Saturday, December 31, 2011

Happy "Noon" Year!

Today we decided to ring in the new year kid style! We had a Happy Noon Year's party and counted down until 12! It started off with a little wii dance party!





Grady was too cool to dance, so he watched from the sidelines!
No new years party is complete without fancy hats, so we moved in to make party hats!
I love the concentration on their faces!

They were so proud of their hats! Somehow I didn't get a picture of Campbell in her hat, but here are the rest:
Grady man
Avery
Molly
Olive
Luke
Eleanor
Lillian
Then it was time to decorate their noise makers! More concentration...
During lunch, they suddenly noticed the balloons on the ceiling and kept pointing to them.
After lunch, they did a little cookie decorating! YUM!


And what noon year party is complete without a balloon drop at 12?!


Thank you to our fun friends for helping us ring in the new year! Hoping 2012 is the best yet!
Campbell, Grady, Molly, Eleanor, Olive
Avery and Luke (Lil opted out of the picture)


As they were leaving I told them to see who could take the most balloons home...Luke won!
Happy New Year!

Friday, December 30, 2011

Big Girl Bed

After a recent incident involving Olive escaping from her crib and ending up stuck in her hamper, we decided it was time to start talking to her about a big girl bed. We were going to move her straight into a full size bed, but we don't have the rails so we have to wait for them. We decided to go ahead and make it into a toddler bed and just see how it goes. We had been talking about it for a few days, but we decided to make the switch before nap time on Monday. Daddy worked on the bed while Olive and I ran a few errands. When we got home, he told her he had a surprise for her. She was pretty excited!
"Whoa! I can climb in by myself!"

Then it was time to start putting all of her stuff back in. Stephen was across the room and was tossing the stuff to her which she thought was hysterical. I love these pictures! First came Bob the monkey.
Then Stella. And yes, she is naked. No comment.
And pillow pet...
and glow worm...
and Sleep Sheep...
And last but not least, her Grammy blanket.She got it all situated and then said "Mommy, you come in my bed?"


She did great her first nap in the big girl bed and later we realized that she had done it without her pacifier! That night when she was going to bed she asked for it and I told her that it was in her baby bed and it was gone. She simply replied "oh, that's right." She has asked for it ever since, but has never broken down or cried. It is a miracle! I couldn't figure out how we were going to ever win that battle and it ends up, we didn't have to! She slept great her first night too and didn't get up that we know of. We talked a lot about how big girls stay in their bed and they don't get out until Mommy or Daddy come in the room. The next day, during her nap time I heard her up and went in and she had toys in her bed. I explained that if she got toys, I would have to take them away. By the tenth time I went in her room during that 1.5 hour period, these were all of the items that were removed from the bed...
Yes, that would include her laundry hamper and a baby doll stroller. She would just smile at me and calmly watch me carry them out of the room. At one point, she handed me something else and said "take this too, Mommy." I guess she knew she couldn't be trusted. I declared nap time over when I opened the door and immediately smelled Desitin, only to find her, baby Stella and the pillow pet COVERED in it. And for the record, it doesn't come out of fabric, imagine my excitement. The next morning when Stephen went in to get her, as soon as he opened the door she said "Uh oh! Mommy have to take my toys away" and this is what he found with her sitting in the middle...My favorite part of this picture is the boppy pillow! She dug it out of her closet the first night and uses it as a pillow! I guess she likes to be elevated! :) We obviously have a long way to go in learning not to hoard things in our bed, but she is sleeping great and loves her new found independence! I just can't believe she is so big!

Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Donuts With Daddy

Olive and Stephen go to the donut shop every Saturday morning. So when Stephen was shopping and saw this donut maker, he knew he had to get it for Olive for Christmas!
Monday morning Stephen gathered up the ingredients they needed and they got to work!

Watching it mix!
And helping a little.
Waiting for the light to turn green!
Poking the Dough Boy's belly...Whoo hoo!
Don't these look so yummy?!
Glazing the donuts with some delicious ganache.
And sprinkles!
YUM!Taking the first bite...
This picture completely sums up how wonderful the donuts were! Chocolate everywhere and her eyes closed in pure bliss!
This was a pretty messy process, but she was SO HAPPY!
Daddy taught her to lick her fingers to take care of the mess.
The donuts were so yummy and they had a messy blast making them! Thanks Daddy!