'Tis the season

I love this time of year! We've been busy with all kinds of fun activities and parties.

First up was Huck's 4th birthday. We gathered at the Nelsons' to play pin the scarf on the snowman, button, button, who's got the button and Christmas bingo (Macy sure loved the M&M candies that we used for bingo markers, and then she was fascinated when her tongue turned blue from eating them.) Then we had soup and cupcakes in a cone. We finished the night off watching Huck open his presents - a Toy Story extravaganza! Sadly, I didn't get any good pictures of the birthday boy.

Kennedy was invited to an art party for her friend Mae Mae's 4th birthday. The kids painted plates at a ceramics studio, but I guess that doesn't hold their attention long at this age. She reported having a wonderful time.

I got to go out to lunch with my friends from book group. For our gift exchange, Kennedy helped me make Christmas themed paper dolls. We did snowmen, elves, santas and trees. I think they turned out really cute, and Kennedy did a great job coloring and adding the details.

The extended Nelson family gathered for a Christmas party that included assembling hygiene kits for the homeless shelter - but with a fun twist. We split into teams and did tasks to earn the items, like: musical chairs to get the toothpaste, toothbrush relay races, pushing bars of soap with our noses (how did I end up doing this one, when I knew going into it what the task was?), filling small bottles with shampoo, etc. Then we sang some carols to end the night. This was our year to plan everything, and I think it was a successful party!

We also celebrated Tim's birthday with a great dinner at the Weilers'. Jeff is home from his first quarter away at college, and he survived the experience. Tim is an avid reader of all things historical, and added some nice books to his collection.

Last night we hosted a gingerbread decorating party with Kennedy's friends, Lucy and Mae Mae and their families. I made the pieces for the houses on Monday using a recipe for "construction grade gingerbread" and then for the party we whipped up the "glue" frosting, baked some pizzas and got to work. This was my first attempt at making a gingerbread house, and I'll definitely do it again. Next year maybe I'll try a more complicated pattern. After dinner, the girls had fun playing together in Kennedy's room - I gather that they were pretending Macy's crib was a castle, and they were all princesses in there together. Lucy's little brother, Wilkes, loved the play kitchen, even though the older girls really wanted him out. Macy was climbing all over everything, and fell down a few times, so she mostly wanted to be carried around. Caitrin, Mae Mae's little sister, explored the basket of books and snacked from the candy decoration bowls. It was great to spend some time getting to know Coleman and Shelby and Christiaan and Amanda better. The gingerbread houses all turned out really well, and we had a wonderful night! The only downside to having a party like this is the mess... and after I had taken the day off to spend all day cleaning. It was all worth it though!

If you give a girl a ticket

Kennedy and I went with my mom and dad to see the children's play, "If You Give a Mouse a Cookie." I don't think we've read this story, but Kennedy knows some of the other books in the series, like "If You Give a Pig a Party" and "If You Give a Moose a Muffin." Well, if you take Kennedy to a play, she's going to want to sit in your lap. Then she's going to laugh when the characters do something funny, which will make everyone around her laugh and enjoy the experience even more. She loved it, and was completely engaged the whole time. Our favorite parts were the silly dancing, the mouse and his skating broom shoes and the mouse running all around the kitchen with a roll of tape. It really was a cute show. Macy got to have some daddy-daughter time... although I think she would have been passed off to Jake's parents if they'd been home - he was invited at the last minute to play football with our friend Jake. Don't worry, Mace, daddy loves you!

Kennedy remembered the story so well, she was able to tell us exactly what happened even weeks after the show - and she got the book from grammie and pampie for Christmas!

Christmas counting

So now that December 1st is here, Kennedy is ready to get into the Christmas spirit, and so am I. Last night we made a paper chain to serve as an advent calendar and help the girls count down the days to Christmas. It also gave Kennedy a chance to work with scissors and a glue stick, which she always loves! Tonight we got out a few decorations, put up the tree (although we'll have to add the ornaments tomorrow), and cut the first link in the chain.

