Candyland

While Hailey napped today Paige & I played Candyland for her first time. I had forgotten how simple the game is. For some reason I thought it had a spinner, but nope, it's just cards & game pieces. Paige picked up the concept quickly & it held her attention for the entire game. I was quite jealous too...she landed on the spot to go up Peppermint Pass & got two cards with pictures! She also won! The game board looks completely different from my game board I had a kid. My mom still has it, so it'll be fun to compare. After Candyland we put together a 24 piece puzzle with The Very Hungry Caterpillar theme. She did great with that too mostly because it had a pattern to follow with the different foods he eats all around the edge.

Dada's Home!

I was so surprised tonight when Brian got home at 5:30pm!  He's been working really late or been out of town the past few months.  It's so nice when he's home because he adds some testosterone to the household and makes the girls giggle and turn very crazy.  It's a nice change for them from being around me all day.  Tonight at the dinner table he had them singing Old MacDonald.  It was wonderful. 

New Year Apple Coring

While Granny was making dinner tonight to celebrate the New Year she got both girls in the kitchen to help her peel and core apples using her fancy apple corer.  They had so much fun learning how to do it and then actually doing it.  It's clear that Granny is a mama of four of her own and an elementary school teacher.  The girls adore her. 

4 o'clock quiet time

The girls got to have their normal 4 o'clock quiet time today after most of the Thurmond Clan departed.  Love this view, both inside and outside.  I think it's funny that they are in the same exact position too. 

Snow Day

Today was our first full day visiting Granny & Papa in Durango.  There was enough snow on the ground for the girls to play in it today, but it's quickly melting due to the warm temperatures.  Paige had a ton of fun in it.  Hailey wasn't feeling that great today, so she mildly enjoyed it with Paige.  Paige liked throwing snow balls rolling in it, and having the dogs chase her.  So glad they both have snow suits so they could do that and stay dry. 

Christmas Night

I added this one because by this point in the day, this is how they were...CRAZY!

We had Christmas dinner at my mom's house.  My aunt made prime rib...YUM!  My mom worked on Christmas morning so the girls got their presents from her before dinner.  They got the cute cupcake kitchen with hand made aprons that have their names embroidered on them.  So sweet!  Theyalso got hand sewn pillow cases and other toys.  Fun stuff.  Thanks for cooking Auntie!

Christmas Morning 2011



The girls woke up at 7:30am on Christmas morning and were so excited to see what Santa had left.  They got their play area which was overwhelming with excitement.  They also got a dollhouse, tricycle and dress up trunk with jewelry boxes filled with clothes and jewelry.  They were super excited.  It got very stimulating at times and breaks were needed.  My aunt and uncle came over too and loaded them with even more presents.  It was so fun!  Can hardly wait for next year. 

CarSeat

This is the infant carseat.  Are the asking for a little sister?

Christmas Eve 2011

Elf Brian got to put together an IKEA shelf on Christmas Eve. We had prepared ourselves for a LOOONNGG night.  But he said it was actually fairly easy.  Whew!  We were only up 'til midnight doing Santa's work.  We put together a play area for the girls to have a "place" for all of their toys.  At Paige's conference with her teacher this semester we were told that she needs to work on putting things away.  We're hoping this helps to remedy that situation. 

The new play area!

Boxes

The girls played with boxes this morning for a good two hours...hence the reason their two BIG presents from Santa were bought on Craig's List. This is a great age! They will never know until they read this!

Cookie Decorating

The girls and I decorated gingerbread cookies this afternoon.  They both really enjoyed it but mostly just ate the sprinkles instead of putting them on the cookies.  I had cut them out earlier in the day, but Paige was outside "helping" Brian and Hailey was napping, so we didn't get started 'til about 4:30pm, which is about the time the 'witching hour' starts.  So both got a bit fussy when I had to take the cookies to put them in the oven.  I normally don't do activities like that at that time of day, but wanted to get the cookies baked off.  Lesson learned or experience knows best.  It was still fun and the girls enjoyed eating the cookies while relaxing and watching a Barney after.  (Barney always helps them to chill out!) 

Storytime with Mrs. Claus

We were sent a flyer in the mail about a free Storytime with Mrs. Clause at a local strip mall that isn't fairing too well in the economy.  I figure it was a marketing method to get people into the strip mall to shop.  The event included a craft, story and a snack.  Of course I signed the girls up for it...FREE!?!  Anything that takes up time and is free is something I'm ready to do.  HaHa.  It was really sweet.  They made antler headbands, then had story time which included singing and then a snack.  There was added fun because a mom that is in the new playgroup I joined was also there with her little ones.  Both girls had fun and were excited to hear that Mrs. Clause was going to see Santa tonight back at the North Pole. 

Paige with her new friend Nat.

