Lip gloss gone wrong

Lilly asked Santa over and over for a "lip gloss house." We couldn't really figure out what she was talking about, but I assumed it was a giant case of different kinds of lip gloss. Santa wisely left the lip gloss house out of the bag of delivered Christmas goods, but he did put a few lip gloss items in each of their stockings; we now know Santa made a big mistake. While Lilly has the self control to only use a little at a time, Claire thinks of lip gloss as a sort of finger paint beautification cream. And as a result we have lip gloss on several of our walls. This morning Claire walked in to the dining room with pink lip gloss all over her face and hands. Once I cleaned her up, I asked, "Claire, where is the rest of the lip gloss?" She eagerly led me to her bedroom, where she showed me the fresh makeover she had given her portable DVD player...

 I was able to clean it, but the walls are another story. Because lip gloss is so greasy, I think the walls will require a fresh coat of paint. Rats! No more lip gloss for at least a year! Thanks a lot, Santa!

Christmas photos

Below are some of the photos we had taken of the girls early in the Christmas season. 

 Merry Christmas from Lilly and Claire.

Christmas 2010

Christmas is a special time with a 4 and 2 year old in the house. Because of baby's pending arrival, we didn't have any family guests from Kansas this year. We were, however, blessed to spend Christmas Eve with good friends eating green chili tamales, homemade soup and pecan pie. As in years past, the Christmas Elves stopped by our house on Christmas Eve and delivered new pajamas for the girls...

 This was the first year we were concerned about what insane time the girls would wake on Christmas morning. Claire has been waking at 5am or so since May, so we anticipated an early start to the day. And so, at 5:30am, Claire began rustling under the tree in the living room. Knowing Claire would not go back to sleep, I woke Lilly saying, "Lilly, Santa was here." She opened her eyes wide and asked, "Is it morning time?" Even though it was pitch black outside, she hopped out of bed. We spent quite awhile playing with gifts from Santa and opening gifts from family and friends. Here are a few of the highlights... Santa brought matching robes for the girls, a LeapFrog Tag system for Lilly...

A sit-and-spin for Claire...

Jewelery boxes and jewelery too...

Lilly couldn't wait to give me the gift she picked especially for me... "fuzzy flip-flops" for my poor swollen feet.

We took a break from gift opening to let the sun come up, to eat homemade monkey bread and to let the girls have a warm bubble bath.

Once the gift unwrapping resumed, we opened this little goody from Nana...

Lilly is fond of princesses and is also looking forward to being a flower girls in Aunt Colleen's wedding next summer. So, this book, veil, gloves and diamond ring from Aunt Colleen were perfect gifts...

We smoked a turkey on our grill and made a wild rice stuffing, steamed green beans, rolls and dessert... we took it easy this year. Here we are before our evening meal...

And, here we are just before singing happy birthday to Jesus. Lilly chose to make him a homemade carrot cake- as she licked the frosting from the beaters of the hand mixer she told me, "Mmmmm, Jesus is going to love this!"

And the rest of the weekend was spent at home playing with all of the fun things the girls received for Christmas... and playing with dad, of course. Here are the girls riding on their "tiger" around the family room.

We hope your Christmas was merry and bright!
Thank you, everyone, for the gifts, cards and warm holiday wishes you sent our way.

Santa at Hannah's

Santa was a busy man this past weekend- from the Polar Express to Hannah's house- he was everywhere. As you know, Lilly's buddy Hannah, who lives across the street, is still battling cancer. Every year, Santa visits her at her home, and she is kind enough to invite friends over for a cookie party with Santa. This is a huge event, as you can imagine, and a good time for the parents to donate gifts for needy kids, which Santa, in turn, delivers during the coming days before Christmas. Lilly and Claire were especially excited to sit on his lap. When asked what they wanted, Lilly replied, "a lip gloss castle" and Claire didn't say a peep. Here they are with Santa...

 Ho Ho Ho! Three more days until Christmas.

