It's getting festive around here!

We were able to put up our tree and all of the decor (minus the outdoor lights...coming soon) on Friday afternoon. The kids loved helping put up the tree and opening all of the ornaments. Every year, I keep saying I am going to buy ornaments that have some sort of color scheme, but then I cave and we put up all of our ornaments we love that range in age from 1979 to 2011.

We purchased some new crystal-lit garland to place above our fireplace as well as some new JOY letters, which I picked up at a craft show a while back, although, I think they also have a shop on Etsy.

Tea Party

She invited all of her babies to a tea party this evening. I think fun was had by all, including two dogs (Sugar & Pepper), a bear, and Wolfie. Kanani even played her guitar for everyone.

Update List Style

1. The kids had their school photos taken and they are super cute...and super expensive.

2. Our Christmas cards are in early...YEAH! First time ever! Hoping to get those in the mail next week.

3. Brynn is rocking Pre-K and is one of the best readers in her class! I must say, this child is quite brilliant! ;)

4. Brynn is learning how to spell out quite a few words due to her learning various word families. Now, she is also sounding out how she thinks words are spelled (like Cougar, she spelled it 'Kugr' the other day on her OWN...phonetic spelling already!)

5. Baylen is doing "fine" in Pre-School according to his teacher. She said he needs to work on his listening skills. This is not a new revelation to his parents. He loves school, and knows almost all of his letters and can write his name very well on his own.

6. Baylen is in love with Lego toys and Transformers...and his beloved Cars cars.

7. Spritz is back and in full force. He's working better than "Santa's watching" threats.

8. The iPhone Santa App is working even BETTER.

9. The kids will get to go see Santa this weekend at their school for a pancake b-fast and then get a pic with Santa. They are stoked!

10. We loved cheering and destroying our voices last weekend during the ISU/Okie State game! :) WHOOHOO!

11. I ran 6 miles today for the first time...prepping for the 10K in two weeks w/ the hubs. I lived to tell about it, which means it's doable. My fingers are crossed that the weather isn't terrible, even though all signs are pointing to rain, since that's all it's been doing for days now.

12. We enjoyed a long holiday break and now crave Christmas break! Come soon, please!

13. The kids are asking for everything for Christmas and Santa is pretty much done buying for them. Only one more thing to get for Brynn from AG and we're complete! Now...on to Dj!

Happy Thanksgiving

from our little turkeys to yours! We are very thankful for all that we have been blessed with and all of the blessings that continue to come our way. We hope you had a great Thanksgiving!

Baylen's daycare-created hat held up much better than his sister's. Her pilgrim hat accidentally landed in the recycle bin and then we tried to use her Native American headgear, but unfortunately, the feathers were badly smashed unbeknownst to mommy or anyone else who rides in mommy's car. Needless to say, we tried our best to salvage the feather headdress, but for the most part, we were unsuccessful.

What plans did you have this year for Turkey Day? We ate at home and made a traditional dinner for the first time in a lonnnnnng time. Usually, Dj makes reservations somewhere and I eat steak for Thanksgiving instead (which I prefer). However, someone who recently turned five and learned all about Thanksgiving meals and how many people celebrate, requested that we make turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce at home this year instead. And, when your little beloved asks for something as simple as starting up this particular almost 400-year-old tradition, one can't refuse the request. After a hefty grocery bill, we gathered all of our "fix ins'" and made a delicious Thanksgiving meal. Instead of cooking a large turkey, we purchased a small Jenny-O turkey breast, which was the perfect size for our family of four.

We spent the morning at the Muppets movie and then after dinner, I spent from 10 p.m.-5 a.m. Black Friday shopping out and about. It was fun but the mall was crazy at midnight. However, I was able to find some great deals and gifts of all sorts, so that's always a good thing. I spent the majority of my time waiting in long checkout lines, but in the end, it was fun and my adrenaline served me well by keeping me awake all night long.

First Musical

After seeing a sign for this on our way to pick up Brynn's dance recital tix this a.m., I was very excited to check out ticket prices and possible dates for the show. Needless to say, Brynn and I will be going to see her first musical and one of her mommy's favorites. I know she'll enjoy it and recognize one of the songs from her dance recital last year. Personally, I'm looking forward to singing along w/ the songs and reciting some of the words (if I can remember any!)

We are looking forward to going to our first musical theatre show together. Next year: The Nutcracker.

