geez

I wish that Jenny girl would get something posted on this blog. She's way behind. There's pictures and videos from a Christmas dinner, preschool Christmas program, church angel choir program, opening gifts, playing with gifts, Aunt Kim's visit, playing in the snow,...

Ice sun catchers

Fun and cool?

or hideous?

Metrodome collapse

In case you haven't seen this yet...



Awesome, ridiculous, expensive.

Hide and Seek

ring a round the rosies

snow

 going...

  going...

  going...

going...

going...

 gone.

 pretty drifts in our front yard last night. In some places, it is so thin, you can see the grass.

In some places it is above your knees.

The snow stopped yesterday evening. Now its just bitterly cold. Should be fun shoveling! and shoveling. and shoveling. and shoveling.

cat and bear

ugh. disgustingly cute.

today

manmade sledding hill

sidewalk shoveled 2 hours ago.

Its a PJs, long johns, hot tea, hot cocoa, beans and cornbread day.

"Gingerbread" house

I finally succumbed to the pressure. The gingerbread houses are everywhere and Laura just wouldn't let up. So we got creative with what we had on hand and had a ton of fun making it. Graham crackers, jelly beans, mini animal crackers, cream cheese, marshmallows, raisins, apricots and birthday cake frosting. Oh, and some leftover candy corn. 

OK, its not Martha Stewart; its more like Jenny and Laura. And we're going to actually eat it tonight for dessert, which I have heard it is not what happens to most gingerbread houses. 

Seasons

I came downstairs after quiet time today and was amazed at Laura's artwork. Not all quiet times are this successful!

Checking in

We're busy and happy!

In an old house in Paris, that was covered with vines, lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.

As I was wading in the kiddie pool at the Y the other day, a stranger came up to me and said "Hi! I think I'm your neighbor. I have a dollhouse that my kids are done with, would you like it?" 

Um, sure.

The next day, she showed up with this:

Its a Madeline dollhouse. 

Holy cow, its a complete Madeline dollhouse.

There's a wardrobe with hangers,

Madeline's yellow hat and blue cloak.

Shoes and socks for each different doll.

The background is painted with pictures from the book.

The rug matches the rug in the book.

Each window has a curtain.

There are other dolls, which I assume are from other books in the series.

Someone has also added a few pieces to the collection, like the dog with the yarn leash and the pillow that says "Tender Care Clinic".

A nun doll with a habit.

A picture of the Eiffel Tower in a frame.

2 complete place settings, including placemats and napkin rings.

A towel rack and towel.

A bathmat

All bathroom accessories, including soap, shampoo, soap dish, brush, toothpaste...

And its big!

It is so cool to have this dollhouse, but I'm not sure how much use its going to get. Laura and Adam like it, but Laura doesn't usually use props to pretend. She typically pretends that she is someone or something else, instead of using dolls. So I told them that we would keep it for at least a month.

For now, I have to keep an eye on Adam. He's aching to carry the soap and shampoo around in his grubby little hand, but my new rule is that all dollhouse accessories must stay near the dollhouse.

Adam is 2!

Guess who's 2 today!

Birthday brownies 

(Mom's choice. He can pick next year when he can tell me what he wants)

 Birthdays are serious business!

 Laura picked out some very sincere gifts. I love that they are all things she already owns, not bought by mom and dad, and that they are all so specifically tailored to his preferences. So very thoughtful!

1. a very tiny ball that fell off her paddle. he can carry it around (he still loves to carry small things in his hand all day) or throw it since he likes to play ball so much.

2. one of her rings. Her rings are his favorite thing to carry around, but she has gotten tired of sharing with him, so she gave him his favorite from her jewelry box.

3. A fire truck cookie cutter for play-doh since he loves fire trucks and play-doh right now.

4. A T-Rex from her dinosaur collection since he likes to move them all around the house.

 And she wrapped each one individually and each one had their own card that I helped write.

 Both kids were pleased!

 The glockenspiel from Gramma Ann and Grandpa Phil was a hit. 

 Laura periodically had some trouble with this being "Adam's Day", especially when he unwrapped what she thought was the greatest gift ever - the glockenspiel. You can tell from her puffy, red face. But the problem was quickly fixed with some encouraged sharing. She has lots of toys she shares with him, he can do the same for her.

 The awesomest truck ever. Seriously.

And some crazy Aqua Sand. Weird stuff.

And if you want to reminisce or see how much they have changed in the last year, check out the video on last year's post. 

And, for an eye opener, here's what he looked like 2 years ago:

Deer tracks?

Are these deer tracks or just really fat bunnies?

We've never had deer in our backyard before...

Perspective

Fire Truck by Ivan Ulz

This is soundtrack to my life right now.
Fair warning: It will be stuck in your head THE REST OF THE DAY.

Laura at Minneapolis Orchestra Hall

She had a field trip with school to Orchestra Hall. I was so lucky to chaperone and when they needed volunteers to help the kids try the cello, I jumped at the chance. It was wonderful and heartbreaking. I sincerely miss making music with a group and I don't know how to get that back into my life right now. But it was truly amazing to see how much Laura enjoyed the whole experience. 

It is certainly her decision, but I am willing to bet that she will find a way to play an instrument or sing as soon as it is available. She is signed up to be in the "angel choir" at our Christmas performance at church and is very excited. 

I wonder if the above picture will make my mom cry? 

She looks a lot like me. 

(Not that I was playing cello at 4!)

OK, here we go!

 Snowman built by 7:30am

 Its a heavy snow.

 On her 3rd time out today, Laura made her own snowman. Jim stopped by to put the finishing touches.

Laura is back out again for the 4th time today. Hope the excitement doesn't wear off on the first day!