Birthday Girl

We had a wonderful time last weekend while celebrating Emily's birthday. My dad, stepmom, and nephew and Michael's parents all came to visit. Emily was in heaven! We had a fun, crazy party with 9 little girls on Saturday. The theme was (Wii) "Sing It," which is like karyoke. Each girl had sunglasses, a tiara, a boa, and a play microphone (thanks again, Dad(Papa)!) to dress up like a star. Each girl had a chance to sing and we also played musical chairs.

We also hung up some Christmas lights.

A homemade cookie cake was Emily's request. :-)

OK, next time I will write something about the boys!

Our Princess

Michael and Emily went to the Daddy Daughter Valentine's Dance at the YMCA a couple of weeks ago. She was so excited. Michael later told me that, in the car on the way there, Emily said, "Daddy, I've been looking forward to this for a year!" She will be 7 years old this Saturday. I can't believe it!



I bought this dress for her at a consignment sale months ago, knowing that it would be perfect for this dance. She loved it, and I was so glad.
Andrew loves his "Emmy"

Snow Day

We had a fun day at home today. What was supposed to be a three day weekend turned into a four day weekend, and the kids were so excited. The two older kids spent a lot of time outside, and Nathaniel even built a snowman. The little guys were outside, too, just not as long. I took my husband's advice and tried to have some fun instead of trying to get things done. He was right. I had a wonderful time sitting on the floor with Andrew and Daniel, building tracks and watching them use their imaginations on the "Island of Sodor" (where Thomas lives). :-)

Can you tell that Nathaniel was ready to get out into the snow? They were ready to get out there at 6:30am.

Mission Accomplished

Yesterday, my goal was to clean and organize Andrew and Daniel's room, and I am glad to say I got it done. They were good helpers. It's a pretty simple system--small toys go in the drawers and big toys go in the toy box. Andrew especially liked helping me vacuum when we were all done. I think it was the highlight of the week for him. :-)

Pump it Up, take 2

The last time we went to Pump it Up was for Andrew's birthday, and he was the only one who wouldn't play on the slides or jump around. When Papa and Nana and TJ were here, we all went and he had a great time.

Jonathan

Andrew

Daniel

Nathaniel

Emily

TJ

"Shoo, Diaper"

Daniel is my first child to start potty-training before age 3. Yea! I tried to put a diaper on him for night time, and he said, "Shoo, diaper, shoo! Bad diaper!" So, we are done with the diapers and we will hopefully soon be done with the pull-ups.

He is really good at using the computer. He knows how to point and click and he has a fun time on the Thomas and Friends website.

Shopping Tips

For the last few years on the day after Thanksgiving, I do my big shopping trip for Christmas gifts. Michael watches all of the kids and I get started bright and early. I look through all of the ads on Thanksgiving night after the kids are in bed. I write down all of the stuff I want to get on a list, and I gather all of the ads to take with me. My first stop is Walmart. I first get all of the things from their ad that I need before it's all gone. Then, while everyone else is standing in the huge checkout lines, I walk around the store looking for the things I wanted from other stores. Walmart matches their prices! No one is looking for those things, so they are pretty easy to get. My two biggest finds this year were some Thomas trains that were advertised at Target, and Microsoft Office (I saved $60!) which was advertised at Best Buy. By the time I am done finding everything at Walmart, the checkout lines are almost empty. I avoid Target and Best Buy because their lines are crazy, and ToysRUs is a madhouse. I am able to get so many great deals--I love a good bargain!

All of the kids adore Jonathan.