It's that time of year already

It's hard to believe that Christmas is around the corner. This year, I have found it easier to buy for Baylen, but much harder to buy for Brynn. I think once girls and boys turn 5, it's just hard to figure out exactly what they like. The thing is, she actually likes a lot of things...American Girl, My Little Pony, dollhouse stuff, Littlest Pet Shop, Leapster games, drawing, coloring, and Barbies. I think that is what makes buying for her this year so difficult: she's into SO MUCH. Dj claims she has too many toys, and maybe that's the case, although, most of them fit in bins or contain thousands of little pieces, so it doesn't seem like she has stuff all over the house. The other interesting thing about this girl, is she doesn't play with just one toy...she moves from toy to toy to toy...one night it's AG, the next it's LPS, the next it's MLP. One never knows what kind of mood she might be in.

I know she will be happy with anything we buy for her, and maybe it is more about buying things like "experiences" vs. actual items. Or, maybe it confirms my worst fear: this girl is growing up.

Happy Halloween!

May the force be with you!

The kids received many wonderful compliments on their costumes this year. They agreed to dress as a duo yet again. I hope they continue to agree to this fun idea for awhile. Maybe it will last until they are too old to do it anymore...one can hope, right?! :)

Brynn's wig was hysterical! At daycare on Monday morning, the director was giving them a hard time and teasing them about who they were dressed as, and finally, Brynn said, "Hey, do you know that this is not my real hair? It's a wig!" Then Baylen chimed in, "Yeah, she has two hairs!" It was pretty cute!

Luke and Leia had a great time Trick-or-Treating in a fun little neighborhood that's just perfect for little ones--hardly any traffic, friendly and generous neighbors and only a few ToT'ers. Leia was on a mission to knock on as many doors as possible, while Luke followed, just as excited for awhile, and then slowly started to lose momentum. Leia was in it for the long haul. Both ended up with a pumpkin-full of candy.

Every kid needs a pair of these...

We had to stop by the Dollar Tree after work/school today to see if they had some paint for our pumpkin painting competition that's on Thursday. No luck, but, of course, these two always find something they think they need at this place. :) They were giggling up a storm this evening!

My Girls

These are my ASB girls and I at our formal dance in October. :) Our theme was Catch Me in a Dream...Liner :) (of course, it's aviation themed b/c well...you know!)

Her Favorite Outfit

Great Grandma Ruth: this is by far, one of Brynn's favorite outfits. She has worn it every week since she opened it. :) Thank you!

Another first

I finally took a leap and signed up to sell my bows at a craft show which will be held at a nearby school in December. The entry fee was a bit expensive, so I hope there are enough people coming to the fair who will want to purchase my items. Now, I get to spend a lot of time crafting, crafting, crafting. I can't wait for the weekends! :)

I AM DONE!

I finished my last class tonight and am officially done with my Master's Degree! It feels so amazing. :) 18 months spent reading, taking quizzes and tests, writing weekly papers, and posting on discussion boards. ALL DONE. :) NO MORE. I can't wait to get my degree in the mail.

Another accomplishment was running and finishing a 5K today in 28 minutes...fastest 5K to date and it was completely unintentional. A fun day, nonetheless.

Guess Who's coming soon?

YIPPEE! We are super excited!

Update

I know there have been a lack of posts lately...super busy trying to finish up my Master's...THIS IS THE LAST WEEK!

It seems like the fall is always so jammed packed with activities, as we have something going on every single weekend. It's been exhausting. If it's not one or two birthday parties in a weekend, it's work stuff or a dance, or hanging out with friends.

The kids have their Halloween costumes ready, I just need to fix the length on both, try them on again, and make sure everything will work out the way we envision it. The kids are going to dress as another famous duo, and this time, after given several choices, they agreed upon a very FAMOUS duo. It will be cute if I can get their costumes to work out and fit correctly, since they are a bit big.

Brynn swears she has a loose tooth, and it's a little loose, but has a long way to go. I still think she's pretty young to have a loose tooth already, but perhaps that's denial talking.

The kids are coming home pretty tired at night after long days in pre-school and Pre-K, as well as dance. Brynn has outgrown naps for the most part, but does sneak one in on the weekends every once in awhile and about once a week at school. That has taken a toll on her and she's ready for bed quite early most nights. Both are waking up at the crack of dawn on the weekends, yet we can't pull them out of bed during the week...go figure.

Brynn just had three inches cut off...her hair was soooo long. It looks nice and healthy again. Baylen has been keeping out of trouble at school even though many of his male peers are still getting into trouble. I hope this continues and I am surprised he behaves so well at school.

Our first dance is this weekend and unfortunately, we had a big issue with the DJ. We don't have one for our semi-formal dance tomorrow night. It's a bit sad but in the end, the kids didn't work on it far enough in advance, and as a result, the rush to find someone else just didn't pan out the way we hoped. So, they are going to play music with iPods and dance mixes they put together on CDs. Hopefully it will all work out. I do feel bad about the whole thing, but there wasn't much we could do about it except learn from it and have them book DJs WAY in advance. The district has a set of guidelines that every business must follow and certain paperwork that needs to be completed, which includes a background check and finger printing...big process but after all of the child safety issues our district has had, it makes sense.

