pictures from Christmas weekend...update soon with commentary shortly...

Hannah turns 3!

Hannah turned 3 today! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT HAS BEEN THAT LONG! We started off the day with her unwrapping some gifts (outfit+boots she is wearing), and blowing out a candle on her Blueberry Bread that I made the previous night for her special day (only way I can't get her to eat blueberries). 

The girls had school today, so Dan and I came to her school after naps (around 3) to celebrate with her and her classmates. She was making her birthday crown. 

 Riverside Youth Enrichment Center (where the girls go) prefer store-bought treats, so Hannah got her first store-bought cake and helped me pick out the design at Publix Grocery the previous week. She chose "Garden Party Royalty", which features Belle, Aurora, and Ella from Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. They are individual cupcakes, which make school parties easier! 

 Not only did her teacher, Mrs. Mari, help to make Hannah a crown, but she prepared three balloons in colors Hannah picked out. Mrs. Mari wanted to make the day extra special and invited Gryffyn over from the next room so she could enjoy the excitement! 

 When we got home from school, the girls played with their PlasmaCars that Dearie and Papa sent. It only took 3 minutes before my toe was run over. The girls love these things and had a hard time stopping long enough to call Dearie and Papa to say thank you. 

 To end the evening, we went to dinner with Hannah's good friend Alexandra and her mom, Lauren. Alexandra gave Hannah two games to play with for her birthday presents. We also went on the train in the mall area that we were at and rode the carousel to celebrate Hannah's day. The carousel attendant loved Hannah's crown and gave her two extra tickets to use with her sister in the future, as well as said "Happy Birthday Hannah" over the loudspeaker. Hannah laughed and said, "that's my name".  

All in all, great day, but I still can't believe I have a three year old! 

November 2011

  Sorry that it has been so long since I uploaded a post on the blog. I lost my camera for the majority of November...oops. If this is a sign, that I need to clean more...than someone needs to tell Dan that I'm asking for a cleaning lady for Christmas or a low-jack (tracking device) for my camera. Either would make me happy. 

  We have been keeping with our tradition of reading books before bed, and the girls seem to like picking out what we will read. Right after Hannah's first birthday, I made her a book all about Hannah. This contained pictures of her with all of our family members and their names under the pictures. It helps her to remember who is who when we are able to get together. We just created a book similar to this for Gryffyn. 

 Daddy reading "Book of Gryffyn" to the girls 

   

  We were busy with preparations for the Breakfast with the Grinch, which took place on December 3rd. Relay for Life volunteers worked an American Cancer Society booth at the Seafood Festival on November 12th. I was not able to attend because of family visiting and a wedding, so I made the signs (with a little help from the girls). 

  The second week of November, my parents and Uncle Joshua (my brother) came to visit us for a week. At the same time, Dan's good friend Robert Binkley (a.k.a. Princess Bacon) married a beautiful mermaid, Kristin DeLuca. My parents watched the girls so that Dan and I could enjoy a night away from the girls worry-free to celebrate our great friend's wedding! It was amazing, and I don't think my parents know how grateful we were to know the girls were having just as much fun as we were! 

 I think this picture above is my favorite picture from the wedding. The niece of the bride (age 1 year) became a little fuzzy during pictures and the groomsmen tried to keep her happy and entertained by singing and beat-boxing. 

   My parents helped us figure out what to do about our front garden. I was at a loss for what should go in the garden because I wasn't raised here, DO NOT have a green thumb, barely have time to think. PARENTS TO THE RESCUE! Although I was extremely sore the day after we planted the front gardens, I was very happy with the way it turned out, the pictures I got of the girls helping, and how happy Dearie made the "workers" by sharing her McDonald's hamburger. 

 We continue to enjoy the parks in our area, especially since we can do more stuff as we get older (at least in the girls'case.)

 We had a very low-key Thanksgiving. The only special thing I did was make Mamaw's cornbread dressing, which I still don't think is as good as hers! We did start our family tradition of Elf on the Shelf. The premise of this tradition is that the Elf appears (typically on Thanksgiving Day or December 1st), you read the book he/she comes with (directions for usage), name the Elf (our is Elfonzo), and he keeps an eye on what is going on in the house during the day, then reports back to Santa at the North Pole at night when everyone falls to sleep. The next morning the elf will magically appear in a new spot. The girls LOVE trying to find him when the wake up. 

 Hannah helped Daddy put in the Christmas lights this year, while Gryffyn helped me put the Christmas tree together.

 Each of the girls got ornaments from Dearie and Papa this year (Hannah received Belle; Gryffyn received Minnie Mouse). I made sure that the girls knew Dearie and Papa bought those ornaments for THEM like a good Momma, and now Hannah will go over to the tree and point at EACH SINGLE ORNAMENT and say "Dearie got this for me", "Papa loves me so he bought me this ____"....she even does it when she is pointing at my ornaments from my childhood, ornaments Dan and I bought as  a couple, or ones we bought them (Ornaments from us this year---Hannah received a guitar; Gryffyn received a blue monster). 

 Our friend Shannon started a tradition for Dan and I the year we got married. She gave us an ornament from Pier 1 Imports with Santa and Mrs. Claus dancing together. We have continued that tradition every year and this is our newest addition.