Merry Christmas

Candy Cane Hunt and Santa visit

On Saturday after Thanksgiving we took the girls to see Santa and do a Candy Cane hunt in Fort Mill.  It was extra special because my uncle is the Santa for this event and has been for years.  He makes a really great Santa and is really sweet to all the kids.

So a little background here --- I wanted to get the girls a cute Christmas outfit so I ordered a set online but it didn't have anything on the shirt, I had planned to get it monogrammed when it came in.  When I received them a few weeks ago though I found that the shirts were too long especially in the sleeves but the pants fit well.  So I spent some time taking up the sleeves and figured I would still get them monogrammed.  Of course I didn't think we would be seeing Santa so soon so the shirts were still not monogrammed the day before the event.  I went to Hobby Lobby and found some embroidery letters but they were white so I had to figure out how to add a circle or something to the shirt.  I found a lady at Hobby Lobby that was able to help explain how to attach the circle with just a regular machine and still make it look good.  So I was up late the night before adding circles and letters to each shirt.  I am lucky that my husband is very sweet and helped me iron and wash the shirts.

So the next morning we headed down there a bit early so I could look at the craft fair.  My mom found some cute snowmen earrings that I think I may try to make myself.  It was a cute craft fair but the girls were easily bored.  Scott and my dad took the girls to see the horses which were just across the pasture (remember we were in SC). 

Finally Santa showed up and led all the kids to the candy cane hunt.  There were 2 groups one for bigger kids and one for smaller kids, we still qualified for the small kid section.  Olivia did great and found the most candy canes about 12, Emma was right behind her with around 10, and Savannah found 2 candy canes.

After the hunt the kids got to roast marshmallows at a little fire and make s'mores.  Then we stood in line for Santa.  It was very cold for this time of year, in the mid 40s, so it was getting hard to keep the girls entertained and standing there. 

When it was our turn each girl took a turn sitting with Santa and telling him what they wanted.  Olivia went first and told Santa she wanted a "bulldozer" that is the first time I've heard that she usually asks for beads, silly girl. 



Savannah went next and was not scared at all this year.  She told Santa she wanted a "yellow watch" which is exactly what she says each time.  Emma went last and told Santa she wanted a "Ariel mermaid doll that swims in the bathtub and a pink watch".  She is very specific on the mermaid doll.

We then had them all sit together for a picture, they were so cold because I made them take off their jackets, but hey I did not stay up late finishing their shirts so they could wear coats on top.  We were able to get a few photos before they wanted to get down and put on their coats. 

It was a fun outing and they were so excited about Santa and the candy canes, I know we only have a few more years of this kind of excitement over these little things.

Halloween

Every year I enjoy getting ready and thinking about what we will all be for Halloween.  In the past we have done cute little group costumes, but this year I had a hard time thinking of something that we could all be.  Plus the girls had their own ideas of what to be for Halloween, which changed daily.  Emma wanted to be a ballerina sometimes and then she found a mermaid costume and she wanted to be that.  Savannah stuck with mostly a ballerina but sometimes wanted to be a princess.  Olivia wanted to be a cat, a pig, a ballerina, and a ghost.  I really thought about just letting them be different things but I couldn't decide what I would be.  On Monday I asked them if they wanted me to dress up with them.  They really wanted me to so I convinced them that in order for me to be able to dress up too we would need to be a 'theme'.  One I had been thinking of for a while was the 3 fairy godmother's from sleeping beauty.  So after the convincing them to be the 3 fairy godmother's I had to then rush around on Tuesday to buy the material to make capes and hats for everyone (since Halloween was Thursday I didn't have much time). 

My wonderful husband helped me cut the material for the hats and capes and then he helped make the hats while I sewed the capes.  They turned out really cute.

On Halloween day I took the girls up to Scott's work after school.  They dressed up but they all got to choose what they wanted to be for that outing, I had 2 ballerinas and 1 ghost ballerina (a white dance costume).

My sister and her kids joined us for trick-or-treating and we had talked Bethany into being Sleeping Beauty to go along with our 'theme' and I was Maleficent. 

















Jesse just wanted to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle, but he sure was cute.

 

We had a lot of fun and the weather was very nice in the low 70s.  The kids got tons of candy and they walked the entire way this year, no pulling the wagon which was nice.

First Day of 4 Year Preschool

Today was the first day of 4 year old preschool.  They are going to the same preschool as last year which is at our church.  This year they will be going 4 days a week instead of 3 days a week.  They have new teachers and new classmates.  It is such a big school that only one of their friends from last year is in their class.