School has been absolutely CRAZY and I am trying to hang in there.

The hubs and I have been keeping up pretty well with our Y membership and exercising. D. has been running quite far, reaching over 7 miles in one run last week. He looks great! I am keeping a pretty steady pace around 4 miles but this week have had to scale it back to 3ish miles a run b/c I haven't had enough time to do more than that due to daycare closing and work commitments after school. We are running a 5K together on Sunday--our first.

I am signing up to sell bows in a craft show in December. I am excited to start crafting again on the weekends at night once the kids go to bed to prep for the show. My website was very busy in the early fall and I need some time to make more stuff.

A good thing that's coming up? VEGAS! :) Can't wait!

He's loving it.

Baylen has been going to pre-school for the past month and is really enjoying it. His class is dominated by testosterone, so the teacher has to keep things moving and keep them busy. Apparently, there's been a group of boys who have been getting into trouble quite often and the director has had several meetings with their parents. Thankfully, Baylen has not fallen into that category (at least yet) and has been behaving/listening very well. It's weird because I have sort of seen this shift in him since he started pre-school--he's been acting out less, listening more, crying a little bit less at home, sleeping in his bed longer hours during the night, etc.

He loves writing his name and wants to write all of the letters. He loves to color and draw and is getting really good at coloring--for a 3 year old BOY, I am very impressed. He colors inside the lines almost every time now, which he is very proud of.

He moved into a new class in the fall with a new teacher. I wasn't sure how this transition would go, because last year, he loved Pricsila SO much and developed a big crush on her. He said he was going to marry her and was very protective whenever she was around. It was super cute. But, then he moved on to a new class and really liked Yancy right away. She's really sweet and has a lot of energy and patience and keeps those boys busy!

Every day, they grow up on me

These two are really growing up. It is crazy to see Brynn having "adult" conversations and matching her tone of voice and facial expressions w/ her stories and emotions. They have opinions about everything, they know so much, and have little conversations with each other. It's amazing how "sophisticated" these two really are.

For example, today, Brynn made the comment that one of her teachers "wasn't cool" like her other teachers...um...where did she get this from? haha

Then, when I asked her if she wanted to wear her Justin Beiber shirt tomorrow, at first, she said...'Mommm! Ugh NO because my friends will say that he's my boyfriend and that it's weird!" UMMM okay! hahaha All of a sudden turning five means we have to believe what everyone else believes and worry about it when we're not believing it! LOL

I wonder how Bay will do w/o Brynn once she heads off to school next year.

We saw him. We heard him.We were inspired.

and it was amazing, as I hoped it would be.

The protesters were kind of annoying, though and really intimidated the kids. It was supposed to be a luncheon from 11:30-1:30 and we didn't get home until almost 5 p.m. tonight...Obama didn't actually speak until after 3 p.m. so that was a bit of a long day of just waiting.

#5

Another sneak peek @ Bee's party...

Face Bday Banner

Very fun to make...took me awhile to figure out exactly how to hang, but worth all of the time and effort. :) (and wasted paper)

More on this on my craft blog...So NOT Martha

Another trip to AG

For B's 5th Birthday, we promised to take her to the American Girl doll store to pick out a "tall doll." She had been asking for Kanani for the past three months, and decided if that's what she wanted, then we would buy it for her. What a pretty doll she is.

We loved going to the AG store during the week when it was NOT busy at all. Brynn pretty much had the store to herself and was delighted. As soon as the door opened, her eyes lit up and she took off running into the store. It was quite a sight. We ate at the little Bistro after her shopping spree. The waitresses sang her "Happy Birthday" all the while she was smiling ear-to-ear. What a special day for her.

This costume is seriously creepy

Most kids' costumes are not too bad, but this Sonic the Hedgehog costume is really whack. Seriously, it kinda creeps me out. I think it's mostly the eye makeup.

SO lucky

I get to see Obama speak for the second time since he started running for the Democratic nomination. He will be here this weekend and I get to go! :) WHOOHOO! I won't reveal too much on here other than I am ecstatic and can't stop thinking about it. Although I wouldn't consider myself to be a staunch Democrat, I am a big supporter of Obama and what he has been trying to do since he's been in office. I think he has a lot of good ideas and has not always been given credit where credit is due and blamed when it hasn't been his fault. This is not a post intended for getting in any political arguments, just a post full of elation and admiration. I feel so fortunate that I get to attend a fund-raising dinner that costs $10,000 a table. The opportunities that have been presented to me the past two years have been incredible. I need to pinch myself.

