Thursday, November 26, 2009

Happy Thanksgiving

I have so much to be thankful for...it is hard to put it into words....I have everything I would ever ask for or need....


especially these two perfect little human beings




I am incredibly blessed to be their mother.....

Monday, November 23, 2009

Weekend

Had kind of a crazy weekend. On Saturday, we went for our annual Christmas pictures-the girls looked so cute dressed in the same dresses from Grams, although Annie was not crazy about having her picture taken so we got some ok photos, but nothing great. Except for Riley- her individual shot is beautiful. We saw three other families there that we know, which was just so weird. Riley's teacher, Mrs. Graham was there with her family!

After lunch in the mall- pizza, YUM- we headed to see Santa. I had a feeling that Annie would not be too crazy about the big guy this year, and sure enough, she wouldn't go near him. We all ended up taking the pic with him, but we did not buy it. I am hoping that she will warm up to him and we can get a better shot of the girls later on.

Saturday afternoon was sunny, so we played outside, but then on Sunday it was cold and rainy and Annie has another cough, so we did some Thanksgiving food shopping and then spent the rest of the day in the house...and I think we are all about to go crazy by the end of the day....I hate those days with nothing to do!

And then Annie was up a lot last night coughing, although she seems better today so hopefully whatever she has is already on it's way out...although I am starting to think maybe it is an allergy??? Who knows....

Monday, November 16, 2009

Nivens Apple Farm

A week or so before Halloween, we took out annual trip to Niven's Apple Farm to see the animals and take some pictures and buy some apples to make yummy things with! Last year when we went, Annie was just a little baby...this year, it was fun to watch her see the animals- she loved the donkey- and let her play a little bit. I tried to find the pictures from last year, and it looks like I didn't even blog about it- maybe I have them somewhere on the other computer- I will take a look. I did find my blog from 2007, if you want to take a look!

We bought some apples and made homemade applesauce and an apple crisp, and Todd bought an apple fritter there this year...and O.M.G- it was YUMMY!!!

























Enjoy the pics!







Fall

Annie playing in the leaves at school:

Thursday, November 12, 2009

Halloween, Part Deux

So, Halloween day was rainy and cold and dreary and I was afraid that Trick-or-Treating would get rained out :( Fortunately, the mall here in town does a T-or-T, so we decided to go so at least Riley and Annie would get a little bit of candy, and then maybe we would get lucky and the rain would stop.

So, we got the girls all dressed up and we headed there about 4 pm. Thank goodness we got there early (it started at 4), because there were a TON of people and kids there, and as we walked around, stores were already running out of candy. Apparently, the entire city had the same thought I did! We saw Laney there, but she wasn't feeling well, and we were going to get something to eat, so we didn't chat for long.



We decided to get something to eat while we were there, which turned out to be a mistake on my part...not sure if Annie was tired or just cranky or just being a toddler, but she DID NOT want to sit in the highchair, she did not want to eat- at all- and she was just all together a mess. The only time she was happy was when I left the restaurant with her and we walked around the mall- then she was all smiles!

Anyway, when we got home, Annie went right to bed! The weather looked ok, so Todd and Riley decided to brave it, and headed out in the neighborhood and did their T-or-T thing.....until it started POURING down rain on them...and back they came, soaked, but Riley did not care one bit....she had a bag full of candy and she was happy as could be!!

So, that was our Halloween....not perfect, of course, but the girls had fun and that is all that matters....



Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Funny things my kids say/do

  • So, Riley and I were chatting last night- she was watching Barbie as Princess and the Pauper- she is VERY much into all things Barbie still- and she was wearing her Princess crown and talking non-stop through the movie, as usual. And she comes out with this: she has decided that when she grows up, she would like to be one of two things- either a veterinarian, or a Princess. So, I told her that in order to be a Princess, she would of course need to marry a Prince since she was not born into a royal family. And she says.....Well, DUH, MOM!!!
    UH.......where on EARTH did she learn that....and how old is she, 16?????? :)
  • I dropped Riley and Annie off at school this morning (Todd usually does drop off now, but he was up late last night working on a computer, so I volunteered- what a nice wife!). I dropped off Riley first, and off she went, and then I drove to Annie's school. We were early, so I decided to hang out for a while and play with her. Her newest obsession lately is with BOOKS. OMG...she LOVES them!!! She wants to read the same book over and over and over and over, and then she moves onto another book and wants me to read that one over and over and over....well, you get the point! So, we sat down and read a few books and then she must have gotten bored because she went over to the baby dolls and started playing with them. So, I said something to her teacher about her playing with the dolls, because she doesn't do that at home, and they both said that she plays with them all of the time at school. She feeds the babies and burps them and rocks them (and she does- I observed this when I was there- SO CUTE), and even tries to change their diapers!! She seems a bit young for this, but it makes sense because there are a ton of babies in her class....
  • Annie has also started to notify us when she has made something in her diaper! I remember Riley doing this to, at about the same age (we even have it on video)...she walks up to us and pats her bottom....with a silly grin on her face! Whatever- it works for me, and I know that is means she is just one step closer to potty training....she will be getting a little potty from Santa this year, I believe!!

Monday, November 9, 2009

Trick or Treat, Take One

Annie and I did some early trick or treating around the campus where she goes to school on the Friday morning before Halloween. Her school does this every year- it is a really big deal for the students and teachers- and last year I went with Riley, and Annie was a little baby, so she was left at Miss Amy's house. So it was fun this year to go with Annie, even though she really had no clue what was going on!

She was pretty good- at least in the beginning. Towards the end, she was pretty restless and wanted OUT of her stroller, but I just kept feeding her M&M's and that made her happy!


Wednesday, November 4, 2009

Parent Teacher Conferences

Todd and I had Parent Teacher Conferences at Riley's school last week. It was supposed to be on Monday and Tuesday nights, but I was out of town so we arranged to meet her teacher, Mrs. Graham, at school on Thursday afternoon. Of course, no surprises- her teacher talked about what a great student Riley is, so smart, very articulate, interacts social well with all of the children....and on and on!! She got a "report card", which was really just a list of things that she should be able to do at this point, and scored well on everything, with the exception of knowing her zip code (which she really DOES know, and for some reason did not answer correctly that day).

We also asked about her reading level, because the books she is bringing home are still way to simple for her....she reads them in a matter of seconds. Mrs. Graham actually said that those books were the highest level they have for kindergarten, so she will need to get some new baskets from the 1st grade!! And I have no doubt that she will finish those level books, too....I believe she is probably reading at a 2nd to 3rd grade level, although she has some issues with comprehension the higher she goes....

So, basically, a glowing report....my little genius!!!

Monday, November 2, 2009

More Annie pics

Here is another round of Annie pictures from school!

Sweeping the floor- wonder what it would take to get her to do this at home? :)


And here she is, helping to carve the pumpkin at school. This tells me a lot- why she was so interested in helping me carve our pumpkin at home- she stuck her hand in it, ate the inside (oh, ICK), and then proceeded to trip and fall in all of the pumpkin guts and make a huge mess of herself and our sidewalk....