End of the Year "Recital"

One of the reasons we chose Logan's ballet studio is because they don't have two major recital productions a year.  Most studios have a winter recital and a spring recital, but, thankfully, this one only has a spring recital.  BUT, they do have an end of the year in class recital for parents to attend.  It allows us to see up front what the kiddos have been learning and allows them to show off!  This is the first recital of any sort that Mike's been able to attend, so it was really special for Logan.  She had a great time watching her and I think she had a good time showing us what she's learned.  

Logan with her teacher, Miss Patty (who owns the studio):

All of the girls in the class:

Logan with Sandra, the older girl who helps in class:

And we're so thankful this year that Logan has a few of her MOPS friends in her class!  Here they are together at the barre:  (Clara, Eliza and Logan)

We were also excited to hear that this year's spring recital will be Disney themed!  We can't wait to find out what song the girls will be dancing to!

Big Celebration!

We  have cause for celebration in our house this week!!

Brody has gone the entire week in big boy boxer briefs and has had ZERO accidents.  We are a diaper free home, again!  (minus sleep times)  My laundry will go down by 3 loads a week because of this.  

I will most definitely take this post as an opportunity to post a bunch of pictures of this sweet big boy.

Here he is using his diapers as boxing gloves.  This was the last picture I have of him actually in a diaper.  So bittersweet.  Don't miss the dirty diaper changing but miss that little diaper tush.

We've even ventured out of the house a few times diaperless and have had no accidents.  He tells me when he needs to go and we brave the public toilets (bleh!).

It's hard to tell here, but he's actually in his little boxers in the next picture. Looking like SUCH a big boy to me!

I love watching them grow up, and this is certainly a "babyism" I'm HAPPY to give up, but I wish he'd just slow down a bit!

The ballerina phase

Logan is so enchanted with ballerinas right now.  She loves her ballet class and counts down the days to it every week.  She practices daily and at any given moment you'll hear her "instructing" her dolls to "arabesque," "bourree,"  "plie," "echappe" or "piqque."  Her ballet vocabulary amazes me and she knows each of the moves to go with her words.  It's so fun to watch her grow and learn!

She also has a fascination with always being a ballerina.  She always, always, always has to have a tutu/pettiskirt on.  Or her leotard.  Otherwise she's not a "real" ballerina and that's a huge problem in our home.  Here are a few pictures spanning a couple of weeks to prove my point:

Ballet attire for class.

Ballet tutus with her pj's (and jacket?) for bedtime.

She's ALWAYS on her toes!

Ballet dress when the tutus are all being washed.

More bedtime tutus.

Tutus for playtime.

Tutus when playing ballet class.

And if all of the pink ones are in the laundry, green works well, too!  Just need something to spin in.

We have quite the little dancer on our hands.  I wanted  to make sure to post about it because I know as quickly as phases enter, they leave.  And while I don't know that this one is going anywhere anytime soon (because it's really been going on for over a year), I want to document it so she can look back on it one day.  Who knows?  Maybe we have the next Julie Kent living with us.

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving is such a fun holiday.  I love to cook and entertain and be with family, and this is a perfect opportunity!  I actually got to cook two turkeys this year and had so much fun.  We had a small group thanksgiving on Monday of Thanksgiving week and I cooked a 22lb bird and then I cooked a smaller bird for the family on Thursday.

The kids and I got up early and let Mike sleep in, he hadn't had a real day off in several weeks.  I got them in on the action this year and had them  help peel potatoes.  They loved it!

 

 

When Mike got up, they all sat together to watch the parade.  Logan alternated between sitting and dancing for everyone.  She has aspirations to one day walk in it, herself.  She'd like to be a Rockette.  :)

I was so thrilled when I sat them outside to take pictures and Logan gave me a nice, genuine smile!  It's so rare to get her to just smile and not grit her teeth or make a funny face.

Even more thrilling was that Brody cooperated, too, so we were able to get some really nice shots of the two of them together.

I can't believe she's almost four.  It's unreal.

