Special Treat

Let me start this post by stating that I promise we don't deprive our kids!
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Friday afternoon, I had finally finished detailing Jerry and mine's bedroom and it was time to vacuum--my favorite part. It completes the feeling of clean for me. So anyway, I drag the vacuum out of the coat closet and I asked the kids if they wanted to help me vacuum. To my shock, they were ELATED! They took turns pushing and pulling that vacuum, and they even held the cord for one another. I was totally cracking up at how much they loved to vacuum. That corner by Jerry's nightstand is the most clean corner of the bedroom....I think they went over it at least 8 times!

Happy 1/2 Birthday Anniston!

Yes, we're crazy around here. We do recognize (and celebrate) half birthdays!! :) We've been counting down the days until Anniston's half birthday for a couple of weeks now.
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So, let me give you some background info first. For REAL birthdays, we make pancakes before the kids/Mommy/Dadoo wakes up, and we wake them up by singing Happy Birthday with a lit candle in the pancakes. It was a family tradition of Mommy's growing up, and we've kept it going with our kids.
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So this morning, I went in to get Anniston up and ready for school, she rolled over, stretched then sat straight up in bed. She then said, "Mommy, I think I would like to eat my pancakes in bed this morning." I then had to break the news to her that pancakes with a candle is ONLY for real birthdays. (so hard to break this news to such a sweet little 4 1/2 year old angel!!)

So, how do we celebrate half birthdays? We make cupcakes!! We've done this the past few years for her half birthdays, and we'll do it for T-Man's this year.

They were helping Mommy pour the batter into the cupcake papers:

Then they helped Dadoo make the icing:

Anniston taking a turn stirring:

Treyson was Anniston's "icing stirring inspector"

Then Big T got a turn to try his hand at whipping up some icing:

While the cupcakes were cooling off so that we could ice them, we decided to call our grandparents so we could remind them that today was Anniston's half birthday. Anniston was able to talk to MaMa and PawPaw R, and she asked them both to sing to her....and they did!! (I'm sure all of the grandparents' fingers have loss of blood flow to their pinkies since Anniston has them wrapped so tightly!!)
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Here are Jerry and the kids right after we hung up the phone:

.....and the finished cupcakes! Yummy! Anniston added 4 drops of red food coloring so that they would be PINKALICIOUS!!!

Anniston, we cannot believe that you're already 4 1/2!! Time sure flies by with you, sweet girl. Mommy and Dadoo love soaking up every minute of playtime with you that we can. You still love to play princess, but you are really into playing games and doing your "Lite Brite" you got for Christmas. Your newest accomplishment is reading! You are starting to read "sight word" books. We are SO proud of you, and cannot wait to watch the amazing things you'll do as you are on the home stretch to becoming 5 years old!!

We love you! Mommy and Dadoo :)

The Adventures of Ice Skating!

Jerry has been wanting to take the kids ice skating for awhile. There are 2 places to ice skate around here. Since today was pretty chilly, we decided to head to the indoor arena! The kids were ELATED when they woke from their naps and realized we were actually going to ice skate!
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Here they are bundled up and ready to go! Anniston and Dadoo!

Treyson took a break after 2 laps. All he did was shuffle his feet back and forth, so Mommy's back thanked him for the break!

Look at my big boy skating!!

After about 45 minutes, Anniston gained alot of confidence in herself. I took her to the middle circle and let her skate around on her own. She only fell a few times!

Then she was ready for Dadoo to take her out. Dadoo's back welcomed her skating on her own. Up until this point, he was supporting all of her weight as he tried to balance himself!

I just love how she's looking at her Dadoo in this picture! :)

Treyson and Mommy went into the stands to watch sissy. Dadoo spotted a co-worker and his daughter (who happens to be less than 6 weeks younger than Anniston). Anniston was so excited to make a friend at the ice rink! Do we win "Parents of the Year" award for NOT bringing helmets???

The Dad's kept a really close eye on the girls! ;) It was pretty hilarious. One girl would fall, then the other would fall down because the others' leg moved her foot. Then they'd just giggle, get up, and go again!

We will DEFINITELY be going to ice skate more often! Anniston got really good at it, and Mommy and Dadoo even felt like they moved on the ice pretty well. Considering Treyson doesn't have the coordination for anything like this, he was a great sport at "coasting" between Mommy and Dadoo's legs.

Such a fun family date day!

Longest Bath EVER!

The kiddos took a swim, I mean bath this morning after breakfast. They were playing so well together, that it turned into a 30 minute playtime before they even got washed. These two monkeys are so sweet when they decide to play nice together! :)

Blueberry Muffins

Dadoo is not a fan of blueberry muffins. Mommy, Anniston, and Treyson are big fans of blueberry muffins. Since we had a snow day today, I figured that today was a great day to bake some muffins. There is no evidence of these now. We made 6 muffins, and each of us devoured 2. So Dadoo will never know (until he reads this blog post! ha) T-man finished before Anniston. I think it's safe to say he LOVED them!

Anniston took her first bite and said, "Mommy, these are amazing!"

FINALLY SLEDDING!!

We got around 3-4 inches of snow yesterday. The kids were SO excited for snow. We got some last week, but it wasn't enough to actually play in. So, we promised the kids that we would sled after we finished work. They held us to our word....it was the first thing they wanted to do!
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Here's a pic of T pulling his sled back up the hill. Sledding's tough work for a little kid! So fun!

Catching a ride over to the hill with Dadoo pulling! We're so glad that our Dadoo has big muscles!! :)

Dadoo made Anniston a snow ball. And she held onto it as she was sledding. She's so funny.

The roads are clearing out. It's so cold outside, so I think a trip to the library sounds pretty good!

We have a Tiny Tigger!

Here he is!! Our big Tiny Tigger! Treyson had a great day today at preschool. There was excitement in the car on the way to school, and no tears as Mommy and Dadoo left--SUCCESS!! Is it obvious that there is one PROUD sister in this picture? LOVE IT!

Dadoo with the kiddos!

Mommy and Treyson (ok, confession....we overslept until 7:20 on his first day of school! good thing all I had planned was to go to the gym and organize some areas in the house!)

Ms. Nita showing Treyson where his coat hook and cubby were at:

Ms. Nita helping Treyson put his gloves into his cubby!

Last sweet moment with Mommy before we left (actually, I was reviewing over our daily checklist: share with your friends, listen to your teacher, no hitting/kicking, use good manners, no fussing. haha!)

Jerry and I then took Anniston down to her classroom, and I couldn't stand it--I had to look just 1 more time at Treyson before we left. He had already washed his hands and was sitting at the table on his labeled spot with his hands in his lap. . . patiently waiting for breakfast. So big!!

I decided to let the kids stay through naptime. I don't work on Mondays, but I wanted him to have a somewhat "normal" day to see how he did. His teacher said he didn't nap, but I figured as much because it's a new environment. He also cried after the first playtime. All of the kids play together (today in the gym due to the snow), and he cried when he couldn't leave with Anniston. That story melts my heart!

Treyson, we're so excited that you love your big boy school! We love you!