Holiday Show 2012

This year our daycare held their 1st Holiday Show.  All of the classes practiced their performances for weeks, and some even made costumes.

Mia's class was supposed to dance to "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" but the performance can only be described as a total disaster.


Ian's class sang three songs.  Ian knew all the words and sang along the whole time, but he didn't seem to be enjoying himself very much.

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer:


Jingle Bells:


Feliz Navidad:

Santa Visits

We've been busy making the rounds on the holiday party circuit this weekend.  Last night the kids stayed up way past their bedtimes to visit with Santa during his annual pre-Christmas visit to Frugality Ct.

Ian was happy to see Santa, and even happier to get a new car-building kit as an early gift!




Mia wasn't sure what to think of Santa at first ...


... but she quickly made up her mind.


We thought we'd give it another try at Joe's company Christmas party this afternoon, but Mia still didn't want anything to do with Santa.  We were even in a completely different room and Santa walked by and smiled at her and she screamed all over again.  Sorry Santa, maybe next year.




Ian also got his face painted like Rudolph (he hasn't let us wash it off yet).




And just for good measure, here's one of Mia "rearranging" some ornaments on the tree.

Decking the Halls

We've been busy getting ready for Christmas!

Last weekend we went to a tree farm to find the perfect tree.  Ian helped Daddy cut it down and drag it to the barn.




Refueling with some apple cider while waiting for the tractor to take us and our tree back to the parking lot


Ian was a big help with the ornaments


Mia just wanted to pull them off and scatter them around the house


Finished!


Yesterday it was 70 degrees so we headed out to the Winter Walk of Lights at Meadowlark Gardens. Mia rode in the stroller and pointed at all the colors and shapes.  Ian led the way down the path of lights and stopped for a few photos at his favorite spots.

Here are a few recent pictures:

Mia's first train ride at the mall


Big brother helping to read Mia's favorite book


Sparkly hair bow!


Peek-a-boo!

Mia had her 1-year checkup yesterday, and the doctor says she is doing great!



Her face is a little messy in this photo from the tumble she took on the driveway and the red marker she tried to shove up her nose.

Mia weighs in at 20 lbs 1oz and measures 29.5 inches tall.

Here are some recent pictures that hadn't made it to the blog yet:

Playing a game.

Riding the school bus at the park.

Trying out Mom's Halloween hat.

Where's Ian?

Finally, cotton candy success!

Sketti face.

Happy Birthday Mia!

Mia is 1 year old!  Hard to believe her first year has come and gone already.

She's now towering above her bear.


And climbing over everything.








Mia had a birthday party with the family.  First pizza, then presents, the on to the best part - cake!

She spent more time playing with the box than the gift.




Yummy cupcake!

Happy Halloween!

We had a very eventful Halloween today.  In the morning, the kids went to school and Daddy, Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Janet got to see the Halloween parade.

The babies made the rounds in the buggy.  This picture was taken before Joey (the monkey) pulled off Mia's peacock hat.


Ian the Pirate led the way for the 3 year olds.


The prettiest peacock.




Ian loved to say "arrrrrrrrrr."






Trick-or-treaters, ready to take on the neighborhood.

Mia took her first steps today!  She has been getting more daring and standing on her own more often and for longer stretches, and today she found her balance then took three steps forward.  She'll be off and running in no time!

Dentist

This morning Ian had his first dentist appointment.  He did really well!

Our dentist's office has bird cages in each treatment room and Ian really enjoyed watching the birds.  He didn't like the tooth brushing so much, but he tolerated it.  His favorite part was the rinse-and-spit sink - he filled the cup about 10 times.  The dentist gave him a bag of goodies with a toothbrush, toothpaste, and an hourglass timer to measure how long he should be brushing.  He got to pick 3 toys from the treasure chest, and the dentist made him a special "balloon" out of a glove and then drew a rooster face above the thumb.  Ian took his goodies to school to show all of his friends.

Pumpkin Patch

We went to the pumpkin patch yesterday with Grandma and Grandpa Hansroth.  Ian had a great time!

First he got his face painted with a scary spider.


Then he put on his "partner hat" (because cowboys say howdy partner) and went on a pony ride.


We even took a hayride out to the pumpkin patch.