Sew Christmas-y Saturday: Pink Gingerbread & Lights Galore

Our annual gingerbread house went Hello Kitty pink this year. Thanks Wrather family for a wonderful birthday gift for Lilly. The boys didn't seem to like girliness of the house, so they chose to wrestle instead.

 

We also visited the Mission Inn Festival of Lights for the first time this year. It was beautiful! We ate yummy cupcakes, visited with some sweet reindeer, and enjoyed the cold wintery air. 

 



Fab Friday: Lilly Edition

This kid cracks me up! She gave me the "I've got my eyes on you"
signal when I was taking pictures, apparently too many of them!

Lilly's Kindergarten amazed us with a Christmas song spectacular on Thursday. It was quite impressive. The kids memorized about 10 songs and sang them all without any musical accompaniment!

Wee-Ones Wednesday: Our Little Angel

"Ready to fly to school."

"I'm so excited!"

"Mia's my best friend."

Proud Mama!

"Hi guys."

Even Daddy got in the act.

They chose right when they made Iris the love angel.

Away in the manger...the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head.
Iris nailed all the motions to the songs every time.



She loves her grandparents,




& so does she.



Grandma kisses &

 

Grammy hugs!

It was finally Iris' turn to be in the preschool Christmas program. She was beyond excited to have her turn in the spotlight, and she sure did shine as the Angel of Love. Great job, baby girl! We love you.

Misc. Monday: LOVE THEM

Seriously, how sweet is this? I looked out the back door and saw these two. She was so proud to be helping her daddy. Oh, how I love them!

Misc. Monday: Here Comes Santa Claus!

Wee-Ones Wednesday: Homework

As a teacher, I always like to point out that studies have shown that there is no correlation between homework and academic success, especially in the primary levels. That being said, it has been a tradition in our school system to give and require homework, so I tend to use it to foster responsibility and set up routines.
As a mother, homework is just as much a chore for me as it is for Lilly. She whines and complains like a middle schooler when I tell her it's time to do her homework, which is ironic because she gets it done quickly and then wants to continue to write in her journal or asks Dan to make her math problems. It's like children have this innate ability to not want to do certain things even if they don't really mind doing them at all. Is it just to drive their parents crazy? I think so. I'm sure I complained about it too. Sorry, Mom.
*I also couldn't resist adding what Iris believes is appropriate behavior for homework or "quiet time," as we like to call it. You turn your back for one minute...

Misc. Monday: Astro Turf Tree Activity

Here's a fun Pinterest idea with a spin. I cut out a traditional tree shape out of AstroTurf and some felt shapes and ornaments and let the girls go for it. We even added some ric rac as garland. It's been so much fun. The kids change it up all the time, and since the felt sticks to itself as well as the AstroTurf, it can be played with over and over again. Yay! We love it. I made some smaller versions as activity play mats to sell at the craft fair this weekend. Don't forget to come by from 10am to 2 pm this Saturday!

SIX YEARS!!

 

fellow fresh beat band fan.

 

preschool friends.

silly pics are favorite.

lilly got to have her class pet on her b.day weekend.

 

my little man.



how do bodies bend like that??

25 happy, silly kiddos! we love you all.

queen for a day.

thank you!!!!

home birthday dinner & g.ma's famous cake.



it's almost done. good thing the crawfords got her some strings.



 

"my dad is awesome!!"

I can't believe my first born baby is already six years old! It feels like only yesterday, I was telling Dan under the avocado tree that I was pregnant. We celebrated today at a bounce house warehouse. It was the first party we did not host at home, and I have to say it was a ton of fun! The kids were sweaty, pink cheeked, and happy. We jumped, slid, ran, and screamed to our hearts content and I didn't have a mess to clean up. Lilly really wanted a Fresh Beat Band party, so I added a few touches from her favorite TV show, and the place was gracious enough to play her CD to rock out too. Happy birthday, sweet Lilly! We love you more than you can imagine.