Our Baby Girl is 1

Mikayla had her first birthday on Saturday, December 29th. I knew the day was coming, but it was all so bittersweet. As a parent, I want to see her grow and thrive and learn new things. I am excited and proud when she masters a new skill or learns a new word. But, I am still just a parent, and I realize that times goes WAY too fast. I miss the days of endless snuggles and complete reliance on me. But now, she's too busy to snuggle with Mommy...I might hold her back from exploring a new part of the living room or enjoying a laugh with her sisters.


I think it's harder on me this time because she's our last baby. With Alayna and Lilly, I knew that we would most likely have more, so the baby-ness was more on hold than it was gone. But as everyone says, you can't stop time. And since I can't stop it, I may as well enjoy it. So without further ado, here are some pictures and videos from Miss Mikayla's first birthday.

Guilty

At 12:45 this morning, we woke up to a loud crash and a yelp. Obviously, Andy and I both jumped out of bed and ran downstairs to see what had happened. This is what awaited us as we entered the living room...

And this is the one who committed the crime...


Her motive? We think it was the ham bone that she had for dinner. She loved it, but it must have left her a bit thirsty, as both her water bowls were empty (but had been filled when we went to bed). When we put 2 and 2 together, we realized that she must have been going for the water in the tree stand. I was planning on taking down the trees this morning, but poor Sunny beat me to it.

More snow!

We've gotten several inches of snow over the past few days, much to the girls' delight. We figure that since Saturday, we have probably had about 8" or more of new snow fall on what we already had. Before Lilly fell ill last night, the girls went out to play in the snow!



When they came in, they wanted to watch "Mr. Increbidles" (yes, that's spelled that way on purpose...that's how Lilly says it) So here are all 3 of my girls, all lined up and watching their movie.

We survived...sort of

We survived another busy holiday, thankfully. We were surrounded with family and friends who all showered us with lots of love and laughs. It was a great time all in all.

Friday night a bunch of us friends got together and the ladies baked cookies while the guys played cards. We had a blast and baked (and ate!) way too much. But it was a great way to get together with friends and kick off the Christmas weekend. Saturday we had Andy's dad's side of the family here for their gathering. I think it ended up being 26 people here, but I'm not sure. It was a good day. Sunday we hung out at home after going to church. We lounged around, watched the terrible Packer game, and just bummed. Monday was Christmas Eve, so we had my sister and parents over for brunch and present opening between us. Then we headed to church and then Andy's parents' house for dinner and presents with them. Tuesday morning we had our family Christmas between the 5 of us and Santa, then my mom's side of the family came over. I think that time it was 24 people. Again, a great time with lots of laughs and good times. Yesterday I took the day off of daycare to recoup and just enjoy the girls and their new toys.

It sounds like everything went well, right? Well, the reason I titled this "We survived...sort of" is because of the bumps that came along with all the good things. Like Alayna getting sick on Sunday evening, or Mikayla getting sick in the middle of Christmas Eve church service. Or how about Alayna and Lilly getting too wild on their new see-saw and Lilly's nose smashing into the handlebars, giving her her first bloody nose (a double one, at that) and a scraped lip. Now Lilly was sick during the night last night and Andy attempted to go to work, but only made it 12 miles before he turned around and came back. So needless to say, I'm just waiting for my turn and in the meantime, drinking tons of water and making sure to take my vitamins!

I hope you all had a safe, healthy and very Merry Christmas!

Pictures from Christmas

Here are some pictures that were taken over the course of our 4 day Christmas celebration.


This was Mikayla's first time opening a present. She had so much fun with the paper that Gramma Paula had to deal with the present-Mikayla could have cared less!




Christmas morning and Santa came!

Nightmares

I have always had very vivid dreams. Most people barely remember that they even dreamt in a night, and I can tell you the color of my shirt, brand of car, full name of the stranger I met, etc. It's always humorous to Andy when he says, "I dreamt I was in Africa," and that's all he remembers. I then go on to tell him my entire movie.