They were excited about going this morning and were pretty good about getting up and ready.  I had bought them some powdered donuts as a surprise for their first morning thinking I'd need to 'entice' the girls out of bed.  We stopped out front for a picture of our first day:

When we got to school I convinced them to let me take another picture at the end of the hallway, the preschool is decorated so well. 

When the girls got to their classroom they immediately walked in and started playing with their friend from last year.  They were so busy playing and exploring I barely even got a wave from them.

 

We are so blessed that they transition easily and we don't have to leave them crying or upset.  Of course transitions must be easier if you get to do it with your best friends.

4 Years Old

Ok so it is hard to believe I am writing a post about my 4 year olds, it just doesn't seem like they should be that old already.  We have seen a lot of changes this year as they have really grown into sweet little girls.

They play together a lot now and you can really see them acting out scenarios.  One of Olivia's favorites is playing 'kitty' she crawls around and everyone has to pet her.  Savannah really likes playing dolls and likes to be the 'mommy'.  Emma is very content being the baby or the sick baby whatever is needed, she likes the attention I think.  Even though they play well they also fight and we have seen it become more dramatic.  We have caught them sticking their tongues out and spitting towards each other. They of course have the usual hitting issues but they aren't too bad. On another note, they can all buckle and un-buckle themselves from their carseats which is a big help now.  They are better this year with school and getting themselves ready without 'as much' crying and protesting. 

Their personalities are getting much more apparent, here is a little about each girl.

Emma is still our most outgoing girl, she loves to play with other kids and is very friendly.  She has the funniest little laugh too and she still has those cute dimples.  She shows her emotions and when she is happy jumps up and down and really shows it, but on the other side when she is upset she can produce tears in a matter of seconds.  She is a little hard to understand and we are going to get her speech evaluated next month.  Emma is usually the best eater, she can be picky at times but usually will try anything we give her.  She actually likes things like mushrooms and sushi. Emma has quite the temper and has started stomping around when she doesn't get her way or has to go to time out.  However on the other hand, she is very loving and affectionate she gives great big hugs and out of the blue will say, "mommy I just love you so much".  She will also tell me she loves me 'this much' (holding out her arms) and I will tell her I lover the 'this much' (holding out my arms which are of course longer).  She then says she loves me to the door and we keep going until eventually we get to the moon and then I say I love you to the moon and back and even though she doesn't quite understand how to the moon and back is further than her 'to the moon'.  I just love that book and it makes my heart melt when she is so loving and sweet.  At her doctor apt in July she was 40.25 inches tall and weighed 30lbs.

Olivia is a tender and sweet child, she is very considerate of her sisters and always helps them out especially if they are about to get in trouble.  She is very good at organizing and can be a good cleaner-upper if she wants to be.  Her hoarding is still very apparent, just one look at her bed and all the toys in it, around it and under it would give that away.  She is the least 'girlie' of all my girls and doesn't dress up in princess clothes very often.  When she picks out her own clothing it is usually just shorts and a t-shirt (usually her monkey t-shirt).  She likes to play kitty and pretend she is a kitty-cat and comes to get rubbed.  Olivia can be a bit lazy, for example the other girls can buckle themselves in the car and are starting to unbuckle themselves too, but Olivia won't even try.  She wants mom or dad to do it and even Savannah helps her sometimes.  I think she likes to be babied a little still.  She rarely gets into trouble and just the threat of a time-out is enough for her to get upset.  She also started this thing several months ago where she gives me 'all the kisses'.  She starts by kissing my neck then chin, nose, checks, eyes, eyelids, head, ears, and hair.  It is so sweet I just love getting 'all my kisses' from her.  At her doctor apt in July she was 41 inches tall and weighed 34 lbs.

Savannah is a caring and talkative girl, she likes to be in charge and take care of her sisters.  She is very girlie and loves to dress-up and dance.  She loves wearing dresses and skirts and always picks out a fancy dress to wear when she chooses her clothing.  She is very into doing her hair and mommy's hair.  She is actually surprisingly good at it, she brushes hers very well (and several times a day) and she does mine too.  She is super gentle and it is actually very sweet when she brushes my hair, who cares that it looks like a huge frizz ball afterwards.  She wants to grow her hair out like Rapunzel.  Savannah can be a bit sassy and has already started talking back to us, which gets her in trouble a good bit.  She is probably the most mature in her language and in other ways as well.  She is very good at playing pretend with her dolls and can play nicely for an hour with her dolls assuming her sisters don't come irritate her.  When she gets tired she gets especially loving and wants to be held and rocked.  I love to get all my cuddles from her at night and in the morning, she is usually the first one awake and will come climb in bed with me.  At her doctor apt in July she was 40.5 inches tall and weighed 33lbs.

