Merry Christmas

Not much time to post about Christmas. Quick summation - the kids got way too much but had a good time hanging out with Grandma & Grandpa. Here are just a few photos. Hope everyone had a great Christmas and has a Happy New Year.



This was taken right after Lexi woke up and at that time she probably could hardly focus on the Littlest Pet Shop.



Brayden's number one request from Santa - Healy's.



Lexi with her American Girl, Licorice & Coconut - Brayden with his new Wii games and DS game.


The towel/hair wrap was also a Christmas present, I had to include this picture because Lexi's pleasure and excitement with the towel/hair wrap made me laugh. For the last couple of months, she has wanted me to wrap her hair in a towel when she gets out of the shower but needless to say she can't keep it on. So, for Christmas, she got her own "little towel". Sometimes it the little things that make her happy:)

Happy Birthday Lexi

I can not believe that Lexi turned 5 on the 19th. What is even more unbelievable is that she wanted to have her party at Chuck E Cheese. I made several attempts to "convenience" her to have her party ANYWHERE but there. Then I just had to come to the realization that every kid I know has a great time at Chuck E. Cheese - it's just me who doesn't really like it. Guess that's how lots of things in life are - I know I have only been a parent for six years but this certainly isn't the first time I've realized it's my "issue" not the kid's. So here is the very first and the last picture taken the day of the party. She was a very happy birthday girl...even when everyone was singing "Happy Birthday".





I have to admit the perks for the birthday girl were awesome a blow up crown (with extra tokens), a huge balloon (including a bank with extra tokens) and a birthday medal. And it sure seemed like everyone had a good time.

So to my sweet baby girl,Lexi, Happy Birthday!! I hope you never lose that twinkle in your eyes and that sweet smile that melts my heart every day. May all your dreams come true, I love you.

The second week of Christmas

So here's a recap of the last seven days....all I can say is WOW was it busy. The kids had their Christmas program and they did awesome. Scott and I were very proud of them. They made snowflakes, their own Christmas cards, snowman soup - which is also known as hot chocolate and includes a Hersey kiss and a candy cane. This weekend we made a ginger bread house and have been enjoying the candy on it ever since. It is by far the best house we've ever made. In the past, it either hasn't maintained its shape or became so hard the candy was no good.

See for yourselves - they were so proud of their creation. They did decide to add another layer of frosting around the rim of the plate, which of course, had more candy on it and was the first to be eaten.



Scott and I went to see the Rockettes as a part of my birthday celebration. The show was amazing, I had no idea that there was going to be so much more than the girls and their high kicks. I tried to take a picture to share but it was too dark for my camera.

So now it is time to take my cookies out of the oven. I have 3 more types still to bake and will recruit Brayden and Lexi to help with some tomorrow. Stay tuned to see what the next seven days bring.

The first week of Christmas

So December has been busy so far and today is December 7th. We are trying something new this year (thanks to the Family Fun magazine) and created a calendar which has an activity listed each day for the the month of December. To date, we have made snowflakes, picked out and decorated our tree, watched Frosty the Snowman, made our Christmas lists, saw Santa, Lexi & Brayden have bought and wrapped each other presents. So like I said busy. I still have yet to get out Christmas cards, Christmas calendars or decide where in the world we are going to celebrate Lexi's 5th birthday. Did I mention her birthday is in 12 days. Now if it were not December this may not be that big of a deal but timing is a big deal this time of year. It's definitely on my list for tomorrow....keep your fingers crossed. The real delayed is Lexi can't make up her mind where she wants to go. Stay posted.

Speaking of the birthday girl. Here she is surrounding herself with Hallmark's musical snowmen...gotta love hearing them all at once.



I had to include this moment where they donned themselves Santa's helpers (and were getting along well).



The feeling of Christmas is really around the house. I forgot to mention we have a visiting elf named Frosty, who watches Brayden and Lexi during the day and then flies to the North Pole and reports what type of day they had to Santa. So every morning they awake and run around the house until they find him. So far he's been spotted in the Christmas tree, in Brayden's fish bowl and in Lexi's shutters (just to name a few places). We also are doing an Advent house...so far the highlight from the house had been this past Sunday when St. Nick left a card telling them to look in their shoes. Of course, in their shoes they found fruit and nuts - which they thought was hilarious. So that is a wrap and the highlights of the first week of December. Stay turned for what craziness the next seven days may bring.

Happy Thanksgiving

We had a good but quick Thanksgiving. We had a lot of fun checking out the Smithsonian Museum of National History. Brayden was amazed at the T Rex and the Pterodactyloid. Unfortunately, all of the pictures with the dinosaurs had some kind of funky glare but here is a shot of the massive elephant who welcomes you when you enter the museum.



Then of course, it wouldn't be the annual Thanksgiving post if I didn't include the kids in their Pilgrim & Indian costumes. Brayden's costume even included a "talking stick" which he would not let anyone hold because then they (not he) had the power to speak. The magic must be in the feathers.





Thanks Doris (and Gordon) for spending Thanksgiving with us and taking the photo!!



I also had to include this one of the "terrible trio".



I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and had the opportunity to spend time with family and friends.

Lexi and Livi

Okay, so I don't know if this is against the rules of blogging or the internet or any other rules but I feel like I'm probably violating one somewhere. But having said that, I give full credit to Leigh and since I have sung her praises in the last couple
posts I thought I'd share one more of her "works"...this one is of Lexi and Livi and is as cute as the goody bags.

Click here to see Lexi and Livi.
(Sorry, but I can't figure out how to make the image smaller so scroll down to the bottom and to the right).

Just a little more Halloween

Just a few more Halloween pictures.

Our pumpkin...had to be a werewolf per Brayden.



Anyone hungry for a mummy dog with mustard eyes? Have to give a shout out to Sue -- for helping me get these ready on Halloween night. Thanks girl.



What about an owl treat? Again, a Leigh Theo masterpiece. That girl has nothing but creative bones in her body.



A rare calm sibling moment can make for a memorable one. And a "crabby patty" can return to a beautiful, sweet, happy little girl again within just a few hours.