Lop

So...Dana and I spend a lot of time arguing about her hair. She has had maybe 2 trims in her whole life, and she was born with a full head of dark locks, so imagine the length! It is also very thick and fine. Very fine. Which all leads to the triple cocktail of t.a.n.g.l.e.s. I use about a gallon and a half of detangler every day and she still runs when she sees the brush, and cries the whole time I am trying to tame her hair.

So a week or so ago I suggested we cut it. It came out of my mouth before I could think. And she thought it was such a great idea! I made an appointment with Kim and tonight...tonight my baby was transformed. Observe:

I had to turn away while all of those lovely locks were lopped off. Nora was giddy with excitement and could not believe how cute Dana looked. And she does! She loves it, and did a hundred sassy little poses for me while I tried to get a couple shots of her looking at me.

So then it was Nora's turn. Upon arrival, Nora informed Kim that she is trying to grow her hair really long and would only like the ends trimmed. When Dana climbed down from the chair, Nora told Kim she wanted her hair cut to her chin. Her chin!

So cute!

I can't get over it. They look so sweet with their matching bobs.

Best friends forever. <3>

What baby?

Yesterday, Dana and I were lounging on the floor playing Trouble and eating popcorn. She was chatting and telling jokes, and I just blurted out, "You really are not a baby anymore. You really turned into a kid!" And she just gave me this look that was like, "Why is this news to you? I will be 5 soon!"

So...here's some proof:

Dana is the kind of person who only wears dresses and pretty things. So this morning, when she came downstairs in this outfit, I was perplexed. "Dana, what are you wearing?" I asked her. And she, without even turning around, says to me all nonchalantly, "Spy clothes..." Kevin and I just cracked up when she struck this pose. So much for the days of princess costumes-spies are so much more interesting!

You'll have to click on this to enlarge it, but Dana's been going nuts drawing dogs everywhere. And there is no question: they are DOGS! They look like dogs! Look at that mouth!

And this? It's a poodle! Can you even believe the curly fur? Man, I am so in love with this little girl.

Ringing in the New Year

And so...did you party last night?

We sure did! Our night included a scavenger hunt prepared by Auntie Liz, some board games, coloring, lots of treats, and a dance party!

Here's the first clue...

Another clue...

Clue...

And the treasure! Hidden in a board game-so clever!

Nora checks out her prize...

From left: Adrea, Taylor, Dana, Nora and Brooke enjoy their treasures.

Sorry!

Uncle Sam and Auntie Liz have a gigantic white board in the hall that is a lot of fun.

Even Diogi got in on the festivities.

Happy New Year!

Let's finish up with a quick video of the dance party in action! Because I may as well be in trouble with yet another family member for posting them on my blog.

New Years Eve

It's New Years Eve! What do you have planned for tonight?

We started our day by heading out for some indoor ice skating! The rule is, you have to wear skates on the ice, not boots. Well, friends, I haven't been on skates in 9 years, because 8 winters ago I was pregnant with Nora. And pregnancy+skating=no no. And friends, my feet grew from being pregnant, so every second on the ice was excruciating. I could feel my poor toes smooshing against the toe box and it was not fun. It was fine if I was skating fast, but with two little girls who are unsure on the ice, I was going pretty, pretty slowly. I'll tell you what, though-my winter boots have never felt so heavenly in all my life. And it was so much fun that I am already plotting our next ice skating adventure.

Here is a little video of the girls skating:

Hahahaha! Isn't that fun? Yeah, I am not laughing either. For some reason my camera is only taking video in fast forward. Between not being able to post the holiday programs yesterday and getting this sideways, super fast, old-timey movie version of video today, I am clearly on a roll. But you get the point. Both girls started out using chairs for support, and by the end of the 90-minute session, neither needed a chair. Sweet!

Now we are off to bake chocolate chunk brownies to bring to my brother's house tonight. We are having a rip roaring get together that will include the 4 of us plus Sam, Liz, and their niece Taylor. I think I heard a rumor about cousins Brooke and Adrea coming, too, but that can't be verified at this time. At any rate, I am certain the festivities will be over long, long before midnight. Because already, Nora has asked to take a nap and if I didn't have to worry about Dana entertaining herself for an hour and a half, I would be snuggled up with her right now.

Here's to a safe and enjoyable New Years Eve, with the added fun of a blue moon!

Christmas 2009

We started our Christmas early this year, because of the storm.

Kevin's mom called Wednesday night and said it was supposed to start snowing overnight and it wasn't supposed to let up until Saturday. Blizzard warning! She suggested we come out that night in case we couldn't get out the next morning. Since we all live in rural areas, it's pretty much guaranteed that we're on the bottom of the plowing list, so we took her advice. And it's a good thing, too, because when we woke up, there must have been almost a foot of snow on the ground!

And that's when the wrestling began. I guess no holiday is complete without it now. And probably I will be in trouble for posting this photo, but it's a risk I am willing to take.

I KNOW I will be in trouble for posting this, but he knows the risks by now. I can't even remember why Kevin had a bucket on his head in the first place, but it came in handy as a hands-free device when his phone rang.

The girls were so lucky to receive many wonderful gifts from kind, thoughtful and generous family and friends. They were both thrilled to open brand new ice skates from Grandma Bev and Grandpa Jerry! This is Nora's very first pair of real figure skates and you can see how much she loves them.

Dana got these super cute skates with snowflakes on them. Just look at that grin!

Grandma and Grandpa also got Nora a pedicure set, and Jan did her toes for her. I just love how flopped out she is here, relaxing while her toes dry.

We finally made it outside into the storm to put out reindeer food before heading inside to arrange cookies and milk for Santa and settling in for the night.

Nora woke up first. Around 6am. On school days, I have to force this girl out of bed at 8:15am. On Christmas morning, she tossed and turned and chatted with me in bed until I finally let her get up around 7:30.

She was really excited to find gifts under the tree and in her stocking. Among other things, Santa left her these fleece footie pajamas, which was pretty fun.

Dana got matching jammies! Yay!

My family went bowling Saturday night for our Christmas, but I was too busy setting an all-time record high score of 58 to take any photos.

I hope your holidays were as wonderful as ours were!

Holiday Programs

Oh, how I have tried to post video. Again and again I have tried, and it just isn't happening. So please enjoy these photos of holiday programs instead.

Dana's preschool program was absolutely adorable. These wee ones sang songs and did finger plays on stage in their classroom, and it was just so sweet! Dana loved being on stage, she loved hearing everyone clap for her (and her classmates), and she loved watching the audience watch her. We were so very proud of her! In this photo, she is doing a finger play about Santa popping out of a chimney-so cute!

Nora's holiday program was also amazing. Her class sang 3 songs. This song, as you can see, included snowflake props. See Nora there in the front row, way over on the right?

The other two songs included instruments and finger plays. It was all so lovely!

See those cute soldiers on the wall behind the stage? I helped hang those the night before. I was very happy none of them fell off the wall during the programs!

There is a morning program as well as an afternoon program, and the PTA provides treats for both. Between set-up and clean-up, I was there for the entire day, minus a 45-minute break for lunch. Dana took this photo of me, and it reflects perfectly how I felt by the end: blurry. But it was wonderful to be there and to be a part of it and I can't wait for next year's programs, when both of my girls will perform at the same school!

Accident

My cousin Leah was killed on Friday when a semi crossed the median and hit her car. She was ten days shy of her 30th birthday.

Please send thoughts and prayers to her husband, her three little ones, her sisters and their families, and my aunt and uncle.