Well, we have all recovered from our round of flu and colds.  Colin had it easy and didn't get the flu at all, but he managed to get a pretty bad cold like the rest of us.  Luckily, we are all feeling much better just in time for Christmas.

We've been trying to get a good family photo for awhile now, but between Kayla and Colin, it's been pretty tricky.  Between Colin having to be on my lap to Kayla wanting to be where ever Colin was, it just wasn't meant to be.  Here are some examples:

Colin and Kayla are very much copycats of each other.  Kayla is always insisting on playing with whatever toy Colin has and has learned that if she can just exchange toys, it won't upset Colin (most of the time) and she can have the toy.  Colin just does whatever Kayla does whether that's being a picky eater and not eating dinner cause Kayla won't eat dinner or imitating her actions or cozying up in a blanket.

Kayla had a joint birthday party with her cousin Aiden!  They both got lots of good presents.  Here is Kayla opening some presents except Colin the Bears man photobombed her again!

What cute cousins!  Kayla is very happy she is four now that wants to keep getting older and be five!  I told her we're going to have to wait a little while for that, I'm liking four just fine.

On Black Friday this year, my mom and I and the kids decided to brave the crowds and head up to Kohls to do some shopping.  You can probably tell where this is going already, but it actually has a happy ending!  Once we finished our shopping, we found the back of the line at the back of the store and began our wait.  Kayla and Colin were each allowed to pick one toy to play with in line and if they were good, they could keep it.  Kayla picked a baby doll (of course!) and Colin picked an Elmo remote.  He got bored of that pretty quickly and about halfway through the line found a cute little stuffed raccoon, which he absolutely loved and clung to for the rest of the wait.  45min later, we finally made it to the cash register with two very good kids who deserved their toys.  We handed the cashier the raccoon only to notice it didn't have any tags on it.  So the cashier called for a price check, but as it turned out, the manager said they don't sell that raccoon, somebody must have left it behind, and thank you very much for returning it.  Poor Colin now had no toy!  Quick-thinking Grandma found an owl oh-so conveniently located next to the cash register and bought that for him.  It was the best purchase ever as Colin and his owl are now inseparable.

At bedtime, if his owl isn't waiting for him, Colin will call out, "Owl?   OWL!!!!"  Also, he still sleeps with his booty high up in the air.  I love it!

Cute cute cute!!

When Kayla was about Colin's age, she had the look that she would give people when prompted.  Well Colin has also developed a pretty good 'look' although his is rarer to see than Kayla's.  This might be the only photo we have of 'The Look'.

Ah, the good old Nascar racebox.  Somehow those two still manage to fit into it, although it looks like not for long.  I'm pretty sure this is a cheesy Colin grin and not a pouty face since he really had fun riding in it with Kayla.

We visited Santa at the grocery store.  Quite convenient for Santa to stop by if you ask me.  Kayla was very excited and nervous to see him and after she sat on his lap, she told me next time she's just going to stand next to him.  Colin of course, wanted nothing to do with Santa even if I was there.  What's on Kayla's wish list for Christmas?  A baby doll and a pink kitchen.  Hopefully Santa gets what she wants!

Ignoring the runny nose, we finally got a picture of Colin's, "I dunno" look.  Where's Papa?  I dunoooo.  Where are your shoes?  I dunnoooo.

We put up our Christmas tree and as you can see there are no ornaments within Colin's reach.  Even the soft ones are up high because he likes to take them and hide them.  But besides that, Colin loves that tree.  He even says, "Treeee!"

So  Kayla and Colin were taking a tubby together the other day, and I was telling Kayla all about Santa's good list and naughty list of kids.  She promptly told me that her and Colin are not on Santa good list or naughty list.  They are on his silly list.  : )

Kayla and Colin still love their ball pit.  And yes, Kayla is not wearing any pants.  This is actually more unusual, since the second she gets home from school her shirt, pants, and socks are immediately taken off.  Luckily, that's one thing Colin hasn't picked up on....yet...

Shh....don't tell but I heard from Santa that the kids are getting....more balls for their ball pit!  Woohoo!