Christmas Parade

Last weekend we went with our friends to a little (cheesy) Christmas parade and tree lighting at the nearby shopping center. The kids were really excited to see the arrival of Santa!

The usual gang.

Can't forget Danielle. She's been falling apart in the evening lately, so I was a little concerned at how she's do. But she was great! I even tried to push my luck and go out to dinner with everyone, but after waiting 45 minutes for a table, she finally broke down. At least we tried!
My favorite part of the parade -- an advertisement for a local sofa company which was esentially a couch and manequins in a "Pope Mobile" type of truck. Awesomely cheesy.

Santa!

Lily had a blast, as usual, just getting out and playing with her best friends!

3 Months Old

On November 17th Danielle was officially 3 months (13 weeks) old. She hasn't changed too much since my last post about her. She is still a really really good baby who is usually happy, coos constantly and sleeps really well. We all love her more than we could imagine. She completes this family perfectly!





Her face is filling out and losing that "newborn" look. She didn't have a 3 month Dr appt (we go back at 4 months), but she is still in size 1 diapers (we moved up from Newborn some time ago) and Lily's newborn clothes and sleepers still fit her perfectly, but the new clothes in Newborn size (all Carters brand) are too small. Weird how they changed in 5 years. But, it secretly makes me happy to see that she is still wearing "Newborn" clothes. I will probably cry some when she outgrows them all.

This picture cracks me up -- I didn't even pose them like that!

And, of course, we can't forget my 58 month old baby!

Grasping

I've been patiently waiting for Danielle to stop making fists all the time and start holding onto toys and grabbing for things. It would be nice for her to be able to play with toys when we are out and about. She finally started to show the first signs of this last week while playing in her rainforest. She would grab the mirror or the little elephant rattle and try to get it her her mouth! Finally she put something besides her fist in her mouth!

Grabbin hold of the mirror.

Oh, there's that damn fist again.

Success!

Bowling

Today after school was Lily's class social. You haven't experienced mass chaos until you've taken twelve preschoolers (and siblings) bowling!! But the kids had a blast!

Carys, Lily and Hailey

Lily ended up winning -- with the help of the ramp and bumpers!

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Yesterday was Grandpa's birthday, so we all went to my parents house for a yummy dinner, lemon meringue pie and Princess cupcakes!
Lily was so excited to show Grandpa the cards she made for him that she opened them for him right away.

She wrote it out all by herself! Pre-K has made a world of difference!

Helen called my Dad from China to wish him a Happy Birthday, so he let Lily talk to her -- it was Lily's first time talking to someone in China!

Dad got a new letherman and ipad.

It was a great evening until about 7pm when Dani got over tired from skipping her late afternoon nap. She was beyond fussy. We finally got her to sleep, but she started up again once we got home. Chip had to eventually get her to sleep. It is so crazy how my perfect, happy, smiley baby turns into a crazed cranky baby once the clock strikes 7. Can't wait for her to outgrow that!!

Happy Birthday Emily!

Emily turned 5 this week. That is hard for me to deal with. Five is SO old. It is such a milestone birthday, I can't believe that Lily is almost 5. I didn't get any pictures of Emily at her party, but I got a few of Lily having a blast. . . . Seems like just yesterday I bought Emily a little musical tea set for her 2nd birthday!!!

Big Girl Bed - kind of

Finally, last month we decided that at age 4.5+ it was time to move Lily out of her crib. She still loved it and it was converted to a toddler bed, but she is quite tall for her age (and more than old enough) and between her and the 4000 stuffed animals and dolls that she slept with, there just wasn't much room left. Plus, we'll need the crib eventually for Danielle.

She was almost longer than the crib! But it was still bittersweet for me.

She was supposed to get my old daybed that we got when my parent's moved out of their California house. We have it all here. . . . everything except the nuts and bolts! I know they are somewhere, but we can't find them! So until, we can fully assemble the daybed, Lily is sleeping on the mattress on the floor. But at least she has room to stretch out (and add more "friends" to sleep with).

My babies in the big girl bed!

Hopefully someday Lily and Danielle's room will be completed . . . . I'll keep you posted!

Fall Colors

Last year Lily and I found this spot in our neighborhood that made a great backdrop for Fall pictures once the leaves start to change, so I wanted to get some pictures there again this year. Lily wasn't really in a cooperative picture taking mood, but I managed to get a couple really cute photos.

We were greeted by a butterfly when we got there.

My mom came with us to help out with the girls.

I really didn't plan on having my picture taken. You can tell by the lack of make-up and unbrushed hair, but I was trying to get poopy Lily to take pictures with her sister.

As you can see, not all the leaves have changed yet . . .

I love this one!