Tooth #7

William lost tooth number 7 on 12/23/13.
It was the upper right incisor (I think that is the right name?).

The tooth was loose for daaaaaaaaaays. He wouldn't let anyone near it. Finally, he was taking a bite of a roll at the Texas Roadhouse when the tooth finally popped out. (Yes, on a bite of bread. Soft, fresh bread).

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All these gifts and I want to....

The gifts weren't all even opened yet when Gemma found her preferred spot. She settled in to read her new book to herself on the coziest spot she could find...

Christmas!

The kids loved having another Christmas at home. They were so kind and thoughtful and made sure to take turns opening their gifts. They were getting along wonderfully (not so true in the proceeding hours in the drive home).

William absolutely adored his Lego idea book. He didn't or couldn't pay attention to anything else after that. He would halfhearted open a present with his eyes still on the pages of his book. We finally took the book away from him and made him open the rest of his gifts before giving it back to him.

Gemma got a new baby and she was delighted (thank you GranGerry). She couldn't wait for it to be out of the packaging and in her arms. She has carried it around under her arm ever since. She also had a few regifted items. She didn't really need a whole lot and I wanted to send a message to the big kids:these toys are Gemma's now. She loved the toys and didn't complain at all.

Amelia was in love with all the new American girl doll clothes she now has. Even though she didn't make this set of pictures, she was having a wonderful time!

Christmas dinner at home

We came home earlier than usual this year. We have quiet the line up of things on our winter holiday agenda: I want to refinish our master bathroom, we need to work on a science fair project, and build a Cub Scout pinewood derby car. For the first time in a long time (maybe ever), we came home before the last minute. Usually we are sliding in at the last minute with a mountain of laundry and jumping right into work/school/home stuff the very next day. John rarely (never) just has a day off when we are home. We try and save everything for going to see family.

Anyway, we came home and cooked up some festive tree shaped ravioli. We ate on our Christmas dishes, used our Christmas napkins, and lit up our spinning angel decoration for the first time. Grandma even sent us home with delicious lefse, that everyone loves. Gemma had her first lefse this year, I'm pretty sure she loved it!

After we cleaned up, it was finally time for gifts! It is too much work to haul everything with us, so we always leave everything behind under the tree for when we get back. Even if it would make our lives easier (new games, videos, etc).

Gemma likes to sled

The day after our sledding adventure, John and I were sitting next to the entryway of my parents house. The kids were off playing and Gemma was hanging out with us.

Gemma wandered off and came back with her jacket in her hands. She handed it to John with a wide eyed look of expectation. She pointed to the sleeve and then to her arm.

"Yes, the coat belongs on your arm."

She shook her head. Babble words. Pointing again. This time she also attempts to insert her arm into the jacket.

John gamely plays along. I giggle a little to myself because I have a guess as to where this is going.

She gets one sleeve on and points at the other one. All the while, we continue discussing William's science fair project. This distraction is what I blame for John's lack of foresight.

Two arms inside the jacket, she points to the zipper. John obligingly zips it.

She toddlers away, satisfied. John and I continue taking. Gemma returns with mittens in her hands. John slips them on her hands. Then she makes her way to the rug next to her boots. She plops down next to the boots. She lifts her foot up in the air and grunts. Then she points to her foot.

She does this 2 more times before John scoots over and puts her boots on for her. She stands up with a smile and points to the front door. "Dee?" She asks sweetly.

John looks startled as he realizes she wants to go outside and she is ready to go.

With a sigh, John puts on his coat and boots and takes Gemma out to sled. She has a huge smile on her face. I thought she might not last a long time, but they were out playing for over 15
Minutes.

Gemma looks for grandpa

Gemma loves her grandpa. She just lights up when he walks in the door. He is the first thing she looks for when she wakes up from a nap.

In this video, grandpa is upstairs and Gemma wants someone to come with her to find him.

Watch for:
Hand gestures for come here, upstairs
Shaking head no
Calling for grandpa (bapba)

Gemma plays Wii

Gemma is very observant. Even when you think she is not looking, she is. She watched several people play wii. When she finally got her hands on a controller, she knew just what to do!

Sledding!!!

The temperatures were pretty cold most of the time during our Christmas visit to Minnesota. One Christmas Day, the temperatures were much warmer so we took the kids out sledding. We only have a picture of Amelia sledding with Uncle Mike, but don't worry. All the kids had a chance to sled and play in the snow!

Minnesota snow

Sometimes you just love snow so much you want to lay down and roll around in it!

Kiss face

Gemma has been making this face recently that I call either kiss face or duck lips. She pulled it out for dinner with my family. She got enough laughs that she did it over and over and over and over.....

Lucky hat

William got Uncle Mike to play Jenga with him over Christmas. Mike found his lucky hat, which William found hilarious. That is until he got jealous and wanted the lucky hat for himself.

