PJ Day

Addison loved wearing her pajamas to school!  They even had pancakes, sausage, and orange juice for snack time.  I dropped her off at the door again.  While we sat in the drop-off line, she told me that she didn't want to walk in by herself.  I talked it up and made it a big deal that she was able to do that on her own.  It went fine and she didn't complain.

Bubbles

High-five to the inventor of bubbles!  Bubbles can turn a frown upside down!  Well, unless you spill your bubbles.  In that case, you will cry enough tears to fill the bottle again.

Happy Girls

One of my favorite things to do is watch the girls interact when they don't know I'm watching.  This day, we were outside having a snack at the 'cafe' and they were talking up a storm.  Telling jokes and stories and giggling.  This is what I live for.  This is what I strive for.  Peace and harmony between sisters.  It isn't always kitten and rainbows, but when it is, I can't help but feel I must be doing something right.  I think Addison was telling Alyssa something scary in the first picture.  She has a frightened look on her face!

Preschool

Parents have the option of dropping their kid off at the door in the mornings instead of getting out of the vehicle and walking into class.  I decided to give it a try this week.  Addison didn't want me to, but I convinced her to just try it.  I promised that after I dropped her off that I would park and come inside to make sure she made it to class.  When Alyssa and I walked in we saw Addison sitting in her spot with the rest of her class.  I was super excited and gave her a high-five and told her how proud I was of her.

Later that day, I was talking about dropping her off again and how she was such a big girl.  She told me that she didn't want to get dropped off again and she liked it better when I walked her inside.  I told her we should try it a few times and see if she likes it better.  She told me, 'mama, I've already told you that I don't like it'!  Oh, this child of mine!  I'm still going to try dropping her off at the door next week.  Not because I mind getting out and walking her inside, but because I feel this is a part of teaching her independence.  What she doesn't realize is that this is harder on me than it is on her.

Be Mine

Look at these little heartbreakers!  Addison had fun at her school party and got loads of candy and Valentine's.  I threw out 70% of the candy when she wasn't looking.  I'm not sure if there's really a 'bad' candy and a 'good' candy, but most of the candy was labeled by me as 'bad' candy.  Call me a 'bad' mama!  Luckily, she hasn't missed any of it.

Let's Getaway

Last weekend a couple of dear friends came over to visit.  One from back home who I see often and one from Austin that I haven't seen since 2009!  Shout out to Erin and KJ!  We left the babies at home with the dads and headed out for our day/night away.  When we arrived at the hotel to check-in the clerk asked if it was a special occasion.  We told him it was just a girls trip.  He asked what we would like to drink in case 3 cold beverages made their way to our room.  We rambled off a few adult beverages and left to go paint.  Pinot's Palette was a pretty neat thing to do.  It was a 2 hour class where we drank wine, ate cheese, and painted a Mardi Gras picture.  Erin and I were ready to go midway through class!  It was fun, but didn't hold our attention.  I'm sure the wine didn't help either!  After painting we went back to the room to freshen up for dinner.  To our surprise, there just so happened to be 2 bottles of wine and some wine glasses for us along with a note from the front desk.

For dinner we wanted crawfish and luckily we didn't have to walk far to find it.  Everything you want or need is right in the town square area.  Sticker shock for crawfish at $8/lb!  They were good, but not $8/lb good.  The margaritas were better.  Ha, I had almost forgotten we drank margaritas at this place thanks to the wine from earlier.

We ended the night at a restaurant that turns into a nightclub.  Needless to say, we didn't do much of the clubbing part and headed back to the hotel around midnight.  It was a prefect day with perfect friends!  I couldn't wait to get home to my babies though.  This was the 3rd time away from Addison and FIRST away from Alyssa.  They did great.  I think having Parker around helped them forget about me!

I'd like to know what the guy that took this picture was drinking to make him think that this was a good picture!  Really dude, really?  This was taken with a really old digital camera and the lens cover sticks sometimes!

Sleep Here, Sleep There

99.9% of the time both girls sleep in their own rooms.  Whether it's the bed or the floor, they stay put.  Lately, it seems like one or the other ends up in my bed!  Occasionally, I sleep with Addison when she asks me.  Nothing better than snuggling with babies!

Alyssa is cutting her 2 year molars, so I think that's why she has been waking up at night.  I can see the tips peaking through her gums!  Poor baby!  I'm so glad it's almost over!

Avery's Party

We made it to Avery's 5th birthday party a few weeks ago!  The girls had fun and as always it was great seeing Avery and her wonderful family.

January Road Trip

I don't know how, but the drive home grows longer and longer with every trip. The last time it took a solid 8 hours.  We stopped at our usual places along the way to stretch our legs, eat, walk Buddy, gas, etc.  I say this all the time, but I'm so happy Addison and Alyssa are great passengers!  It sure makes the trip easier on me.

Papaw got caught napping when he was supposed to be watching Addison play a game on the iPad!

On our way back home we made a detour and saw these little cuties and their beautiful mama!  Shame on us for not seeing each other since we moved last MAY!  I'm glad that we've stayed in touch.  The kids draw pictures and write letters to one another often.  I need to get them to start using email.  Stamps are expensive!

First Day of PreK

Addison started PreK this week!  Better late than never!  She is going 2 days a week this month and then next month we will decide to send her 3 or 5 days a week.  Her first day was great!  As soon as class starts everyone sits at a table and writes their name 5 times.  Once they finish that task they move to a square on the circle rug for story time.  This is Community Helper Week, so each day there's a different community worker that talks to the class.  Animal control/shelter, tooth fairy from a local pediatric dentist, Army, baker.  A sheriff came and talked to the class on Addison's first day.  He told them a story about catching a bad guy and also showed the class his cop tools (walkie talkie, badge, handcuffs, gun).  When I picked Addison up she asked me to wait longer next time so that she could stay at school.  I think it's safe to say that she enjoyed it and was 100% ready to get away from me and Alyssa!

Addison was perfectly fine when I left her class.  Alyssa, on the other hand, wasn't very happy about leaving her sister at school!  She cried for a bit, but I got her distracted and she was okay.  I hope she's ready for PreK 3 in August because I've already signed her up!

Another 4 Years

The girls couldn't contain their excitement when the inauguration came on television!  Actually, they screamed in horror when I told them this meant another 4 years!  I explained to them whether it was Obama or another candidate, it wouldn't matter much.  Maybe someone better will be in the running next time!

Swing: The End

The swing is finished!  As soon as we got back from our trip home I took the girls in the backyard to see their new toy.  Daddy did a great job!  It's perfect!

Swing: The Beginning

Phase 1: These 2 boxes and slide are going to make Addison and Alyssa so happy!  The girls supervised daddy for a little while on the first day, but got bored when things weren't moving as quickly as they hoped.  Blake was able to put some of the swing together in the garage, but now it's time to start moving everything outside.  Of course, the weather has been awful and it's delaying the completion!

Phase 2+: (1/6/13):  It's still cold outside, but at least the rain stopped over the weekend and Blake was able to do some more work on the swing.