Winter Fun

The Winter (and snow and ice) is in full force, and we are as busy as ever.

Miller is loving her new ballet/tap class.  She did ballet last year and did not love it, but this is a new studio and seems to be much more fun. She loves the music, the dancing, and the disco ball at the end. 

   

We took the kids ice skating two weeks ago and gave them each a private lesson.  Miller is a bit young for it, but hung in there for her lesson.  She was pretty much done after that, though.

I didn't get a good picture (I did get lots of video), but Colby was an ice skating machine.  After his lesson, he spent two more hours practicing, and he was whizzing around the rink within no time.  He wanted to "go fast" from the minute he stepped onto the ice.  He had so much fun and brought home a gigantic blister to prove it. 

 No matter the season, Miller loves to color. Her drawings almost always look something like this:  geometric shapes and colors.  Pop and I both used to doodle in shapes and patterns (actually, we both still do), so it might be an unusual family gene she inherited.

We had our first snow!  It was only a couple inches, but it was enough to get the kids out of school for the day. 

 We took the kids skiing for the first time last weekend.  Our friends let us use their condo as a locker room which was a total lifesaver.

This is Miller and her good friend Marin- they have been buddies since they were in the same three year old class. We see them quite often now because Marin's brother is Colby's age, which makes for a perfect playdate.  (By the way, Marin's mom and dad are both over 6'1".  Marin is tall for her age.  She and Miller were both turned four in July.  That's just a little window into how tall Miller actually is for her age).

Colby ready to hit the slopes

Looks like a perfect ski day, right?  It was kind of a disaster.  Miller's boots were too tight, and after 5 minutes of her lesson, she was in tears.  Colby was determined to catch on during his lesson, but his skis were too long for him and he could not control them.  I tried to ski with him after the lesson, but after two times down, I told him we had to stop.  (He had one speed- straight down)  I am not a ski instructor, nor do I have the patience of one!   Colby was very upset, but I promised him we would swap the skis for a better pair and try again soon.  We are actually scheduled again for private lessons in a week.  Fingers crossed it's a better experience!  

The start of 2013

Well, I haven't given up on the blog just yet.  I feel like one day, I'll regret it if I do....so we'll see how this goes.  

Colby began 2013 by losing his second top tooth while waiting for a hair cut at the hair salon.  It had been dangling for days, and it started to bleed while we were waiting, and he said "Ok, pull it mom."  I couldn't believe it, as his other teeth either fell out or were knocked out.

This picture is awful of me, but  I wanted to show another toothless grin as we prepare for the tooth fairy.

A little fairy dust is crucial for helping the tooth fairy find her way.

Sprinkle a path from the window to the bed, as she most likely comes in through a window crack.

Carefully place your tooth in the small pillow, and then place under your bed pillow.

The tooth fairy did not disappoint and left $5!  I bet in thirty years when my own kids are reading this, the going rate will be at least double.

This weekend, our sitter Adela from our old house came to visit.  We have really missed her, and the kids were thrilled to spend a day with her.   Even better, Lee and I got to escape for dinner and a movie.

Savannah, or "Cato"as Lee calls her, is fitting right in.  She loves the chaos and noise from the kids and usually follows them from room to room.  She loves to be held by the kids and has not yet scratched or bitten them.  (and if you could see what she puts up with, that's pretty amazing)  We've even gotten her scratching and food stealing under control.  At bed time, she likes to hide under Miller's bed and play peek-a-boo with her dust ruffle.  After the bed time routine, she goes back to the family room and hangs out with Lee (who is usually up later than I am).  He then carries her upstairs when he goes to bed....if he doesn't it, she will cry at the bottom of the stairs until he goes back down and carries her up.  We aren't sure where she goes after that, but she always ends up on our bed by morning.  

Miller adores her kitty and loves to carry her around.  

The kids are starting off the year doing many activities.  Colby is doing karate at school, a winter soccer league, and a winter swim team.  Miller is doing a gymnastics class, swimming, and a new dance class that includes tap. (I'm very curious to see how that goes)  We also are hoping to get them skiing this winter.  

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!

We spent New Years Eve in Vienna with our good friends.  The kids had a blast (and didn't go to sleep until 10:30), and we stayed up playing Cranium and Balderdash.  

Happy New Year!!!

Disney, Thanksgiving, and Christmas

Wow, so much time has gone by since I last posted.  There is no possible way to catch up with all the pictures....we have hundreds of pictures just from Disney alone.  I am just going to pick a few highlights to represent each occasion and do my best to summarize. 

In addition to doing this blog each year (and printing it), I am also doing a photo album online.  I have decided that since I am struggling at doing both, I am going to combine them for 2013 and see how that goes.  That might mean I take a break on the blog and post my writings and thoughts right into the photo album.  There might be a "share" option along the way for those of you who want to keep up.   I have a lot of catching up to do before I even get to that point.  It makes me sad that I have not been able to keep up with the blog, but with all the kids sports and activities, it's just so hard to find the time.  I used to have two hours to myself each afternoon when they napped or had "quiet time", but there's no quiet time anymore.  I guess it's a good thing in many ways.  Just not for blogging.

