Breakfast with Santa

Well, it finally happened. My girl got to meet Santa for the very first time. Her school hosted a "Breakfast With Santa" this morning. It was really nice. The line for Santa moved quickly and we got to eat breakfast and mingle with friends for the last time before our long break. The food was good, there were crafts for the kids, and Santa brought candy and a small toy for each child.

Here's how it went for AC:

We arrived, bid on a few things at the Silent Auction in the lobby, found a seat and started coloring. About 5 minutes later, Daddy spotted Santa making his way across the room to his bench up front. AC was thrilled. She smiled from ear to ear and covered her eyes! A few minutes later, we got some food and ate breakfast. After the line had dwindled down to the last few kids, we decided to join it. Here we are. She started to get a little nervous, so I began to really exaggerate the greatness of Santa. It worked.

She cautiously crawled onto his lap. I stood right there and encouraged her to tell him what she wanted this year.

She told him she wanted a puppy! Santa got a kick out of that! Then he handed her a candy cane and a stuffed dolphin. She was a happy girl.

After "Breakfast With Santa," we went to Stein Mart just to look around. I paid no attention to wear I parked the stroller as I looked through the kid section. I turned around when I heard her say, "Mommy, me have eweben (11) Santas!" She had picked every Santa figurine out of this display! He must have made quite an impression!

Christmas Party '11

Oh my word. We are a VERY tired bunch today. It's been a crazy week! I'll keep this short and sweet. First, it is Daddy's birthday!!!!! We enjoyed dinner at Bone Fish Grill and ate some banana pudding for dessert (he requested this instead of a cake). Before Daddy's birthday celebration, AC and I had a fun Christmas party at her school. Here are some pictures.

AC at snack time with her friends, Sadie and Nicolas.

All the girls waiting patiently for their gift from Ms. Lyndi. How crazy is it that 4 of the 6 girls have curly hair!

Ms. Lyndi must have been out of her mind when she thought these were a good idea! Take a minute to imagine what this exact moment sounded like. Yeah, it was that bad.

Girls being silly on the playground.

Sliding with friends!

Best buddies. Melts my heart.

Playing with Ms. Lyndi's homemade gingerbread play-doh (which she eventually started eating...but she wasn't the only one)!

Whew! I volunteered to help Ms. Lyndi with the party, so I was there the entire day with AC. I don't know how she does it everyday. Those nine 2 year old wore me out!

Happy birthday, Daddy! We love you!!

Busy Around Here

It's been a busy week around these parts. Here's what we've been up to!

On Tuesday night, AC had a Christmas Program at school. She had to be dressed in her Sunday best and be there at 6:30. Overall, the night was a success. She enjoyed herself and behaved well for the most part. Hopefully, I will have a little video to share of her center-stage meltdown and her quick recovery when "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" began. In the meantime, I have a few pictures below.

On Wednesday, AC went to school, Gracie went to the vet, and Daddy had his office Christmas party. All three of these events were successes.

On Thursday (today), AC had a formal speech evaluation. She had an informal evaluation at school 2 months ago where they recommended she be screened more formally and comprehensively. So this morning a speech therapist came to our house and did the evaluation. I'm so very happy to report that she did wonderfully. Her scores were completely average for her age range and therefore she doesn't qualify for speech therapy services. She talks a lot. It just isn't always clear. I had had concerns a few months ago, but I believe starting preschool has been therapy in itself. Her speech has developed remarkably since she started in August. I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

Speaking of shoulders, my dad had surgery on his shoulder this morning to repair a torn rotator cuff. Everything went well and he is recovering at home. Pray for my mom and brother, his nurses! Ha!

This evening AC and I played with Daddy's shaving cream. She LOVED making herself look like Santa. She kept saying, "Ho, ho, ho!"

Fixing Mommy's Santa Face!

All of the students at her school singing "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." She's on the front row right in front of the kneeling teacher who assisted her during her meltdown.

The main characters in the nativity story.

And finally...a birthday cake for Jesus. They all sang "Happy Birthday" and blew out the candle. Very sweet.

And the festivities aren't over. We have a big Christmas party at school tomorrow and "Breakfast with Santa" on Saturday. I'm anxious to see how she will react to sitting on the Big Man's lap! More fun pictures are sure to come!!

Coat and Boots

Someone is super, duper, completely, and totally excited to come home in just a short while!

