We interrupt this bloggie catch-up time to bring you some late breaking action!
Tonight we got out our Christmas decorations. One of our most treasured items is the crocheted nativity set that Mammaw Taylor made for us.
Just before bedtime, Claire retreated over to the nativity and started playing quietly. Chris motioned for me to listen, and I started watching her play. She was completely unaware that we were listening, and after several minutes I finally got out the video camera.
When I started watching, she had all the characters lined up, taking turns looking at baby Jesus in his cradle, and saying "Awww, look how cute" and other such sentiments. Then the characters started taking turns holding Jesus, and the little shepherd boy got in trouble for almost dropping the baby.
That's where the video starts! The angel flies Mary to the scene and she gives the shepherd boy a stern warning about never picking up a baby. I captured over 8 minutes of video as the play unfolded, and there are some really funny parts! I hope you can hear it well, as Claire had some really funny things to say. I was filming over the back of the couch and she never knew I was there!
One of my favorite parts is about 2/3 in when the kings were about to hold the baby and the shepherd boy was really wanting to. His sheep went over to ask to hold the baby, and Joseph told him no. The shepherd boy said, "Aww, Beary. I don't get to hold him either!" (That sheep does kinda look like a polar bear, doesn't it?)
Enjoy these few moments of total sweetness! (You may want to view it at YouTube...on my screen the video is chopped off on the right and I'm not sure how to fix that!)
Friday, December 3, 2010
Saying goodbye...
Claire's best friend Alli Rae had to move four hours away, and it was a very sad time for us. Well, for me at least. Claire doesn't fully grasp how little she will get to see her friend...she is just excited about going to see Alli Rae on vacation!
Before she left, we had to have one last sleepover.
Lunch the next day...
Some friends of Angie's (me included!) hosted a going away reception for Angie at the church.
The kids got to play in the gym during the party. How sweet is this little picture?
And just days before the big move, I took Alli Rae and Claire for a girls' morning at the mall. We went to the Claire's store and bought the girls best friends necklaces and bracelets, then had lunch at Cheeburger.
They found a RAINBOW BUTTERFLY necklace! Perfect for these girly-girls!
Playing in the store...
Early shoppers!
Close-ups of their necklaces...
One final goodbye the night before the move...
We miss you Angie, Alli Rae, and Augie!!!
Before she left, we had to have one last sleepover.
Lunch the next day...
Some friends of Angie's (me included!) hosted a going away reception for Angie at the church.
The kids got to play in the gym during the party. How sweet is this little picture?
And just days before the big move, I took Alli Rae and Claire for a girls' morning at the mall. We went to the Claire's store and bought the girls best friends necklaces and bracelets, then had lunch at Cheeburger.
They found a RAINBOW BUTTERFLY necklace! Perfect for these girly-girls!
Playing in the store...
Early shoppers!
Close-ups of their necklaces...
One final goodbye the night before the move...
We miss you Angie, Alli Rae, and Augie!!!
"Tea" Party
These pictures are just precious and speak for themselves!
Hannah doing the sign for "water".
Hannah doing the sign for "water".
My little monkey jumping on the bed
About a month before Halloween I tried the monkey costume on Hannah to be sure it fit. I let her play on my bed and she absolutely loved it. She did not want to take the costume off!!
Where's the monkey?
Reading her favorite book, Five Silly Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
Where's the monkey?
Reading her favorite book, Five Silly Monkeys Jumping on the Bed
'Nack?
Hannah was such a cutie on Halloween. It didn't take her very long to figure out that when she held out her big pumpkin bucket people would put "nacks" in there!
She actually wanted them to hand her the candy so she could put it in herself. Once when we weren't watching she pulled out a Reese's cup and bit through it--wrapper and all! She had a death grip on her pumpkin bucket and after a few houses she just wanted to sit in the wagon and eat her 'nacks'. She LOVES snacks!
I wish I had had the video camera on her at one house...she held out her bucket to get her snacks, and after the lady put them in, she said, "Thank you" just as plain as day. The lady was so surprised and thought it was the cutest thing ever!! We all laughed pretty hard!
At the fall festival she had her very first sucker, and she made a good friend in Mimi!!
She actually wanted them to hand her the candy so she could put it in herself. Once when we weren't watching she pulled out a Reese's cup and bit through it--wrapper and all! She had a death grip on her pumpkin bucket and after a few houses she just wanted to sit in the wagon and eat her 'nacks'. She LOVES snacks!
I wish I had had the video camera on her at one house...she held out her bucket to get her snacks, and after the lady put them in, she said, "Thank you" just as plain as day. The lady was so surprised and thought it was the cutest thing ever!! We all laughed pretty hard!
At the fall festival she had her very first sucker, and she made a good friend in Mimi!!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Halloween 2010
There are so many Halloween celebrations (or "fall parties" as some are called), and there are always pictures in abundance! It's overwhelming to share them all here, but I'll try to summarize.
Aaron was the UPS man. He was so proud of his costume!
Hannah was a monkey. This was Aaron's costume when he was her age, and it was fitting for her because her favorite book is "Five Silly Monkeys Jumping on the Bed".
