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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

birthday cake

We celebrated Amelia's birthday Sunday. She chose a My Little Pony birthday cake and it was really cute. She had a great time playing with her cousins and opening her presents. Thanks to everyone that came to the party! Amelia said she had the best birthday ever.




Sunday, December 27, 2009

three years old

Today is Amelia's third birthday. Wow. This was a huge year for her. I feel like she officially became a big girl in more ways than one. She learned to use the potty, started dance classes, takes gymnastics and goes to preschool two mornings a week. She no longer cries at preschool drop-off or Sunday school. She's always excited to go. For Amelia, this is huge. I always worry about her because I know she has to be completely comfortable before she will enjoy herself. This year she has really blossomed into her own person. We are so proud of her and her independence.

a few hours old..

one..

two..

a big difference to 3..

Happy Birthday big girl. Your Daddy and I love you.

Saturday, December 26, 2009

snow day

There was still snow on the ground when we got to NeNe and Poppy's house. I purchased some snow boots on clearance on the trip up and NeNe had found some snow pants for the three older children. The only thing they didn't have was warm, waterproof gloves. They still had a good time walking around in the snow and kept their hands in their pockets most of the time. It was Amelia and Will's first time ever to play in snow and they had a great time!







Amelia is my southern girl. She took a fall in the snow and is no longer a fan. She thinks it is too wet and too cold. She told me she only likes the snow at Santa's village (me too). The "snow" at the village is thick bubbles that blows into the air!



The snow angels..




Christmas surprise

As most of you know, we had planned to surprise the kids with a trip to Disney a few days after Christmas this year. I booked the hotel reservations a year ago and the dining reservations 3 months ago. It was a complete disaster. I planned our wedding from start to finish in three months (most people do it in twelve) and that was by far less stressful and easier than making dining reservations at Disney World. It was by far the worst customer service experience I have ever had. I worked retail and consider myself much more patient than the average shopper/vacation planner but this was seriously awful. I was in tears several times and less than excited to go. Let alone spend thousands of dollars at a place that made me feel extremely unwelcome before even setting foot on the park. Still we thought the kids would have fun and we would make the best of it for them. Then we drove to Oklahoma. Ten plus hours in the car each way, with four kids, was not a good time. The kids just started sleeping through the night again last week. I knew being in a hotel for 7 days would have the same sleepless results. Drew is still little and carting him around in a stroller or Bjorn would not be the most comfortable for him. Even as easy going as he is, it was asking a lot of a five month old. We talked about it and decided to cancel the trip.
Since we cancelled our Disney trip we planned to come to my parents house after Christmas. Then we decided to surprise my family before. We do not usually travel over the holidays because we want the kids to have traditions that they remember, in their own house. We want them to wake up in their own beds on Christmas morning. We told my Dad we were coming and surprised my mom on Wednesday. I wish I had thought to have my camera ready when the kids rang the doorbell. We surprised my grandparents on both sides for Christmas! The surprise itself was a lot of fun and I'm really proud of myself for pulling it off. Spending Christmas with Jason and the kids and my family was the best. It was just like I remembered it growing up. Gracie, our elf, was here waiting for us when we arrived. She told Santa where we were and he brought some of the presents here and left some at home. We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!!



Drew's first Christmas

some of the great-grandchildren and kate

Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Santa

This week we went with some friends of ours to Santa's Village. We haven't been in a few years and the kids loved walking around. We went with some friends of ours and their little girl. The kids had a great time checking out the reindeer, listening to Mrs Clause and making their own gingerbread cookies. We stopped to refuel with hot chocolate and candy canes before trying out the ice cube maze. They even got to see snow a couple of times and really enjoyed playing in it. The line to see Santa was sooooooo long. We only had one child definitely willing to sit on his lap so we decided to skip that this year.





Thursday, December 17, 2009

Christmas program

Here are clips from the children's Christmas program at preschool. I did not film the entire program and only filmed the parts the girls participated in. We really enjoyed the program and the girls did a fantastic job! We were very proud that they actually sang each of the songs.


**Bella's portions are pretty long and thus far have taken over 2 hours to load without actually succesfully uploading the videos. I will try again later when I have more time to sit or check on the status.

Monday, December 7, 2009

visitor week

This week we had visitor week at dance class. I was pretty nervous about how Amelia would do. During our summer session she cried the entire class and wouldn't do anything. This time she danced her little heart out! She followed the teacher's directions and quietly watched when it wasn't her turn. I was so proud of her and very impressed with how well she did!!





Bella is continuing to improve. She loves to dance and enjoys having an audience to perform for. She is learning a lot more this year and is already asking me when her recital is.




birthday party

Here are a few pictures from Bella's 5th Birthday Party at Little Gym. The party was wonderful and the kids all had an amazing time. Bella wanted a Hello Kitty cake and two of my friends made it for her. Bella loved the cake and wanted to keep looking at it before the party.