Christmas Concert at School + Other Random Cheer

Today was pajama day at school for the girls!  I don't do many matching things for them, but I do love me some matching pjs.

We always drop Syd off first, then Mills enjoys showing me what they've been working on in class

lately, they've been busy learning their last names

snowman cookie pops for her party...this age group really loves stuff like this

Today was also Millie's very first Christmas Concert.  She's been practicing her songs around the house the past few weeks.  The kids did pretty good, especially considering there was a bit of a delay to get the thing started.  It was really fun to watch and Mills didn't seem embarrassed at all!  Video: Away in the Manger  & more Video: Jingle Bells

Before it even started, we could tell Millie was tired.  She was yawning and looking close to throwing the towel in.  No doubt because she woke up at 5am this morning...which isn't normal.  There's a bit of a story there though...nothing dramatic, just that our house is currently under construction.  The rock on the front of our house has been leaking into the dining room and garage.  We are having it fixed, and since Millie's room is above the dining room, we've had to move her bed into Syd's room.  Sleeping in the same room has been going really well, and they seem to love each other's company.  It's pretty sweet to hear them giggling on the monitor in the mornings.  But.  There are always random days where one wakes up wayyyy too early and wakes the other one up too (one morning, Millie surprised Syd by turning on the light...gah!  can you even imagine?!).  Which is what happened this morning and they both were extremely grumpy going to school this morning.

yes, Millie is still in a crib and we plan to keep her there until she's 10

Since moving her into Syd's room, she won't nap in her bed anymore.  Most days, I can get her to nap in our bed though.  She sleeps in the craziest positions.  I just want to smooch all over her when she's this peaceful.

It's felt very Christmas-y around here with all of the decor and tree up.  Syd runs in every morning to turn on the Christmas tree lights.

Our tree is looking a little sad this year.  No ornaments on the bottom half and some of the lights won't light up anymore....and possibly a few more holes than it used to have.  It still makes me happy to see it though.

Finally got back out the felt tree I made 2 years ago...it's going much better this time ;)

Our annual handprint art came out pretty cute...Millie was excited that hers looked like Chippy

Syd's Santa

And just because we were in the swing of things and Millie spotted the pink paint...

The school always does cute handprint art with the babies also.  Syd made two ornaments and one Santa sack this year at MDO.

She also made this magnet

She loves to get it down and hold it.   I think she's proud of it.

We are always blessed to have some nice weather days sprinkled into our winter.  It really helps us all to get outside for a bit.

I see the resemblance! <3

Some days it just doesn't work out though.  On this day, we bundled up and drove to the park, only to freeze our bottoms off.  So we hopped back into the car for a trip to starbucks to warm up.  This is Syd's very first cake pop.  A true milestone.  She grinned at it for quite awhile before chomping into it.  I love this picture.

Another milestone: this is Syd's last "Birds" class at The Little Gym.  After Christmas break, she will move up into the "Beasts" class.  Just like her big sister, she is absolutely loving her gym time.  So thankful I can do this with them.

I'm still terrible at getting a clear picture, even with the good camera.  I have lots to learn.  Maybe 2015 will be the year...

I so badly want to get a pic of Syd's beautiful chompers ;)

And finally...Millie gets to see Cayden this weekend!  They are home for the holidays, and we are lucky enough to snag them for a whole weekend!  We are going to the Great Wolf Lodge in Kansas City.  It has an indoor water park, so it will be entertainment right on the premises.  I'm really looking forward to spending time with them and seeing M & C play.  Millie can't wait to swim with Cayden.  I took a little video of her talking about it...and it's adorable because she's using her sweet voice.  Video: Mills can't wait to swim with Cayden

Christie Visit

My dear friend, Christie, came to visit last week.  I had her come on a Thursday so we could have some alone time to catch up before I had to pick the girls up from school.  We had lunch with JKK and toured Crystal Bridges art museum.  I love that place.  At night, we always do lots of cooking and wine drinking and movie watching.  I love my time with her and thankful for her visits.

Friday morning we took the girls to the new trampoline park that opened near us.  It. Was. Awesome.  We all loved it!