Claire was a princess bride unicorn. We found the Cinderella wedding dress at the consignment sale, so I thought that was going to be it, but then she discovered her unicorn costume from last year was still in the top of her closet. So she had to do both!
This was the best I could do of all 3 of them together!
Our festivities included the fall festival at church, Claire and Hannah's fall party at preschool, Aaron's class party, and finally Halloween night trick-or-treating at Mammaw's, Granny's, the police department, and our neighborhood. It's enough to wear this mama out!
Here's a slideshow of all the pictures!
Aaron was the UPS man. He was so proud of his costume!
Hannah was a monkey. This was Aaron's costume when he was her age, and it was fitting for her because her favorite book is "Five Silly Monkeys Jumping on the Bed".
Claire was a princess bride unicorn. We found the Cinderella wedding dress at the consignment sale, so I thought that was going to be it, but then she discovered her unicorn costume from last year was still in the top of her closet. So she had to do both!
This was the best I could do of all 3 of them together!
Our festivities included the fall festival at church, Claire and Hannah's fall party at preschool, Aaron's class party, and finally Halloween night trick-or-treating at Mammaw's, Granny's, the police department, and our neighborhood. It's enough to wear this mama out!
Here's a slideshow of all the pictures!
Tooth fairy's first visit!
Back in mid-October the kids had their dentist appointments, and when the dentist casually mentioned Aaron's loose teeth, I was shocked and even teared up! Neither Aaron nor I even knew any were loose. As the weeks went on, one of the bottom teeth got looser and looser, and Aaron had started wiggling it so much it was really gross!
Then one day (October 27 to be exact) as we were walking home from school, Aaron announced that he had lost his tooth that day during library!! He said it fell into his mouth so he went and asked the librarian for a ziploc bag to put it in. He was so excited.
Look at that toothless grin!
That evening we got to use our tooth fairy pillow for the first time. Aunt Judy made it for us, in the shape of a tooth with a little pocket on the front for a tooth.
Aaron wrote a note to the tooth fairy, telling her about how he lost his tooth and telling her exactly where to put the money. (In the pocket...of course!)
The funny thing was that about a week before he lost his tooth, he had a conversation with me in the van where he started processing the whole tooth fairy story. He said he didn't think there was really a tooth fairy, because fairies aren't real, so he thought it was really the parents who put the money there. He had a plan to figure it out--he told me, "When I lose my tooth, YOU don't put money under my pillow. When I wake up if I find money, we will know the tooth fairy is real, but if I don't find money, you can just give me some then." Pretty logical!
He never mentioned that plan again so I didn't bring it up and put the money in the pocket after he was asleep! We were going to do $1...no reason to aim high!...but then when Aaron talked about putting some in his give bank and some in his save bank, we decided to reward his sweet giving spirit and give him $2. I think our tooth fairy will do $2 for the first tooth and $1 for every tooth after that.
Then one day (October 27 to be exact) as we were walking home from school, Aaron announced that he had lost his tooth that day during library!! He said it fell into his mouth so he went and asked the librarian for a ziploc bag to put it in. He was so excited.
Look at that toothless grin!
That evening we got to use our tooth fairy pillow for the first time. Aunt Judy made it for us, in the shape of a tooth with a little pocket on the front for a tooth.
Aaron wrote a note to the tooth fairy, telling her about how he lost his tooth and telling her exactly where to put the money. (In the pocket...of course!)
The funny thing was that about a week before he lost his tooth, he had a conversation with me in the van where he started processing the whole tooth fairy story. He said he didn't think there was really a tooth fairy, because fairies aren't real, so he thought it was really the parents who put the money there. He had a plan to figure it out--he told me, "When I lose my tooth, YOU don't put money under my pillow. When I wake up if I find money, we will know the tooth fairy is real, but if I don't find money, you can just give me some then." Pretty logical!
He never mentioned that plan again so I didn't bring it up and put the money in the pocket after he was asleep! We were going to do $1...no reason to aim high!...but then when Aaron talked about putting some in his give bank and some in his save bank, we decided to reward his sweet giving spirit and give him $2. I think our tooth fairy will do $2 for the first tooth and $1 for every tooth after that.
Fall Soccer
Back when the World Cup was on, Claire decided she really wanted to play soccer! Dora is, of course, a great soccer player with a "super soccer kick"...so what 4 year old girl doesn't want to be like Dora? Our church does a low-key fall soccer league for ages 4-6, so I let Aaron and Claire sign up.
It turns out that soccer is not all it's kicked up to be.
The first game was at noon the day after a sleepover with Alli Rae, so Claire was flat exhausted. One clumsy bump from her brother before the game even started and she was all tears and DONE with soccer. That's my little drama queen!
Aaron seemed to enjoy it over the weeks but mostly acted up, which was totally embarassing to me and Chris. Normally he is so well behaved so I don't know what came over him on the soccer field. He acted disrespectful and goofy the whole time. I think he acts goofy as a way to cover up for not knowing how to do something well. Chris had a heart-to-heart with him about it one day after the game, and he said, "I run around and act crazy because that's what kids are supposed to do. Act crazy." We said, No, No they are not, and told him to straighten up.
