Disney on Ice

Ella, Mimi and I went to the Disney on Ice - Princess Classics. It was pretty amazing!! I have never seen skating like that before. Ella was truly amazed, too. She had no idea what to expect and I think the show was more than she could have dreamed. The skating, the costumes, the scenery - it was just all really amazing. But although that part was fantastic, I think the most amazing and fun part was watching Ella react and soak it all in. Nothing like seeing things thru a child's eyes!!

After the show, she asked me what the princesses were going to do. I told her they were going to eat lunch and then rest for awhile. Of course, she asked why they were going to rest and I told her because they were tired. She said, "Well, after they eat and rest, can we go back and see them again?"

Mary Catherine - 18 months

Mary Catherine turned 18 months on Dec 4, 2010. Wow - a year and a half has passed since she has blessed our lives!! She is just such a joy and so much fun. She is the most loving child. She can give some of the best hugs and best kisses!

I took her to see Doctor Whylie on Dec 7 for her check up. He even called her "independent." She didn't have any issues with him holding her and checking her out. She did really well and didn't seem to mind him checking her out. Didn't really like him looking at her ears, but all was well. She weighed 23 lbs and 6 oz and is 32 inches.

She is starting to add to her vocabulary. To name a few, she can say daddy, Ella, Wesley, dog, ball, Paw Paw, duck, quack. She even said, "Mommy"!! She is definitely very expressive. She knows what she wants and even if she can't tell you, she will figure out a way to let you know. And if you don't understand, well then, she will just throw a tantrum :) Are we ready for the terrible twos?? We did have an exciting moment the other night though - she (accidentally) went #1 in the potty! We were all very surprised - even Ella. We gave her a high-five. She seemed really proud of herself. Wow - what it would be like to get her out of diapers :)

For some reason, she has also taken a likin' to sah-sees (pacifiers). If she sees one of Wesley's, she doesn't think twice about taking it and putting it in her mouth. This morning, she even got mad at me for taking it away from her before I left her at school!

Smiles and Gurgles Video

Wesley is 8 weeks old - he sure is smiling a lot. He is also finding his voice. He has started gurgling and making noises. He loves to play with his tongue too.

Christmas cookies

This was the first time EVER that I have made sugar cookies from scratch. As Clint and Ella decorated the tree (and Mary Catherine promptly removed ornaments), I tried to make some dough for the cookies. I didn't mix the butter and sugar very well, so the dough didn't turn out. I also didn't realize the importance of flour when rolling the dough out. So, I tossed the dough. The next night, we decided to try again. So, with the help of Ella in the kitchen, we made the dough, rolled it out and used our new cookie cutters to make all different shapes of cookies. We baked them that night and they actually tasted pretty good.

Tuesday night after "nastics" we decorated the cookies. I think Ella really enjoyed it. It's amazing how many sprinkles we used and how many were dumped out on the kitchen counter :) But, it was still a lot of fun. Surprisingly, Ella never asked to eat a cookie - I guess making them was just as much fun as eating them. Either that, or she knew we were making them to take to her school for their Christmas program on Friday night - so maybe she is just waiting for Friday night.

Greer Christmas Parade

We went to the Greer Christmas Parade. Boy was it cccc-oooo-llll-dddd!!! Brr to the bone cold! But, the girls had a blast!! The Gardze's met us out there - although I am sure they were wondering what they had gotten themselves into as cold as it was!!

After Wesley's brief moment out of the stroller, we put him back in it and snuggled him up. He was warm and toasty - he had the best seat in the house!!

Mary Catherine and daddy waving to Santa Clause.

Thanksgiving

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. Ella, Wesley and I left for Byron on Wednesday. We stopped in Commerce, ate lunch and fed Wesley. It was a pretty easy drive. We got there mid afternoon and just relaxed with Mimi and PaPa Ace that evening. Thursday morning, Clint and Mary Catherine drove down. We had a great day visiting with family and eating good food.

The kids were so fun to watch together. It was funny to watch Pearce and Mary Catherine. At one point, he was standing in front of the gate to the stairs and she was standing on the other side of the stairs. They stood there and played peek-a-boo forever and just laughed and laughed at each other. It was so sweet and fun to watch!

After lunch, we decided to take the kids to the park. The day was beautiful and they had a great time playing outdoors.

Wonder what they are discussing?

Who can go faster??

Double trouble :)

Sweet sisters. You can tell how tired Ella is - they played pretty hard!

Coloring with dad after bathtime. Relaxing!

Wonder what she is pondering?

M&Ms

As we were leaving Target today, I bought a bag of M&Ms from a little girl selling them for her choir (not that I really need a reason to buy M&Ms or anything). Anyway, Ella and I were sharing them on our way home. She made a comment about Mary Catherine having M&Ms. I told her that she probably shouldn't have any. She quickly asked why and I told her that I thought she was still a little too young and I wasn't sure if she could chew them up or anything.

Ella then very politely asked me for a napkin. I passed her one back - thinking that she had gotten some on her hands or something. For some reason, I decided to look back and see what was going on. Ella was very quickly wiping Mary Catherine's face off. She had blue all over her mouth. I started laughing and asked, "Did you give her a M&M." Ella replied, "Yes, I gave her two of them. I think she likes them."

So, we have decided that Mary Catherine likes M&Ms. I have also confirmed to myself what a quick thinker Ella can be. It is just too funny that she knew what I was saying about MC not being able to have any and then how quickly she thought to get a napkin and try to get rid of the evidence!! She never seizes to amaze me! :)