Sledding, Texas Style

They wanted to go play so we went to play! Grabbed one of the sleds and headed to the park to see if we could slide down the small man made hill at the park. When I say small, I mean small. It was worth a try and if it didn't work I could just pull them across the ball fields in the sled and not look like to much of an idiot for trying to sled down a hump in the park. They had fun walking but the sidewalk was solid ice. I made them walk in the grassy parkway on the way. Their rain boots may be waterproof but they have no traction. No, they don't have snow boots. What the hell do we need snow boots for living up here? Their feet grow so fast they probably wouldn't even last the whole winter. (OK confession, I bought them some snow boots on Zulily a few days after the snow so I'm sure we will not have any more snow until 2017.)

Megan is my snow bunny and she loved it right from the beginning. It took us a while to convince Emily she needed to go down the hill. She looked like a natural on the sled but didn't really warm up to the idea very quickly. She had a lot of fun out there though (until she made a snow angel on the way home and got snow all over her and in her boots and mittens).

Our little hill actually worked pretty well. I even took a ride (no pics of that one, sorry) and it worked. I probably got a 40 yard slide out of it. It really isn't much of a hill but with a plastic sled and slippery snow, it was a blast. Maybe a little safer than the driveways and streets covered in ice that we slid down as kids, and absolutely not as much fun, but it definitely worked for the preschool set that didn't know any better. We were the ONLY people out there too. I found that fairly odd. It was the afternoon on the day after Christmas and it had warmed up considerably with very little wind so where the hell was everyone? We didn't pass anyone on our walk to the park and we didn't even hear anyone playing on the way either. A few cars drove by and they probably thought we were crazy.  Hey, we were having fun. More fun than they were for sure!

Merry Christmas!!

SANTA CAME!

apparently he left gifts for a few families at our house.

Santa ate his cookies and drank his milk too.

Matthew was up early but was completely unaware of what Christmas morning means to little kids. He just wanted his yogurt, cherry cereal bar, milk, woobie, and a cartoon to watch. He had no idea the study was full of new toys.

OK, the girls are up and Matthew finally figured it out. He wanted nothing to do with his stocking until we started pulling cars and trains out of it. Then he followed us around asking for us to pull more stuff out of it.

Megan got a Princess Sofia doll! Santa is good.

What? A Rapunzel Bride doll?

That Santa ... how does he know?

You should have seen the flood of paper and tissue. They were present opening machines this year and didn't stop until every package was opened.

Matthew took a break from the action and crawled up into James' new tailgating chair to have a snack.

Daddy put together the toys and all three of them liked Bubby's toys the best. This is a work bench with screwdriver, hammer, wrench. It was a big hit, and still is, thanks to Grammy!

The best present was yet to come. It SNOWED! "They" said we might get a trace but nothing much but it was a good, heavy, wet snow and we got a couple inches before it was done. Santa also brought sleds this year because (s)he found them on Amazon.com. A three-pack of plastic sleds for $25 just sounded too perfect for our family and the kind of snow (ice) we get most often. The sleds were just put away in the shed for our first snow day and the kids didn't know we had them. More sledding pics to come but I had to put these here because it was Christmas day!

"How many times do I have to tell you, Mom? I don't do bundled up. Period. It's cold and I belong inside."

Pre-Christmas Fun

As usual, the month before Christmas is a busy time for us. This year, it was complicated by EVERYBODY getting sick at one time or another. What a nightmare the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas were this year. I'm pretty sure I was sick from Halloween until mid-December and the girls each missed a couple days of school. We had to reschedule our trip to visit Santa and the Trains at Northpark because Matthew was sick. No worries though, we made it and were all well enough to attend the important stuff!! This year's Christmas Program at KDO was about the littlest angel and how she got her wings. It was a cute story. Megan's class, the Pre K Wolves, were the choir of angels and actually participated in the show on both Thursday and Friday since they attend school both days. Emily's class was in the Thursday program. She was a shepherd and rocked the frock for sure!!

