Christmas season recap...

We went to "Christmas Magic" which is a huge light show at a local park:
 


Jack saw Santa but Bella wanted nothing to do with him:
 
Then we went to go pick out our Christmas tree:


Decorated it:
 


We visited Grandmom Newman (and had the BEST time)



Well at least most people are facing the camera...

We decorated a gingerbread house
(Bella got a little hungry and bit the poor snowman)


and I have more but I have to run so I will put up some more pictures of actual Christmas tomorrow

"Decorating cookies is delicious"

At least that is what Jack told me this morning.  We made some cookies for Santa (and while it was messy and they came out a little wonky looking, it was a lot of fun).
*I promise Bella does wear clothes but she started to get undressed and I was not going to dress her just to make the cookies as she is often quite messy and the last thing I need is more laundry to do.

They decorated the cookies with m&ms and colored sugar.  They of course needed to sample the m&ms but I put my foot down when they insisted they needed to try the sugar... the last thing they need is to eat sugar straight!


Here is the final product (I hope Santa has a sweet tooth as the sugar came out super quick!)

These are the cookies that they chose to give to Santa tonight.  Jack insisted that was enough and that he needed the rest.  (you can see his hand creeping into the picture)



Merry Christmas to everyone :)

5 minutes....

Molson is doing well.  Poor pup still needs to be tranquilized daily as he would run and jump if we let him, even with the pills.  It is crazy the amount of energy this dog has so soon after the surgery.  I really thought he would have been laid up for a bit... nope, Molson is super dog and nothing stops him.  He was always very active and would just roam around outside for hours each day.  Now he has to be on a leash and can only go outside for potty breaks.  I has him out the other day and was gone for 5 minutes...
My kids found stickers.  This was under the dining room table (please don't mind the crumbs we had just finished snack and I don't have the neatest of children in my home)

Jack's foot (again he dressed himself)

The little girl I watch had them all in her hair, and she has a full head of beautiful hair.  You can see Jack has them on his back too

Now I think they spent the majority of their time decorating Bella's back (there are about 50 stickers piled on top of each other)

5 minutes to go and about 30 minutes to clean up
***
Every morning Jack comes out of his room and it takes him about 15 minutes because he has his "animals" that he has to carry with him.  We were cleaning up the toys after lunch one day and he lined up some of them

he is very proud!

Christmas trees :)

I did not think that the kids would be ready to make gingerbread houses yet so we decided just to go with trees.  The kids had such a great time.  I  took ice cream cones and icing that I had dyed and gave them to the kids to decorate. 

I told them that they could eat a couple of the candies so I am shocked that so many made it onto the trees
I tried so hard to get Jack to smile and this is the best I could do

Bella "smiling"

Calla showing off her missing teeth

the finished products:

** 
Poor Molson is home from his ACL surgery and doing well.  He was doing "too well" according to the vet and he was very rambunctious.  Jason ended up having to build a pen because he was trying to run and jump too much.  Not bad for a quick fix!

Where ever could they be??

The kids are very much into hiding and scaring me lately.  The thing is that they are not very good at hiding.  This is usually what I come upon with Jack yelling "I'm hiding!"  At any point in time there are probably about 10 blankets laying all over the place for them to "hide" under.

*this is Jack with Isabella the little girl I watch.

I think Bella likes the stickers....

Grandmom sent the kids each an envelope the other day with a bunch of scratch and sniff stickers and a note.  The kids were so excited and they just dove right into the stickers.

But then Jason came home and then Bella had to make daddy pretty


Jack just moved his stickers around from paper to paper.  (he was so proud because this was another day when he dressed himself)

"I got a lot of stuff...."

Jack was walking around this morning with his backpack on and carrying another bag around.  He just kept repeating "I got a lot of stuff".  I think he was proud of all his belongings.
Here is my little bag man:

Did you also guess that he not only chose what he was going to wear this morning but that he put it on himself?

Was it the backward clothing, the rain boots, or the scooby hat that gave it away?
I think the glasses just finish off the outfit

I asked Bella if I could take her picture and this was her reaction

She jumped off of the climber.... guess she still does not like getting her picture taken.
She did come over and take a picture with me.  I told her to say "mommy"  (some one told me that if you tell the kids to say "mommy" instead of "cheese" they make a better face.  They are correct that it is better but they still look a bit awkward... see Jack's first picture).  Bella refused to say "mommy" and instead said "eye".... well at least she was looking at the camera

oh and I am wearing a blanket around me because Bella insisted that I am "cold... brrrrr"

It has been kind of boring around here....

Nothing that exciting has been going on here.  The kids are doing well while Jason and I are fighting off a nasty cold.  Jack had it for a day or two but then got rid of it but Bella never got it.
We were out running errands this morning and we went to a play place so when we got home I told them they could watch some TV and they were beyond excited.  I told them to say cheese... this is the best I got

I just love how Bella wears her crown around the house

Happy Halloween!

I have to teach a parenting course tonight so I will not be able to take the kids out Trick or Treating (sometimes  I really don't like being "responsible").  I was bummed so we dressed the kids up last night and took them around to some family.  
No great pictures, 99% of the time Bella still runs from the camera and Jack says "CHEESE" and makes a face like I am making him smell stinky feet... 
You get the idea though...
Bella is a princess (although she would not wear her tiara or carry her wand)

Jack is a dragon 
Of course he is smiling but it is blurry

so we gave them some sugar and Bella smiled a lot but would not look at the camera

and Jack would not smile

I don't think I was ever compliant with pictures growing up either so I guess the old adage is true, what goes around, comes around!

My kids are awesome...

and very very cute.  We went to the park the other day to take some pictures of the kids and we got some good ones.  I am excited to see the ones Jason's sister took.


I am not going to write much more now... I have been insanely busy lately (in a good way).

***
Grandmom, if you click HERE it will take you to my craft blog so you can see some of the other things I have made lately.  There are a couple new purses on there.
http://peanutandpumpkindesign.blogspot.com/
love you!

Elephun!

Both of the kids have been receiving Speech Therapy services for over year now.  Before they turned 3 they were in "Early Intervention" services and their therapist, Miss Carin, came to the house.  Now that they turned 3 they now go to a school and services are done there.  
We all miss Miss Carin.  When Molson would bark because someone pulled in (or the wind blew) the kids ran to the window and would try to look for Miss Carin because they were sure she was going to pull up.  
On Miss Carin's last day she brought the kids a present, a game called Elephun.  Air is shot up through his trunk and "butterflies" fly out and we use the nets to catch them.  The kids have a great time and do a great job of trying to name the colors of the butterflies they caught.
Here they are playing (the little girl I watch, Isabella was here that day too) 


Jack then decided that he needed a bit of assistance and went on the step stool
 


They don't often catch them so it is often a mad scramble at the end for them to pick them up and put them in their nets and show me all that they "caught".  Maybe they don't follow all of the rules.... that is okay, we all have fun!