Catching up from the last month

Cowboy Beans!  

Kyle tried a new recipe with this name, so the girls had to wear their cowboy hats at dinner.

While at Grandma Nancy's, Kyri said, "I was hoping to bake Grandpa Larry a cake for his birthday."  So, they made him a cake!  She was very proud to give it to him that night!

Back in November, we had a free weekend, so we took the girls downtown to see the decorated windows.  Unfortunately, it was a rainy day, but that didn't bother us.  We were prepared.  Kyri loved being downtown and she kept saying, "I'm in the big city!"

Tess also loved the city...she just wished she could run free down the streets!

We had an abnormally warm November, so we took advantage of a 70 degree Sunday and took a stroll around a forest preserve.

Thanksgiving #1

We started out at Larry and Laurel's for lunch.  

Kyri helped Larry carve the turkey.

The crew

The same crew from a different angle.

Kyri and Laurel with Great-Grandma Leona (or "Theona" as Kyri says)

Thanksgiving #2

We drove out to Bryan and Kay's for dinner a few hours later.

Aunt Susie and Tessa

Kyri was cracking up that Morgyn kept using a plastic mushroom as a pacifier.

Tess was a big fan of the pie!

K.J. was very into posing...

Pop and the youngest great-grandkids

Aubs wore Aunt Sherry's boots...and didn't have any problems walking in them!

Just the girls

And one with the little man in there, too!  

(Kyri's striking another pose...)

Grady and Josh

Crazy Tessa at the end of the night

And then she crashed...right into Aunt Kay's arms!

Unfortunately, Kyri started to not feel well on Thanksgiving.  Then, she was down with a fever for the rest of the weekend.  She pretty much just laid around from Friday to Sunday.  Luckily, Tess was willing to make it a movie weekend to keep her company!

When the Tylenol was working, Kyri had moments of energy.  She was very excited to help put the tree up.  Tess was a big helper, too...

Even though Kyri wasn't feeling great, we did drag her out in the cold to watch the light parade in Wheaton.  She looked miserable, but she said she loved the parade!

 

Kyri crashed in the car on the way home, but Tess stayed awake and went right back to the tree when we got home.  I snapped these sweet pictures as she explored all the ornaments.  She was fascinated.

The Dance Centre's Christmas Jubilee

The first weekend in December, Kyri had a little dance performance at her studio.

Holiday Magic at Brookfield Zoo

Then we went to the zoo to see the beautiful lights.  It was more crowded than I've ever seen it before, but we had an awesome time.  They really did a great job with the lights this year.  It felt magical!

My mom attempted a photo shoot last week.  She got this cute pic of Kyri, but apparently Tess wasn't the most cooperative during the shoot.  (Shocker!)

This past weekend, Kyle and I spent a night downtown.  Kyle had won a one night stay at the Amalfi hotel last year, and it was expiring at the end of this month.  We decided to go down and see "A Christmas Carol" at the Goodman theater, go out to a nice dinner, and then hang out at the bar next to our hotel for a little while.  It was nice to spend time as just the two of us again!

And here's a picture of my cuties that my mom snapped while I was at work.  When I asked Kyri if she was really on the nice list like her shirt says, she said, "Yes!"  When I asked her if Tessa was, she just kind of looked at me with her head tilted and said, "Well...."  

I think Tessa's face says it all in this pic!