Australia Day Weekend

This past weekend we went down south with some friends to Busselton and Margaret River. We went down Saturday morning and the girls were so fussy that I had to sit in the back seat with them. On the way down we were able to see a part of the area that had really bad fires a few weeks ago. These fires destroyed over 100 homes. Very sad.

When we got there, our friends showed us around the resort and the beach. The girls were pretty cranky from the car ride so they had a good nap. Karis got to sleep in her first big girl bed on the bottom bunk. She was pretty scared sleeping in a dark room that night by herself so we moved Karlee in and they did great together! After dinner we all went swimming. Karis did so great in the pool. The last time she went swimming she was terrified. This time she had a blast and practiced kicking. She even tried to swim away from Mike the next day. So proud of my brave girl. I think having our friends son, Liam, around to show her how its done helped. ;)
On Sunday, we drove about 30 minutes south to Margaret River. We drove through wine country and saw all the beautiful vineyards. We grabbed lunch and went to the coast to eat with a beautiful view. The coast is so different from Perth. The land was elevated on a hill from the beach and it was a little rocky.

After the beach, we went to Simmo's in Dunsborough.  It is an ice cream shop that has some beautiful land to hang out and let the kids play. Karis, Liam, and I road a camel train ride around and then played on the play ground. 

Karis and Liam flying the plane

That night our friends, Trin and Dan, watched the girls after they went to bed so Mike and I could go on a date. There were fireworks on the jetty at Busselton that night so we sat on the beach and watched them.  The moon and stars were so perfect. :)

The next day we went to the Jetty and rode the train. The jetty in Busselton is the longest wooden jetty in the southern hemisphere. They have a small train that takes you to the end and back. All the kids loved riding the train. 

Afterwards, we let the kids play at the park and then went to the beach. I feel like it took so much effort to pack up and walk to the beach and then only stay for an hour or two because of the kids. Mike brought his snorkel gear and saw a few fish. The water was crystal clear but a little chilly. Both kids were scared of the water but enjoyed playing in the sand. 

The trip home was much better than the trip down there. Karlee fell asleep right way and we fed Karis the whole time just to keep her quiet so Karlee would sleep. :) Now I need a vacation from my vacation. ;)

Karlee is ONE!

Yes, I know I am only a month and a week late...but hey, better late than never!

It is hard to believe that my baby girl is already 1! She has become such a joy, especially because she is sleeping through the night and napping! :) Mid November see started scooting instead of crawling. She still continues to scoot and she has the method down pat and is very quick! She loves to explore and get into everything. Often, she doesn't want to be held but wants down to play. Around her first birthday she wasn't sleeping through the night or napping well. Every time she cuts a tooth (she had 6 then and got her 7th this week) she takes it pretty hard and stops sleeping well. Then she usually gets sick after a tooth. We had to redo our sleep training where Mike goes in instead of me (she just wants to nurse) and after a day or 2 she is sleeping through the night!

Karlee started saying a few words around her 1st birthday. Dada, teddy, dog, duck, she quacks, and
she makes a monkey call. She repeating a few other words here and there but refused to say Mama!! (After all I have done for her!! ;)  )
 She still loves her sister but has started biting her when she makes her mad.

Her birthday this year was on Thanksgiving. Since it isn't celebrated here I decided to have a play date party on her birthday with a turkey theme. We had around 13 kids and most of them were Karis' age.

She started being a picky eater. What she likes to eat changes each day so it is hard to keep up. She is still not pulling up on anything. Most of the time she refuses to put her legs down to stand for me to even practice with her. Little stinker!

She loves playing in Karis' tent

Busted lip after learning to scoot.

