Wacky Hair Day

Jadyn's school had "Wacky Hair Day" today. She was super excited and said her teacher said that she was going to dye her hair blue. So, Jadyn tried to convince me to let her dye her hair pink. When I said absolutely not, she then tried to convince me to let her dye it "light yellow" like the color it used to be she said. I told her we could do crazy bun/twists and she could put all the bows/clips in it that she wanted. She decided that would be fun enough.

Wacky Hair Girl:


The Wacky Hair Sisters:


From the back:

My Hands Say Thank You

Back in November, Jadyn learned this cute little song in Preschool. Well, it was cute...the first few times. However, since then she has chosen to sing it every night before bed. Hmm, not quite as cute anymore :( I do invoke veto power occasionally to spice it up and sing a primary song before bed instead. Here is the duo making their video debut:



Usually, they are more into the song, but they were a little distracted tonight. If you listen closely at the beginning, you can hear Bennett's excited little sounds. He has obviously heard the song before :)

Bennetty Boy is 8 Months!

These months just keep flying by! Bennett is 8 months old today. Here are some facts about the Bubby Bear:

1. He is a big boy. He is wearing 12-18 month clothing. The pajamas he is wearing today are an 18 month size. He is wearing pajamas because he is getting over being sick.
2. He still likes to be in his jumperoo, but he prefers to be on the ground rolling around and scooting backwards to get to all his toys.
3. He has liked most of the foods he has tried with the exception of applesauce. He absolutely will not open his mouth for applesauce. He only tolerates bananas too. The only fruit he has really liked has been avocados. His favorite foods would have to be carrots and green beans.
4. He is very chatty. He started saying Dada at about 7.5 months and started saying Mama a couple of days later. The girls think it is so cute when he talks (and I do too!)
5. He still wakes up at least 2-3 times at night. *Sigh*
6. He loves to grab things and is very quick. I can definitely tell a difference in the way he explores/plays versus the girls.
7. He still sleeps swaddled (in a special blanket called a Woombie) and still loves his pacifier. I am not messing with trying to get rid of either of these yet!
8. If he is even remotely tired, he will fall asleep in the car. He gets warm and cozy from being bundled up!

What? A photo shoot in my pajamas? Well, okay....I can pull it off because I am cute.


So what if I haven't mastered sitting up yet. Have you seen the size of my noggin?!


I love to explore:


I am far too interested in other things to look at the camera:


Fine, I will give you what you want. Here is your sweet, happy boy:

Jadyn's 5 year stats

We had Jadyn's 5-year check-up yesterday. Here are her stats:

Weight: 36.5 lbs (close to 50%)
Height: 41.5 inches (a little above 25%)

She is growing well :)

New Year's Rockin' Eve

We opted to have a low-key family New Year's Eve party this year. We had a great time.

Jadyn was excited for the party food. We had sparkling cider, meatballs, chips, mexican pizza, a veggie tray, and chocolate/white chocolate popcorn.


The girls loved the "special" drink. We always use our crystal glasses....got to use them once a year :)


Getting the dance party going:


Bennett loved watching the dancing:


Bennett even got in on the dancing:


After the little kids went to bed, we did a few puzzles with Jadyn. She shares my love of doing puzzles. She told me I had to stop because I was doing too many of the pieces. Sorry Charlie, no can do....I like to do puzzles!


We then had ice cream sundaes and Jadyn thought it would be fun to use the special glasses again. I admit...it was fun to eat it out of those glasses. We may have to pull them out more than just once a year!


I think Jadyn enjoyed the ice cream:

We even let her have a second batch of ice cream. She was thrilled!

We then counted down to the new year at 9:30 pm. As I was putting her to bed, she told me that she was really tired because she got to stay up so late :) I wonder how many years we can get away with counting down to the new year early!


Happy New Year everyone. We are exciting for the changes that 2011 will bring for our family.

Christmas 2010

We had a great Christmas this year. We enjoyed being able to spend some much needed time together as a family. It gave us a small glimpse at what like can be like when Daddy is done with school!

Here are the kids dressed up for church:


Aunt Megan and Aunt Sarah came to visit for a few days. Unfortunately, I was having too much fun with them to take any pictures!

