Plano Christmas Parade...

This morning, we met the Eungs and the Hodges (minus one...Will, you missed out on some fun times!)at the Plano Christmas parade. We enjoyed our breakfast on the side of the road as we waited for the parade to start. Here are the girls (and Brandt!) Brooke and Madelynn were having a blast too!We did have to bundle up a little, as the weather got cooler while we were there! Laela was rockin' her new panda bear mittens.Once the parade started, we had a great time looking at the floats, listening to music, gathering candy, and waving at Santas and snowmen!Laela just helped herself to a lollipop, and she was having a blast!Laela LOVED waving, smiling, and saying "Thank you and Merry Christmas!"Thanks to the Eungs and Hodges (minus one) for hanging out with us this morning! Merry Christmas!

First School Performance!

This was a busy week, with two firsts. Laela had her first sleepover and on Friday night, she had her first school performance. Her daycare gathers one evening to let each class sing and dance to winter music. It started at 7:15ish, so we were very hesitant about going with Laela's bedtime being right around then. Oh well! We knew if we didn't try it then we would always wonder.We got her dressed up and off we went. First you drop the kiddos in a big room while the parents gather in the auditorium. HA! We had to sit with her for a bit, but then we snuck out. She cried a little, but was fine okay by stage time. Well, she was exhausted by "performance" time, so here she is... Yep! Laela stood like this the entire time. Not really singing, dancing or shaking her snowflake. Oh well. We had a great time watching and we were VERY proud of her! DARN! I took two videos of her class singing "I'm a Little Snowflake" and dancing to "Let It Snow" but the files are too big to download. AH! That makes me crazy!

Brandt's class sang right after Laela, so of course we stayed for his performance too! He did awesome. Way to go kiddos!

Laela's First Sleepover!

(on a school night, too!)

We made plans to have Brandt over tonight, so his mommy and daddy could go to their work Christmas party. We told both kiddos about it and they were very excited! Brandt even planned out the dinner menu last night. :)

Well, I picked up the kids from school and the excitement was beaming! I got Laela first and then on to Brandt's class. Of course he was peeping his head out the window watching for us! When he saw us, his face lit up! We got our belongings and headed out!

On the way home, the kids and I had the funniest conversations.
Me: How was y'alls day?
L: I WENT POTTY!
B: I held my tee-tee down!
ME: Oh. Okay. Did you just see that motorcycle pass by? (Change subject quick!)

ME: We have to get to the park fast because it is going to be dark soon.
L: Go fast mommy!
B: My daddy drives fast!
L: My mommy drives fast!
ME: Sometimes I do drive fast, but right now I am being safe. Oh...we are already at the park! How did we get here so fast?

On the way home, WE decided that we need to all play at the park for a good 10 minutes While we ran around, we sang "Run, run as fast as you can. You can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man." Hey! Whatever you have to do to get rid of some energy! Then we headed home and on the way, we rocked out to the ABC's song, looked at Christmas lights and counted blow-up Santas in our neighbors' yards! Best 5 minutes I have had in a long time! :)

For dinner, Brandt informed us that we would be having corndogs from Sonic. So, Ro grabbed those on his way home and we played until he got here. Seriously...these guys were funny! Within 4 minutes the living room went from clean to disaster! Oh well...we were having fun! Both kids ate a fantastic dinner and then continued playing. The best toy of the evening...the wrapping paper roll. YES! I said the cardboard tube. The kids played longer with the tube than anything else. At one point, we were singing "Jingle Bells" with our tubes and instruments (shakers, drums, and tamborine). If there was fly on the wall, it would be doubled over in pain right now because it was laughing hysterically at us! BUT we had a BLAST!

Brandt was very interested in wanting to know where Ro was and what he was doing. They even got in a little boy bonding time and played ball in the house!Of course we had a little, fruity, after-dinner snack. What hams! They both smiled with full mouths. Too cute!Then, it was time for night-night clothes and a little more playing. BTW - Laela was so jealous of B's train night-night clothes. I won't be surprised they make it on her list to Santa!They both enjoyed bedtime stories and I was glad to share this time with them. Then we made a little pallet on the floor for Brandt to sleep. Funny part is...he did great! Went to sleep within 10 minutes. Our friend, however, cried a little. She calmed down quickly, but then TALKED to herself for 20 minutes! Goodness sake girl! You are never going to have a boyfriend if you just talk, talk, talk. Oh wait! That may be a good thing! :) Here is a picture of our monitor. A little hard to see, but you can get the point. Both kids are sleeping! Overall...EXCELLENT night! Thanks for hanging out with us, Brandt!

Happy Birthday!