Andy and Alayna are both in a wedding in early January and we recently got the itinerary for the big day. One thing mentioned was that there will be transportation provided from the wedding to the reception for the wedding party. Apparently, this was on my mind as I drifted into dream-world last night...

In my dream (or nightmare) I arrived at the reception site with our younger two girls and chatted with friends while waiting for the wedding party to arrive. As I talked with a friend I hadn't seen in awhile, she asked where Alayna was. I told her that she was in the limo with the rest of the wedding party, and the friend swore that she saw Alayna at the church after the limo left. Of course, I called Andy's cell phone immediately and kept getting his voice-mail. I asked around to anyone and everyone, and they all had conflicting times and stories of when they'd last seen Alayna-but most said it was after the limo left. I was in a state of panic, bawling, and willing myself to wake up (I have this ability in my dreams, too. Weird, I know.) I must have heard Andy's alarm go off, because in my dream it was my cell-phone ringing. I saw it was Andy, answered it and screamed "Where is Alayna?! Is she in the limo?!" Apparently, I yelled that in real life, because Andy shook me awake to see what was going on. He said my heart was racing and I had tears streaming down my face...

This time of year, aren't I supposed to be dreaming of sugar-plums and dancing fairies? Geesh. I really don't like my very vivid dreams sometimes, and last night was one of those nights. But rest assured, we checked on Alayna and she was sound asleep in her bed, probably dreaming of those fairies and plums.

Busy, busy

Our weekend was busy but just as much fun as I had anticipated. We had great entertainment, great food, even better company and okay weather (it was a little cold to stand outside after dark, but we managed) All in all, a very good holiday weekend.

But then reality hit and I realized that in less than a week, I was going to be hosting 2 holiday gatherings for more than 20 people each. Yikes. I had a lot to do and not so much time to do it in.

So the last few days have been spent cleaning, organizing and straightening up between the dirty diapers, meals, crying fits and arguments that are part of my life as a mom and daycare provider. I don't have much more to do, and what I do have left is mostly last-minute things. Like I've learned never to mop the floor in the kitchen until at least 24 hrs before-hand (or even closer, if possible) It just doesn't happen because it's inevitable that someone will spill their milk or drop their oatmeal on the floor. I also leave the main bathroom for near last because of the last minute showers and baths that need to be taken. As for the mirror, happens about 5 minutes before people get here because I just know that I will get toothpaste splatters all over it within seconds of wiping it down if I do it early. These are things that you come to learn when you have kids (or a husband, for that matter) Gone are the days of cleaning well in advance and keeping it clean. Sure, you can clean up and keep it clean for days...if you have a lock on the door going into that room. Otherwise, you'll have to go over it again at least once. Now don't get me wrong, my house isn't dirty and my family aren't pigs. But they're kids and with kids comes a certain amount of clutter and mess. But it's all worth it. I'd take laughter and smiles over a perfectly clean house any day.

Holiday fun

I am very much looking forward to this weekend. We have a lot planned and tt should be a lot of holiday fun with friends and family.

First off, tonight we are going to watch my cousin play basketball. We haven't been to one of her games yet, but I've heard she's doing really well. While playing JV the other night, she scored 16 pts! So even though she's playing against our school, we don't know any of the older kids anyway, so we'll cheer on Brianna! Good luck and we'll see you there!

Tomorrow, Andy and I are joining my parents for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. I am very excited, as they are among my tops for Christmas music. I love how they take the traditional songs and give them a bit of a rock flair, without taking away from the music. If any of you have not heard their music, I highly recommend it. By the way, they are the ones who do the music on the Christmas lights show I displayed in a previous post.

After the show, we are meeting up with our friends (who will have the girls-thanks again for watching them while we're at the concert!) and my sister to watch the Holidazzle Parade. It's a great tradition that we try to do every year, though the weather isn't always permitting with our young children. But we try. Anyway, the parade is full of people wearing lighted costumes that are snowflakes, candies, elves, etc. The floats are all lighted and playing Christmas music and it's just such a magical experience for the little ones--and the big ones, too.

