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.