Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving! We slept in this morning. I made pancake batter and Brian cooked them up, for breakfast. Julia and Austin ate by the coffee table because they were watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade at the same time. They were getting really irritated though, because the parade didn't actually start until an hour after it was supposed to. They kept showing pre-parade shows and ads! I made deviled eggs, which we had to bring to our friends' house this afternoon. We left around 3:20 to go to their house to share Thanksgiving dinner with them and some of their extended family. We had a fun time! Julia told my mom on the phone, when we got back, "We just got back from a Thanksgiving party!" I didn't take any pictures tonight--can you believe that?! My friend, Teri, took these, of the kids.






Monday morning Julia had a field trip to see a play. That afternoon was the second-grade awards assembly. All the second-graders performed two songs too, which were really cute. Many students were honored for various things: the character words of the month (trustworthiness and respect), perfect attendance, academic achievement in reading, math, English language learning, and spelling. Julia received an award for spelling. On the back her teacher had written a note saying Julia gets all the words right on the weekly tests, plus does very well on her dictation, including those "pesky marks that teachers nag about" :) like commas, quotation marks, punctuation, etc. Here she is with the other spelling award winners.


We finally have barstools! After living here 3 1/2 years, I finally ordered some! I couldn't decide how many to get, what color to get, and if I should get ones with or without backs. Finally I thought I better just get some!! They arrived Monday night and Brian assembled them. The kids were excited to sit on them to eat breakfast and lunch on Wednesday! Although Austin said he moved over by Julia, because Julia was lonely over there, and because Lauren was touching him with her messy yogurt fingers! Here they are at breakfast. Notice the truck by Austin's cup? He often brings a vehicle or two with him to meals. :) The stacks of books are there because we walked to the library once we were dressed and ready for the day. Austin had to walk home, because we checked out so many books that the stroller was too heavy to put all the books in and have him sit in it. The books sat in his spot on the walk home.


Here is view of the backs of the stools. I decided to go totally unmatching to the other furniture in the house. My friend went with white at her house, and I thought her stools looked good with her white counters and trim, so I copied her! That blanket on the floor is Lauren's current favorite.

Dolly Mine and the Indian Village

Here is a picture of Lauren and her doll Julia "bought" at the Awana store. On the tag it says "Dolly Mine" and 1987, plus some other info. I was curious about this 20-year-old doll and did an online search and found a few (different styles) on Ebay. Fun. So far Lauren just loves her. I asked Lauren today what her doll's name is...."Baby Scarlett? Baby Ruby?" Suggested for obvious reasons. ;) She repeated each of those names, then said, "Baby Abby." All her dolls are Baby Abby (still). Tonight however, we were asking her what her baby's name is, and she got so silly!! She answered, "Baby Dipper!" and "Rockin' Baby!" and "Baby Knuckle!" and "Baby Tum Tum!" Where does a little two-year-old come up with this stuff?! Julia and Austin were laughing so hard, of course encouraging her more..... I asked her once more before bed what her baby's name is, and she said, "Baby Wuvs Me". That was sweet. Especially since the baby has "I Love You" on her dress. Lauren asks me several times a day, pointing at the phrase, "What dis say, Mommy?"


Julia came home from school with this tent and canoe. They are learning about Pilgrims and Native Americans, because of Thanksgiving. While Ausitn and Lauren were helping me make pumpkin bread, she made this village, using her Pollys for Native Americans. Overhead view of the whole setup.


Julia said the "guy" on the horse with the pink mane and tail is the chief. She said the name of these Indians is the Meeay tribe. She invented the name and spelled it out that way for me! She also told me some of the people are only wearing shirts and some are only wearing skirts. I asked her why, and she said that is because that is just what they wear!


Peek into the entrance to the teepee. See anything?


I asked Julia about that, and she said two girls are in there taking a nap. See? :)

Last Disneyland Day

For this year, anyway. ;) We went to Disneyland last Friday to use up the last day of our 4-day passes, which also expired Nov. 13. It was a great day! The temperatures were pleasant and it wasn't terribly crowded. We were so glad it wasn't hot, like the last two days were when we went! I got headaches both of those days and I wonder if it is because it was so hot? It was in the 80s each time, and it feels so hot when you are standing in line with all that pavement around you. I probably didn't drink enough water either, maybe, for it being so hot...? Anyway, we didn't have to wait in long lines this time either! Sooo nice. The longest line was probably 15 min. The It's a Small World ride was all decorated with Christmas lights and decorations and was really pretty. Lauren is still telling us every day, several times a day, "Went on 'Mall Woowld' twee times!" We all did it twice, and I took her on in once when the other three went on a "big" ride. We arrived at Disneyland right around 8 am, when it opened, and ate breakfast at the Carnation Cafe inside the park. This was the first time we'd eaten breakfast there, so that was fun. The food was good too: Julia got Mickey Mouse pancakes, Brian and Austin got egg scramble breakfasts, and I got cinnamon roll French toast. Or something like that. After eating we made our way to Fantasyland and did most of the rides there. It was SO nice to not have long lines!! (Did I say that already? ;) )