She got a swing for her birthday

Christmas 2015

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year everyone! I have been slacking a bit on the blog but I will try to do better now that Karlee is sleeping better and kids are screaming less! :D

For Christmas Eve, Mike had to work but he got off a few hours early. Our church has a Christmas Eve service and I was apart of the mini drama. It was a fun little skit but I had no speaking parts. The only reason I did it! ;) I also got to know a few more people in the church so that was good. There was no creche (childcare) for the service and Mike had to keep track of both kids for most of the service. Karis ate all the snacks I had brought in like 10 minutes and Karlee kept trying to scoot away to go explore. I had to take Karis out because she was starting to get angry that there was no more food. She spent the remainder of the service running around the gym with the other kids that couldn't sit still. ;)

Christmas morning we were invited to our friends house for breakfast. We had a great time and chatted away until noon. We decided to get the kids home for a nap but that didn't really work out. We decided to have the girls unwrap their gifts. Karis got a Doctor kit and Karlee got a toy remote control that talks since she is always stealing the real one. A few days before Christmas, I got a PINK Kitchenaid stand mixer. I am thrilled to finally have one and baking is now a breeze. :D Mike got a scuba diving course that he took this week. So now he has his certification to dive and some gear.

Christmas evening we went to a family's house, who we know from church, for swimming and dinner. There were 3 other families there too. It was Karlee's first time swimming and it had been a year and a half since Karis had been swimming. Karlee just chilled in her floaty and Karis was extremely clinging. There were 13 kids there so Karis made a few friends from the older kids. :) We all ate dinner and then took a walk to an area in the neighborhood where everyone put up Christmas lights. Some of the houses were pretty amazing and everyone really enjoyed it.

Check out surfing Santas and the Kangaroo lights

Our crew playing in the laser light show

More of our friends checking out all the lights

The girls enjoyed the lights!

The day after, I made our typical Christmas dinner. Turkey, dressing, sweet potato casserole, and green beans. I must say it was really delicious ! ;) 

I forgot to take the picture before cutting into it ;)

A few days before Christmas it was really hot, like around 105. Thankfully a cool front came through and it was only around 80 for Christmas. I find it really funny that Texas and Louisiana had a heat wave for Christmas and we were all around the same temp.

I have noticed a few things around here about the holiday season.  They rarely play Christmas music on the radio, even on Christmas day! In and out of shops no one says Merry Christmas or Happy Holidays. They just act like it is any other day. There were a lot less decorations everywhere (in shops, homes, or just around town). There are no real Christmas trees like we know. Most people have an artificial tree or if you want live it is a potted tree that you keep all year long. Also, many of the trees are smaller in size (3 ft or 6ft). Christmas day meals are typically cold items (pastas, salads, sandwiches, or BBQ) because it is too hot to fire up the stoves and ovens. I kinda enjoyed the lack of hype because I think it is usually too much but it also didn't really feel like Christmas (missed the cold weather!)

Our tree was mostly our Advent ornaments with a few borrowed balls and lights 

Karlee is 11 months!

Karlee has changed so much in the last two months. She is no longer a little baby but she is such a joy!

Karlee started feeding herself table food and refused baby food for awhile but is starting to eat it again. She is my little meat eater and loves peas and carrots. She also started moaning when she eats because the food is so yummy. :)

She is starting to reach out for toys and ends up on her belly. Once she is on her belly she forgets about the toy and just rolls over to her back. She hates being on her belly. She is starting to get into crawling position while sitting but if she falls onto her belly she just rolls to her back. She does scoot on her bum but doesn't get very far. She also likes to roll around until she has spun herself around. Hopefully one day soon she will start crawling. When we are holding her she tries to jump out of our arms to get on the floor to play. Silly girl.

I left Karlee at the doll house and she scooted to the tile.

 Her little personality is starting to shine! Throwing tantrums and crying when she doesn't get her way. Her favorite toys are the remote control and my cell phone and screams when you take them away. She thinks Karis is a great toy to chew on. She will come after her like she is going to take a bite out of her. ;) They are starting to play together a lot more. Karis mothers her and mimics everything I do to Karlee. If Karlee starts crying and asks her "what wrong Karlee". It is so sweet!
Karlee has cut a tooth this month! The left top lateral incisor came in so now she has 5 teeth! I had thought that she cut the other but turns out it never came through. Why do teeth have to come in one at a time. She is an awful teether. :/  Poor baby has a huge gap between her top two teeth. She gives the CUTEST smile though. :D

She finally started babbling and nearly said "Momma" a few times. No words yet but she babbles away like she is having a conversation with me.
Karlee is sleeping better when she is not teething. She will sleep through the night but when she is teething she will wake me up a few times a night. Going into summer the sun rises at 5:30 in the morning. The blackout curtains we put up are not enough so I have put up beach towels behind them so they will stop waking me up so early. :)