Valentine's - Part 2

The kids came home today to find balloons and gifts from their Valentine (i.e., Mom).  Mia toted her gifts around for a while until she got bored of them and went after Ian's chocolate.



Last night we went out to dinner after Ian's science class and it was Kids' Night so they each got a free scoop of vanilla ice cream for dessert.  Mia really enjoyed hers, and what we couldn't catch on video was the shiver and giggle she did every time she got a big bite.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Mia celebrated her 15-month milestone by falling and hitting her head on the corner of the TV equipment in the bedroom.  She got a gash over her right eye but luckily didn't need stitches.  The spots under her chin in this photo are just food.

Christmas 2012 (Long Overdue)

I finally have my act together long enough to put together a post about Christmas and our travel adventures.  We visited the Ferners in St. Louis for the holiday this year, and our trip was action packed.

On Christmas Eve eve, we visited with the extended Meyrose family, where Mia and John became fast friends.




We spent Christmas Eve at Aunt Janet's house for the big present-opening extravaganza.  Mia dressed fancy for the occasion.




Mia and Katie were worn out from all the excitement, so they took a little snooze.


Then Santa brought even more presents for Christmas morning.


Later in the week we visited the Butterfly House.






Ian and Joe went in the bubble with all the cockroaches (yuck!).


Mia decided to stick to the puzzles.


For our last big adventure, we spent an afternoon (in the snow) at the St. Louis Zoo.


The penguins were Ian's favorite.






When we got home to Virginia, Santa had left even more presents under the tree!


And, at Ian's request, here is the annual photo of our gingerbread creations.

I am way behind on my blogging, as I still haven't put together a post about Christmas and our trip to St. Louis.  In the meantime, here are some highlights to tide you over.

Mia and Ian sharing goldfish.  Mia kept throwing hers backwards for the dogs, and Ian would make a noise that made her giggle so she kept doing it over and over again.


This weekend we enjoyed the warm weather with a trip to Burke Lake.




Tonight Ian gave Mia a ride on his plasmacar.

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.