Sweetness

We were visiting with Grandpa and the kids hopped up on the couch. I peeked at them around the corner and found this:
William and Amelia snuggled up together and William reading the book to Amelia.

These two love each other deeply, but that doesn't mean they don't fight. Sometimes I feel like they always fight. These sweet little moments are what remind me about how good they can be to each other.

Recipe

Insert child into oven and shut the door. Test frequently for done ness.

Icy drive

We had to really watch the weather this year while making the trip to see family for Christmas. The day we left, we hit the road early to get ahead of freezing rain/snow. Due to our past accident, neither one of us wants to take chances on a bad travel weather day.

The first 2 hours were a little rough going with a lot of rain. The temperature hovered right around 32-33 degrees, which meant the van was covered with a thick layer of ice all over it by the time we took our 1 bathroom break.

More trains and dinosaurs

More detailed shots of the trains with dinosaur guests.

Christmas train

Before Christmas I was working on some crafty gifts while the kids played in our downstairs playroom. Here is the train/dinosaur set up I found an hour later....

Furniture rethink

John has finished a set of side tables for our living room. We were so excited to see how they worked out, we brought them upstairs. Any guesses why this one can't stay here??

Christmas Cheer

This lovely work of art appeared on out fridge at the beginning of December. It might be one if my favorite decorations ever. Note: festive hats on the letters, the reindeer antlers, Rudolph, and the curlicue sleigh.

12 Days of Christmas

Gemma sings the 12 Days of Christmas with John Denver and the Muppets.  The video cuts off where Kelly's phone ran out of memory.

Amelia's joke

Haha! Thanks to Uncle Mike for catching it on video.

On Mommy's team

William took a turn to be on my team last night. I asked him if I could take a picture of our team. He agreed, but then insisted on winking in every picture.

Family game time

When my family is together, we love to play card games or board games. We have a few standby favorites and we love to try new ones too.

For The first time last night, we had a family game before the big kids went to bed. We played UNO and gave the kids a choice between being on their own or being a team with someone else.

Both kids picked to be on a team, although they rotated through the adults to team up with. The kids loved being up a little late and playing with mom, dad, grandma, grandpa and their aunt and uncle.


The grown ups then had a little extra game time. Uncle Mike has a very serious poker face here.

Seems comfy?

Doesn't it?

Merry Christmas 2013

How to pack

Want to know how I do it? How do I pack for 3 kids for 8 days away from home and fit it into 1 duffel bag?

No? Then check back later

Yes? Read on.

First I do a little planning ahead. I figure out if there are any special occasions or events that require special attire.

I like to use the 2 gallon size plastic zipper type bags.

I pull out all the clothes that I might like to bring with us for the number of days we are planning on being away +two extra per kid.

I start laying out outfits. I happen to like it when the kids somewhat coordinate their clothes. Coordinating means that they are roughly wearing the same colors or the colors don't look crazy together. When we visit family, someone is always taking a picture. I like knowing that what the kids are wearing will somewhat match and look good in the event that picture gets printed and hung on the wall or made into a Christmas card.

For each day we are planning on being gone, I make a pile with the following stuff:

1 pair of William pants, underwear, socks, and shirt
1 pair of Amelia pants, underwear, socks, shirt (tights/dress/sweater as it necessary)
1 pair of Gemma pants, shirt, socks

I put all items in 1 giant ziplock bag together and zip it shut. Sometimes if there is a special occasion dress, I will put in the hair accessories for the girls as well. I could do this for every day, but I usually just pack them separately since the girls wear a lot of the same bows over and over again.

There is usually a little bit of air left in the bag. This time we were a little more pressed for space with all of the Christmas gifts needing to be transported. John helped me by laying on top of each bag and pressing the air out. Then we were able to throw everything into one bag for all three kids.

While we are out of town, I can just pull one of the big bags of clothes out and get my kids dressed. This is much easier in the mornings too. No digging through bags to find the right socks or different pants.

The only down side I have found is that when someone needs a new outfit because of spilt milk or wet from snow. Then I need to have an extra set of pants/shirt/socks. I don't have a great solution to this other than having an extra on hand or rewearing clothes from a precious day.

Park time, in December?

On Friday last week, I was supposed to be getting ready for Christmas. I was supposed to be cleaning and wrapping and merry making. However, the temperature was 70 degrees. It is physically impossible to stay inside on a day like that. So, I packed up the kids and went to the park for an hour. We met up with some friends and has a blast running around and burning off some energy. So what if I had to stay up until 2am wrapping presents?

Amelia's Christmas party

Amelia had a Christmas party at school on the Friday before Christmas. We haven't been able to go to her school parties yet this year, so I was happy to have the chance to go with her. It was fun to see her with her friends and in her school environment.

