Mills & Syddles: December

Our first time seeing the Rogers Christmas Parade! We chose a terrible spot and didn't get to witness it like it deserved, but it was still a good time! Millie and Dylan were front row, but man, it was freezing and Mills kept asking to go but Dylan wanted to stay. Tough call. Looking forward to doing it again next year and being a bit more prepared tho!

Syd wasn't feeling great so she stuck close to us

Juniper and Jasper are so sweet to bring treats every so often!

A fun Friday night for Syd at a girl scout event where she earned NINE badges!

Proud of those badges

Millie was chosen for star student of the week!

She had to bring a quote that she really liked, and after a bit of googling, this one we found was it! Fits her so perfectly.

This magazine what the one thing she brought to show the class ;)

always watching. judging.

The cats got new beds for Christmas and really seem to love them. Super snuggly. One afternoon, I found Syd sitting in one and made her get out of it. I said those are dirty, don't sit there. She started crying and said "well they get in my bed!". Touche Syd. I did explain that we don't wash the cats' beds though...

One cold and wintery December evening, we took the Fab Four to see Crystal Bridges North Forest Lights. The grounds surrounding the museum are beautiful forest and hills with trails all throughout. The museum set up a gorgeous exhibition of lights in the forest and had lovely concession stands serving hot chocolate and spiked hot chocolate for the adults. Yummmm. Such a fun night. Most of my pics came out like this ;)

Millie ended up being in a promotional video dancing around, which we later saw advertised on Instagram. Pretty cool!

Fun for all!

Break out the stretchy pants...mom came over to help with the annual Christmas cookie baking this year.

The girls LOVE taking plates to all of their favorite teachers!

Lily and her damn pink toy that she loses every 5 minutes and drives you crazy begging to get into the pantry or laundry room to look for it. But she's so happy to see it that we keep trying to help her find it.

Millie continuing to do well on her spelling tests!

These gals got prizes for moving up to the next level in math!

snowflake day (where white)

Nightly reading homework with Syd

Fun ornament exchange at Girl Scouts - they also made piggy banks for a fund raiser

Elle's bday party at the slime studio was pretty darn cool!

slime slime slime all the time

We heard about this pop-up Christmas bar on the Fayetteville square, so we had to take Paul and Emily to check it out. It was super awesome! Decorated all Christmasy and they only served Christmas drinks.

The eggnog was superb!

neighbors that have become friends <3

riding a polar bear?!

she can still be hard to please ;)

I feel like I'm on an endless loop to and from the school, but I'm so happy I get be a stay at home mom for them! I read an article recently about how one of the best things you can do for your kids is to show them you are happy to see them...whenever they come down the stairs in the morning, get in the car after school, or come home from a friends house. To have a moment with a hug or a kind word before harping on them to pick up their stuff or get ready to go. I think it's lovely advice in this busy world.

Time for Syd's school field trip to the Christmas Train! We tried to get pics with the cats in front of the tree, but we can all agree these are pretty fun fails. Can you even see Jasper in there??

Lily's turn!

Syd and sweet little Sabrina. Sadly, Sawyer came down with the flu and couldn't go on this field trip. I could tell Syd was missing her.

Look. At. Syd's. Face. What happened??!! She can be a bit of an emotional rollercoaster, especially when she's tired.

Cookies and hot chocolate - aaand she's back to happy!

High fives for Santa's helper. Unfortunately, Santa couldn't come on this train ride, but he did send a helper to deliver the Terrific Kid awards for the month. And guess what??

Syd was chosen for Mrs. Armstrong's December Terrific Kid!!! So proud of our sweet girl who works so hard to be a good helper to her classmates and teachers.

Syd, Sabrina, Marley, and Mrs. Armstrong, whose Christmas jammies game is strong!

Millie attended James bday party at the Young Chefs Academy and had a blast! They learned how to make their own pizza dough, and she said it was the best pizza she's ever eaten.

While Millie was at the bday party, Syd went to Target to spend some of her Christmas money! We probably won't ever step foot in a Target on a Saturday in December ever again. Phew!

December is EXHAUSTING.

Syd made another note for Santa, hoping the elves would take it to him. I laughed when I found it in the squirrel's (nutcracker) mouth.

First of all, don't stop believin'. Second of all, can you see her candy cane sword?? Remember doing that when you were little?

Millie goes from tomboy...

...to girly girl seamlessly. She's the coolest.

Millie gets another award in her class...she really rises to these challenges! Anything for candy...

DDC (Diamond Dance Crew) Christmas Party....of course there was dancing!

my buddy

Christmas Book Club shenanigans: my gift was these funny dish towels. Emily and I decided to recreate the picture. (I'm the alligator.)

Nailed it, right?

Some mornings are harder than others. It was elf day in Millie's class! That's buddy the elf on her pants too. She just wasn't feeling it.

Diamond Dance Crew performance at the monthly school assembly. Millie has a bow in her hair and I didn't even recognize her ;)

Millie brought home a super adorable Christmas present she made for me. It's a calendar! With hand-drawn pics on every month. Examples below. I love it.