She loves to wear her coat and boots and talk about all the things she's going to do in them when we finally get there!

Saturday Stuff

Today was a good day. AC was in a good mood almost all day. It's amazing how one little person's attitude can affect every one's outlook on the day.

She played with her Little People, colored pictures of Team Umizoomi, pretended to be Marina from the Fresh Beats by having a dance party, and watched the Winnie the Pooh movie.

She took a long nap (2 hours, 45 minutes).

When she woke up, she ate her lunch with Daddy while they watched Ohio State play Kansas in basketball. Coincidentally, she and Daddy were both dressed to support the Buckeyes.

Later in the evening, we headed over to "Lights in the Park." We knew AC would love it and she did! It was quite awesome, if I do say so. Before we even entered the park, we saw the Big Guy himself hanging out at the entrance.
AC was so bashful when he came to her window to say hi. She covered her eyes because she was so excited. I could see her big grin and her eyes peeking out to see him.

This was one of her favorite lights. She has a new love for seahorses.

As soon as we got home, it was time for bed. She wanted to read a book first, so she picked out her favorite, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. We read it 8 times before we finally told her that she had to go to bed. She LOVES that book! She can even "read" some of the pages on her own (it's more like reciting it from memory)!

We hope you all had a great day, even if basketball did put a damper on it!

Toddlerhood

It's been a lazy, rainy Friday. AC went to school this morning. It was one of her classmates' birthday so they had cupcakes. Apparently these cupcakes had red icing which managed to get in her ears, hair, shirt, and shoes. It must have been a rockin' 3 year old party!

After her nap, we spent a little time watching Christmas shows on TV. Even the furry one seemed to enjoy it.

Our days seemed to be governed by these rules. Sigh.

This girl is seems to be in the midst of all that is Terrible-Two-Madness. And someone told me last week that being 3 is harder than 2. Pray for me.

Christmas Treats

AC loves to help me bake and cook. Last night I decided that we would make some fun Christmas goodies today. She loved it (and has eaten entirely too much sugar today)!

Here are our reindeer cookies!

Our Marshmellow Snowmen

Eating her first snowman. She was a little annoyed because Gracie was eating the parts that fell on the ground.

Yummy!

Shopping

Today at school, AC got to go to the Santa Store. The PTO organized a little activity where the parents paid $2 per family member, they bought inexpensive gifts and set them up in a designated area, and each student got to shop for her family. I had forgotten about it until I picked AC up today. We were walking out the door when I heard the teacher calling, "Wait, Anna Claire! You forgot your gifts!" After we went back and got them, AC looked at me and said, "Mommy, me went shopping!" I said, "Yes, you did! Did you get Mommy and Daddy a Christmas present?" She said, "Right. Me get you bear. Me get Daddy sticks." Well, there you go. She kept that a secret for all of 2 minutes. But I couldn't stop wondering what she meant by 'sticks'. When I asked her what kind of sticks, she said, "Drumsticks, Mommy!" So as soon as Daddy got home from work, we opened our presents!

Her gift bags. There was a painted drawing of her hand on the other side!

Mommy's Bear and Daddy's "Sticks" (zip ties)

We laughed after we opened them because we tried to imagine her walking through the store looking for the perfect thing for us. I can totally understand why she picked the bear. Kids like bears. But the zip ties? I can't imagine why she thought these were the best gift for Daddy. She's a funny girl.

Here she is before school. I asked her to stand still so that I could get a picture of her and this is what I got. The statue pose.
By the way, the teacher has strongly advised that I put socks on her from now on. It looks so goofy, but I'm trying to do what is asked! If it makes the day easier, I'll play along.
We love and miss you all!

Bubble Bath Pool

A friend of Daddy's has a little girl. She wanted to give her Barbies away, so we gladly took them. AC was so excited to find her new Barbies this morning. At around 10 am, she asked if she could get in the pool (or bathtub) with her Barbies. Here's a little video.

Here's a transcript of the conversation. I know she can be a little hard to understand at times.

AC: Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, jingle all the way! Hey! Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, jingle all the way! Hey!

Me: What else can you sing?

AC: Me?

Me: Can you sing Oh Christmas Tree?

AC: Mom?

Me: What babe? What about Frosty the Snowman?

AC: Mommy? Barbie’s hair messy.

Me: Barbie’s hair is messy? Why? Can you sing any other songs?