Hannah did okay at the games, considering they were at noon and that's usually when she takes a nap!
Needless to say I was thankful when the season was over. My kids don't seem to be athletes, but I will continue to let them try what they show an interest in. I'm wondering what each of my kids' "thing" will be...time will tell!
It turns out that soccer is not all it's kicked up to be.
The first game was at noon the day after a sleepover with Alli Rae, so Claire was flat exhausted. One clumsy bump from her brother before the game even started and she was all tears and DONE with soccer. That's my little drama queen!
Aaron seemed to enjoy it over the weeks but mostly acted up, which was totally embarassing to me and Chris. Normally he is so well behaved so I don't know what came over him on the soccer field. He acted disrespectful and goofy the whole time. I think he acts goofy as a way to cover up for not knowing how to do something well. Chris had a heart-to-heart with him about it one day after the game, and he said, "I run around and act crazy because that's what kids are supposed to do. Act crazy." We said, No, No they are not, and told him to straighten up.
Hannah did okay at the games, considering they were at noon and that's usually when she takes a nap!
Needless to say I was thankful when the season was over. My kids don't seem to be athletes, but I will continue to let them try what they show an interest in. I'm wondering what each of my kids' "thing" will be...time will tell!
Fall Break 2010
I made this great photo book for Poppy to commemorate our fall break trip to his house in mid-October. We had a great time, and it was good to see my nephews and my brother all weekend. I just figured out how to share this photo book on blogger, so enjoy!
No, I'm not an ex-blogger!
Chris asked me tonight if I am an ex-blogger. He enjoys reading my blog, which makes me happy. He pointed out that I have not blogged the entire month of November!! So I'm going to attempt to catch up! I blog in my head multiple times a day...but finding the time to sit down and put it to the computer screen is hard!
I'm curious...who else out there enjoys reading? Make a quick comment to let me know you're out there!
I'm curious...who else out there enjoys reading? Make a quick comment to let me know you're out there!
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Junie B. Jones
Aaron and Claire have a new obsession with Junie B. Jones. She's a kindergartener/1st grader who is the star of the book series written by Barbara Park. Aaron has been enjoying reading the books for a while (they are chapter books and he can fly through one in less than half an hour!). Claire has enjoyed them a little, but when we took a road trip over fall break to visit Poppy, I checked out Junie B. Jones on audio
. Claire absolutely LOVED it! Her favorite one was Junie B. First Grader, Boo! (and I mean it!).
I have a love/hate with Junie B. She can talk disrespectfully and she uses words like "dumb" and "stupid" which my kids know I don't want them to say. But her stories are very cute and the kids relate to them well. I love how she encourages not only reading, but also writing since Junie B. keeps a journal.
The reason I had checked out the audio books is because I was chosen as one of two chaperones for Aaron's field trip the following week. We were going to see a Junie B. Jones play at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. I love going on field trips with Aaron's class! This was our first one of the year. I had found out which three books the play was based upon, and those three books were on the audio I chose.
Here's Aaron, excited to see me when his class arrived at the Cannon Center.
We had some time to kill once we got seated, waiting for the show to start. The auditorium was full of elementary school classes from all kinds of schools!
The other chaperone was Danielle, Sophia's mom. She and I have become friends this year!
Aaron's classmates wanted to take goofy pictures while we waited. LOVE this age!
We had a great time! Aaron was disappointed when I didn't check him out after the field trip, but they still had half a day of school left and I had work to do at home. The funny thing was that I had taken another mom in my van...we had met that morning at the school and I offered to let her ride with me, and we enjoyed chatting and getting to know each other. Then she checked her boy out and he rode home in Aaron's seat. I never told him though--he would have been so jealous!
. Claire absolutely LOVED it! Her favorite one was Junie B. First Grader, Boo! (and I mean it!).I have a love/hate with Junie B. She can talk disrespectfully and she uses words like "dumb" and "stupid" which my kids know I don't want them to say. But her stories are very cute and the kids relate to them well. I love how she encourages not only reading, but also writing since Junie B. keeps a journal.
The reason I had checked out the audio books is because I was chosen as one of two chaperones for Aaron's field trip the following week. We were going to see a Junie B. Jones play at the Cannon Center for the Performing Arts. I love going on field trips with Aaron's class! This was our first one of the year. I had found out which three books the play was based upon, and those three books were on the audio I chose.
Here's Aaron, excited to see me when his class arrived at the Cannon Center.
We had some time to kill once we got seated, waiting for the show to start. The auditorium was full of elementary school classes from all kinds of schools!
The other chaperone was Danielle, Sophia's mom. She and I have become friends this year!
Aaron's classmates wanted to take goofy pictures while we waited. LOVE this age!
We had a great time! Aaron was disappointed when I didn't check him out after the field trip, but they still had half a day of school left and I had work to do at home. The funny thing was that I had taken another mom in my van...we had met that morning at the school and I offered to let her ride with me, and we enjoyed chatting and getting to know each other. Then she checked her boy out and he rode home in Aaron's seat. I never told him though--he would have been so jealous!
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