More Bday recap... This year, our E-man decided on Wolverine (from Xmen) for his Bday cake. I'm not sure how he even know who this is since he has never actually seen Xmen, although he does own one of the figurines. This was a surprise as I was sure he would choose his beloved Spiderman or his new found interest, Buzz Light Year. Originally the family was to come over Saturday the 8th but we had to reschedule to weather and ended up having everyone over on Saturday the 15th. As you can see, one of his favorite gifts was a Buzz Light year action pack.
He then had a small play date/Birthday party the following day with 3 of his classmates from the Montessori. It was primarily unstructured and I'm not sure if that was to our advantage or disadvantage. However, one of the more creative ideas I came up with was to make forts/tents, which was a definite hit! Since then, this theme has continued with the kids gathering all their blankets and extra sheets to assemble various tents in the basement, mainly around our pool table and sectional. There have been multiple requests and plans to have a slumber party in them. In order to subside some of these, we (Eli and myself) compromised on nap time in the tents. In addition to tents and our regular dance performances, the kids have been composing plays. Schuyler acts as the play writer, producer and a puppeteer when necessary and Eli and Mackie as the master puppeteers. While these activities pass the time on the more bitterly cold days, we still manage to get outside on the more "mild" days to enjoy nighttime sledding, snowball fights and the building of snowmen. Mackie, in usual fashion, takes charge in this category. This year, our beautiful snow-woman is named Kelly. According to Mackie, she would be more perfect if only she had some hair = )
One of the highlights that got lost in the hustle and bustle of Xmas and Bday celebrations was Mackie losing her first tooth the day after Xmas. It was barely hanging on but the minute I would try to pull, she would scream in utter terror. We went to visit Great Grandma and as she was showing it off, Papa asked to see it. The next thing I notice is she has a funny look on her face and Papa is holding the tooth. After the realization that the tooth was gone, she then noticed she was bleeding ever so slightly, which was followed by brief drama and applying a kleenex to the tooth.
Mark and I got to observe Mackie's dance class. It was interesting to watch 6 & 7 year olds practice leaps, the splits, and other twirls that have a proper name that is beyond my basic dance knowledge. This year, they will be performing to a Justin Bieber song. Mack was somewhat disappointed as she would prefer Lady Gaga!!
Schuyler is enjoying Basketball and continuing to develop her skills. In fact, in one of her games, she scored the buzzer beating shot to win the game = ) She loves her studies and although she would never admit it, she is quite the little writer. I find random stories on sheets of paper lying around the house. I need to get her a special journal as I think this would be right up her ally.
I typed this extremely fast without proofing so please do not judge my grammar or spelling = )
During these past few weeks I have been fortunate to spend a great deal of time with my family. I was in a position where I would loose PTO so what better time then the busy holidays to use it. Well, maybe a lying on a beach with my husband but that wasn't in the cards. So, we made cookies, see exhibit A below. I always have grand plans of tackling a long list of goodies but there is limited time in a day so what I accomplish is usually much different. This year, that included White Chocolate Cranberry Oatmeal, Molasses, and Sugar Cookies. I had willing subjects helping every step of the way, licking the batter every time I turned around.
Exhibit A -
Mackie completed her after school cheer club, which was conducted by her 1st grade teacher and Schuyler's teacher from 1st grade. Um, I can't believe I'm admitting this but I'm pretty sure I have a future cheerleader on my hands. After the first day, her teacher exclaimed what a natural she was. Sure enough, come performance time, she was a leader in the front row, knowing every step, pom-pom shake and kick with the very cheerleader expression on her face. See Exhibit B below, Mackie with her teacher. Or, as Mark and I often say, 2 peas in a pod.
Exhibit B - (Just for the record, I strongly dislike gym lighting)
I had the privilege of volunteering to make gingerbread houses with Mackie's first grade class. I was expecting sprinkles thrown around like confetti, kids stuffing their mouths with candy at every opportunity and frosting fingers smearing over everything. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how organized and calm the classroom was, a clear sign of the respect they have for their teacher. Mackie, in her true fashion, would not accept help from her anyone, least of all her mother. Every candy was inspected and found just the appropriate place on her house. A perfectionist she is and it was no surprise she was the last one done. See Exhibit C below.
Exhibit C-
This brings us to Christmas. Santa made his annual visit to Mark's work where we took the kids and Schuyler's BFF. Eli is big talk but when it comes to the moment to actually get close to the bearded man he quickly clings to me or Mark. I was hoping with the passing of another year he might have outgrew this tendency but clearly not. He sat on Santa's lap but only with Mark immediately next to him and there was no way he would remove his fingers from his mouth. Oh well. Can't blame him. All of our Christmas celebrations were prior to the 25th this year, which left only the 5 of us at home with no where to be. It was a first for us and extremely relaxing. We enjoyed being in our PJ's, playing toys and the only time we left the comforts of our home was to visit the red box for some movies. Here is our annual attempt at a family photo on Christmas. Not to shabby for our clan. Hey, past years have contained hitting, biting, hair pulling, glares and numerous other not so pleasant actions. See Exhibit D below.
Exhibit D-
The New Year is upon us and Mark and I stayed up until 10:00pm. We enjoyed our ritual of Chinese by candle light with the kids. I no longer am embarrassed to admit how lame we are, not even playing our annual poker. It is a sign that we are tired parents with active lives with children. At least that's the story I'm going with and it is that fact that I am extremely thankful for. Happy New Year's to ALL!
