merry christmas

From our house to yours...

Merry Christmas!

morgan's awards

Morgan's teachers do something a little different for awards. They call each child up and list the awards they will be receiving. Morgan was a doll. She stood up there for her 15 seconds and smiled with excitement. And then when I wanted a picture of her so I could send it to Michael, this is what I get.

Finally! A normal smile.

I admit I was a little worried about Morgan and Kindergarten. She showed no interest in reading and I knew she was a social butterfly. Yeah, she's had her lollipop taken away a couple of times for not listening, but she's still a five year old. Recently I've noticed her really taking an interest in books and reading them to us. Like this...

It's amazing the progress she's made in 4 months. I can't wait to see what else she has in store for us.

my soaring eagle

There's an award that the school gives out called the Soaring Eagle. Addison got the Soaring Eagle in Kindergarten when it was decided on by just her teachers. This year, in addition to the teachers, the kids in her class had to nominate someone for the award and give reasons why. Hearing her teachers read this as they gave her the award made my heart swell with pride. It gives me hope that maybe we are doing something right as parents.

Addison and her teacher Mrs. C.

Addison and Mrs. L.

I'm so proud of her. She's such a hard worker and takes so much pride in her schoolwork. I never once have to remind her to do her homework or read her book. Keep soaring high my eagle.

Now Morgan, that's another story.

kindergarten pow wow

It's that time of year. Time for all of the fall activities at school. The Kindergarten Pow Wow is something special. I remember Addison participating in Kindergarten and I was amazed at how much work went into this thing. It doesn't disappoint. Things kicked off with a tribal dance by Chief Chets Creek.

Then it was time for the kids to do their little dance. 

She did all the motions and sang all the songs. And she checked to make sure we were watching the entire time. There is not a shy bone in this child's body. She was all smiles.

I love her sweet face. She was so excited about the Pow Wow and couldn't wait to participate. I heard Indian songs being sung for weeks.

I wasn't able to spend the day doing crafts with her, so I gave her a big hug and kiss and told her how proud I was of her.

I'm lucky to have a couple of mom friends in the same class. They sent me pics from the day. I was a little sad I had to miss it, but it looks like she had just as much fun without me.

Leading up to the Pow Wow they had the build your own longhouse night. Morgan was the Iroquois tribe, same as Addison. So I was very familiar with how to make a long house.

And let's not forget the Indian. We had a good time making this thing together. In the end we decided Morgan's Indian name would be "Luminous Creator". We just went with it.

The second and last Pow Wow has officially come and gone. Thank you Chets Creek for making this day special.

trick-or-treating

The girls decided they wanted to go with a family superhero theme this year. It seemed easy so I didn't mind one bit. We had Bat Girl.

And Cat Woman. With pink hair of course.

Together they were ready to conquer the world!

 And save things that might be stuck in a tree.

The three of us together could take on anything!

Even Batman if we had to. Turns out, he's one of the good guys.

This must be where they get the faces from.

A Halloween would not be complete without our annual picture at the neighbor's house.

This is Christmas card material right here.

We hit a few houses in our neighborhood and for the first year went over to a friend of Addison's house. Since Halloween was on a Friday I wasn't worried about dinner and late bedtimes. I let it all go. And had a few beers while trick-or-treating. That always helps.

Happy Halloween!

strawberry shortcake

This costume has seen it's share of Halloweens. I think it's the 4th time it's been worn. But it's simple, easy and is perfect for the school's literary parade. Just like Addison, I knew Morgan wouldn't wear the wig for very long. So I got this brilliant idea to dye her hair pink. Not with the spray stuff. It had to be temporary color.

How did it turn out? Pink and perfect! She stood at the bus stop with the biggest smile on her face, posing for every car that drove by.

She also did some more posing for me. To get the good pictures, I must go through all of this.

In the long run it's worth it. I get the good pictures and a good laugh.

Addison and I watched the parade together at her classroom. She was so happy to have me there with her.

Then I went back to Morgan's class to help out with the crafts for a little bit. Her favorite craft? The snack table. Donuts complete with vampire teeth.

*A note about the pink hair. I would later learn that the temporary hair color the girl at Sally's told me would wash out was in fact semi permanent hair color. Yeah, it washes out. After months of washing. Here we are 2 weeks after Halloween and her hair is still a bit pink. Lesson learned? Always read the bottle.