Holiday Dance Recital

What a difference a year makes!  This year Paige did awesome at her mid-year dance recital.  This one is informal at the studio, but oh so cute.  She was excited to go this morning because she got to wear her special tutu and a new leotard.  (I finally bought her a new one that fits better.  She's been wearing the one from last year and it's a bit snug.)  Plus Nanny left her a special Christmas pin last night so she got to wear that too.  Each girl in class set up a special chair for the parents with their dance bags under it so we would know where to sit.  Paige was quite excited for Hailey and I to sit.  Then she did a good job of listening to her teacher, Miss Tina, and doing the dance moves.  They did some tap dance, then each demonstrated that they were able to change their own shoes and put them in their bags.  (I love this part of class, it's such good practice!)  Then they did a ballet dance to a super cute song called The Goldfish.  The lyrics are at the bottom of this blog entry.  They had a little routine for each verse, very cute.  And they would all yell, "Wait a minute, we're fish!"  at each verse.  In these pics Paige is the one with the hot pink tutu and striped sweatshirt (very cold in there today!).  After class, I took Christmas cupcakes for them all to eat together.  Very fun morning.  I was so proud of her.  She's listening and doing the dance moves really well and has such a great time with all the other girls.  She looks forward to it each week.  I can tell Hailey wants to do it too...she turns 2 in March.  We'll see, she may be starting the 2 year old class too! 





The Goldfish by Laurie Berkner

Lots of little fish were sleeping on a rock
In the bottom of the ocean
They lifted up their heads
And they shook out their tails
And they said let's go swimming

Let's go swimming lets go swimming
Yeah let's go swimming
Let's go swimming let's go swimming In the bottom of the ocean
Then the little fish got so very very tired
That they came back to the rock
And they put own their heads
And they put down their tails
And they took a little nap

And when they woke up
They decided to take a shower

So whey washed their hair
And they washed their ears
And they washed their tummies
And they washed their beards
And they washed their nose
And they washed their toes
And then they said

"Wait a minute, we're fish!
We don't take showers!"

Let's go swimming let's go swimming...
Then the little fish got so very very tired...

And when woke up
They decided to brush their teeth

So they got out their tooth brush
And their toothpaste
And they squeezed a little on
They tried not to waste
And they put it in their mouth
They brushed north and south
Ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch-ch
And then they said,

"Wait a minute, we're fish!
We don't brush our teeth!:

Let's go swimming lets go swimming...
Then the little shigh got so very very tired...

And when they woke up
They decided to ride their bicycles

So they rode to the left
And they rode to the right
And they rode all day
And they rode all night
They rode down the hill
And then faster still
And then they said,

"Wait a minute, we're fish!
We don't ride bicycles!"

Let's go swimming...
Let's go swimming...

Santa Pictures

Today I took the girls to get their picture taken with Santa.  I've gone to the same place for so many years now that they sent me a coupon for half off the package I usually get if I went early.  They were so excited to put on their matching corduroy red Christmas dresses and red sparkly shoes and go see Santa.  They actually semi-posed for a few pics for me before we left. 

We waited in line a bit to see the Big Guy.  Paige walked right up to him and Hailey was excited to see him too.  Paige got right on his lap, but when I went to put Hailey on him she started to cry.  Paige got very concerned for Hailey.  So the picture is CLASSIC, with one crying and the other concerned for her sister.  After I got Hailey, Paige had a big conversation with Santa about where the reindeer were located, which was on top of the building according to Santa.  They were going to take him back to the North Pole tonight so he could check on the elves work.  And she told him that she wanted candy.  Yes, this is every RD's dream for her child to ask.  Santa said he would leave some in her stocking.  But hey, if that's all she wants, I'm grateful.  We must be doing something right!  While Paige was talking with Santa, Hailey was eagerly saying, "Ho, Ho, Ho!" to Santa.  So she wasn't scared of him, I think she was just mad that I wasn't holding her. 

Coming down the stairs

Pose in front of the tree

Paige at the mall...looking at the candy

Sweet Hailey

Christmas Parade

The City of Chandler has a Parade of Lights and a Tumbleweed Tree Lighting on this weekend.  The city eracts a giant tree that is made of tumbleweeds and puts lights on it in the square of downtown.  It looks like a Christmas Tree.  Very "deserty" but very cool looking too.  I decorated thier wagon with Christmas Garland and we bundled them up with several layers of clothes, hats and blankets because it was not only COLD (in the 30's) but also raining.  Yes, we dragged them out in the cold and rain.  It was a great turnout and very crowded.  The floats were actaully really pretty and looked professioanl with with lights and decorations.  We stayed for about an hour and started heading back to the car.  It was a good thing we left when we did because it started POURing on the way back.  Fun night, but would have been much more fun without the rain.