I put together some little Valentine gift bags for the kids.  I told McGee that after nap and quiet time they would have a goodie bag from Mommy.  The bags were on the kitchen counter all ready to go.  Neither child seemed cooperative with nap/quiet time but both were supposed to be in their rooms reading their TAG books quietly.  I was working in the office and somehow missed McGee sneaking past me, but I did hear when he said, "Mommy I'm going to put my new dinosaurs with my old ones."  I went in to find he was in Miss Em's room, had gotten both of their gifts bags and passed hers out to her.  They had both opened theirs and were quickly opening everything in sight.  Good, obedient and patient little children?  Not so much.  Cute and fun to be around?  Absolutely!

Valentine's has never been a huge holiday for Daddy and I.  I mean who really needs one specific day to declare their true love?  Shouldn't it be done daily, through word and deed?  Despite putting together the bags for the kids, I didn't get a single thing for Daddy and didn't even make him a card this year!  After hanging out with his friends this afternoon he brought me in a Valentine gift - this pink bag filled with hand soap in the scents I love from Bath & Bodyworks.  This may not seem romantic, but the fact he noticed I haven't had any of these in quite a long time and then picked out the scents I love (even though he doesn't like them), meant a lot to me.

Here's to my Valentine, my best friend, my love.

You've made me laugh from day one.

Your kind eyes and smile have made me feel loved and adored for the last 16 years.  Your mad skills in the kitchen don't hurt much either. :)

Your love for our children shines through in the amazing dad that you are.

 Our children are blessed by the strong example you are setting.  Your son thinks you are the greatest person to wrestle with...EVER.

He giggles like CRAZY and BEGS you to tickle him!

But it's the BIG bear hugs he loves the most!  We love you and wish you a very happy Valentine's Day!

Later in the evening Miss Em and I enjoyed some pre-dinner dancing in the kitchen.  It was a blast and made me realize how much I love having a daughter!

Christmastime is Here...

It seems like Christmas and all of the hustle and bustle that goes along with it has hit us like a ton of bricks this year!  Just the day after Thanksgiving the Internet was bogged down with everyone posting pictures of their Christmas trees all decorated and put up and I couldn't help but get a little stressed out thinking I was behind and needed to catch up.  Then I realized it wasn't even December yet so what was the rush?  Well once December hit, time has just flown by!

Here is a quick peek at our weekend:

The Children's Christmas performance on stage at church:

With one year of singing "Away In A Manger" under his belt, McGee was much more confident this year and did a terrific job singing front and center in front of the large audience.  However, in her first stage debut, Miss Em was excited and happy at first, then decided to pout her way through the song.  I wish I could upload video because I have a hilarious 15 second clip of Miss Em, turned sideways from the audience, head down in her pout and she's pulling her arm away from her teacher completely filled with ATTITUDE!

Mommy with her two entertainers - unfortunately Daddy came down with a second case of strep throat (he and I both had horrible cases Thanksgiving week) and didn't get to join us at church.  I later found out that Mr. Sickie wasn't about to miss his kids' performance on stage, so he used his key and snuck onto the balcony armed with some binoculars and didn't miss a thing!  McGee gave him a quizzical look when he stopped by his class afterward to congratulate him on a job well done.  Daddy said it was really special being able to see his children on stage and meant a lot to him so I'm very glad he made it work without infecting anyone.

This collage of these wonderful hugs from my kiddos will be treasured by me always.  Both of them are such wonderful huggers - my heart is deeply touched each time I receive one of their tight, love infused hugs and I don't want to let go.

Gingerbread Houses - we decorate them just so we can eat them right?? :

Saturday night I found Miss Em under the dining table with my point & shoot camera.  The middle picture she snapped of me as I was bending down looking for her and then she and I enjoyed some of those awesome hugs as she clung to me and yelled, "Cheeeeesssseeeee!" for our mother/daughter picture.  I love her full, exuberant and care-free smile!

Monday a friend watched Miss Em so I could work in McGee's preschool class.  It was fun watching the dress rehearsal for Thursday night's Christmas carols show!  We've been practicing the songs, but as I overheard one teacher say hopefully, "A bad rehearsal means a great performance, right?"

Well there is more to share to our December so far, but I need to head to bed as another full day is ahead tomorrow and I want to be awake enough to remember these precious memories.

Just like his mama...

This morning while fixing breakfast I looked up and caught a glimpse of myself, or actually it was McGee, but he was sitting there reading a book while eating breakfast and it reminded me so much of myself.  I remember always needing something to read while I ate breakfast.  Mostly I think it was reading the back of the cereal box, but as I got older I was a bit of a book worm and am pretty sure I was found deep in the pages of a mystery many a breakfasts.

McGee looking through the classic "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" while eating his yogurt

I was out last night at Bible study but when I came home I asked how the kids went down and Daddy told me he found McGee reading a book "by nightlight" and again I was reminded of my reading tendencies pre-children and photography.  I've been craving a good book lately and hope when I finish up my last photo client of the year I'll have a chance to curl up with a good read.

Happy Thanksgiving!