After their naps, Logan helped me snap some green beans and kept me company while I finished up the Turkey.  Mike's Aunt Diane came over with her husband for dinner.  It was nice to be with family on Thanksgiving since our families are all so far away.

This November we've been keeping a thankful tree with the kids.  Each day they get a handprint and we write what they're thankful for.  We pray and thank God for whatever it is they say and then we hang the handprint (leaves) on the tree.  It's been a great exercise in thankfulness for all of us!  Here are the kids with the tree about midway through the month:

And here it is nearing completion:

 This year we are so thankful to have two healthy children, to have families who love us and most of all to have a God who gives us grace and forgiveness, daily.  Happy Thanksgiving!

It's Fall Ya'll!

It's been fall for a while, but I finally got around to getting some fall pictures last week.  The leaves have fallen so we've been doing a lot of leave pile playing lately.

It's been a beautiful fall this year!  Lots of temperatures in the 50's-60's and several days in the 30s-40's.  We're hoping this means a cold and snowy winter!

There are a couple of Churchill expressions if I ever did see any.

This was a random day where it hit 70, so Brody opted for shorts.

The kids love that we're able to sit outside for hours and play and are enjoying it now, before it gets too cold.

Have I mentioned how much I love this little girl?

She seriously melts my heart into little pieces.

And this little boy does the same.

Logan has been looking through different blog posts and keeps asking, "where are you mommy?"  So, here are some pictures so she can look through and see me, too, one day!

After being outside on the cooler days we've been warming up some apple juice and drinking warm "apple cider" in their coffee cups.  

It's been a fun fall, so far!

Dentist Visit

Logan had her third dentist visit last week.  This was the first "real" visit she's had, though.  The other two have been "happy visists" to get her used to being in the office.  For those she sat in my lap the whole time, had the dentist look at her teeth but not poke and prod and when they brushed her teeth it was just with a toothbrush.  This visit, she sat in the big girl chair and got the works!

Brody loved playing in the train themed waiting room!  They have a big electric train that circles the ceiling and he literally could have sat and watch it for HOURS.  The kiddos played drive through with the little firetruck in the picture.  Brody ordered apples and Logan is handing them to him.

The hygienist made her feel so comfortable and talked her through the whole process before doing anything.  She gave Logan a princess sticker and happily provided one for Brody when Logan asked for a sticker for her baby brother (melt my mommy heart!).  She commented over and over on how beautiful Logan's teeth and are and how well taken care of they are.  Logan was thrilled that she had no "cavity monsters" in  her teeth!  

I didn't get any pictures of L with Dr. Buddy (what a GREAT name to have as a pediatric dentist, isn't it?!) but he is fantastic.  Talks to her about princesses while checking her teeth, encouraging her to get her teeth up to "princess sparkle" standard.  He's just a fun Dr.  

Logan did SO WELL!  The last time we went she was supposed to have her big girl visit but the big chairs just scared her too much.  They say that a small child usually requires two of those happy visits to be comfortable enough to face the big room.  She climbed right in this time, locked on her special "dentist glasses" (they give them glasses to help with the bright lights) and was sweet and answered all of their questions.  Hopefully it'll go this smooth in six months when they both have appointments!

Sofia Premiere!

Disney started advertising their newest little princess months and months ago.  It's been pure torture for us as every day started with, "is it Sofia day?"  So, we were so thrilled to wake up yesterday knowing that it WAS Sofia day!

And we celebrated in Princess style.  We made glittery crowns to wear in the afternoon to help pass the time.  Logan's was pink.  Of course.  

We had Logan's favorite meal for dinner.  Since she's our resident princess, we called it our princess dinner.  (kilbasa, rice and corn)  And then the kids and I made a cookie pie for the viewing party!  (Brody had to have his own, masculine crown, too.)

When it finally hit 7 o'clock, Logan and I snuggled up with our crowns, ate our cookie slices and enjoyed the movie!  Now we'll be hearing about Sofia until January when the actual show premieres.  Thank you, Disney.  :)