Scarlett's Hats

Nothing to do with Christmas, other than these pix were taken in December...Scarlett loves hats, even if they dont' quite fit.

 

Rachel's School Party

Rachel's class party was candy cane-themed.  As the room parent, I got to come up with the theme.  Can you guess who really decided on candy???  And had the perfect dress to wear (thanks to Gigi)? 

 

The kids rotated through four stations...candy cane cookie decorating, candy cane fruit kabobs (made with strawberries and bananas, a candy cane craft, and bingo with peppermint markers.

 

It was very fun and I was so grateful to get to spend the time with Rachel.

 

Rachel and one of her best buddies posed for a picture.

Andy's School Sing-Along

Andy's preschool changed-up the Christmas program routine this year.  Instead of the kids all performing on stage, the kids sat in the pews with their families and the music teacher led everyone in a family sing-along.  Scarlett and I were excited to sing-along with Andy.  I really loved the change, as now it was something we could experience together.

This is Andy with one of his best girlfriends.  The boy likes the ladies.

 

The kids had all perfected the pout to go along with the "you better not pout lyric."

 

 

After the program, the parents were invited back to the classroom to get our Christmas gift.  I LOVE the gift Andy.  The manger is made from his footprint.  This is something I know I will display for the rest of my Christmases...truly a special gift from a special boy.

Where is Scarlett?

Scarlett has been fascinated by the presents under the tree.  She loves looking at them, passing them out, and asking us to open them.  She surprisingly has not tried to open them herself.  Her very favorite thing about the presents under the tree is the new hiding space.  She wiggles her way in, hides, and then pops up to say "Boo!"  She is such a funny girl!

 

Rudolf the Red Nose Children

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is the Advent Calendar.  The kids wake up to find a little something each morning.  It is our way of making the season last as long as possible.  They were all very happy one morning to find their very own Rudolf nose with a blinking light.

 

 

Back in White

After passing his last round or TaeKwonDo testing, Andy graduated the Tiger Cub program. He is now a "big kid" (according to him).  The belt colors start over after finishing up in Tiger Cubs, so now Andy is back to wearing a white belt.  We are so proud of how hard he works.

 

 

Scarlett Trying New Toys

Scarlett has been all about these blocks lately.  She builds them "high, high" and then loves knocking them down.

 

 

She also recently tried painting recently and had some moderate success before she dumped the water.

 

She tried PlayDo recently, as well.  She seemed very bothered by it and asked to get up very quickly.

 

My baby is growing up!

Junie B. Jones Play

Rachel, Andy, Gigi, and I have loved reading all of the Junie B. Jones books. We were all very excited to learn that the Junie B. Jones Batman Smells play was coming to our favorite children's theater. We invited Rachel's book club friends along, too. It was very funny! The kids loved getting their picture made with Junie B. and May after the play.

Afternoon at the Park

In Texas, this is the time of year that is perfect for hitting the park. We've been going a lot after picking up Rachel from school and on the weekends.

Gingerbread House with Gigi

Every year, Gigi makes a gingerbread house with the kids.  It is a great tradition and I know they are making memories that will last a lifetime.  I think next year, Scarlett can join in too.

 

 

Gigi's Christmas Picture

Gigi and Gigi-Papa send out a picture of the kids in front of the tree every year for their Christmas card.  After snapping more than a hundred shots, we got one that we liked.

 

Christmas Tree

Last weekend, we went to a Christmas tree lot near our house. Rachel, Andy, and David spent a lot of time choosing the perfect tree.

Scarlett looked at a tree for a minute and then found the mesh fence separating the lot from one of the busiest interstates in Texas. She quickly figured out she could lift the fence and crawl under, so we had to go hang out in the car.

When we got home, David strung the lights. When Scarlett went to bed, the rest of us got busy decorating. It was Andy's year to put the star on top and Rachel's year to choose the first ornament. Next year when Scarlett joins us for decorating we'll have to rework the rotation.

The end result looks beautiful.

Scarlett enjoyed investigating the tree the next morning. She quickly found Andy's drummer boy ornament that makes noise. She was pushing the button, dancing, and doing it again. She definitely has a favorite ornament. She points at the tree and says "pretty."

Breakfast with Santa

Our church hosts a Breakfast with Santa every year on the first Saturday in December.

 

The kids were very excited to talk to Santa and share their wish list.  Scarlett had no fear of the big guy.  She hopped right up on Rachel's lap and smiled for a picture.

 

 

Then she was ready to move on.

 

Rachel's best friend joined us for the morning.  Her mom and I were sharing craft room duty, so we watched Allison during her mom's shift.  Rachel and Allison sure love each other.

 

 

Allison used her photo pass to get a picture of her and Rachel together.

 

After chatting with Santa, we made our way to the pancakes.

 

 

And then we made our way to the craft room.

 

 

And then off to the games.  Andy and Rachel both won a can of pringles and a soda.  They were very excited to sample these treats.  Soda is an extremely rare treat for them, so it has the forbidden fruit sort of appeal.

 

Scarlett quickly found the lollipop pull.  She didn't understand the give a ticket, pull a lolly rule and started pulling all the lollipops.



 

 

We got her away from this game, but then she found the prize bucket for another game, filled up her hands with lollipops and ran.  Silly girl! 

She was distracted from the lollipops  by the opportunity to get on stage.  She definitely knew what the stage was for.  She hopped right up and started dancing.  She has such a spunky and fun personality!

Happy Mornings

These are just some shots that I liked of the kids one morning before school.