COOKIES!!

We got together with a few of the kids from Claire's school a few weeks ago for some cookie-baking fun. The kids were all about the frosting, sprinkles, and of course tasting! It was a great way to get in the holiday spirit!

Ho, Ho, Ho

After spending the morning at home the day of the big snowstorm, we decided to venture out to Bachman's to see their annual Christmas show. It is about a mile from our house, so we figured we wouldn't get into too much trouble. The show was great and the girls especially liked the end when they got to go up on stage with the other kids and sing a few songs. Afterward they were able to visit with both Santa and his elf Albert. It was such a fun time and I loved how real and down to earth Santa was.
Good thing we were in good spirits on our way home because it was quite the adventure. We got stuck in the snow not once, not twice, but three times on our way home. It literally took us an hour to get home safely. It was crazy, but worth the trip.

Holiday Cheer

Claire had her preschool holiday concert last Sunday. It was WAY more entertaining than I anticipated. Imagine lots of loud singing, complete with actions to go with them. Claire was really into it, as evidenced in the many pictures below.

Finally Three!

After about six months of telling everyone that she is "almost three", Claire officially turned the big THREE last Sunday. It was a weekend full of celebrations with a party on both Friday night and Sunday afternoon. There were plenty of cousins, balloons and, most importantly, CAKE! Claire loved being the center of attention. From the birthday song to opening gifts to running around like crazy from all the sugar, she had a fabulous time.

At three years old, Claire is one busy girl. She is constantly learning new things and continues to amaze us all the time. She moved to one of the preschool rooms at school in August and is doing great. The transition went surprisingly well, which was a huge relief for all of us. She has been busy learning letters, writing her name and practicing cutting. Most days she brings home some sort of "work" from school and she is always so proud.

She is definitely a first-born child. She loves rules and has no problem letting you know if you forget to say excuse me, please or thank you. She also has a tendency to boss everyone around, especially her younger sister. Just this morning when I was getting ready, I overheard her telling Charlotte to "sit here", "lay down there", "follow me to the other room". She likes to be in control, that is for sure.

She loves pretend play. She can play with her babies for hours...putting them down for naps, giving them bathes, and changing their clothes. She pretends we are going on airplane rides to the beach or that we are going to school. Give her some dress up clothes and she is all about putting on a fashion show. There is no limit to her imagination. She loves doing projects. She could sit at the table for hours coloring and painting. She also loves to help around the house. She helps with cooking dinner, washing floors and dusting. I'm sure that will change with time, but for now I will take it!

She is sweet and gentle. I'm pretty sure that Charlotte is her favorite person in the world and watching the two of them together is enough to make anyone smile. I sometimes wish a could freeze time and keep the two of them just like they are right now. They play together all the time and are constantly giggling with one another. I know that they will always be sisters, but I really hope they will always be such great friends.

While she is pretty perfect most of the time, she definitely has her moments. Lets remember, she is only three. She is still a super sensitive kid. Her feelings get hurt easily and crying is usually a daily occurance. She still throws a good toddler tantrum every so often, but they have gotten a lot less frequent over the past few months.

She is still a really great eater. She will try pretty much everything, at least once. While she still isn't a huge fan of vegetables, we can usually get her to have a few bites of corn, peas or carrots. She has a definite sweet tooth, which she must get from her mom. :) She had her 3 year well-check this morning and everything checked out great. She is now 35.5 inches tall (16th percentile) and 30 lbs (42nd percentile). She had a hearing and vision check as a part of her check-up and did fine with that as well.

The last 3 years have been such a fun ride...I can't imagine our life without her!

CELEBRATE!!

Somebody turned THREE on Sunday and we spent the weekend celebrating! More details to come later this week...

Trimming the Tree

We headed out to the farmer's market on Saturday morning to get our tree. The girls had fun walking around, checking out all the trees. We picked one out, headed home and celebrated with hot chocolate (definitely the highlight for Claire). Later that night, after dinner, we decided to get out the lights and ornaments only to discover that we had no lights. Both Art & I had forgotten that we tossed ours last year because so many bulbs were burnt out...so Art hustled out to Target to grab some lights while the girls and I anxiously waited at home. Once he was home, he strung them on the tree, plugged them in and discovered the lights he had bought were SUPER bright...like hurt your eyes bright. So after all the effort, we saved the tree decorating until Sunday (when we could get new lights).

The girls both had a great time sorting through all the ornaments, helping put them on the tree, and running around with beads around their necks. So much excitement. They loved every minute of it. We have a lot of fun holiday activities planned these next few weeks, so we are looking forward to more magical moments this season!

Happy Birthday Sam!

The winter months are full of birthday celebrations for our family. A couple of weeks ago we celebrated our nephew Sam's 3rd birthday and the party did not disappoint. There were plenty of balloons, party hats and screaming toddlers to add to all the excitement of the day...and of course CAKE!! Happy Birthday, Sam!! Next up...Claire and Elliott later this week.

Little Miss No Nap

Most of the time Claire goes down for nap without fighting it and still sleeps between 2-3 hours. Every once in awhile, though, she decides that she can do without. A few Fridays ago napping was not in the cards. After an hour of her talking and playing in her room I went up and got her. We read books, colored and worked on her letters. It was great to spend some one on one time with her. She has become so grown up lately. She has such a personality and is so independent. I love the little person she is becoming and can't wait to see what the future holds for her.