Fun had by all

On Brynn's real birthday, I snapped a couple of pics outside before they went into school. Someone is kind of in love with his cape. and his shoes. When I picked him up that afternoon, his shirt sleeve was ripped, and he had spilled Otter Pop juice (red) all over one shoe. *sigh* This kid. haha

Brynn wore a cute little feathery hair clip and I paired it with a cute little crown comb that I had given to all of the little girls who came to her party. It looked really cute together and the daycare director asked me if I could make something similar for the girls to wear on their birthdays at school. I told her I would try. I did have some luck finding some ostrich feathers on a strand at JoAnn's, but it was over $20 a yard. I didn't need a yard, but I certainly wasn't going to pay for it there. I'll search Ebay next.

BTW: on the 15th, these two had their check-ups at the doctor. Baylen is over 42 inches tall and weighs 38 pounds. He is in the 90% for height and weight. The doctor's comment: "He does NOT look like a 3-year-old." Um yeah. His other comment, "Where is he getting his height from?" hahahahahaaaa

Brynn weighed in at 36 pounds and about 41 inches tall. I was shocked she was at 36 lbs. because at home, she weighs in around 32-33 pounds. Not sure which scale is off, but she was wearing a heavier dress that day, so who knows?

Ponies Ponies, Oh My!

This summer, the kids and I traveled back to daycare to ride the ponies. Our favorites were back again this year, and B2 enjoyed their little rides. This is one thing I really love about their daycare--all of the opportunities they get to do things like this...both for fun and educational enrichment.

Watch out...he's got a light saber

our walls have already felt the wrath of this weapon. haha

this is a little sneak peek re: our kids' famous duo Halloween costumes this year. :D

Birthday Party Preview

These were taken from the little camera, so some of them are still a bit blurry...getting kinda tired of this little camera b/c for some reason, it has not been taking good photos inside lately. Luckily, we had two big, fancy cameras taking most of the pics, so I hope we have some good ones to pull from those.

The Princess-themed party was a big hit. The girls loved their princess tutu purses/bags and the boys loved their capes. Overall, a fun day had by everyone. More pics to come soon!

First day of Pre-School & Pre-K

I am so mad this photo turned out blurry...SIGH.

However, Monday was the kids' first day of pre-school and pre-K. Both were ecstatic and had a great day.

Happy Birthday, my dear

Happy 5th Birthday, Brynna!

When I look back at these past five years, it seems like it flew by, but the more I think about it, we have worked hard to enjoy as many of those days as possible. You have grown into a very sweet, yet opinionated little girl. You like others to know how smart you are, and want to know the answer to everything. School/learning is right up your alley.

You remember things better than I do...you always have.

Singing, dancing, drawing, coloring, painting, pretending...these things define you--a girl who appreciates (and immerses herself in) the fine arts. You are learning how to read and tell me day in and day out what you want to be when you grow up. Right now, you keep telling me you want to go to the moon or be an architect. (Your words, your ideas...you have always been that way--formulating your own meaning of the world and shaping your steps.)

Talking our ears off 24/7 is your preference. So much to say, so little time, right?!

Dressing up--in dresses, cheerleading outfits, costumes, jewelry, gloves, hats--anything and everything you can get your hands on. You'll even wear costumes to the grocery store adding those ridiculous Disney Princess high heels that fall off every time you move a foot. But it's all good. That's just you.

Gentle with animals--that's you.
Taking care of others--yep, still you.
Hugging, telling us often how much you love us--all you.

This sweet, tiny little person full of wonder, gobs of love to give, curiosity, resilience, helpfulness, and so much more.

Happy 5th Birthday, to YOU, little one. May all of your wishes come true.

ISS Downlink

The first day of professional development, we were able to view the downlink at the International Space Station (ISS) at the Museum of Flight. It was AMAZING. Many of our students were able to ask questions live to the astronauts and all of them were interesting to listen to. It was definitely one of the best hours I have ever spent in PD.

Pretendin' some more

These two love to play and pretend and make believe. I love that they love to wear costumes galore! :)

First Day of School!

Today I started back to work "for real." The kids showed up and we had a big assembly. Our mascot was revealed and I was part of a cute teacher skit, as well as the ASB dance. It was a fun day. I have many fantastic kids this year, I can tell already!

I snapped a pic of the kids today too, even though it's not technically their first day of Pre-School and Pre-K yet...in a couple of weeks I'll do it again. Brynn was not very excited to get her photo taken and I think it had a lot to do w/ the fact that she woke up tired and cranky, plus today, one of her good friends started Kindergarten "without her." Poor thing! She is really having a hard time with it. I feel so bad.