Lauren is scared of Buzz Lightyear in the Buzz Lightyear ride, and seeing him "in person" was no exception!! Austin wasn't too trusting of Buzz either, but Brian told Austin we would all be right by him with Buzz. Hee hee

Our friends, Mike and Carol-Ann, who live in L.A. met us for a few hours at the park. We were watching the Parade of Dreams when the arrived, and later ate dinner with them at the Plaza Inn. Mike took this family picture of us. We saw Pluto later that night. Austin refused to have his picture with Pluto. He does not trust these big characters! Lauren doesn't look too sure either, does she?!

Waiting in a very short line (oh they were nice!) for our last trip on Small World. Austin was SO tired. Nobody had naps all day, even in the stroller, and all the kids were sleeping in the car on the ride back to Brian's mom's house, where we stayed.

After a fun-filled day, we finally left the park. Fifteen minutes before it closed. :) THAT was the time to be going on rides, and we *did* do a couple which we walked right onto, before we decided we *had* to go.

Two-and-a-Half

I am a bit behind. Lauren actually turned 2 1/2, 9 days ago. I just wanted a few pictures on the actual day--since I actually remembered it was her half birthday.


We have started potty-training Lauren! She is very interested in sitting on the potty, so I bought her some underwear, and we are working at it. She has gone several times, which I am happy about. One time I gave her M&Ms, but she has not expected them every time! I haven't had to do much, so far!! She might be the easiest one (I'm hoping...;) ). Julia was 3 and Austin 3 1/2 when they were trained. And the first couple of days training with both of them were definitely more work than with her!


Other things that have kept us "busy busy":
*Julia's dentist appointment (no cavities, yay!) Austin has to go in 2 weeks, and Julia goes back
to get sealants put on her molars.
*Pongo went to the vet Tuesday to get neutered and declawed. He came home tonight. He seems a little unsettled, but is doing ok. I wasn't sure if he should be declawed, as then he has to stay inside all the time. But it has been nice with Bailey being declawed, and Brian wanted it done. We were both tired of him scratching our couch! Not to mention he has completely destroyed my vinyl shower curtain liner and snagged the cloth curtain!! He has a scratching post, but they don't scratch it--Bailey sleeps on top of it.
*We went to Disneyland to use the last day of our 4-day passes, last Friday. It basically takes 3 days to have the one day of fun, I've figured out. The day before we have to think about what to take, and pack, and drive down. Next day go to the park. The day after we are exhausted and sleep in and then drive back home. Disney pictures to come in the next post. ;)
*Awana--The kids love it and are doing well. Julia finished reviewing her Climber book and finished her first extra-credit book, receiving her second extra-credit book Tuesday night. I tell you, that kid is motivated! We do not force her to learn so many sections. She wants to! She got to go to the Awana store that night as well, and was very sweet. Most of what she bought (with shares, earned for learning sections) was for Austin and Lauren. I'll have to get a picture of the doll she bought for Lauren. It has a lot of red, and is cute and stuffed, but I haven't seen anything like it in years. I checked the tag and it is Copyright 1987. :) Sometimes people donate toys (in good condition) to the Awana store, and I think that must be what happened here. They also have a bunch of trinkets there that the kids like.
*Coffeebreak for me this morning. Austin loves, loves going there to play with his friends! They also get to watch a short movie from the church library, like Veggietales, Hermie, or Boz the Bear. Austin calls him "Buzz". Ha ha
*Choir for Julia this afternoon. Their Christmas play is only 3 weeks away, so they are doing a lot of practicing for that. She has singing practice on Saturday and drama practice on Sunday afternoon. They were both on Sat., but many of the drama kids were going to be in a soccer tournament that day, so it got changed to Sunday afternoon. So we'll be running to church twice on Saturday and twice on Sunday. There is a family worship/dinner/project night Saturday, and then church on Sunday.

Then of course there is the normal household stuff to do. Things have been crazy!

