Christmas Concert 2012

The girls had their Christmas concert this afternoon.  Emma had an important role this year; she got to play the xylophones.

Here are all the little first graders singing their little hearts out.

Emma did all the actions just like she was supposed too.

Olivia did too!  So cute!

They were so excited to see us after the concert; Daddy got to go this year too which was a real treat!

Emma gave me a pretty smile.

The concert was at 1pm so we got to take them home afterwards.  We had a great time...the concert was wonderful!  Great job girls!

Happy Birthday Marcus

Today was Marcus's "real" birthday.  The kids kept saying Saturday was his "fake" birthday.  We invited Jack and Harlow over for some dinner and birthday celebration.  You can catch a glimpse of little Harlow in the back there.  Marcus opened his presents from us after dinner.  He got a game, books and...

A cool remote control race track!  He said it's what he always wanted...I just bought it because it was such a good deal I couldn't pass it up...win win!

Marcus wanted his favorite tonight...brownies...we lit the candles and sang Happy Birthday!

He blew them out quickly...nice work Marcus!

Yep...he's officially 5!

Happy Birthday Baby Boy!

Just Like Poppi!

Marcus got these cute moustaches for his birthday last night.  This morning Elle, Olivia and Marcus wanted to try them out...they look just like Poppi! 

Celebrating FIVE!

We had Marcus's 5th birthday party last night...he's really into Transformers so this year was a Transformer theme.  Nana had lots of points for decorations due to Tavein's wedding so she was able to get some very cool stuff!  It made it a complete Transformers success!

Nana made the cake too!  Very cool! 

The birthday boy was very happy.  He wasn't cooperating for pictures at first so we let him open his present from his cousins, Elle and Baylor...it's Optimus Prime!  Thanks Elle and Baylor!  That brought the smiles out.

I made these cool masks for the kids...here they are as Bumblebee.

We served a Chili bar complete with baked potatoes, cheese, hot dogs, chips, cornbread, chips, carrots and celery...something for everyone!

The masks turned out really cute..lots of fun.  We've got some Optimus Prime and some Bumblebee.

Marcus had one #5 candle...we made him blow it out 5 times.  He was a good sport.  Happy Birthday Marcus!

Thanks everyone for coming.  It was a great time!

Thanksgiving Weekend

We headed to Grami and Poppi's house for Thanksgiving weekend.  Elle and Baylor were there too.  Elle is getting so big and fits right in with the big girls now.  The weather was amazing...not too cold for the bikes.

Crazy Marcus spent a lot of time outdoors.

My three say Happy Thanksgiving!

Dinner was amazing.  Marcus had a special request for a turkey leg...mmmmm.

Grami brought out a great craft at some point in the weekend. 

What a beautiful creation!

There were a lot of cards played too.  It was a great weekend overall...very relaxing and lots of great food too.  I really needed this weekend!  Thanks Grami and Poppi!

Oh, yeah, a little side note...Olivia lost another tooth this weekend!  It just feel right out of her mouth; if I wasn't sitting with her we might not have found it.  So now she's caught up with her sister having lost 4 teeth total.  Never fear, the tooth fairy did find her at Grami and Poppi's house. 

Toothless

Olivia finally lost a tooth at home.  It almost went down her throat, but we managed to save it!  I saw how ready it was and took some floss to it.  It fell toward the back of her throat but she spit it out in time.

So these are our toothless kids.  Emma has the most complete set right now.  She does have 2 large adult teeth taking the space of 4 teeth on bottom though...that should be interesting to see how those come out. 

Recap on missing teeth:
Olivia:  lost one at a friend's house - never found it; lost the 2nd at school - she thinks gym class; and the 3rd one tonight. 

Emma:  Lost the first at home - she wanted us to tie a string to a door but in the process it came out; then she had 3 pulled out by the dentist...a total of 4 teeth gone.

Marcus:  Lost his first tooth at home...he also requested to be tied to a door but his tooth came out before too.

So far, lots of missing teeth.  The tooth fairy knows our house well...we seem to be a regular stop on her map lately.  Olivia also plans to let Santa know that all she wants for Christmas is her front tooth (sorry...I just couldn't resist that one :-)).   

Snow!

Daddy daycare was in full operation last Monday.  We had quite a bit of snow so the kids got a lesson from Daddy on how to build a snowman.

Marcus took his job seriously...hardhat and all!

Turned out to be a snow woman!  Too cute!

Shopping and Fun

Marc and Poppi went hunting yesterday so Grami and I took the kids shopping.  The girls got new winter coats and Marcus got some nice sweat pants and a cool shark hat.  Then I got a steal at Sears...a twin comforter and full comforter for the girls beds.  They were the right colors and everything!  Guess how much I paid...$4.59 TOTAL!  I dare any of you to beat that deal!

Then we had to be downtown for Bella's birthday party at Mobius.  On our walk to Mobius we saw a ton of fire trucks going down the streets.  We didn't think anything of it.  Then just as the kids started playing an announcement came that everyone was ordered to evacuate the downtown mall.  There was a car fire in the parking garage!  I took the opportunity to get a picture of the kids.  We parked in a different garage; I was really glad about that!  The kids thought it was pretty exciting so the birthday party wasn't spoiled at all.

We got right back in about 15 minutes later.  Emma wanted to pose in front of the Avista donation.  This was the coolest house with a slide, kitchen, garden, everything a kid could want.  Great donation Avista!

Marcus was caught up in the fire episode and decided he was going to help put out fires.  Too cute!

Then he found the garden and planted all the vegetables...just like Daddy.  He wouldn't let any kids pick the vegetables until they were fully grown.  He was trained well.

The girls found fun soft blocks and did some building.

Marcus went over to the street exhibit and drove around and around. 

Emma found the art center and created some beautiful pictures.

She drew several!

She wouldn't let me take them though, they had to stay at the exhibit.  She did let me take a picture so I at least get that.  See, she even signed her work.

Then we went to the birthday room to sing Happy Birthday to Bella.  We had yummy cupcakes and a great time overall.

Veteran's Assembly

Today was the Veteran's Assembly at the school.  Marcus and I went to watch the girls sing about America and honor our veterans.  They caught a glimpse of us as they walked in and sat down.

Last year as kindergartners, they just got to wave flags and walk around the gym.  This year as first graders they got to go onto the risers and sing songs.

They actually sang 2 songs.  It was beautiful.  They even got to hand out candy cups to the veterans that were there.  They did a great job!

Marcus and I went to their classroom afterwards to say goodbye.  All the other kids were outside at recess already.  These two were still in the room because they were helping a little boy find his backpack...such sweet girls I have!  Marcus and I just hung out together the rest of the day.  I had to be back at the school to pick up some butter braids the girls sold for a fund raiser so it wasn't worth it to go to work for just a few short hours.  It was a nice day off instead.  The weather was perfect and Marcus and I had a lot of fun just Mommy and Marcus.