EAT CAKE!!!!

We went to dinner at a friend's house last night.....we will call it a Veterans day celebration, any reason to eat cake!! So I brought dessert!! I got this idea from a recipe blog I follow (recipegirl.com). All her posts are full-fat and never diet, but they are always delicious and this one was the BEST!

Introducing, the KIT KAT CAKE!!! The base is a box chocolate cake mix, but you add a few ingredients and it is delish!! Plus the frosting is homemade! Mmmmm

Here it is as I created it yesterday, with two chocolate hungry monsters watching at my side! 

One of the two layers of chocolate cake, cooled and waiting to be frosted and stacked!

 The almost finished product, awaiting the candy finishings!

 My batter licker! She was pretty effective!!

 Surrounded by kit kats!

 Wrapped up!

 

And ready to go!!!! Topped with M&M's, which you can change for the seasons when different colors are released!

 

Playtime!

Oh my girls!!! They love playing make-believe......or rocking out!!!

 Abby got a try at Mike's rockband set the other day and loved it.

 Mike found Maddy walking from the toy room dressed up like this....scarf on, purse in hand, and one slipper on.....all by herself.....he thought Amy would be proud of her fashionista niece!

TWO????

Happy 2nd Birthday to our beautiful little girl!

How these past two years have flown by, I'll never know! I can't even remember the baby days anymore!!

She brings laughter and giggles that fill our home, and joy to our hearts with her hugs and kisses!!

 New tradition in our house.....crappy "whether you are awake or not" morning birthday photo!

 Loving on her morning birthday gift from friends Addison & Casey....her first cabbage patch baby doll.

 And of course loving on her daddy as he left for work! Maddy gives LONG kisses as she squeezes your face, pulls you in, and presses her lips to yours!

 Her first baby doll of her own and her own shopping cart (baby gets strapped in on top, or down below)

 Thank you Great-Grandpa & Grandma Reiss!

 Play cupcake set, where wipe-off markers decorate the top of the cupcake!

 We had cake and ice cream......all in one! Ice Cream Cake!!!

I couldn't get a photo fast enough, both girls had their hands on the cake removing candy pieces!

Fall is here!

Fall has definitely arrived......can't you tell?

The girls were all decked out in their cold weather clothes. Abby for school, and Maddy to be cute as a button as she tagged along with me for the day!

 Abby has finally started to love dresses, (so I am tasked with finding more winter long-sleeve styles) and these cute light-up boots from Grandma Donna! She got rave reviews at school :)

 And Maddy is sporting her skinny jeans, panda sweater, and her birthday gift from Grandma Smith, new black boots!

 And of course, its fire-making season again!

Both girls love watching the fire roar and hearing it crackle. I love the warmth and smell it gives the house!

They know the rules of being around the fire, and Maddy says "hot" whenever she sees it!

Bored??

This is EXACTLY why I didn't get her too many toys for her birthday! Apparently we already have too many because she is stacking my spices! Good thing these are the ones I rarely use!

Crazy Girls of Mine

Maddy's new hiding spot......the shelving unit by the front door!

She realized if she knocked down the shelves, she fits right inside and can even close the doors as she sits sideways! Mike finally had to tie the doors shut so they wouldn't play in it!

But I got one last shot of them kissing thru the glass!!

Halloween 2011

Holy cow!!! I am pooped! What a night of running around our neighborhood trick-or-treating!

This year was a blast though, the kids both really got into it, and it was Maddy's 1st year walking to trick-or-treat! So she LOVED walking up to each door just like her big sister! Her bucket got pretty heavy at one point so we had to empty it into a bag, as she was practically dragging it on the ground to keep going!!

Fun night, and both kids are in bed while I sort their HUGE loot of candy!!

 Carving the BIG pumpkin we saved for tonight!

 Just before dusk.....putting the pumpkin out, ready to get their costumes on!!

 LOOK!! It's Scooby Doo & Rapunzel!!!

Maddy got "Scooby-Doo" comments ALL night as we walked along. I didn't see another now that I think about it, so I guess it was somewhat unique!!

 We surprisingly got a few trick-or-treaters this year (past years we've had 0 or 1....So Abby LOVED the opportunity to hand out some candy before we left to get our own!

 Two tired girls wanted to snuggle with dad before heading to bed!

The LOOT!!!! Holy cow! One was even a full size candy bar! 

Good thing I can send the majority of it in with Mike to work so they can devour it and not us!

Pre-School Halloween Parade

Abby's Pre-School class had their Halloween parade today!

It was great because it is the first of many things this year that she gets to participate in, and display for the parents! Mike had to work, but Maddy and I were there to watch and take photos! Although it was kind of hard to take decent photos while chasing after Maddy, so this is the best I got! 

All the kids arrived to school in their costumes, and the parade started 15 minutes later in the front of the school. Abby was dressed as Rapunzel!

 Abby walking in with one of her classmates

 The teachers getting the kids lined up! This was a combination of two classes! So Abby's class is the right-half of kids, and her teachers are the ones in the orange shirts!

 Rapunzel (Abby), top row, 2nd from the right!

 A bit blurry due to my chasing Maddy, but that's the whole gang

More photos from tonight's trick-or-treating to follow!

Loungers....

These girls are always leaning, sitting or rolling on each other these days!!

 Lazy Saturday morning.....

Just watching a show together.....sitting alone just doesn't cut it anymore!

Pumpkin!

Pumpkin Time! Abby did a kid-safe pumpkin and it was witch-like!!

Pre-Halloween Fun

Halloween is just around the corner......4 more days!

We had a fun costume playgroup at our house today with a bunch of friends.

Amazingly we got the whole group of kids to sit still for 2 seconds to take a photo!!

 Abby is in the middle of the couch holding a little boy, and Maddy is second from the far right on the couch, not in costume, but holding a wand!!

Smith Girls

My wonderful friend Danielle snapped these AWESOME shots of the girls today!

It was a beautiful day so we took the kids to the park to burn some energy!

They are good sports getting their pictures taken!! Even when its playtime!

Simon Says....with Mickey Mouse

Following directions from Mickey Mouse

My Little Wrestlers

The girls have taken to wrestling, or rolling around on the floor.

Luckily no one has been hurt so far.....its all in good sisterly fun! Here's a cute video