4 Year Birthday Party

I have three girls so I knew at some point they would want a princess party and I wanted to make it extra special.  The planning started early in the year as I came up with the idea to incorporate each of their 'princesses'.  Emma has Cinderella, Olivia has Belle and Savannah has Snow white.  They all relate to these princesses because at their first birthday we gave them each a baby princess doll.  We had originally given Olivia Snow White because her hair was so dark but somewhere in the first month or so Savannah took to Snow White and Olivia to Belle so we just went with it and that is how it has been since they were really little.  

This was probably one of my favorite but most elaborate parties to plan.  I wanted to turn our clubhouse into a castle so Scott and I brainstormed a lot to make that happen.  We ended up buying some castle plastic paper rolls that we attached to the clubhouse outside and my great aunt helped me sew a red runner out of felt.  

We wanted all of this to be a surprise for the girls so we started the party at our house with some crown/sword making crafts and tattoos.  Then Cinderella showed up in her carriage to take the girls to her castle.  This was a difficult thing to pull off, we would have loved to have used a horse drawn carriage but had trouble finding one that was inexpensive and also would just come for an hour.  We ended up seeing this guy with his rickshaw downtown during the girls recital and thought at least the back looked like a carriage.  Scott is so creative and was even able to build a 'carriage' for the rickshaw.  It turned out really cute.  The girls and all of their little preschool guests were very impressed and eager to try out the carriage.  

At the clubhouse I divided the big table into 3 sections and over the spring I gathered little trinkets that represented each princess.  I also printed signs with the princesses for each section of the table and added some corresponding food fruit wands and cheese (with Gus Gus and friends) for Cinderella, Rose cookies for Belle and apples of course for Snow White.

The decorations and cake turned out fabulous I just loved the setup.  

This was such a fun party the girls had a blast, it was tons of work but we had great helpers and it was totally worth doing this princess party for our little princesses.

Birthday Week

We did something different this year for their 4th birthday.  Instead of just having their birthday all together we let them each have a separate day to celebrate.  Everyone got a day before their birthday so pick out what they wanted for dinner and desert.  Each got to choose their outfit and open a few presents too.  It has been a fun week and a tradition I think we will continue.

We started on Sunday with Emma, she got to be the boss all day and picked out what she wanted for dinner and desert.  She choose special pasta (cheese tortellini) and chocolate cupcakes with white icing and a strawberry on top.  She was very specific about what she wanted. 

After dinner we sang to her and let her blow out her candle.  She was so excited and loved all the attention.  We then gave her a few small gifts to open and since Grammy was in town she let each girl also open a gift from her.  Emma got a flying Tinkerbell toy, a Cinderella lunchbox, Cinderella game, new Ariel dress with a crown and wand.  At bedtime that night Olivia said that tomorrow was her turn and she was excited.

For dinner on Monday night Olivia had requested peanut butter and white sandwiches and yogurt with sprinkles.  She decided she wanted chocolate cookies for her desert so I made some from scratch and we stuck a candle in one.  They really like blowing out their candles and she was all smiles while we sang to her.  Emma even got into the gift giving, she had used some scrap wrapping paper from her presents the night before and wrapped up a present for Olivia.  It turned out she had wrapped up a book from their room and Olivia laughed and laughed after she opened it and said that's not a real present. Here is her laughing at the book, they were all giggling it was so funny. 






Olivia opened her real presents and got a Bob the Builder DVD, a set of 4 wooden puzzles, doll dress and skirt, and a new Belle dress with light up wand and crown.



























Savannah was very excited when it was finally her turn, I think next year we will have to rotate days so that she doesn't always have to go last.  She also chose special pasta (cheese tortellini) and white cake with chocolate frosting.  When I went to get her some cupcakes though I couldn't find exactly what she requested so I settled for the cute little chocolate doggie.  She was very happy with the doggie cake.





For gifts she got a Dora DVD, a find and seek Dora book, Savannah really loves the books where she has to search for items in the pictures.  She also got a Wii Dance video game since she loves to dance and of course a new princess Auroa dress, wand and crown. 

Dance Recital

This year the dance recital was on June 14th downtown.  They all seemed excited about being able to dance on the big stage.  At rehearsal earlier this week all 3 of them danced but they were a little distracted by all the people.  The first time they had them out of order and I had a hard time getting photos of all 3, but the second time they went out they had fixed the order. 

This year at the recital Bethany was also dancing so we stayed late to watch her.  The girls danced to the "The Lollipop Tree" which goes like this:

One fine day in early spring

I play a funny trick

Out in the yard behind our house

I planted a lollipop stick

And everyday I watered it well

And watched it carefully

I hoped one day that stick would grow

To be a lollipop tree