15 Months Old

Charlotte turned 15 months old on Halloween. Over the past 3 months she has turned into a toddler. She understands everything and seems so grown up.

At 15 months, Charlotte:
- is very independent. She loves to look at books by herself, feed herself with a spoon and brush her own teeth.
- loves to dance. When you tell her to dance she starts bobbing her head and bouncing up and down.
- enjoys baby dolls. She loves to carry them around the house, pretend to feed them bottles and give them hugs and kisses. She sleeps with a small cloth one during nap and bedtime and loves to fall asleep with it under her head.
- adores real babies, too. She gets super excited and loves to get in their face and give them lots of (mostly gentle) touches.
- tries to repeat everything we say. She isn't saying a ton of words on her own yet, but has mastered a few of the basic ones: yes, no, baby, bottle, uh-oh, more, all done, nana (banana), bye, mama, dada.
- loves pizza. It is honestly the one food that she goes completely crazy over and consistently asks for more of. Overall, she is still a pretty good eater...as long as she is feeling well.
- has 4 teeth on top, 4 on bottom, her top 2 molars and her bottom 2 are trying hard to come through. She is kind of a crab when she is teething, so I'm looking forward to a break from teeth for awhile.
- can identify a handful of body parts on her own - hand, foot, belly, head.
- moved to the toddler room on Monday and it is going well so far. She cries at drop-off, but usually calms down pretty fast.
- is 30.5 inches tall (51st percentile) and weighs 20 lbs 3 oz (11th percentile).
- is super sweet and loving. She is constantly giving out hugs and kisses and we just love her!

Halloween Weekend

We had a weekend packed with Halloween activities. Friday morning I took the girls to school so they could participate in their Halloween parties. I helped at Claire's and she had so much fun. There were a ton of Halloween-inspired activities, pumpkin cookies and some spooky songs as well. I also got to see Charlotte's music class. A great morning. Friday evening we carved pumpkins. The girls were interested for about 10 minutes before losing complete interest. Probably not that surprising to any parents out there. Maybe next year.

Saturday morning we went to a Halloween party at some friend's house - unfortunately, I did take any pictures. Sunday evening we got together with two other families from our daycare and went trick-or-treating. Claire had a blast. She was so excited to go from one house to the next. And of course Charlotte wanted in on the action as well. It was a very successful Halloween.

Concentration

Charlotte was struck be a nasty bug in the middle of the night on Tuesday, so she got to spend the day at home on Wednesday. Art took the morning shift and I took the afternoon. After sleeping in until 9:30, she was all smiles and laughs the rest of the day. While I love spending time with the girls together, sometimes it is really nice to have some one-on-one time with each of them. We went on a walk, read books and played.
She took this toy off the shelf and starting taking the pieces off and putting them back on. She was so focused. I tried to help her a few times and she wanted nothing to do with me. She wanted to do it all by herself. Little Miss Independent. I love that she is becoming her own little person and is figuring things out on her own, but it makes me realize that she is not my little baby anymore. She moves to the toddler room at school in one week and she is just that...a toddler. I'm not sure I'm ready for this just yet.

Napa Valley

Art & I headed to Napa Valley last week for vacation. While it was extremely hard to leave the girls, it was amazing to get away for a few days. The weather was beautiful...blue skies and sunshine every day. We drank plenty of wine, ate some pretty incredible food and did a lot of relaxing. I think it is our new favorite vacation spot and I am certain that we will be back some time soon. A huge thanks to my parents for taking such great care of the girls while we were gone.

Family Photos

We had our annual photo session on Friday afternoon. It was hot. Over 80 degrees hot. Expecting more mild temperatures, we were all in long sleeves, sweaters, tights. The actual session was a bit of a disaster as the girls were super crabby and uncooperative. I can't say I blame them as I'm sure they were overheating under all the layers. Our photographer posted a 'sneak peek' on her blog last night and I was pleasantly surprised. Take a peek when you get a chance.

http://katiewelshphotography.com/blog/

Apple and Leaf Picking

We have been busy this fall. The weather has been incredible, the fall colors are peaking and we have been soaking all of it in before the weather turns cold. The girls' school had a play-date at Minnetonka Orchards last weekend. The weather started out a little rainy, but cleared up by the time we arrived. We enjoyed a hayride, a trip through the corn maze, and of course apple picking. The girls had a great time and I imagine that this may become an annual excursion. We have also been enjoying all of the colorful leaves. On Friday the girls and I went on a little nature walk to collect leaves. Claire loved finding different colors of leaves and putting them in her bag. And Charlotte loved following her around, copying her every move. They really are two peas in a pod.

Monkey Business

We met up with two other families from the girls' school at the zoo last weekend. Between the three families, there are six girls (no boys)!! The three older girls are all one month apart and have known each other since they were little babies. It is so fun to watch the three of them run around and interact with each other. There was lots of running, giggling, and conversing. Claire had an absolute blast! In another year, I'm sure things will be even more crazy as the younger three will be in on all the action!