She was very happy about the special time too. She picked a special hairstyle (braid with a side ponytail) and a festive Christmas shirt.

Ballet video #2

Here is more of Amelia dancing!

Ballet video #1

Amelia's class doing ballet exercises.

I forgot to mention in the last post, Amelia was thrilled we were all coming. She let on she had a surprise for us and told me it would be right away during class. Sure enough, Amelia can now do a bridge by herself (lay on her back and push herself up with just her hands and feet). I have video, but it is on the big camera. The likelihood of getting that posted here is unlikely...

Also, not in the video is Gemma. This part isn't about Amelia, but I want to remember it. Gemma comes with me when I/we bring Amelia to dance only occasionally now (last year she always came with). She spends every minute of the dance class working to get herself into the door of the dance class. She wants to be in there so badly!

What ends up happening is she runs toward the open door and I dash to grab her before she interrupts the class (the door is always open). Gemma will either then rush back to the door or pretend to play with a toy just long enough for me to relax and then rush the door again. It is a lot of running.

Anyway, Gemma was overjoyed to finally allowed to be in the room with the dance class. For awhile, she was happy to sit and watch from my lap or standing just next to me. That only lasted for a few minutes and then she wanted to BE with the class. She wanted to dance too. So, we (mostly John) spent the rest of the time grabbing her away from her grasp.

Amelia's ballet

Amelia is taking her second year of ballet and loves it. At Christmas time, she invites the families in the watch the ballet class. Amelia has learned so much this year and is just....so beautiful. My heart is so proud of her hard work and determination. Video to follow (I hope!).

William's winter party

Let me tell you, the activities and fun have been nonstop around here lately!

I was able to attend Williams's winter party last week. Here is a picture of William and a few friends playing the game I brought. The kids had to use chopsticks to fill their cups up with marshmallows. The best part was they were all having such a fun time, they didn't notice there weren't any prizes for the winner.

I was very entertained by their creativity in accomplishing their task. They stabbed the marshmallows, smashed them together and used the chopsticks two handed. I was a little surprised that no one in his class was proficient in chopstick use. I was caught off guard when one of the students noticing the Chinese characters on the side of the chopstick turned to the newest student in the class who is from Mexico and said, "hey! What do these letters say?"

And then to me, "he will know what it says because he is from Mexico. Mexico is a different country."

I went ahead and took that teachable moment to talk about the general differences between Mexico and China.


All in all, we had a fun time and enjoyed ourselves. I had so much fun, I required a dark, quiet room for a few minutes when I came home to reset myself for the rest of the busy evening!

Pink boots

Gemma sure does love those pink rainboots! She wears them all the time and has found 2 of my hiding spots for them. I finally had to put them away in the closet up on the shelf while she was sleeping. The first thing she did upon awakening? Look for the boots, of course.

On a side note, here is the Christmas tree set up this year. The tree is up on an end table and no presents are out. There are about 12 ornaments on the tree and lights, which are not plugged in. Festive, no?

Snowy day

The kids loved playing in the snow! John was happy because he got to use his Christmas present early (he got a better snow shovel). I think he was happy too. The kids made snow angel, built a fort, tried to build a snowman (which didn't work out because they couldn't agree on how to so it), and did a little sledding.

Snowy Saturday

It snowed a week ago and the kids were delighted. Gemma in particular was enthralled with the snowy landscape.

Outfitting our family of 5 for snow play takes a little time and energy. Snow pants, gloves, hats and boots need to be located in the correct sizes for each person.

In my digging through the plastic tote that houses our winter gear, I pulled out a ton of stuff including some hot pink rainboots that are a little too big for Amelia still. Gemma was instantly in love. She insisted upon wearing the immediately. She stomped around the house, stumbling when the too big boots tripped her up.

I eventually located enough gear for everyone to go out and play, including Gemma. We had a pair of older navy blue boots in her size leftover from William. I got everyone dressed and out the door except Gemma. Gemma would not be separated from her pink rainboots. I tried multiple times without success. Finally, I took her own in her snowsuit and pink rainboots. They weren't as warm as the snow boots would have been and it was hard for her maneuver with the big sized boots, but she was happy as a clam!

Secret message

Amelia was working away when I walked through the room. When I tried to peek, she shooed me away. "It's a secret message Mom!"

A few minutes later, she came to find me with this message.

Sweet girl, we love you!

A 1st

William, Gemma and I got to attend William's winter wonderland festival evening at school. While we were there, William requested to complete a craft in the craft area. This boy has not once ever willing suggested a craft. Never. Not once. I was a little hesitant to buy the ticket to complete the craft due to his non crafty track record. He finally talked me into it and lo and behold: he completed his chosen craft without any prodding or cajoling from me. All by himself. So proud!