We enjoyed spending Christmas Eve with our friends again this year. We had a great dinner (ham, potatoes, salad, rolls, pineapple, rice pudding). Then, the children each got to open a gift. I think Jadyn has caught onto the idea that it will be pajamas every year! Then, we decorated sugar cookies for Santa. Hmm, someone must know that Santa's favorite cookies are sugar cookies! Next, we had a little talent show and then followed it by dressing up and reading Luke 2.

Decorating cookies:


Jadyn opening her pjs:


Maya couldn't wait to tear into her present:


Everyone with their new pajamas:


Acting out the nativity story. I love Maya's expression:



I was expecting the girls to wake up no later than 6 on Christmas morning. Much to my surprise, they did not wake up until 6:50. When I told Jadyn she had to wait 10 minutes to go downstairs, she said, "I don't know if I can wait. I am just so excited". Christmas is so fun with kids!

Jadyn helping Maya with the gift she gave her. I let the girls each pick out a gift for each other at Hallmark since I had two $5 off coupons there. They each chose stuffed animals for each other and I only had to spend $.60 total. It was so cute to see them give each other a gift.


Jadyn made several handmade gifts at preschool this year. She gave Maya this gingerbread magnet she made. She gave me a handprinted wall hanging. I must admit that I got teary-eyed when I opened it. I am such a sappy mom!


Here are the girls with their haul:


Santa got the kids the FurReal Frenzies Scurry City. It is cute to see them play with it and watch Bennett's amused expression.

Jadyn got: a scooter from Mom & Dad. Grandma Julie got her: Hello Kitty walkie talkies, Hello Kitty Puzzle, PlayDoh Ice Cream Swirl Shoppe, Tangled Barbie Doll, shirt, and a Princess matching game to share with Maya

Maya got: My Little Pony remote control plane from Mom & Dad. Grandma Julie got her: Animal Barn, Cinderella Polly Pocket Set, and a shirt

Bennett got: a move and crawl ball from Mom & Dad. Grandma Julie got him: 2 new pajamas, My Pal Scout dog, and a firetruck toy.

Bennett finally woke up after breakfast and the girls were more than happy to "help" him open his stocking and presents:


For breakfast we had a birthday coffee cake, sausage/egg casserole, fruit, and juice.

Here are the girls ready to sing Happy Birthday to Jesus:

After breakfast we played/assembled all the toys. It is fun to be a kid again and have an excuse to just play with toys all day!

For lunch, we had our traditional make-your-own pizzas. We had Nathan's former co-worker, Ben, join us for lunch.

After lunch, Maya and I headed for a nap. Merry Christmas to me!

Here is the crew that stayed awake to watch Toy Story 3. (well, I guess Bennett only lasted about 5 minutes before taking a nap in Daddy's arms:

We finished the day with some more playing and watching another movie together as a family. It was a fun day!

All I want for Christmas.....

is an ER visit?!!

On Friday, December 17th, I was nursing Bennett to sleep while Nathan was putting the girls to bed. I hear a bang and Maya crying. Nathan rushes in and says, "This is really bad" I said what is and told him to turn on the light so I could see. I guess she was running and fell onto the little rocking chair in their room. I freaked out as Maya had a huge goose egg protruding out of the side of her eye. It looked awful and scared the daylights out of me. I tried to calm down so she would not freak out and we decided to take her to the ER to make sure she didn't need stitches. She had a gash from the corner of her eye extending out an inch or so.

Maya just kept telling me "Ouchie hurts Mama" on the way to the hospital. I was trying to keep it together for her sake, but it is so hard for me to watch my kids in pain. Maya threw a fit when we checked into the hospital because she thought the thermometer was a shot and kept saying, "No shot, No shot, No shot". I think she remembers the flu shot :( The ER doctor said he could put 2 stitches in, but it would be very traumatic and wouldn't necessarily heal any better. So, we left with a bandaid (not even a princess one much to Maya's disappointment)....and $100 bill to come soon :( She fell asleep on the way home at 9 pm.

Here is a picture of her the next day. She was a trooper.