They have toddler time every morning for kids 6 and under, which was perfect.  Syd used a lot of her time to dance, rather than jump.  She's got a pretty awesome new head move.  Video: Syd dancing and jumping...sort of

I'm pretty sure Christie and I had more fun than the girls.  Such a great workout...we were all sweaty. ;)

We even saw Millie's friend, Lily Kate, there!  She tried to hold hands with Lily to get her to jump...we were all in awe as Millie jumped off this huge platform into the foam pit below! Video: Millie goes for it!

Those foam pits are like quicksand...so hard to climb out of.  We had the best time and will be going again soon!  Looking forward to the exercise class this place is offering beginning in January.

Christmas Train

We rode the Christmas Train again this year!  JKK stayed home with Syd and I took Millie to meet up with some girlfriends.  First we met at the donut shop, and the conversation was hilarious.  The three girls were discussing their sprinkle donuts, what their elves names were, and how excited they were to see Santa.  Both of Millie's friends are already 4 years old, so we are just a tad behind on our excitement to see Santa.  In fact, Millie wanted nothing to do with any character that day, especially Santa.  Meh, that's our girl.  She knows what she likes and doesn't like.  She still had the best time and it felt very special to be there with the big girls and doing big girl things!  A big thanks to Whitney for taking pics!

Elle, Hadley, Millie

Hadley's favorite thing in the world is Christmas.  For Halloween, she even dressed up as the Elf on the Shelf.  She knows every Christmas carol and wasn't afraid to prove it. ;)

Millie got into a bit of a funk when Santa came around.  After he was gone, she brightened back up and it must have surprised Hadley.  She started cracking up and pointing at Millie and said "look how happy Millie's face is!".

the only Santa she would go near

And this gem cracks me up...tell Elle and Hadley to pose for a pic and they are pros.  I told Millie to put her hand on her hip too, but I think she heard "head" instead of "hip".  Hahahahaha.  Elle is owning it.

Thanksgiving

Due to some crazy stuff going on in a suburb of St. Louis, we ended up only going for a night to see Midge and fam.  We drove up Thanksgiving day and met Midge, Ridge, and Kyle at our hotel.  We had a great room with a view of the arch, which was pretty entertaining for the girls.

The hotel phones are also a great source of entertainment.

Midge checked in to the hotel earlier in the day, and Kyle was equally fascinated.  I love this amazing pic she took of him!  I adore his little face.  He is the sweetest.

All set to see Kyle...

 ...and then he's here!

squeeze...where's Kyle?!

We had adjoining rooms, which worked out great for our belated birthday celebration for Midge!

HBD, Midge!

We met them at The Magic House children's museum the next morning on our way out of town.  

so many cool exhibits...Mills liked this veterinarian room

need this stairway in my house ;)

Three Amigos!

It was so wonderful to see them; definitely worth the drive.  Thankful they shared their St. Louis time with us!

Saturday, Aunt Coco and the boys drove out to see us, since we didn't get to see everyone else in St. Louis (very sad we missed the chance to see Aunt Kathy, Nick, Jack, and Beth).   We are always so so thankful they come to us, and we always enjoy our time with them.  Dan and Luc are very patient with the girls.  Millie has really taken a liking to Dan and wants his attention all the time.  He's a good sport about it. ;)

Her very first gingerbread house!  Millie had a good time putting it together with Daddy & Aunt Coco's help.  

Luc did a great job on his too!  He's very good with the details.  I failed to get a pic of Dan, but he also decorated one...in a very minimalist way.

<3

We always play card games when the girls go to bed.  It's so fun and pretty awesome that Dan and Luc want to hang out with us.  And yes, Buddy is still alive.

And now, it's time for Christmas!  A couple of weeks ago, Millie mailed off her letter to Santa.  She asks for a kitchen (even though she already has one) and a microphone (girl loves to sing) and a reindeer for her little sister (awwww).

Last week, we received a reply from the big guy, himself!

He points out that he loans out a reindeer to the Fayetteville Square every year, in lieu of giving one directly to Syd Pid.  It's a pretty great letter!

Millie has been watching the Elf on the Shelf movie quite a bit lately.  Our elf, Jasper, came last year, but we were surprised to find an additional girl elf this year.  You have to name them quickly for their magic to kick in, and we've had a hard time convincing Millie that her name shouldn't be Snowflake like the girl elf in the movie.  We finally landed on Juniper.  So Jasper and Juniper will be with us this holiday season to ensure the girls are on their best behavior!