Wiggle!

Kate learned how to wiggle today(or at least now we have a name for it):

Christmas Day

The weather in Iowa threatened to cancel our Sioux City Christmas, but we braved I-80 and made it to the Vogels. All of the siblings were able to be together for a Christmas dinner on the 26th and Kate loved seeing her Aunt & Uncles.

One of her favorite gifts: Curious George pajamas from Uncle Kevin (a Dora DVD and wooden doll set were close seconds).
Our best gift:
MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas Eve with my family in Des Moines. We missed Aunt Alisha who was stuck working in Omaha, but we had a very nice evening that included mass, a crab-leg dinner, and lots of gifts (Kate's favorite).

Playing with the Nativity Scene from Grandma.
Eating popcorn and reading The Night Before Christmas with Papa Jack. More gifts with Dad.
After drinking eggnog and eating more than 3 cookies, Kate was reluctant to go home and go to bed! The promise of Santa the next morning did the trick though.

Children's Museum

For day #1 of Christmas break, Kate and I road tripped to Omaha to see Alisha. On the way there Kate was a little obsessed with the "round and rounds" (windmills). Luckily, we get to see quite a few on the way.

We spent a great afternoon at the Omaha Children's Museum. Kate was a bit overwhelmed by all the choices but she had a fabulous time trying them all. Above in the ball room, and below playing in the water and wearing the rain-coat provided. (great idea!)
Jungle gym.
Checking out the cute baby in the mirror.
Creating a ginger bread house.

Thanks for the great day Aunt Alisha!

Winter Green

We needed a little break from the house today and Jason had the great idea of heading downtown to the Botanical Center.

At first Kate just ran from bench to bench, but eventually she realized there were plants to look at! Looking at the water below.

Stealing a specimen. (we had to quicly put an end to that!) It was great to enjoy all the green and warmth in the middle of a COLD month!

Kitchen Picnic

Tonight Kate kept getting things out of the pantry...

Which turned into a kitchen picnic with all her favorites:
Goldfish, her treat jar, raisins and of course oatmeal.

The Aftermath

Look at the giant snow pile from this week's storm!

Snow Day #1

We got slammed with 14.5 inches of snow, so we had the first snow day of the season. Here's a recap of our day.

1) We let Kate have a sneak-peak of a toy that Santa is bringing. Tomorrow it will go back in the box and get wrapped for Christmas. (It was a hit!)

2) Taking a picture of Kate to try and show the size of the snow drift in front of our house. It's HUGE!
The beautiful view from our back door.
Poor Jason had to shovel for several hours. It's too bad we only have one shovel!! Luckily, the neighbors with snow blowers rallied and helped him out.

Kate making Play-Dough cupcakes

With some taste-testing.

The final product.

And ending the day with Kate's first movie: Up. Cozy with dad.

What a nice day to spend together. And we get to do it all over tomorrow for snow day #2!

Old Habits

I caught Kate practicing an old habit today: eating socks. See photo from November 2008:

Hopefully this stops before kindergarten!

The Stockings Were Hung

Last night the Christmas decorations went up and today Kate decided she needed to put the stockings on her feet.

Concerned about where the 3rd stocking should go.
Problem solved.
On the way to the tree.
Too bad we already printed our Christmas cards!

Cookies

While I made cookies last night Kate & Jason gladly assisted in clean-up duties.

Kate & Aunt Angela

Kate and Aunt Angela had a fun time playing at the park today in Sioux City.
What a great way to spend an afternoon!

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year, Kate was introduced to an important Cavanagh Thanksgiving tradition: the making of the Heavenly Hash. First, she helped chop the fruit (ok, mostly she ate the dates). Next, she helped make the whip cream.
Then came her favorite part: taste testing!Looks good!

And some pumpkin pie with dad for dessert!

Of course, what is Thanksgiving without...oatmeal? She also had a bowl of that! Off to Sioux City to see the Vogels tomorrow!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Waffles

What do you do if mom says no waffles for dinner?

You decide to get them for yourself of course!