ALL ABOUT THE KIDS

In our family, the kiddles are the focus of our attention at Christmas.  Keeping old traditions alive while incorporating new ones.  As we add more people to the family, we adjust accordingly.  Little Miss had some adjusting of her own.  This year was my niece's first Christmas and Little Miss's first not being the baby or the only girl.  Don't get me wrong, Little Miss Peanut LOVES her cousin.  It is just that the focus wasn't always on her, so she reverted back to the baby stage to help us read just our focus.  We were able to catch some great shots of Little Miss B and Little Miss Priss pretended to be a baby.

Had to have a bath in the kitchen sink after Little Miss B had one...

Had to crawl into Little Miss B's bassinet to take a nap...

Other Christmas Celebrations

Did I mention that my daughter loves to listen to "ballet" music (classical)?  I mean LOVES it...like she requests it when she knows she is tired or needs to calm down.  It is the funniest thing.  She has been watching the Nutcracker over and over again too.  I guess all of this stirred a longing to be a ballerina.  We enrolled her last fall and she had her first showcase right before Christmas.  The girl cannot get enough and wants to be in more classes!  Our little penguin was something special!

Little Man in the Christmas Program at our church!  Pretty funny!  There were so many kids on the risers that he kept falling off!  Too cute! 

Christmas Celebrations @ School

I cannot tell you how much I love to see the look on my kiddle's faces when I walk into their schools.  I LOVE IT!  You can just see the pride and love ooze out of them.  They are excited to share with us a part of the lives that we don't always get to be a part of on a daily basis.

We kicked off the morning at Little Miss Peanut's preschool.  I heart their teachers!  Not only are they instilling the academics and social aspect of school, but biblical foundations as well.

Life really wouldn't be complete if I didn't have a "sitcom" moment...

That morning as I dressed Little Miss, I realized that I didn't have any clean "Santa" socks.  I decided to put her in Halloween socks because her boots covered the blinding orange color.  Wouldn't you know that the teachers had her take off her shoes and perform on stage...in front of EVERYONE...in her Halloween socks.  I really need to get my holidays and act together!  

Later that afternoon, I hopped over to Little Man's school to help with his party.  He is pretty darn cute!

LITTLE MISS's VERSION of TEAM CAMP

Hoarder with an Imagination

I have mentioned how Little Miss loves to hoard things.  This makes for lots of messes around our house, but she is so good at using her imagination.  I love to watch her play.  She likes to take trips to the "O-tel"...how sweet is that?!  Packing like her momma!

OLD IS NEW

I love when the kids can use something that Brian and I had as a kid.  I think it holds such sentimental value.  I am sure I have posted pictures of a rocking chair that my cousin got for me when I was born.  It has my name carved in it.  My kids have rocked the fire out of that baby.  :)  Little Man's favorite blanket was a one that my grandma made for me.  We have a lot of little sports items that Brian had as a child too, but my favorite item just surfaced recently.  
Little Miss really loves the new version of POOH called My Friends Tigger and Pooh.  I mean absolutely adores the show!  Well, Grandma Debbie (Brian's mom) found a Pooh that the hospital gave Brian when he was born.  This has become one of her little buddies.  Look how different this version looks...it makes us feel a little dated!  Then look at how angelic Little Miss looks as she sleeps.  

Paralyzed? Hoarder?

Just curious...have you ever had so much to do that you felt like you couldn't even begin?  It is almost like I feel paralyzed.  I am sitting here while Little Miss takes her bath.  To make the best of time, I SHOULD clean my sinks or toilet, but I can't move.  I keep trying to tell myself that my summer break is almost here and it will all get done in time.  Surely, I will have enough time to get our lives put back together.    

Who am I kidding?  Being at home with the kids only makes me want to play more which means there will be more of a mess.  Over the last couple of days, I have been wondering what is my problem.  Why can't I get everything done?  It just seems to be a never ending list of to dos and then I get so stinking frustrated that I can't finish projects that I started last summer.  Yes, I just admitted that.  UGH!  I promise that I am the most disorganized, organized person you will ever meet.  Take some time and think about that statement...seems like an oxymoron and since I can be a moron...this statement rings even more true.  :) As a teacher, I thrive on organization.  I never leave my room (now it is a cubby) without my desk being completely cleared off and everything put back in its place.  So, where is the transfer?  It's like my brain goes into disfunction on the drive back from school.  Speaking of disfunction...if you were to see my house right now, you would think that we are living in pure disfunction.  Why?  My daughter is a hoarder.  Please understand that I am not being hateful, but stating the truth.  I have heard that those that hoard have a high intelligence.  Have I really heard that or am I just trying to make myself feel better?  I am going with the former rather than the latter.  The girl has to pack a bag every time we go somewhere.  She is particular about what goes in the bag and will know if something is missing.  It has gotten to the point that she will dig her favorite outfits (which are swimsuits and gymnastics attire) out of the dirty clothes and sneak it into her bag.  The other day, I took her to the sitter's in a cute outfit and picked her up looking like a rag doll.  She was actually wearing a dirty leotard.  That is a silly word...leotard!  I love this doll baby so much, but the messes are getting extreme.   

Betcha are wondering what is behind Princess Tent Door #1!   

Can you believe that all fit in that little tent?  Girl packs some serious junk!

Season of Firsts

The last couple of months have held some firsts for Little Man and Little Miss.  All of which kind of make me want to cry!

LITTLE MAN

Cut his hair at school...ugh!  Can you tell he is mad that I was taking his picture?  Promise he didn't get in trouble...ha!

                                     

He lost his first "loose" tooth!  Was a bit afraid of the tooth fairy...couldn't sleep on pillow, bed, or his room because he was worried that a fairy would be close to him.  

                                                

FIRST FIELD DAY...he has the shirt to prove it!

                                                   

LITTLE MISS

She started going to her library classes and LOVES it!  Miss Thang prances into the class ready to learn, sing, and read.

She has been taking gymnastics classes.  I cannot believe her improvement.  This is another activity that she just loves.  I see her practicing what she has learned everywhere she goes!  

  

Irresistibly Adorable

Okay, I have a couple of posts in the making, but came across these of Little Miss.  She put this little number together herself.  I think I see a trend setter developing.  

 

***I still haven't done my Mother's Day date with her.  Look for it soon...my mother is coming into town and gets to go with us too!

BASKETBALL SEASON

This past week Brian had a meeting with the parents of the boys that are interested in playing basketball next year to discuss summer plans and what not (ha).  Bball is a huge part of our lives since Brian is a coach, his side business (one of many) revolves around it, and because you will rarely see LM without a basketball in his hand (much like my brother was as a child).  After posting pics of Isaiah's party, I realized that I haven't shared pictures of this last season for either the coach or player in my life.

{Coach in Action}

{Brian trying to be young again~which eventually help lead to a hurt back!  Thank ya very much!}

{Little Man's Turn to Shine}

{Junior Dribblers}

{He won the free throw competition at the Shoot OUT with...he made 5 out of 6.  As a mom, I personally think he would have made all 6...if he hadn't moved from his spot because he thought he was finished!  :)  I am just sayin'! }

This year, a little cheerleader made an appearance.  What a crack up!  I am on a mission to either sew or buy a cheerleading outfit for her to wear to the games.  She even held her arms in the same position as the cheerleaders during the National Anthem.  Check her out!  One of these days, I will figure out how to put a video on here, so you can see her chant C-A-T-S!  Love her!