Once the parade is over, we hit the Old Spaghetti Factory for some yummy food. My personal fave is the spinach tortellini, but Alayna will tell you they have the best spaghetti ever! We shall see, because she's said the same about mine before. Then we cap off the night with games and fun at our friends' house. It's always a great weekend and something that I look forward to all holiday season. I'm sure I'll have pictures come Monday, but don't hold me to it.

Alayna's school program

Alayna had her school program yesterday afternoon. It was pretty cute and Miss Alayna, along with her best friend, was chosen to be the "Mousey in the Snow" for the one song. The two girls were center stage, dressed as mice and dancing, while the rest of the first graders sang the song. It was pretty darn cute. So, without further ado, here is my little mouse.

Winter Wonderland

These were all taken in our yard this morning. It was cold (about 5 degrees) when I took these pictures. I just thought it was all so beautiful!

Ride 'em, Cowgirl!

This has been a favorite toy of our own kids as well as my daycare kids. Thanks, Aunt LaRaye, for finding this rocking cow over 6 years ago. It has certainly gotten a full life here!

Christmas lights

The girls and I have been addicted to watching things like this on the internet. I so wish that we could go see one in person, but I doubt it will ever happen. Oh well, that's what we have DSL for, right?! So here is our favorite of the ones that we've seen these past few days while searching.

Our Singing Stars

The girls had their Sunday school program yesterday and it was just too cute. Alayna was Mary and had a solo, and Lilly was a sheep and was supposed to sing a duet, but the other little boy wouldn't sing so she sang a solo! We were so proud of them and they both did beautifully. Here are some pics and video of each of the girls singing. On Lilly's video, you need to wait about 20 seconds until the little boy gives up the microphone and she gets to sing.

Pics of our Christmas decorations

I was on-line this morning, checking my e-mail and friends' blogs before coming on here, and I had to laugh. My intent for this post was to show pics of our decorations. My friend Carol had the same intent with her blog. Great minds think alike, huh? So without further ado... our house.

Those of you who haven't been here, may think that our house is set up kind of odd. It's a modified split-level, so we have a ground level, a "split-level" and a second story above our ground level, plus a basement under the split-level portion. If you were to go from floor to floor, you zig-zag. It makes for an interesting lay-out, but we like it. Anyway, this is the "breakable" Christmas tree that we have in our living room, which is in the middle level of our house.

This is the train that goes around that tree. It used to be my parents' train, but I always loved it so they gave it to me when I got my own house (they no longer had a cat and had originally gotten it to scare the cat away from the tree)

Here are the stockings for our family going up to the upstairs, where the bedrooms are. We are still technically in the living room. And since our house is set up like it is, we have a lot of railings. All of the railing have the garland on it like in the pic.

Here's our snowman coffee table, also in the living room. The nativity scene is in this room also, but I didn't include pics since I just put those up the other day.

Now we are in the family room, which is on the ground floor of the house. Here is a picture of my Candy/Gingerbread Village. It all started as a bit of a joke due to my name, but I love it and try to get new pieces each year.

Here are some of the miscellaneous decorations that adorn the other side of the built in entertainment center, opposite the village.

And here's the whole unit, so you can get an idea of what I'm talking about. It's something that I love and hate, all at once...

And here's the "fun" tree, with all the Scooby Doo, Dora and other fun ornaments. This tree was mostly decorated by the kids, with Andy and I as their arms for higher branches. They have a lot of fun with it but sometimes have issues understanding that while the ornaments aren't necessarily breakable on this tree, they still can't touch.

Now you all can say that you've "been" to my house and seen it all decorated up for Christmas. We have lights outside, but with all the snow we got they are buried-we had strings that lined the driveway. Oh well. Merry Christmas to you all!

Away in the Manger

There is always a great sense of accomplishment when you teach your child something, and they retain that knowledge. It's like you feel successful as a parent, even if only for a short moment in time.


