you?

Hailey: HAILEY DO SELF!!

Ten or so minutes passes by and my daughter is still as naked as she started. I'm going to need to start scheduling another 30 minutes just for Hailey's dressing rituals!!

How did this happen? She's just my little baby!?!