On Monday, Macy showed off a new skill to Grandma Sue. She can count! Macy has been saying the numbers from one to ten (and singing them in Spanish) for a while, but now I think she can actually count. Sue had out a Santa nesting doll and was counting the pieces - one, two, three - and Macy joined right in. Then Sue added two more Santas, "one, two, three, four, five," counted Macy. Later that night when she was home in the bath, Macy counted out her six rubber ducks. Of course, when I wanted Macy to show daddy her new trick, she wouldn't count anything.

We are thankful

Kennedy's class did a cute program for Thanksgiving.

The kids sang "This Land is Your Land" and "We Are Thankful" (to the tune of Frere Jacques):

We are thankful, we are thankful

For our families, for our friends

On Thanksgiving day, you will hear us say

Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Then Miss Theresa read what each child was thankful for.

One boy said his light saber, another said his favorite stuffed animal, lots of kids said their mom and dad. Kennedy had told me in the car a week ago what she was thankful for - Macy!

Mae Mae's mom, Amanda, said to me after the program, "I hope you got that on film because you might need to remind her of that one day." I'm thankful that Kennedy and Macy get along so well right now, but I suppose that won't always be the case. Macy had a great time running around the gym and dancing right under all the kids on the stage with her Dora and Diego dolls. I was also thankful that I could watch and enjoy the program without having to chase Macy everywhere!

After the program, we went to the Lady Ute basketball game. The girls didn't care much about what was happening on the court, but they did love the popcorn and balloons.

The half-time show with the Jazz trampoline dunk team was also pretty entertaining. I'm thankful that no one got sick from eating the spilled popcorn off the floor and there were no major meltdowns over popped balloons.

Thanksgiving morning we bundled up to face the cold and went to the zoo.

It wasn't very well organized this year, and it was too cold for the elephants to come outside. A cougar was very interested in watching Kennedy, and followed her every move. We did get to see turkeys eating their thanksgiving feast (a bit ironic, and not at all exciting), a crocodile snap at a pumpkin half, a tortoise slowly nibble at his, and the tigers play with their meat stuffed pinatas and pumpkins.

We headed home for nap time and food prep, as I was responsible for cranberry-maple sauce (my specialty) and veggies this year. I am thankful for the opportunity to build family traditions and memories with Jake and our girls.

We had a delicious turkey dinner with all the trimmings at Brent and Sue's. Then the kids got to go on a hunt for quarters hidden around the house so we could play a card game called "Get off the Bus." We missed Kari and Rainier, who decided not to drive from Las Vegas because of the big storm warning (which never really amounted to much - they even closed the U early on Tuesday in anticipation, but then it was business as usual on Wednesday), but we loved having Uncle Andy in town. We got to spend some time with him after dinner when we went up to my parents' house to finish off the night. We introduced Andrew and Jeff, who also came home from college at the Oregon Institute of Technology, to Power Grid, one of our favorite games. My family kindly agreed to postpone Thanksgiving dinner for one night, so that we could all eat together. I'm thankful that we got to spend time with our families and that we only had to eat one giant meal per day.

Black Friday was spent at my parents' playing games and cooking for turkey dinner, round two. Andrew wanted a Power Grid re-match. Kennedy wanted to play games, too, and watch Toy Story 3 for the tenth (or so) time.

Macy played with the potato heads and Snoopy dolls (vintage toys from my childhood). Then we packed everything up and headed off to Kathy and Tim's. Andrew brought his dog, Sid, along and she had a great time playing with Sage. All the food was delicious, especially my mom's sweet potato and apple dish. By 6:00, Andrew had to get on the road to drive back home to Boise, so we said goodbye and all headed out. We're definitely looking forward to spending more time with Andrew and Jeff at Christmas. I'm thankful for quiet days at home, and that I have no interest in fighting the crowds for day-after-Thanksgiving sales, preferring instead to leave holiday shopping until the last minute.

Saturday we braved the snow storm that finally came and went to dinner at my grandpa's house. We all pitched in to shovel his driveway, and when we went inside, Grandpa Ray had the fire blazing. It was so hot, and the gas from the fireplace filled the air because the chimney wasn't open. We ate our leftover turkey soup with all the doors open and the fans blowing to circulate the air. I'm thankful my grandpa didn't burn his house down and we didn't suffocate from carbon monoxide poisoning!

