24 Days of Christmas

I may have done a poor job of recording all of our Christmas activities in a timely manner this year, but I was recording them.  Here is a video compilation of everything we did (warning, it's quite long, but you do get to listen to Christmas music :) )

I wasn't sure what to expect when I got an e-mail this morning from Millie's teacher with just "Millie" as the subject line, and truth be told my mind went straight to all of the possible bad things it could have been instead of the good (I'm not proud of that and really, if anything bad had happened at school Millie would have told me).  But, I needn't have worried; it turned out to be a very wonderful e-mail to wake up to.  I shared it with Millie and she beamed with pride -- and so did I.

Shannon and Scott,
I am starting to implement a new behavior system within my classroom called smiley Sue. Where my smiley face mug watches a certain student (whose name I pull from its cup) all day to see if they are following the Robinson Road Rules. Yesterday I pulled Millie's name and I am here to report that she had an excellent day! She was respectful to friends, school and the environment. She was on task for all of her assignments and tried her hardest during our reading workshop period. She is kind and always helpful to others. I am very proud of the academic progress she is making and cannot wait to see how she progresses next semester. Thank you for sharing her with me everyday!

I really couldn't ask for anything more from my little girl.

Dear Santa

The girls wrote their lists to Santa last Sunday and are looking forward to going to see him at the Train Station on Thursday.  Merrill keeps asking me what is on her list ;).

Dear Santa,

 Hello from Kirkwood.  My name is Merrill.  I have been a very good girl this year.  I make my bed and even share my toys.  What I would most like for Christmas this year is Goldiblox because I want to build.  If your elves are not too busy, I would also like:  clothes, pajamas from Mrs. Claus, a big American Girl doll (or a little one if it costs too much), a stuffed fairy, and art supplies.  My house is the white one with a gray roof and a chimney.  I promise to leave you zucchini cookies, milk and carrots for the reindeer on Christmas Eve.  Merry Christmas!

       From, Merrill

P.S. Please say 'hi' to Rudolph and Mrs. Claus for me! 

Merrill has also added a diaper bag for her baby dolls to her list ....

Dear Santa,

Hello from Kirkwood. 

My name is Millie.  I have been a very good girl this year.  I cleaned the basement, and even watch Teddy.  What I would most like for Christmas this year is clothes because I like clothes.  If your elves are not too busy, I would also like, Goldiblox, an art kit, an easel (big please), clothes for Bitty, and books I can read.  My house is the white one with a gray roof and a chimney.  I promise to leave you milk and cookies and carrots for the reindeer.  

Merry Christmas, Santa!

From, Millie

P.S. Please say 'hi' to Rudolf for me! 

Wake Up!

I almost never have to wake the kids up -- Merrill and Teddy are generally awake between 5:30 and 6:00 (I consider 6:00 sleeping in for them....) and Millie is usually up by 6:30 but will occasionally sleep until 7:00.  Seven is about the latest I'll let them sleep on a school day to ensure that everyone is ready and out the door on time.  This morning one was of the rare mornings when Millie still wasn't up at 7:00.  This would have been perfect if we had a snow day like a lot of the districts around us, but, we did not.  I recruited Teddy to help me wake her up at 7:00 -- this was his idea of help:

I don't know that getting in bed and snuggling with her gave her a lot of motivation to get up -- me repeatedly telling her it was time to get ready for school?  That might have been a little more annoying than her baby brother :)

One last post for the night, just because this picture makes me smile -- Merrill has such enthusiasm for the things she loves, even when it's a little stuffed duck that she hasn't played with for ages and just found again.  Obviously I did a lot of catching up on posts tonight; lots of pictures and activities to share and document.  Be sure to scroll through to the next page of the blog if you want to see them all!  Tomorrow it's back to school and work for everyone and back to chores and getting the house in order again for me.  I'll be right there with the girls in their count down to the Christmas break.  Two full weeks off for everyone -- I can't wait!

Cousins

I babysat Peyton and Charlie one morning last week and Teddy really enjoyed getting in some quality cousin time.  I lost count on the number of hugs he gave Charlie (and attempted to give Peyton).  I really do love that my kids have cousins to grow up with.

 I promise no Charlies were harmed during these hugs :)

I mean, who wouldn't want to hug this little guy?!

Decking the Halls

We started decorating the house as soon as we got the Christmas trees home and up on Friday -- the kids could hardly wait for us to get the lights on the trees before getting into the ornaments.  They loved going through and finding all of the ones that were theirs.  Funny to think that my siblings and I still do the same thing when we help my parents decorate their tree ...

Ending the first night of the holiday season listening to the first episode of Cinnamon Bear -- another tradition the girls were really looking forward to this year!  

'Tis the Season

After spending lots of time together as a family and feeling truly grateful for all we have on Thursday, we woke up on Friday ready to officially welcome the Christmas season into our home.  The arrival of "Snowy" started us off and then we dove right into our holiday traditions with a trip to the tree farm to cut down our trees.  The girls are old enough now to remember going to the tree farm -- they know what to expect and make sure that we follow the same general pattern; cut down our trees (a big one and a little one for them), get some hot chocolate, and then go to Bread Company for lunch.  Our tradition is very solidly entrenched now :).  They really seemed to love every minute of it this year -- even the somewhat long ride (which they were prepared for this year armed with coloring books and crayons).  The girls were so excited once we got the trees home that we ended up starting the decorating right away.  The house is still a mess with boxes of Christmas decorations not yet put up, but we're getting there :).  It's a joyful mess (for the moment).  

 happy to see Snowy back

 All Christmas music all the time!

 We were happy at how quickly we found our tree!

 these two were buddies all morning

 helping out

 This didn't last long -- they gave it a shot though!

 This didn't last long either ;)

 inserting themselves into the manger scene

lunch at Bread Co!

A great way to kick off the season -- much preferred over the chaos of Black Friday shopping.  

Thanksgiving

We couldn't have asked for a nicer Thanksgiving day -- lots of playtime at my parent's house, lots of cousin time, lots of good food, and lots of good company for the grown-ups.  We have so much to be thankful for on Thanksgiving and everyday.  

 watching Grandpa blow leaves in the front yard

 little drummer boy

 Millie reading "I See the Bee" to my dad.  She has been reluctant to read books to anyone even though we know she's make a lot of progress in school, but my dad convinced her to give this story a try -- it's one of the first ones that I read when I was little.  She did such a good job that she ended up reading two more stories out of the book.

 that face.

 Even Bitty Baby had a place at the table

ending the night with lots of giggles