Art Projects

When the weather is yucky, we look for fun things to do indoors. Our recent project was to paint birdhouses that they picked out at the store. It was a bit messy, but it was a lot of fun. They decided they did not want birds to actually live in (and poop) on their creations, so they are currently being displayed on the mantle.
Here is the difference between my anal Type A first born and my creative middle child:

The final products:

Plaza

We had dinner on the Plaza this weekend for Jesse's sister's son's birthday. It was the last night of the Plaza lights, so it was fun to walk around a little bit and see them. I love watching the girls look at them. My camera batteries ran out, so I didn't get very many pictures. I was really bummed... Oh, and some weird guy go into the family picture and wouldn't leave. I'm pretty sure that Jesse whispered some sort of threat to him which made the picture turn out kind of strange because everyone was a bit weirded out.

American Girls

The girls have discovered American Girl dolls. We have never discussed them or taken them to the store. I recycle the magazine when it shows up in the mailbox. However, Ainsley has gotten too old for that. Her classmates are talking... and she is listening. Quite a few of them were given American Girl dolls for Christmas. She is now obsessed with the idea of them. I took them to the store for the first time last week. She walked through with wide eyes and enjoyed every step. She was not obnoxious or demanding. She took it all in and asked a lot of questions.
The girls have A LOT of dolls already. A LOT. But, as Ainsley points out daily, they are not American Girl dolls. Ainsley has her heart set on Julie, the "hippie one" as her daddy says. Brynn loves Molly with the birthday set. And Brooke was a big fan of the babies... well, the double stroller and potty seat mostly!
Their daddy has made it very clear that he will not be spending that much money on a doll (which would have to be 3!) He was a lot more willing to discuss it before we had 3 girls!
So, we have discussed it and come up with a plan. They can earn money to buy the doll... they earn dimes for positive behavior. Once they earn 30 dimes, they are eligible to pick out a prize. The prizes are around $5-7 usually. So, if they decide to save up their money then they can buy the doll. They also have the opportunity to earn $1 for doing extra things like picking up their rooms.
And now we have reached an all time low on bribery...
The girls won't sleep in their own beds. They start in there, but they wander into our room sometime between 1am and 4am. Ainsley is really good at just crawling to the foot of the bed so we don't even know she is there until I straighten my legs and kick her in the face!
So, we have a new game! They can earn $1 if they stay in their beds the ENTIRE night! So far they have each earned $1.
I know this is a terrible parenting tool. Nobody needs to tell me! But here is the deal- we want the kids out of our bed and they want an American Girl doll.
I have done the math and it will take them approximately 22 months to earn their money for the dolls, so they may be better off just putting them on their birthday lists! However, that won't really teach them anything will it???
And for the time being, they are "practicing" showing us that they are responsible and ready for a special doll. They have the My Generation knock-off dolls that now get a lot of special attention.

Dinosaurs!!!

Ainsley has really been into learning about dinosaurs lately. She watches shows about them and reads books so she can learn their names and what they liked to eat. Personally, I am not a fan of them. I don't really understand where they came from and how they fit into creation... They are big and weird and spooky.
But, Union Station had an exhibit about them and so we decided to give it a try. We got to the doorway and both Ainsley and Brynn started freaking out. They were crying and trying to hide in the corner. Jesse and I pointed out that we had not driven that far and spent that much money to leave and so they needed to stop crying and go in or they would be waiting for us all alone (obviously we would not have left them all alone sitting outside at Union Station. I'm not really sure what we would have done if they had chosen that option!) Luckily they decided to give it a try. We invited our wonderful neighbors to join us. It helped having very brave and much older (6 years old!) boys walking through with the girls. Brynn and Brooke did great. Ainsley was very scared of the dino sounds that blasted from the speakers. She has always been sensitive to sounds and this was just too much for her!

More Snow Day Fun...

A lot of fun...

And a little fight.

Snow Day Fun!

Ainsley has been so upset that we have not had any snow yet. We bought her new snow pants awhile ago and she has not been able to wear them... until today! The schools are closed and we are expected to have 8 inches of snow by the morning. The girls had so much fun sledding and playing with the neighbors today!
Casey- see what you guys are missing!!!

New Years

ABC Book

Check out the book that we made for all the grandparents for Christmas:

http://app.picaboo.com/WebView/Project.aspx?clientID=96eac4ff080fef1668c9484e303806d8&version=80470

Belly Button!

Brynn and I have this little exchange that we do and I just love it:
"I love you to pieces." (me)
"All of my pieces?" (Brynn)
"Yes, from your head to your toes." (me)
"Even my belly button?" (Brynn)
"Especially your belly button!" (me)

A few Christmas photos.

Brooke found herself a nice warm spot!

Doesn't every one year old need a roller coaster!?!?!

videos 006.avi

Traditions

My brother-in-law is pretty sure that you do not create new traditions... That you don't intentionally say, "I am starting a new tradition."
Well, I am. My friend made these super cute Advent cards. You hang them on your mantle and pick a card each day of December. They contain activities such as "have a picnic by the tree" or "bake cookies and deliver them to your local fire station" or "write a letter to a military person and tell them thank you". We didn't get through all of them this year, but I have saved them for future years. The girls really enjoyed choosing the cards and doing the activity. It will be our new tradition...

We also LOVE getting Christmas cards. The girls enjoy looking at pictures of people they know and asking about people that they don't. I enjoy all of the cards we receive and hope that others enjoy ours as well.

Another tradition is attending the Candlelight service at church on Christmas Eve. I didn't get any good pictures this year...
We also give the girls new pj's every Christmas eve. This is a tradition that I had growing up that we have continued. Ainsley was not a big fan of it this year... check out the video above.

We also make reindeer food on Christmas eve. We mix together oatmeal and glitter and sprinkle it around our driveway and steps to help the reindeer find their way to our house and give them a little snack. We don't forget Santa! He gets yummy cookies and chocolate milk!