Their next day back at school after the program was their Christmas parties. They chose to be "stinky twinkees" and wear the same outfits. The funny thing is the shirts are from last year and they still fit! I was very lucky that their parties were at different times this year. Megan's was first thing in the morning and Emily's was at lunch time. I had just about two hours between the parties. Last year, I spent so much time running back and forth between the classrooms during their parties and I always felt bad when I left one kid alone while I went to see the other.

Megan painting ornaments. She did pretty good ... compared to some of her classmates. Not bad for the second youngest kid in the class!

Marshmallow snowman. Cute idea!  I just wanted to eat it.

Emily waiting for her book exchange during her party. It's kind of a cute idea but they really just don't get it at this age. "what do you mean I have to pass presents around? Don't I get to keep them all?"

She was excited about her book. They like Goofy!

My four favorite people at the entrance to the Northpark trains. It's an annual thing and the trains don't change much but it is a great tradition and I love it. Matthew enjoyed it a little more this year. The kid is really into his trains.

My cuties all dressed and ready for Santa!!

Christmas Eve was cold but very sunny and we had been cooped up for a while with sick kids and rain so we bundled up and walked to the park. As you can see, Matthew is NOT a fan of the puffy coat or the hat. Actually, he hates them. Gotta do it, kid. Sorry! Maybe next winter he will wear some mittens.

Megan ... well, I'm not sure what she's doing ... just go with it.

Crazy Emily!

Welcome, what food do you want?

I included this picture just because James is in it and he's wearing a Santa hat at the park.

And Matthew looks super cute all bundled up.

Emily is FOUR!!

I can't believe it has been 4 years since my little Emily surprised us with her early arrival. Looking back at her pictures from the NICU to find a good one to post brought back a flood of emotions that are still so raw. I know it all worked out just fine and she is a wonderfully normal, free-spirited, silly-hearted 4 year old but the fear of the unknown, what could have been, what other parents of preemies were going through at the same time is still so vivid. When she was born and during her time in the NICU we didn't share photos of her all hooked up to the tubes and monitors. It was difficult to deal with, let alone share with others. I decided to post here the first picture ever taken of my baby Emmy. This was taken at 11 pm, 3 hours after she was born, and about 8 hours after I initially went into labor at 30 weeks and 4 days. After my c-section, the rolled me down to the NICU in my bed so I could see her and that's when I snapped this pic with my Blackberry. She weighed in at a whopping 3 lbs 9 oz and was 16.73 inches long. 

What a difference a year makes!

21 lbs 8 oz

29" tall

She was in the 50-75th percentile for girls her actual age. Basically, she was bigger than half the one year olds, including those who were born when they were supposed to be.

And here she is at two years old. We were quickly learning that the dramatic entrance was only the beginning for this little one. Oh the drama that is to come.

27 lbs 14 oz

35.5" tall

She actually shot up to 90th percentile in height while staying 50-75th percentile in weight. Tall and skinny but look at those chunky cheeks!!

Funny, I don't really have an actual 3rd birthday picture. The pics from the party didn't come out great, for whatever reason, so this is what I have.  What a beautiful smile my little broken toothed three year old had!

32 lbs 4 oz

38" tall

She started to even out a little again staying 50-75th percentile in weight and 75th in height.

Probably because she decided to stop drinking and eating all milk products and shifted her focus to peanut butter and chicken nuggets.

So now she is four! I couldn't get a good pic of her without Megan but that's OK because they're inseparable. She is all blinged up for her "Grandma Party" at home. Grammy and Grandma came over for lunch and cupcakes, which is why she's eating frosting off a spatula.

4 year well check isn't until March so I don't have her official stats yet but she's about 35 lbs and 40 inches tall.

My Baby Girl is FIVE!!

FIVE!!

 

 

 

Megan on the day she was born.

 

 

 

ONE

 

 

TWO

 

 

THREE

 

 

FOUR

 

 

 

This year, Megan insisted on a "girls only" birthday party. Since we don't know very many girls her age (she is one of only three in her class at Pre-K) we decided this was the perfect opportunity for an at-home birthday parties. I had become spoiled by planning their parties outside the home because the places took care of most of the stuff and I didn't have to clean my house before or after a party.  She wanted a princess theme so we went all out and did a Princess Tea Party. We rented youth-sized tables and chairs and set up a fancy party for them in what was once our dining room. (The dining room has since been re-purposed as a play room and the furniture is now, sadly, in storage.)  Complete with the Barbie princess cake they always scream about when we pass through a bakery. We had fantastic weather for a December in North Texas and the girls spent most of the time running around outside in the backyard, riding bikes, power wheels, and knocking the piss out of a butterfly pinata.  

 

 

 

We also decided to splurge a little on some guest entertainment since we were saving money on the party itself.  Rapunzel made a surprise guest appearance and the girls were just elated!! She told them a story and sang songs so they could dance around. Megan didn't know she was coming, otherwise she may have chosen to wear her Rapunzel costume instead of her new Ariel costume but she wasn't upset about that. 

 

October Life - as normal as it gets!

The girls continued with Gymnastics. I have so much fun watching them learn new things. When Emily started almost one year ago, she couldn't even jump with both feet off the floor. Now, she is jumping off beams and landing on her feet. She is becoming increasingly more confident every week and is growing up to be such a big girl!! Don't get me wrong, she still has her moments and sometimes even refuses to go into class, but ultimately she doesn't want to quit. Megan is really picking it up. Her cartwheels are getting straighter and she is also gaining confidence. A year ago, she would go from one thing to the next, and wait for instruction from her coach. Now, pays attention and knows what she is supposed to do without too much prompting. Sometimes I wonder when she's going to "get it" and other times I am amazed at what they have my just-turned-5-year-old doing.

 

We also took a short dip into dance. Long enough for me to put a deposit down on recital costumes but short enough for me to lose said deposit. The girls were too busy and something had to give. Truth be told, the only reason I agreed to let them do dance AND gymnastics was because they both originally said they wanted to quit gym instead. I would rather they do gymnastics than dance - no recital costumes or shoes so it's a little less expensive!  Somehow, gymnastics seems more of a sport, even if you do dance for Miss Abby Lee!  ha ha!

 

 

One thing remains constant. Megan loves soccer and she loves her team. I think she excels more in the indoor arena, though I'm not sure why. It's always fun to watch her play and she improves with every game. It's like a little light flips on in her mind and she realizes what she should be doing on the field. Emily wasn't really all that in to soccer but she wants to play again in the Spring and is really anxious to start. Lucky for us, we don't start until February so she's still "on break" from her soccer work out. 

 

 

And then there's Halloween.  Megan wanted to be "Rapunzel Wedding" from Tangled Ever After, the short where Rapunzel and Eugine/Flinn get married. She said it for months and stuck with her costume, no matter what (and looked darn cute). Emily, on the other hand, wanted to be Merida with the green dress. She wore it once, to KDO Trunk or Treat, and I didn't even get a picture of it! The picture below is of her in the blue Merida dress headed to school for their Costume Parade and Halloween Party.  Megan is in her Rapunzel dress, complete with veil, flowers and ring!!

 

Which leads us all the way to the end of October and time for Trick or Treating!!  Emily has changed her mind, once again. I think she just likes to dress up and accessorize and it's just passe to wear the same costume twice. Who knows but I think we might be in trouble when that little girl REALLY starts caring about her wardrobe. She already has more shoes than I do.  Travesty.  Oh! And look who finally got a picture on this post!!  Our little train engineer!!  He wouldn't wear the hat or the bandanna so really he is just in overalls and a shirt. I stuck a train whistle in his back pocket to try to make the costume. After we walked the neighborhood begging for sugar, the girls wanted to pass out candy at our house so they set up shop on the steps. They were stingy with it to. I think they were keeping it for themselves.