Today was Rohit's birthday! I think he had a FANTASTIC day! He started out the morning with a non-initiated Happy Birthday from Laela. (Okay...I did tell her LAST NIGHT to remember to tell him this morning....and she DID!) Funny thing is that she hid one of his presents under her bed and she pulled it out this morning. In bag #1 was a "monkey shirt". YES. I said monkey shirt. It just happen to be Laela's size! It was very funny when I asked what she wanted to get daddy for his birthday, she immediately said a monkey shirt. Okay. I can handle that. Off we went. Next thing you know, Laela spotted it. "Mommy, I see monkey shirt! I want it." Hmmmm...a night-night outfit with a monkey on it...size 4T. PERFECT! Of course Ro loved it! (Of course she wore it to bed tonight to celebrate Daddy's awesome day!)
Then I sent Ro flowers to work today. A little different, but that is what made it fun. He said that they made him smile, so yea! Good work!This evening was dinner with a few friends and a couple more presents. Laela also went shopping with Nanna. For this round, she wanted chocolate cake for daddy. Well, of course they found the perfect gift...Little Debbie chocolate cakes! Laela wrapped them up (using half a roll of tape) and it worked out perfect. Of course he loved everything. This year was just so much fun because Laela could partake in gift choosing, gift wrapping, gift giving, and gift opening. WOW! I can't wait for the next birthday celebration around our house. Oh wait! It will be for me. YEA! Happy Birthday, Daddy Ro, Ro.

PS- The celebration continues...Laela is currently laying in bed, "trying" to go to sleep. All we can hear are the sounds the ABC's, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, and Happy Birthday! :)

A Little "Winter" Cleaning...

Today Laela and I made sugar cookies while Ro was out watching football! We had a super fun time together and I thought I would share the experience with you. This actually took us several hours to complete, as we were busy doing other things on our to-do list; however, Laela still finished what she started!

Mixing up the dough and patting it flat was one of Laela's favorite parts.We got out the cookie cutters to create star and gingerbread shaped cookies. Also, we tossed on a little cinnamon and sugar for yumminess!Laela was VERY serious about frosting. Then I realized that she was spending about 2-3 minutes on each cookie because she was taking a lick off of her finger every few seconds. Oh my! That girl is one crazy shaker! She especially loved the rainbow dot sprinkles. She was shaking and the container hit the frosting. Of course you just lick off the frosting and keep on shakin'. :) Here is the finished product! And Ms. Thang with her serious cookie face... Oh...so nice...Laela and daddy were sharing the yummy cookies! Now that was good stuff! Cookie making took awhile, but we had a great time together. Overall, not bad for a two-year old chef!

Thursday is GYM day!

This past Thursday, Ro and I picked up Laela together. Once we got into her classroom, I reminded her that it was Thursday and asked her what we would be doing that night. She was so funny because she put her hands together and started shaking as she said "we will go to Laela's gym tonight!" Seriously! She loves going to gym on Thursday night. :)

Here are a few pictures of her on the tampolines.... and the wonder continues...Walking with her hands behind her back and following Coach...There is a long, running trampoline and when you get to the end, the kids can jump in a foam cube pit. Well, Laela does not jump, but she did run...about 25 times!Then, when they are all finished, they stand right in front of the audience, pound on the little blue wall and say "ta-dah!" I love that Laela has so much fun at gym and I hope that her excitement continues!

An Elf and a Tree!

This year is going to be so much fun with Laela! Don't get me wrong, we had fun last year, but this year...she is the perfect age! We are already having so much fun with the season. As I promised in an earlier post, here is a picture of Laela's "small tree". I unwrapped the goodies, but Laela put them on and she picked out the perfect spot on the dresser in her room. As part of our Christmas fun, we ordered The Elf on the Shelf. This is a set that comes with a book and a one of a kind elf. Our elf has light skin, brown hair and blue eyes. (Very handsome little guy.) Well, we talked about the elf for a few days before introducing it to Laela. Then Nanna was talking to Laela about the elf's name and she decide to call him "Georgie." How wonderful! So...Georgie is Santa's little helper. Each night he goes to the North Pole and lets Santa know if Laela has been good or bad. He helps prepare the toys for Christmas and then he comes back to a new spot around the house. Each morning, Laela is sure to check for him and locate his new spot! Here is the deal...Laela CANNOT touch Georgie. Well...it was hysterical because the third day he was out, somehow he fell off of the cabinet. Laela ran to tell Nanna that she needed helped. HA! Laela knew that we were not supposed to touch him! :) Too funny!

Btw...I had a little bit of shopping time this week while I was off, so I have been Christmas shopping and such. Well...I have been wanting to change out the piece above the tv because it was just never right. So...I was at Hobby Lobby and I found a few things on sale! YEA! Here is what I ended up with...one open backed frame, one piece of canvas, 1/2 yard of red burlap, and one "M" already sitting on my mantel at home. This is what it made! I love it! Ro even said that he loves it. YEA! Everyone is welcome over to the house to tell me that you love it too! :) Happy almost December!