Dentist Success

Last January, Lilly visited the pediatric dentist for a few fillings and a silver tooth. Ever since then she has been leery of the dentist for fear she would get a shot- like the one she received for sedation last January. We went to the dentist for a check-up this past summer, and at that time, she wouldn't let the dentist nor his assistant touch her teeth. So, knowing her past behavior and fear of the needle, I was not looking forward to today's dental cleaning. Lilly cried tears at the breakfast table saying, "Mom, I don't want to go see the dentist!" Before we got in the car, Rob had a serious talk with her about being brave. Lilly insisted on bringing her stuffed kitty and puppy to meet the dentist so she "would not be scared." The dental hygienist was super nice- Lilly was able to pick her toothpaste flavor, play with the equipment and wear sunglasses under the bright exam light. When they started to scrape her teeth, they told her they were getting rid of "sugar bugs." Lilly told the ladies, "They aren't sugar bugs, they are from skittles." Lilly loves to eat skittles. 

The end result was a perfect performance at the dentist... even the dental hygienist commented on Lilly's stellar behavior. Without any hesitation, Lilly let them scrape, clean, floss and examine her tiny teeth. She was very proud her herself and the new princess toothbrush/toothpaste she was given. As a reward, I took her to the dollar store and let her pick a prize. Here's our brave Lilly during her exam- notice her white kitten and puppy keeping her safe...

 Way to go, Lilly!

 

Polar Express!

We drove north to Williams for a trip on the Polar Express. Just as we reached the Flagstaff area, it began to snow; we barely made it through before they closed the interstate. We slowly passed 12 or more cars in the ditch, but we safely made it to our hotel. Lilly and Claire were very excited for the trip, as you can imagine, and especially excited to stay in a hotel. Our short trip was filled with fun, so I'll try to hit the highlights below...

Before dinner, the girls changed in to their matching jammies to prepare for their journey to the North Pole.

Before boarding the train, we spent time with Mrs. Clause making crafts and writing letters to Santa.

Once on the train, we traveled through a time warp tunnel and chugged north to Santa's workshop. The conductor read the story of The Polar Express while the girls sipped hot cocoa and ate chocolate chip cookies.

 After passing the North Pole, Santa climbed aboard the train and gave each child a silver bell. The girls were in awe.

 The next morning we awoke to a light dusting of fresh snow. The girls thought this was super neat.

Lilly thought this was the perfect opportunity to make a snow angel- something she has wanted to do for quite awhile. Here's Lilly and her beautiful angel. Well done, Lilly.

Just as we arrived in Flagstaff the day before, we stopped and bought and ice scraper. We had a feeling we would need it. Claire and Lilly wondered how on earth the car was covered in so much snow. We actually ended up sharing our ice scraper with the family parked next to us. Good planning! This might seem like a silly picture to most of you, but a snow covered car is a rarity when you live in the desert!

On our way out of town, we stopped at The Deer Farm to say hello to our furry friends. The girls fed the deer and said hello to the other animals... a camel, reindeer, llamas, wallabies, and more.

It was a great trip! If any of you want to travel with us next Christmas season on the Polar Express, let us know. We will be making reservations soon.

Christmas Party

Party time... Rob's work Christmas party, that is. We looked forward to spending an evening with Rob's colleagues at their annual Christmas party. This year, the party was held at a resort in downtown Chandler. Baby came too... in the tummy, that is. You can see her protruding from my dress. Several of the other ladies were expecting too, so I had friends to sit with when my feet started to become tired. It's always fun to go out and have a good time, especially when in good company.

 Merry Christmas celebrating, everyone!

Food Drive- A Success!

Several years ago my colleague Maureen and I implemented a food drive for all of our students at the college. We decided to offer a small amount of extra credit if they would donate healthy food to a local charity. This year, the students out performed previous years. In one day, almost 300 students donated 2500 pounds, over one ton, of food! The food bank was thrilled with our donation, and we were thrilled with the results.

Baby, Mary, a Camel and a Transformer

Baby is arriving in just a few weeks, and it's no surprise my belly is getting larger each week. Lilly is especially aware of the situation, eagerly anticipating baby sister's arrival. Both she and Claire talk to baby through my belly button and are certain she can understand them. On one night, Lilly told me I looked like Mary, as in baby Jesus' mom. Then Lilly asked where my camel was. When I asked why, she said, "You need a camel to ride to the hospital, mom."  