We went to Disney right before Thanksgiving, and the kids had an absolute blast.   We were there for seven days, and here is the order of what we did:

Day 1 (Saturday night) 1: Dinner at Epcot (Food and Wine festival....it was CRAZY....we will definitely avoid that if we ever go back)

Day 2 (Sunday): Hollywood Studios

Day 3 (Monday):  Magic Kingdom

Day 4 (Tuesday):  Animal Kingdom

Day 5: (Wednesday): Epcot

Day 6: (Thursday): Hollywood studios again

Day 7: (Friday): Magic Kingdom again

There are so many pictures that I've decided I am going to do an entire photo album just for the trip.  

To summarize, Colby was all about the thrill rides!  Nothing there was too scary for him, and he loved the Rock N Roller Coaster and Tower of Terror (both at Hollywood studios) the best.  He also loved Space Mountain and Splash Mountain.  He was tall enough for everything and is definitely ready for the next step- the very scary and fast roller coasters at our local amusement parks. (He was two inches too short this summer for the scariest ones but did get to ride many of them)   Another one of his favorite rides was the Haunted Mansion.  He loved it and rode it twice- he talked a lot about the "ghost-es"....you know, plural for ghosts.    He was not interested AT ALL in seeing any characters at Disney- they were just in his way as he ran to the next ride.  (It did baffle me that there were so many kids much older that Colby that were really into the characters and getting their pictures taken with them.)  

Miller was just the opposite- she loved all the characters!  She took advantage of all the character spots and did not mind waiting in line for special photos with them. I have pictures of her with all of them.  She especially loved it when Goofy touched her on the nose.  She kept saying "That Goofy is soooo silly!".   She also loved the smaller roller coasters and rides- Thunder Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Goofy's Barnstormer roller coaster were some of her favorites.  I have a feeling she will be following in her brother's footsteps and will be doing bigger roller coasters very soon.    Another highlight for Miller was her princess makeover at the Bippity Boppity Boutique.  She got her hair, makeup, and nails done, followed by lunch with the princesses at Cinderella's castle.  As we walked through the park afterwards, the employees would look at her and say "Well, hello princess!".  She loved every  minute of it.  

Here are my four favorite photos from the trip.

Arriving at the airport and ready to go with special Disney backpacks from Nana and Granddaddy.

The "must take" photo op in front of Cinderella's castle

Two princesses (and a pound of hair spray)

The last day at Magic Kingdom

Here is the rest of our November and December in a very brief summary:

For Thanksgiving this year, Nana and Granddaddy came to visit, and we all spent Thanksgiving Day in Richmond.

All the cousins

Granddaddy became a cat lover on this trip.  We gave him this photo framed as a gift for Christmas and I know he looks forward to many more cat gifts.

We also celebrated Peepie Miller's 97th birthday!  She said it was her first ever birthday party.

                     

Two Millers

I loved having lunch with Colby at school.  One day he will be too cool for that.

Miller and Colby visited with Santa.  Once at the coffee shop....

And they saw the "real" one at the mall.

Our Elf, Kicks, came back and caused lots of hijinks.



Nan came for Grandparents day at Colby's school.


Miller had an adorable Christmas concert with her class.  Here she is with her wonderful teacher, Mrs. Susan.  (and her red reindeer nose)


I made (my first ever) real cut out Christmas cookies that the kids decorated.  Ok, well the cookie mix did come from a box, but I still mixed it up, cut them out, and managed to not burn them.



It snowed on Christmas Eve!

 Nan and Pop came for Christmas Eve and Christmas morning.

A few photos before church:

Daddy is up to something.

 Nan read Christmas books before bed...

and Pop got some snuggles, too.



Santa came!

Savannah was testing out Miller's tent.

Waiting to come downstairs....and this year, we set up a motion detector in the upstairs hallway so that there would be no middle of the night peeking like last year!

Colby had a very Star Wars Christmas and was beyond thrilled.  He declared at least ten times "THIS IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!!!!!"

Miller loved her new paint and her bead set.  She spent most of the day creating masterpieces.

 Lee got me a "Real Housewives" gift with a limo and massage for me and a friend, along with Real Housewives DVDs and books.

 Merry Christmas from us!

School pictures

Sometimes, the stars align, and the kids have great school pictures.  Miller's this year could not have turned out better.  (unlike last year when she refused to change her expression from a dead stare)

Does it get any sweeter than this?

Why yes, it does!

Colby, if you are reading this when you are older, I am sorry.  Mommy made some mistakes this year. I got your hair cut only a few days before pictures.  She cut it too short.  I forgot about the photos until that morning and quickly dressed you in a blue polo shirt.  I forgot I had chosen a blue background. 

PARENTING FAIL.

Buddy, you are still my most handsome boy ever.