Pre-Christmas Fun

We've had a lot of fun leading up to Christmas.  We stayed in Dallas this year due to work schedules.  Mia and Aunt Kenda made a gingerbread house.  Mia loved doing that!  Quinn wanted to "help" too.  I think he just wanted to dump out all of the sprinkles.  :)

Mia and I also baked cookies for Santa.  That's always a messy activity, but the memories made are always worth the clean up!  Mia wore the apron that Benjamin brought her.  It was pretty big, but that just means she'll be able to wear it for several years.

Nana, Keith, Uncle Darvey, and Aunt Kenda are here to celebrate Christmas with us.  Mia and Quinn are loving all of the time they get to spend with them.  Darvey, Kenda, and Mia did chalk drawings to decorate our sidewalk.  We're excited to have all of this family time!

Our Elf Came Back!

Mia looks for to Benjamin's appearances at Christmas time.  Quinn didn't pay any attention to him, of course, but Mia liked looking for him each morning.  There were a couple of times that Benjamin stayed in the same spot for a couple of mornings...well, you know, it happens.  I captured some of his pranks.  Mia was kind of weirded out when she found him drinking the green milk.  I asked her if she wanted to share some of it, but she declined.  She thought his funniest prank was when Benjamin hung her underwear and Quinn's diapers on the mantel.  Mia is always disappointed when Benjamin has to go back to the north pole, but she's knows he'll be back next year.

Benjamin kicked off the Christmas season by tp-ing the Christmas tree

Benjamin brought Mia an apron so she could bake something delicious!

Marshmallow bath!

 

Christmas Card Photo Shoot

I had really wanted to have a family picture on our Christmas card this year.  Alas, schedules did not permit us to have time to all pose for a formal picture.  I decided to take the kids to a nearby park and just take pictures of them as they were playing.  The pictures turned out really well.  Mia and Quinn had fun running around and throwing leaves in the air (and at each other).

Ice Skating

There is an ice skating rink set up at Klyde Warren Park right now.  Mia has never ice skated, but when our friends invited us to meet them there, we thought she might like it.  I was surprised to find out that there was no ice in the ice rink.  It was just a layer of plastic.  I guess it was an acceptable substitute because there were several people skating.  Mia skated with her friend, Riley, and she did pretty well.  She kept close to the sides mostly, but there were a few times when she got a little daring and let go.  She said that she enjoyed it.

Mia has been practicing the song "Feliz Navidad" for her school Christmas program.  She even sings it with a little accent.  The kids got to wear their pajamas to school for the program because it was the last day of the fall semester.  Mia wasn't shy about singing and dancing onstage.  She really got into it and had fun.  The school year is half over.  Mia has learned so much.  It will be exciting to see what she'll learn in the spring semester.

Thanksgiving

We got to spend several days in our hometown for Thanksgiving.  It was nice to not have to rush around like we usually do.  Our holiday was full of tons of food and lots of visiting with our families.  Q and Annabelle were cute together.  He kept giving her hugs.  I don't know if she was trying to slobber on him or give him kisses.  I only took a few pictures.  We were too busy making memories. :)

Happenings with A & Q

Quinn has discovered Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.  He absolutely loves it.  Anything that can make a one year old be still for a few minutes is a miracle.  Q is constantly on the go.  His favorite thing to do lately is climb.  Mia wasn't too bad about that when she was little, but Quinn is like a little monkey.  One of the reasons for that is that he wants to do everything that Mia does.  He follows her around and tries to do the things that she does.  He would rather have her toys than his and even her snacks must taste better simply because they belong to her.  Unfortunately for Mia, some of the extra attention he showers on her isn't always welcomed.  That's because hitting her on the head with anything handy amuses him nowadays.  She's usually a good sport, but when he finally gets a good whack to her head, she's over it.  The two of them like to wrestle, too.  We have to remind big sister to be gentle.  Quinn likes rough and tumble activities, so Mia forgets sometimes that he's still just a baby. 

Mia is doing so well in school.  Pre-K has been going good, and she's made some friends.  It's funny how every day she has a new best friend.  When I say that yesterday she said so-and-so was her best friend, she just says that that person is her best friend, too.  I love that.  She has been learning so much at school, but it wears her out more than daycare did.  Many mornings it's hard to roll her out of bed, but she still seems to like it.  I'm very proud of her for adjusting so well to a new school, new teachers, new rules, etc.  She's doing great!

Sissy left her Oreos unattended.  Q taught her a lesson about doing that.

 

Spots, Stripes, and Feathers

The next day we all went to the Dallas Zoo.  At one point we went into a building where a zoo employee had a small python.  She was telling the children facts about the snake and allowing them to touch it on the tail.  Mia and Zoey wanted to do it, so I was standing beside them.  For some unknown reason, Mia reached up and grabbed the snake's head in her hand.  I about had a heart attack and so did the poor zoo employee!  Mia immediately released the python who thankfully did not do anything to Mia in retaliation.  Good grief!  I don't think she really meant to grab its whole head, but we got out of there pretty quickly.  It was a fun trip, though!

Mia is pretty much as tall as the emperor penguin now.

Touching the snake's tail as instructed.

 I was taking this picture when she grabbed the python's head.  She immediately released it, so it looks here like she's just touching its chin.  The poor girl holding the snake was terrified.

 Annual fall picture on the rock by the meerkats