This morning at breakfast we were talking about the true meaning of Christmas. We asked Lilly why we celebrate Christmas and she said, "It's baby Jesus's birthday." I asked the girls what type of birthday cake we should make for Jesus and Lilly replied, "A Transformer cake, because Jesus is a boy."

Meet Yiddy

Meet Claire's sister, Yiddy. Claire's speech has taken off lately with some very impressive lengthy sentences; yet, when she refers to her sister, she calls her Yiddy. Sometimes it changes to Yilly, but Yiddy rolls off the tongue much easier. So, as you can imagine, Rob and I are in on the game. We have been know to ask Claire, "Where is Yiddy?" When Yiddy hears this, she emphatically says, "Mom, call me by my normal name- Lilly." So, it appears Claire is allowed to perpetuate Yiddy's pet name, but mom and dad must be accurate when referring to darling Lilly.

Regardless, I thought you'd enjoy this little story.

Yiddy/Yilly/Lilly

Hamster Weekend- Take 2

We'd tried it once before- babysitting the preschool class hamster- but it didn't work out well. 

The poor hamster risked internal injuries and death by terrier during her first visit. Amazingly Nugget the hamster survived. Yet, despite all of this, Lilly insisted on another opportunity to hamstersit. So, mom gave in.

This time it went quite well. Lilly and Claire were well aware of the rules...

Rule #1: Dogs must be locked outside before Nugget could be removed from her cage.  

Rule #2: Share.

All in all, it wasn't a bad experience for any of us, including Nugget.

 Still, we (Rob and I) were happy to return our guest to school the following Monday. :)

Gingerbread construction...

Nana bought the girls a gingerbread house kit, and ever since the girls new it was here, they have been begging to put it together. So, since the girls were such big helpers on our first trip to the post office to mail Christmas presents this morning, I told them we could play gingerbread.

Here is their beautiful creation... with a little help from mom, of course.

I am sitting in the living room by the tree on my laptop, and Claire just carried the gingerbread house to me from the kitchen. Walls collapsed, and Lilly was upset. I managed to save the house, and hopefully it will be left alone until it dries. Claire enjoys sneaking the candy, while Lilly wants to eat the cookie itself. I told them we have to wait until Dad comes home.... 

carbohydrate festival here we come.

November Highlights

The month of November flew by in a flash. It's hard to believe we have begun the Christmas countdown at our house. Here are some highlights from the end of November, including the long Thanksgiving weekend.

Lilly's preschool hosted a Harvest Party. Here's pilgrim Lilly about to dive in to a piece of pumpkin pie.

We hosted several friends for Thanksgiving this year. But, before the meal even began, Miss Claire was asleep from all of the excitement.

On Thanksgiving morning, Lilly asked if it was Christmas. She was disappointed with my response, of course, but she was happy nonetheless to help decorate the house the next day. Claire was ultra excited for our tree. Here she is while Dad worked hard to put the thing together. One funny thing that happened was the morning after we decorated the house. Since the tree was up and Christmas was in the air, Lilly ran to our bedroom in the morning and said, "Mom, Santa forgot to leave presents under the tree." So, instead of saying it's Christmas time, we have switched our lingo to say we are celebrating the "Christmas Season." Santa doesn't come until the end of the Christmas Season on Baby Jesus' birthday. Lilly gets it now!

Lilly got in on the action too... both girls loved placing ornaments on the tree.

Here's Claire one more time in her favorite piggie pajamas... She just loves the tree.

 And Sue just couldn't take all of the excitement. She was asleep almost 5 minutes after we started decorating. Lazy Sue!

 Let's not forget the lights on the outside of the house. Thanks Rob for hanging them... the girls LOVE Christmas lights, blow ups in yards and anything that twinkles. Of course, we all agree the BEST lights are the ones on our own front door. Isn't that how the song goes?

 To top off an already busy weekend with zero relaxation except the 2 hours we saw Tangled at the movie theater with the girls, it was time to paint baby's room...

 The girls were eager to assist... but are even more excited for baby sister's arrival in just a few weeks. More photos to come... once the room is done!

 Merry Christmas Season to all of you!