AC: Mommy, wait a minute.

Me: Ok.

AC: Mommy, Barbie's hair is sticky.

Me: It’s sticky?

AC: It’s sticking to my hand.

Me: Ok. Can you look at mommy?

AC: Mommy. Look at my face. (I'm always asking her to look at me when I talk to her. That must be where she got the 'look at me face' thing! HA!)

Me: You look at my face.

AC: Mommy. somethingsomethingsomething. Look.

Me: What’s wrong with her?

AC: Mommy, look.

Me: What’s wrong with her?

AC: Barbie’s hair is sticky.

Me: It’s sticky?

AC: I clean it.

Me: You gonna clean it?

AC: Look, Mommy. I clean it in the pool.

Me: Where’s your other Barbie?

AC: Right there.

Me: Does she want to swim?

AC: Watch this, Mommy. I clean it in the bath.

Me: Ok.

The Park

AC and I met our friends at the park this morning. As soon as I told her we were going to play with Makayla, she wouldn't stop talking about "MayMay"!

It is a chilly day by south Florida standards. Only 71 degrees. But it is also breezy, so that makes it feel extra chilly in the shade. AC was able to break-in some of her winter clothes that we bought for our trip home.

My big girl getting ready to go down the slide!

Little girls picking flowers.

Taking a walk.

Lounging in the tunnel.

It was a fun morning. AC didn't want to leave, so I had to drag her to the car kicking and screaming. That's pretty much a normal thing, sadly enough. She can't stop talking about MayMay and can't wait to see her at school tomorrow!

In other news:

Daddy took AC to Kohl's with him yesterday evening. He called on the way home to tell me that he's sure that store will never be the same after their visit. I must admit that I find it humorous when he gets to experience what my everyday life is like with AC. His first mistake was that he let her out of the stroller. Who can blame a girl for taking advantage of an opportunity like that? She ran wild through the store pulling things off the shelves. Then she begged and cried for a $40 Dora doll. Instead he convinced her to settle for a $5 dolphin. She also begged to buy a 'prise' for Mommy. She was so excited to surprise me with a sparkly peace sign ornament. He also said that she kept repeating, "I miss Mommy so much" while they were gone. I just love this girl.

Cookies for Santa

We made cookies for Santa today. Just as I promised her yesterday. She was thrilled. I know it's a little early to be making goodies for Santa, but she wouldn't have it any other way!

Here she is working on the icing. Didn't you know that your cookies turn out much tastier if you dress like Ariel while decorating them?

The icing was a little difficult for her to squeeze so Mommy had to help.

Adding some sprinkles.

The finished product!

She was so proud of herself. I bought the pre-sliced sugar cookies and baked them, but she did everything else all by herself, even stacking them on this plate. It's too bad the furry dog ate more than half as soon as AC turned her back. No worries, she got a stern talking-to from AC!

Santa's House

AC woke up from her nap and asked me, "Mama, can me go to Santa's house today?" Ha! I said, "Sure!" So, we went downstairs, ate a snack, and left for Santa's house. But AC had to have her boots on and her backpack!

Just taking a stroll down the sidewalk towards Santa's house.

Running!

Taking a little break.

Ready to call it quits.

Before bed, she asked if we could make purple cookies for Santa in the morning! Looks like we'll be doing a little baking!

Thankful

Sorry for being MIA. Here's what has been happening.

Thursday: It was hot. So, we went to the park that morning.

Then we had turkey and other Thanksgiving goodies for lunch. And dinner. AC woke up in the middle of the night with chills, so we spent the rest of the night snuggled on the couch.

Friday: AC had a full-fledged cold. But that didn't stop us from doing a little shopping. We were gone for a total of 1.5 hours, but I got exactly what I wanted. One of the perks of living here is being 2 miles or less from any store you could possibly want to visit. We spent the rest of the day relaxing.

Saturday: It's been a slow morning so far. I'm hoping it's another lazy day and that my girl starts feeling better soon.

In the spirit of giving thanks, here's what we are most thankful for this year.

1) A healthy baby girl, most of all

2) Healthy families

3) That Daddy gets to go to his dream job everyday and that it provides such a good life for us.

4) A great school for AC and the wonderful people who work there

5) Friends from home that let us know we haven't been forgotten

6) Much, much more

We love and miss you all. Only a few more weeks until we see you again!!