We have so much to be thankful for, and it's wonderful to take time to remember the good, the silly, the treasured, the big and the little things that make our lives so much better. But most of all, I know that Jake and I share what we're most thankful in life - family - his, mine, and ours.

Now it's time to gear up for Christmas, although we have a family rule - no Christmas decorating before December! And watch out because Kennedy is a stickler for this one. She told Grandma Sue that she needed to take down her tree because it's not Christmas yet. That doesn't mean that we can't go out and enjoy other people's decorating efforts. When we left the Weiler's on Friday night, we went to the Christmas Utah house. Macy loved it! She was sitting in Jake's lap while we were parked to watch the show, but she did her best to dance to the amazing music and light display.

First snow!

Yesterday we woke up to a beautiful winter wonderland! Jake had to work, so the girls and I decided to skip shoveling the driveway, and just have some fun instead. We built a snowman - I think it's my first attempt building one all by myself.

Macy wasn't too sure about the snow, probably because her clunky boots and bulky snow pants kept tripping her up and she'd fall (sometimes face first) and not be able to get back up.

Then we headed back inside to finish our Sunday baking project, wheat bread. We'd tried this recipe last weekend, but for some reason I didn't think we would have problems using yeast that had passed its expiration date. Well, it seems that they put those dates there for a reason, and the bread just didn't rise at all. This time, however, we had success! Fresh bread makes the house smell so good.

Sunday night we went to dinner with my family at the Country Club. Jake was still working, so he missed out. Funny, just the week before I had sworn off taking the girls out to dinner. Why? Well, we went out to Hopper's and Macy dumped a glass of ice water in my lap and then, refusing to sit in a highchair, wiggled through the entire meal in which she basically ate only blue cheese salad dressing. Kennedy was really good, but dealing with Macy made for a stressful night for me. So they weren't so bad at the Club last night, but I did my best to distract Macy with her favorite Dora and Diego dolls. The girls pretty much ate all my soup, although I was planning on that when I ordered it. Macy ate some of my mashed potatoes, and Kennedy was nice to share her mac and cheese, but her diet could certainly be improved.

That's why I recently broke down and bought her more baby food. We found some organic brands that come in a pouch with exotic flavors like purple carrot, apple and blueberry or spinach, pears and peas. Actually both girls like them, so it's a sneaky (but really expensive) way to get them some extra fruits and veggies. And pamp just called to tell me that Macy is eating one right now (pumpkin and banana) and she's singing a little song about it, "La, la, la baby food...(repeat)" She sang it for me on the way home, and there's not really a tune, but it is so cute to hear her sing it. She must get that from Kennedy who also loves to make up funny little songs.

More Kennedy stories

A few more of Kennedy's stories from school:

November 2

A ducky is in the water. He wanted some bread. He wanted people to throw some bread out into the water.

November 10

The snake was wondering what zookeeper was feeding her. She was going to feed her what she likes. She found a mouse hiding in her cage. He wanted to catch the mouse and the mouse ran through the hole that she made. Her other baby snakes were hatching.

November 11

This is a snake carrying all his groceries. The sky suddenly got a little gray. It almost started to rain. The snake hurried inside his house and it began to rain. Then the rain stopped and then there was a rainbow. Then the sun came up.

I went to parent teacher conferences last week, and Kennedy is doing great! Her teachers say that she is happy and helpful. They can tell that she really loves school. She tries all types of jobs in class, but seems to really like the work in the practical life area and the art projects (which we can tell by her take home files each day). She also loves it when the older girls in third year (kindergarten) read to her. Kennedy wasn't feeling well at school on Wednesday, so after they determined that she had a fever (I swear, she was fine in the morning!), she rested in a corner of the classroom until I came to get her, and Emelia read to her. Ms. Theresa and Ms. Lorena are impressed with how well Kennedy is doing sounding out words and writing letters, especially her long name. They also said that she does nap almost every day, and she is the only kid in the class who is very particular about her blanket - she must be completely covered up. This has been a bit of a challenge for the teachers because, at the beginning of the year, they had asked us to send in smaller blankets. After learning this, we swapped for a bigger blanket!