**THIS SHOULD HAVE POSTED ON THANKSGIVING, NOT SURE WHY IT DIDN'T**

 

Last Friday McGee's preschool had their annual Thanksgiving Feast and it was so exciting to participate in our first big preschool event!  Of course I didn't realize until I was there and saw all of the adorable costumes and orchestrated program just how big a deal it was and how sad I was I didn't have a video camera to capture it fully.  I tried to record video with my point and shoot camera, but working that in my left hand and my "big camera" in my right hand wasn't so easy and resulted in a terrible video mostly of the wall behind McGee's head. 

McGee's class sang the Thanksgiving Turkey Dance song which I googled and could not find the lyrics for so I'm assuming the fabulous Miss Kathy made it up.  McGee had lots of fun practicing leading up to the big day and did a terrific job of it, but according to Miss Kathy, McGee's class peaked about an hour BEFORE the show during dress rehearsal, so during the actual performance you could barely hear most of the class.  I think McGee had a touch of stage shyness so he held back his belting voice, but it was fun watching him do all of the hand motions.  After the program each class had brought in foods to serve at their table and we all "feasted" together then toured McGee's class.

"Let's have a turkey dance, a Thanksgiving turkey dance, let's have a turkey dance and let's have it now..."

I think this is where they were singing about their feathers and strutting around...

Miss Em and cousin Addie watching the program

We were so blessed to have both of McGee's grandma's there to cheer him on!

  I loved his turkey headband he made and his turkey shirt made with his handprint.

McGee and his friend Jed, who is in a different class but they still have fun ruling the playground at recess

McGee and big cousin Brady!

Happy Halloween!

We're not really Halloween people here, but we did dress the kids up and attend our church's harvest party tonight where they enjoyed playing lots of games, filling their bags with candy, munching on nachos and ending it all with a delectable cupcake from the cupcake walk (which really was a "walk-up-and-take-a-cupcake-because-we-don't-have-any-music-to-play-to-make-it-a-game walk").  I remember the cake walk being my favorite part of the Halloween festival when I was a kid, guess the sweet-tooth doesn't fall far from the tree. :)

Miss Em utilized a newly acquired via hand-me-down Princess gown and a new tiara Mommy bought on clearance for $2 for a very economical costume.  She could not have been more precious!

 

McGee was originally going to be a cowboy, then a cowboy superhero, then a pirate, until he finally decided to be a knight after receiving this cool helmet, breastplate and sword that Grandma found at the dollar store.  Add in a new black turtleneck Grandma picked up and we had a very galiant and courageous Knight protecting our Princess.

 Mommy & her munchkins

A sweet little boy gave Miss Em this adorable little froggy with a tie on that he had just won.  She was so excited she even gave it a big hug and kiss!  Our own little Princess and the Frog!

One of her many faces that keep us laughing!

McGee was pretty mellow throughout the evening, just taking all of the chaos and fun in I think.  He did great with all of the games though and scored high on this ring toss!

Now this was a game I hadn't seen before - catapulting the rubber chicken into the pot.  McGee and Daddy had fun with this one and McGee made a hole in one too!

Miss Em enjoyed "fishing"

McGee and Daddy waited to get some scrumptious nachos

Daddy and Em

Mommy & McGee

Miss Em was so happy to see her sweet friend who blessed her with her little Princess dress

Selecting the cupcakes...an important task!

Mm, mm...good!

  Night!

4th Weekend Fun

We had an amazing, busy and FUN weekend - how about you?

On Friday night Daddy and I went out with some friends for an "adult date" - I think I'll tell you more about that in a separate post.

Saturday morning while Daddy went for his crossfit workout, the kids and I tried very hard to find some garage sales (note to readers: if you list a garage sale on Craigslist - HAVE a garage sale and BE OPEN when you say you will be).  We eventually stopped by Starbucks for a Strawberries & Creme treat for the kids then took it to a new park we found with a cool train. 

Em got a bit energetic about the whipped cream and made it into mousse for her hair.  :)

Saturday evening we went up to our old stomping ground meeting family at Daddy's great aunt Zia and uncle Evo's house then walked to the junior high to watch the big fireworks show.  Matt & Alanda brought the kids, both sets of grandparents were there and cousins George, Carla, Kevin, Christine & Baby Jack were there also along with Zia & Evo.  The cousins all had so much fun playing together before the show began and they REALLY enjoyed the fireworks!

Love this one!  Miss Em could have been me 28 (I mean 29 years ago)!

My All-American Girl

Zia & Evo

McGee and Evo had so much fun together!

My little giggle-box!

The kids had SUCH a great time playing together (like they always do)!

Cousin George bought all of the kids little glow sticks that they had fun twirling around and making necklaces out of.

Grammy & Papa

I had lots of fun taking fireworks pictures this year - here are just a few

Watching the fireworks show

A fantastic finale

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For the actual 4th, we went grocery shopping as a family first thing in the morning, came home and I got my dessert in the freezer then we went to the noon service at church (Daddy plays worship).  It was lots of fun hanging out with our friends afterwards too.  Came home and the kids napped then we welcomed our neighbors to our 4th of July block party.  The food, the people and the fireworks were terrific!  It was another LATE night for the kids (not in bed until 11pm and midnight the day before), but it was just what summer is all about.