A couple weeks ago we went shopping after Julia's drama practice for our Operation Christmas Child kids. We filled a box for a boy and a girl. Julia and Austin really got into it this year, picking out items for "their" kid. Julia would say, "I want ____ for my girl." And Austin would say, "My boy would like ____!" Here they are with their boxes and goodies that went inside.

Bunny Suits

Tonight after the kids' bath, Lauren came out and told me, "Tuuute (cute) djammies! Tuuute... Take picture." Ha ha. This is the first time she's worn these jammies. Austin came out in his PJs and wanted a picture too. Lauren did not like this!


But she got used to the idea. Of sharing a picture with him. You can see her focusing on unzipping her suit here. By the way....I never used to call them bunny suits. Years ago Brian got the old movie, Father Goose, and the school teacher in it requested bunny suits for some of her charges--footed pajamas. Somehow that name stuck with us. :)


It really is cooling off here, especially at nights. Sunday morning we woke up and the house was 65 degrees. That's the coldest it's been since last spring. I told a girl at church that, and she said her house was 58 that morning! Yikes! She did say they'd kept the windows open to cool the house down. Guess it worked! We've turned the heat on a few times, and are going to have to use it more consistently very soon. It only got to 69 in the house today, but we were warm enough, working, playing, just keeping busy.

Lauren was naughty today. I think she is in the "Terrible Twos" for sure. Julia never had Terrible Twos. She did get naughty at three, though. I don't think Austin had Terrible Twos either, and the Threes weren't so bad with him either. Anyway. The last week or so Lauren has been running the other way when I tell her to come. Like running waaay down to the end of the hallway when it is time to leave out the front door. She has been disciplined for that, and is learning, which is kind of fun to see. Now when I tell her to come, and I can see the wheels turning in her mind, thinking about running away, I tell her, "Remember what we talked about, Lauren? How you need to come when Mommy or Daddy say to come?" So far it's been working, with the reminder of what will happen if she doesn't come!

Back to today's naughtiness. She ate most of her Spaghettios and threw the remainder of them! Across her high chair tray to the table, and ALL over the floor around her highchair. She was disciplined for that too. I asked her a few times later on if she was going to throw food anymore, and she said, "No, Mommy." As she better answer!! Then, this afternoon, I was on the phone with my mom and making supper at the same time. Julia was laughing and laughing and yelled to me, "Lauren's blowing her nose on baby wipes and throwing them in the toilet!" I went in the bathroom and indeed, saw Lauren sniff a bit at a baby wipe (certainly NOT a 'blow'!!) and drop it in the toilet. She went to grab another wipe and did the same thing. I walked over to her and saw a huge pile of wipes in the toilet! And of course I had to get them out. You can't flush those things. Especially not THAT many of them at once!! She did not get in trouble for that, as I think she was more playing than anything. She is a little rascal, that is for sure.

Halloween

You might recognize some of these costumes. Lauren is the third one to wear the bee costume, and this is the third year in a row that Austin has wanted to be Thomas! He says he looooves Thomas! Julia decided weeks before that she wanted to be the Little Mermaid. She mentioned that she saw a Kindergartener at school wearing the same Thomas costume as Austin....I wonder if he'll get another year's use out of it?! Julia didn't wear her Ariel costume to school, b/c the kids weren't allowed to be changing during the day, and had to be able to do their schoolwork in them, including PE, which she had yesterday. She couldn't run with that tail! She wanted to dress up still, so raided her dressup trunk and found a satin circle skirt and some gaudy Mardi Gras beads, and topped off the ensemble with a Santa hat! I really should have gotten a picture of that. She said she was a winter princess. :)


Brian, Julia, and Austin carved these pumpkins. Julia wanted hers to look like a cat (again), and Austin told Brian how he wanted his to look. We planned to go trick-or-treating to a few neighbors before we went to the party at church. But it didn't get dark and didn't get dark, and we waited and waited. I was thinking, "Boy, we sure are ready early this year!" Until Brian brought up the fact that daylight savings time is later now, so it stays light an hour longer than it has in years past. So, we drove to church, and went to a few houses in a neighborhood nearby, before heading to the Wild West Fall Fest. We were there probably 1 1/2 hours. The kids played a LOT of games, and got a TON of candy! Julia and Austin bounced in the bounce house, and they all got cotton candy. Most of the games had a western theme. One was a boot toss. They had to toss old boots of various sizes into a metal washtub. That was pretty funny to see the bumblebee slinging those boots. Another game was Flip the Flapjack, where the kids had to flip toy pancakes from a skillet onto a plate.