Finally, two quick stories about what makes Kennedy sad.

She got to go to a birthday party for a school friend last month, and she left with a balloon as a party favor. When we got home I told her that she needed to hold on tight to the string as we went inside. Of course, she let go for a split second, and the balloon floated away while I unloaded Macy from her car seat. Kennedy was devastated! Serious meltdown ensued.

Yesterday Kennedy wanted to have a bag of Cheetos that Aunt Beth had left at our house on Halloween (I don't know if they were supposed to be for Kennedy, but she claimed them anyway). I told her that she couldn't eat them for breakfast, but she could have some later. Well, when it was finally later, I went to get the small bag off the counter. It was gone. I sent Kennedy downstairs to ask Jake where it was, but he had already eaten them all. Again, total devastation, serious meltdown. This time there were lots of angry faces involved too. Boy, was she mad at daddy! The only remedy was to buy her another bag, but even then she was still tearful over the memory of dad eating all her Cheetos.

Halloween

Halloween was a busy four-day event. Thursday Kennedy had a costume parade at school, and I was able to get away from work to see it. The kids were all so cute. I think Kennedy was the only kangaroo, but it seemed that skeletons, pirates, princesses, and comic book heroes seemed to be the most popular choices.

The girls had a sleep over at grammie and pamp's because Jake got tickets for us to go to the Jazz game - in a suite, no less. What a great way to see a game, even though the Jazz lost badly.

Friday the girls went to the zoo with grammie and pamp, and then came by to see me at the office. They got to pose with Kortney's and Leda's cute babies, Addie and Ruby.

That night the school had a Halloween carnival. We all went and enjoyed the pumpkin and cookie decorating tables, the balloon lady, and fishing pond. They had a wild things scales and tails show, and Kennedy and her friend Mae Mae were right on the front row. She seemed really interested in the smaller snakes, tortoise, baby alligator, and monitor...until the guy got out the 15 foot boa.

She jumped right into daddy's lap and did not want to touch the snake, or even get close to it. We weren't too excited about the guy swinging the monitor out over the audience, especially after he had just told us all how toxic it was. Macy would have had more fun if she could have run around the gym, but it was really crowded. I did my best to keep her occupied and held snugly in my arms. When it was time for us to go, Kennedy was crushed that they ran out of popcorn before she could get a bag. Even though it was late when we got home, we made her some, to make up for it, and to be our dinner!

Jake's family came over for lunch on Saturday. I had some grand ideas in mind when I first invited everyone, but of course when it came down to it, I just didn't have time to do any spooky-themed food. Eliza and Huck were great as Word Girl and Captain Huggy Face (from the PBS cartoon Word Girl).

Here's my one creative contribution to the lunch. Maybe next year I'll be more on top of things.

I took Kennedy and Macy out to trick-or-treat in our neighborhood. Kennedy was really excited about it this year. She got ready all by herself, but I had to sneakily slip Macy's costume on.

I got the alligator vest, that Kennedy wore at this age, out a few days before Halloween, but Macy was terrified of it. She'd turn away, shake her head, and say, "no, no, no!" She wore holiday appropriate clothes to the other events, but not the costume. It was funny that once I had it on her, she didn't mind it at all.

They both looked so cute walking around to ring the doorbells on our street. Macy even started saying, "Hap-E-ow-EEN!" as we'd leave the porch. After making the rounds, we drove to Paul and Sara's house for one last trick-or-treat stop. They had gone all out with decorating and were in full costume when they answered the door. I think they made the girls a bit nervous dressed up as a phantom and a truck driver.

Sunday, the real Halloween, we went to a party at the home of my parents' friends. The theme for costumes this year was paintings. I went as Girl with a Pearl Earring, the girls were ballet dancers by Degas, and Jake was Norman Rockwell painting his self portrait. Kennedy even got to go out trick-or-treating again with her friend Chloe. We had a fun night, but sadly didn't get any great pictures.