Date with Evan

While my parents were here visiting, we made plans to take each kid out on a "date". Unfortunately, Corinne got sick, so her date will have to wait until April.

We took Evan to the bowling alley/arcade on Sunday morning. We bought two games but he was only into it for one. But for that first game, he was really into it! 

And he beat me :(

We then played arcade games and had lunch. He was happy to have all the attention focused on him. 

Christmas 2014

On Christmas Eve, we made cookies for Santa:

Why, yes, we do have a star of David cookie cutter. I have no idea why, but I figured I should just roll with it. 

Leaving cookies out for Santa and celery for the reindeer:

The next morning, presents abounded!

Santa was appreciative of the treats.

Evan's first view at what Santa left:

He played with his "big toy" until Corinne came down about 15 minutes later. Both kids didn't get up until after 8a.

Corinne had to be dragged out of bed.

But I think Santa made a good choice by making the dollhouse her "big toy" gift.

Merry Christmas 2014!

Gifts

Yesterday at preschool, the kids learned about the gifts the wise men brought Jesus. So, Corinne has been all about gifts and presents for the last 24 hours. Her ST gave her a thank you card and Corinne was damnation that card was a present for Daddy so she needed to hide it so she could give it to him later.

Due to her (very) recent interest in giving gifts to other people, I took her to the Dollar Store to pick out gifts for Daddy, Evan, Mama, PaPa and Uncle Mark. I purposely didn't provide any direction other than "what do you think (insert name) will like?" She took her time thinking and deciding before selecting the perfect gift. Cracked me up. These were the results:

Daddy: fake red, glittery flowers
Mama: A gift card holder
Papa: Two gold bows (the kind you put on gifts)
Evan: A Christmas bear yard sign
Uncle Mark: Plastic gift bags for baskets

She helped me wrap the gifts and label them. However, a few days passed between the wrapping event and gift giving event, so she totally forgot about the gifts and what she bought in the meantime. Next time, we'll buy/wrap/give on the same day.

Pre-Christmas

Uncle Mark came and visited for a few days

He loved his stocking gifts, obviously:

We traded a few family gifts which means I got to open my new telephoto lens. I had to play around with it for a bit:

Then, we executed my brilliant idea of making a gingerbread choo choo train. Total failure. But, the kids enjoyed eating the candy that never made it onto the train before the train completely fell apart. 

Conversation with Evan

Evan: holiday holiday holiday....

Me: do you like holidays?

Evan: no, I love holidays!

Me: what's you favorite holiday?

Evan: Tuesday!

2014 Nursery School Christmas Show

The kids had their Christmas show on Thursday 12/11/14. The 2yo, 3yo, and 4yo classes performed two songs and then the "big kids" from the rest of the school performed (we left after the preschool set).

First the kids walked in:

They helped Evan up the stairs:

The 2s were in the first row, the 3s in the second, and the 4s in the third:

http://youtu.be/8RBQnZtASQM?list=UUQ7UbOyhIcgAWgsYrBJMduQ

Afterwards, we took pictures in the lobby:

This picture cracks me up: