Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...again.

Ok, I know you're going to find this hard to believe, but it snowed here today...a lot. It started at about 9:30 this morning and snowed all day until around 5pm. These weren't the teeny tiny flakes we see around here (on the rare occasion we see any flakes at all), these were really large, fluffy flakes - and they came down fast! I think the news said we recieved two inches. Laugh if you must, but two inches will shut this little town down, and it did. There was no school, the banks were closed, grocery stores were closed...there was nothing open. This was Afton's first time seeing snow and she loved it! I had to stop her at the back door (actually, it was more like a tackle when she was halfway through the back door) because she was still in her pajamas with no socks, no shoes and no coat. I have never seen that child get dressed so fast! Too bad she couldn't have given me 3 minutes to get out of my pajamas. I'm sure the neighbors loved to see me in my flannel pants and sweatshirt! My only regret is that Joe wasn't here to share this first with us. He's still in Peru on business. The irony of it all is that he was supposed to be home yesterday, but decided to stay on for another week so that he wouldn't have to go back. As you can imagine, he's pretty bitter. I want to post all 20 pictures, but I'm trying to be better about editing them down...so here are a few of my favorites from today...

Girl's Night Out

A couple of the women that I work with decided that we needed a Girl's Night Out. So we did something that was completely unexpected and went to a little cafe here called The Juggling Gypsy and watched a Belly Dancing Showcase. Now, before you start thinking "how wierd is that?"...let me tell you how much crazy fun it was!! We heard about it from a mother of one of our preschoolers who is currently taking belly dancing lessons. It was her first showcase and she invited us to come watch. The atmosphere was fun and relaxing, the music was great...they even danced to some live music. Most of them danced to very traditional music, and had the little bells and tassles on their skirts - it was very "gypsy-esque". At one point they talked a little about how belly dancing was believed to be a way for women to improve the strength of their core muscles and their back to prepare for childbirth and then, lo and behold, out comes this dancer who is at least 4 or 5 months pregnant & she was phenomenal! She's in better shape then I am now and I'm not pregnant! These women moved with such grace and confidence that I found myself wondering how much these lessons cost, and if they could teach me not to be so clumsy!! We took about 400 pictures, but none of them with my camera, so as soon as I have the other girls email them to me I'll post them. I am so glad that I accepted the invitation and did something a little different, we're already talking about going back for the showcase next month.

Happy Birthday Afton & Ella!!

We had Afton & Ella's birthday party today. Beth (Ella's mom) and I have been the best of friends since we were about 16, we had the exact same due dates for our girls, Ella came early and Afton came late - so they are about one week apart; and they are quickly becoming fast friends! We decided to have a joint birthday party for them at Scooters Family Skating - they were so excited!! We were hoping to find something that the little kids would enjoy, as well as the older cousins; and I think we succeeded. We had such a great time! Even some of the adults laced up (yours truly included) - we soon realized that we are not as young as we used to be! There was only one major collision that I'm aware of, and the girls were so proud to show off their skates! The staff at the rink was awesome! They have a projection screen that kept flashing "Happy Birthday Ella" and "Happy Birthday Afton" through the whole party, they offered to play any CDs we brought in, they let the littlest ones bring scooters and ride on toys from home (Avery even brought a big wheels), the birthday girls got one month of free admission to the rink and they gave free admission coupons to all of our guests. Joe burned a CD for them to play, a mixture of Veggie Tales, Backyardigans, High School Musical, and Miley Cyrus. It was a My Little Pony theme, from the tablecloths to the goody bags to the amazing cake that Beth's mom made (check out the picture in the slideshow...it was beautiful and yummy!!) The only tears that I noticed from Afton were after the crash (although I think it was mostly because Ella was hurt, and Afton noticed the attention she was getting because she was crying), and then again when it was time to go. She refused to take her skates off and wore them all the way home. As we were leaving, we were already making plans for next year...this could become tradition! What a great day!

Sunbeams & Cookies

Yesterday was Afton's first day as a Sunbeam. She wasn't particularly excited about leaving Nursery. I kept trying to explain to her that she would be in "Big Kids Primary" with her cousin Nikki, and her friends Rebecca and Aiden. I told her that she was such a big girl that now she was going to be a Sunbeam. She said "No I'm not, I'm just Afton". She did pretty good for opening exercises she got to sit with Nikki during the talks and things. Class was a little harder, because there aren't any toys to play with, and Singing Time was mostly "Dancing and Singing Time" in her world. I'm torn between my calling as Primary President, and being her mom. But trying to see it from her perspective, there is a huge difference between what's expected of them in Nursery and Primary. We're going to have to do something to make that transition easier for all of them. Anyway - here are some pictures I took before we left for church. Although she couldn't have cared less about being a Sunbeam, she was really excited about the dress!

When we got home from church, Afton and Joe made some chocolate chip cookies together. They were so cute together - messy, but cute!

Licking her finger...

and the spoon...

and the beaters...it's amazing we had anything left to make cookies with!

The fruits (ummm...cookies?) of their labors.

So...where was I?

Oh yes, December. Afton chose the colors for our Christmas tree this year, so we ended up with purple and silver. I wasn't so crazy about the combo at first, but it actually turned out to be really beautiful. I was putting the wreath together one night when she asked to help...so I let her. She decided where all the ornaments went and under no circumstances was I to move any of them (okay, maybe when she wasn't looking I tweaked it just a touch), but either way; here's the finished product. We're very proud...

After she was finished supervising the tree decorating (think "No, mommy, not there! Next to the little purple one!" and "No, higher!") Joe and I let her put the star on the Christmas tree, with a little help of course...

I was the party mom for Afton's class Christmas Party at her Preschool, and it was so much fun!! Unfortunately, I was to busy to take any pictures, but as soon as I get them from the other moms I'll post them. We had a really low-key, non-crazy kind of party. I baked a couple dozen Chrismas sugar cookies in the shape of Christmas trees and tinted vanilla frosting green. We let each child take a couple of cookies and a big glob of frosting and had them decorate their own cookies, complete with sprinkles and sparkly green sugar. They were... ummm...interesting. And, just a note - if you are ever a party mom, I HIGHLY recommend letting them do that! It took a good 15 - 20 minutes and they were so quiet! We had pizza and some fruit and veggies - then onto the cupcakes. They also had a gift exchange, each child drew a name and bought a gift for that little boy or girl. We tried to keep it somewhat organized, but once the wrapping paper started to fly it was all over. After that we sang a couple Christmas carols and then sent them packing. Sugar them up and send them home...that's how I roll.

Now for the highlight of the month...Christmas!! This was such a fun Christmas! The week after Thanksgiving I went through a couple of toy books with Afton. I told her to circle the things that she wanted Santa to bring to her; and we would make a list for him. She was so into it!! At first she was very discriminating...only circling the things that really appealed to her, but by the end of it she was circling every page. On one page I asked her "Do you want these drums? Is that why they're circled?" and she said "No, I want the boy who plays the drums." I'm so proud...my little girl digs drummers. Well, needless to say, she did NOT get the little boy, neither did she get the drums. She did, however, rack up. Here are some pictures from Christmas morning...

I love a Christmas tree that's all lit up with tons of presents!!

Who knew that My Little Pony made a working Ferris Wheel and Roller Coaster?

Ok, this thing rocks! It's a Snugglekins by Fisher Price and the baby monkey coos and gurgles. But not in a creepy, going-to-chew-your-face-off-in-your-sleep kind of way. The swing plays a lullaby and lights up...it's Uber-cute!

I think this is the part where Afton yelled "LOOK MOMMY...IT"S A BABY MONKEY!!"

Every kid needs Candy Land - and this kid has beaten both

Joe and I at it almost every time we play!!

This adorable, fuzzy, pink back pack comes complete with a detachable ballerina teddy bear.

And nothin' says Christmas Day better than a giant lollipop for breakfast!