Christmas Fun Around Town

We had some fun doing some Christmas-y things!!

First up- visiting The James Center in downtown Richmond. They have tons of lighted deer, a huge tree, a model train- it's lots of fun- or so we thought....

It was chilly so each kid was bundled up.

Always silly....

Addie checking out 1 of the many deer.

Alden really didn't trust them....

The tree! The kids were frozen at this point- we had been out a whopping 5min, but they are clearly not cut-out for cold weather....

We headed inside to check out the displays there. The highlight for the- riding in the glass elevator and walking across the covered walk-way....

Alden did dig the model train and did not want to leave!

Another night, after baths, we decided to check out some of the houses on the local Tacky Light Tour. Aren't they the cutest kiddos ever??

Bundled up in the car and ready to go!

Wowzers- you couldn't walk in this yard- and they even had huge blow-ups in their back yard!!

Addie loved this one- it has blue blinking lights!

Alden loved this one!

And our final highlight- we got to go to Daddy's office for their Christmas "Party." They catered Chick-fil-A for all the installers and employees they work with at Home Depot. Yum!

How fun to see Daddy AND get yummy breakfast?!?

Christmas Break Came Early!!

The week before Christmas (aka the last week of school) the weathermen were warning that a snowstorm could hit Richmond mid week. I was skeptical as this would mean that the final 2 days of school could be snowed out.... It actually happened and we got about 3" of snow on Thursday!! That may not seem like a lot, but it was enough to shut down Richmond!! Merry Christmas!!

During our last snow (or a dusting, depending on where you grew-up) the kids were all about it- running around, throwing and eating it. This time, they had zero interest in playing in it. When asked if they wanted to go and play in the snow, these were their responses:

Addie: No thank you Mommy. I would rather sip hot Coco and watch Christmas movies.

Alden: Too cold! Too wet! Let's eat snacks!

So, instead of any snow pictures, I have these gems! I really should have gotten some pics of how pretty it was but I was busy playing with the kiddos.

We had a dance class lead by our very own Miss Adeline!

And their favorite party- sipping hot Coco, eating Cheezits and watching Christmas movies- my kinda kids!!

Cookie-O-Rama!!

Since we were snowed in and able to start our Christmas Vacation 2 days early, we made cookies!!

I didn't get pics of us cutting the cookies out- but there was flour everywhere- and huge grins on the kids' faces!

Here they are, ready to get started decorating their cookies! I had a neat idea and they each made 1 cookie for every day we had to wait to go to NY. When all the cookies were gone, we would be going to NY- this way I wouldn't have to deal with the question, "How many more days until we go to PopPop and MarMars?"- we simply counted the cookies!!

The intensity on his face....

Addie preferred to delegate and got Daddy to help her with the frosting!

Her plate all decorated!!

Diggin' in- yummo!!

Super happy- who wouldn't be on a sugar high??

Silence...

Dear Devoted Readers,

Yes, I know it's been awhile since I last posted. It's not because we have nothing going on- it's actually been rather busy! At this point, I need to remove pictures from my Google Account before I can upload any more to the Blog- and since this takes uninterrupted time, it hasn't happened. Hopefully by the end of the week I will be able to complete this and get you all caught up on what all we have been up to!

As a little sneak-peak:

SNOW!!

Christmas at home

Christmas cookie taste-a-thon

Christmas with Nate

More Snow!!

Nashville Visit

See, we have been busy! Hang in there and you will be rewarded!!

Sincerely,

Lisa

Addie's 5 year old Stats

It's official- she's a pipsqueak, ultra-petite and just the cutest little peanut ever.

Granted, she had been sick for the weekend when we went to the Dr, but I don't think her results were too far off from normal- she's 1 active little girl! She swam like a fish this summer, and dropped all remaining baby pudge (if you could call it that), and now she dances all the time!

Weight- 32.8lbs (7th percentile)

Height- 39.25" (4th percentile)

We are very happy with her- she's just petite, which she will appreciate someday. But for now, it makes her angry if people call her that....

Ironically enough, Alden also stepped on the scales, because he wants to do everything Addie does- and get this- they weighed exactly, EXACTLY, the same amount!! Whomever in the family pool guessed that they would be the same by the time Addie was five, you are the winner!! He is also only 1" shorter! This explains why I get asked, every time we are out, at least once, "Are they twins?" I keep reminding Addie that she needs to be super nice to him since in the not-so-distant-future, he WILL be bigger than her!!

We love our little girl and are reminded that good things come in small packages!!

Drugs, Glorious Drugs!!

What a difference 24 hours and some good medication can make!

Flash back to Sunday night. Both kids had nasty, nasty colds- Alden oozing out his eyes and Addie's pouring out of her nose and down her throat. Both kids had super-super dry skin and Addie's had become a rather nasty rash on her hands. And the sore that Addie got from her glasses over 2 months ago, had still not healed. Lovely- just lovely!

By the time I got them from school on Monday, Addie was crying (ok, screaming) that her ear hurt, her hands had cracked and were bleeding, her nose sores were raging and Alden's eyes were a goopy mess.

Now before you nominate me for the Worst Mother Award, I will say in my defense that I had spoken with the nurse several times about these various ailments and she had encouraged me to try some home-remedies and to see if I could hold out until Monday when Addie had her 5 year check-up scheduled.

On Monday, I arrived at the Pediatrician with a list- I had actually written down all their ailments and gave it to the nurse when she wanted to know how they were doing. Turns out nurses and doctors like lists!

The prognosisi (is that prognosis in the plural?) for Addie was a raging ear infection (1st one she's had since 11 months old when she got tubes!), a skin infection on her nose and a severe case of inflamed eczema on her hands. Alden- his cold had settled in his eyes and had caused an infection there. In a nutshell, my kids were walking nasty-ness and we left the Ped with 4 prescriptions.

Flash forward to Tuesday afternoon- 24 hours after the kids had started their various meds- antibiotics for the ear infection, special creams for the nose and hands, and drops for the eyes- and my kids are back to their happy, perky, healthy selves! No more crying and ear pain, no more goopey eyes, no more cracked or rough skin!!

I am VERY thankful to live in an era where we have such wonderful, modern medicine! What a marvel that my super-sick kids can be healthy in such a short period of time! We will keep taking our meds so that these nasty germs don't come back!!

5 year Photo Session

Addie had her 5 year photo session today. It was crazy busy at the photo studio- we waited over an hour for our turn- she has a monster cold (I have a hunch it's actually a sinus infection) AND it was naptime- even with all that going against her she smiled SO prettily and did a great job- making MY job of choosing just 1 pose impossible.

I love this little girl!! Here she is in her matching outfit that her Nonnie and Poppy gave her for her birthday. Her little feet kicking out is what made me choose this one- it's so her personality!

And I couldn't pass this one up- her sweet smile together with her matching Rosie Kyla.