Baby Talk

Yesterday morning I went to get Ellary our of her crib as usual, and she greeted me with a new sound: "da-da-da-da-da." (Geof says this was because after spending a weekend with Daddy home she was missing him). Here's a little video clip of her new sound. We worked on it all day, and I'm convinced she can now say Addie and Daddy on demand! (I know I am biased and that everyone's baby is exceptional...). Last night Geof came into the room after I finished changing her and she looked at him and said "Dada." (In case I hadn't posted it before, she REALLY does say mama when she's upset and I come to pick her up and she waves bye-bye!).

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Ho Ho Ho!

Eight days left until Christmas, and we finally took Kellen, Addie and Ellary to see Santa. We waited in line for about an hour, but the kids were very patient. When we got to the mall we decided to eat first, and poor Kellen got a terrible stomachache within minutes of sitting down to dinner. So Kellen alternated between curling up in a ball on the floor and sitting in Ellary's stroller while we waited in line. We offered to take him home and come back tomorrow, but he insisted that we stay so he could be sure to tell Santa that he wants an electric guitar and an iphone (HA!) for Christmas. I felt bad for him, but I have to admit that I didn't really want to go through all the effort of getting the kids dressed up and coming back to the mall again!

Addie was over the moon with excitement about seeing Santa, and she asked for a juice machine. I believe she came up with this because yesterday she wanted apple juice, and we were out of juice in our house. She said if she had her own juice machine in her room she could just push a button have juice whenever she wanted it.

Ellary was starting to get a little fussy by the time we reached the front of the line since it was past her bedtime, but she did settle down and sit on Santa's lap. She kept staring up at him with this amazed look on her face. I'm sure she thought this was a very strange situation!

Kellen was still obviously in pain when we were leaving the mall, but on our way out the doors he did turn to me (while still clutching his stomach), grin and say, "Mom! I heard him say 'ho ho ho!'" And so it was all worth it... o<|:)D

Umstead Afternoon

The kids & I went for a walk in the woods at Umstead today.
The weather was perfect! Too bad it's going to start getting cold.

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

Kellen decided we needed to do a craft this morning, and he wanted to make a Christmas tree. I told him to think about how to make a tree and we could do it. He came to me with a roll of tape and said he wanted to make a tree out of tape. I wasn't exactly sure how we would do that (though I'm sure somewhere, somehow someone has done that), so I took a cue from my friend Heather's hand print tree and decided we would make one, too. I had just enough green finger paint left to do it, and then the kids decorated their tree with some leftover scrapbooking cut-outs. Even Ellary got to put her little hand prints on the top of the tree (though they came out more as smears than hand prints).

Addie still doesn't like having her picture taken,
but she was willing for me take a picture of her hand. :)

Kellen helped out by taking pictures of Ellary for me!

Away in a Manger

Wise Man Kellen and Angel Addie

This morning was the annual preschool Christmas program at Kellen and Addie's school. This year Addie's class were angels, and Kellen's class were wise people. They told the Christmas story and sang several songs, including Away in a Manger and Happy Birthday to Jesus, and then we all sang along to Rudolph, Jingle Bells, and We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Just as last year, all the kiddos did a great job. Addie looked a little sleepy throughout the program, but she did sing all the songs - just staring off into space. Kellen sang and did the hand motions, though I suspect he sang quietly. I think I heard his buddy Robert singing above the rest of the the children!

Don't try this with your kids...

But definitely do it for your kids! I swiped these Rice Crispies Treats Christmas Lights from a magazine ad for Kellen's class snack tomorrow (I know, I've gotten on a soapbox about all the "dessert" snacks moms bring in for preschoolers, but tomorrow is the Christmas program, and the ad was just so stinkin' cute!). It was absolutely the messiest cooking project I've ever done - spoons and bowls sticking to everything, food coloring everywhere, twizzlers everywhere - but I'm going to do it again next year in hopes that I keep getting better at it. And if you want to try it, I'll pass along the instructions and left-over twizzlers ropes.

Lost My Marbles

Today I met some of the gals at Marbles Kids Museum for a morning play date with the kids. Kellen, Addie and Ellary all played really well all morning (all of the children did well, for that matter), and it was so nice to be there without the crowds of opening day - they could explore and play with anything for as long as they wanted to. We spent a lot of time at the play ambulance, and Kellen loved putting on "surprise shows" on the little stage. We painted faces, dressed as fire fighters, sang karaoke, drew pictures, drummed, played in the water, climbed a pirate ship, and learned about kids from around the world. Ellary did well riding along in the Baby Bjorn infant carrier, and she managed to stay awake and happy the whole time. But by the time lunch rolled around, I was pretty well spent! They are already begging to go back ... I may need a few weeks to recover. :)

Addie & Sarah play doctor; Kellen on stage; Pirate Jack

Kellen checks out his face painting; two little treasures

Kellen & Melody LOVED spraying water; the gang sings karaoke