We are Christians and celebrate Christmas, as you all know. I have talked with Alayna and Lilly about how Christmas is about giving to others, showing love, kindness and compassion. But I also talk to them about the true meaning of Christmas and why we celebrate-Jesus' birth, on that first Christmas so many years ago. We have read the Bible stories and sang the songs over and over again. When you ask Lilly why we celebrate Christmas, she answers, "Because we want to! And it's Jesus' birthday!"


I have been looking for a nativity set for a few years now. It's something that I'm very picky about, probably because my mom has a beautiful set that I always loved to help her set up. This year I finally found one that I not only liked, but was within my price range. It was delivered yesterday and between Alayna and I, I don't know who was more excited. We carefully took each piece out of it's wrapping, placing them in 100 different spots on the table until we found just the right place. Then we called Lilly upstairs to look (she was playing on the computer) and I told them the story again, pointing out who everyone was. Now, I would like to keep Baby Jesus out of the nativity until Christmas Eve, but the girls would have no such thing. For one thing, the baby is attached to the manger. For another, they just wanted to look and stare at it as a complete set. So I let him lay and we went about our night.


This morning, I came into the living room to see Lilly staring at the nativity scene, her stuffed dog Sunny in her arms. "Mom," she said, "I told Sunny no touch." I nodded and went about folding my load of laundry. I was listening to Lilly as she showed Sunny who everyone was.


"That's Baby Jesus, it's his birthday. That's his mommy, Mary. That's the angel, and that's his Daddy, Joseph. This is a sheep, that's a camel and those are kings. OKay?" She continued to look at the nativity scene for another minute or so, then came running to my side.


"Mom! It's just like the song!" When I asked what she meant, she took my hand and pulled me to the nativity scene, pointing at Baby Jesus. "Look, it's just like the song! Baby Jesus is asleep in the hay!"

Real snow!

Yes, we got some snow a few weeks ago, but it only stuck around for about 30 hours. This weekend, we got real snow that should stick around for...oh, the next 4-5 months. It started Saturday morning with flurries, then late morning it picked up into a steady snowfall and by the time we woke up Sunday morning, we had about 8" of snow on the ground. The girls could hardly wait to get out and play. Finally, after getting home from church, we let them loose. They had snowball fights with the dog and each other, got pulled in the sled by Daddy and cousin Will, and rolled around making snow-angels. They both were completely drenched by the time they came in the house, but they were so happy for the snow!

Santa came to town!

Santa and the Mrs. were in town this weekend, so we braved the snow (more like the idiotic drivers in the snow) to go see them at the school. The girls were so excited. Lilly talked non-stop about how she was going to hug Santa and talk to him and tell him that she wanted cars, trains, babies and clothes. Alayna was less talkative, but her hand was clutching her list like it was a life-line. When we got to the school, we got in line and soon enough it was our turn. Alayna walked right up and sat next to Santa, Lilly cautiously sat next to her, and I plunked Mikayla on Alayna's lap. The girls complied for some pictures, and then it was time to talk. Lilly clammed up and refused to talk to Santa or Mrs. Claus, not even giving them a high-five. Alayna talked them both up, explaining her list and letting him keep it for reference.

She's Back!

I haven't written about it on here yet, but I was going to do a post today lamenting what we thought was the loss of our cat. Grumpy has been with us for seven years, since she was a kitten and I was pregnant with Alayna. Her name is due to an accident she had the day we took her in...She was licking a cat food can clean and a gust of wind blew a piece of plywood over, landing on her little body. She was fine, but her lower lip was cut and separated from her gums, making her constantly look crabby and pouty. So, we took her in and her name became Grumpy.


Throughout the years, we have had many changes when it comes to Grumpy. She was born a barn cat, really, then we took her in. She was indoors for three years, then went outside for a year before we moved to our current house. She became an indoor cat again, but started having issues with heat cycles, staying off of counters, and using her litter box instead of the sandy crawl space. So, out she went again. Grumpy has since had 2 litters of kittens, so 4 of those cats are still hanging around. But, if you ask me, they are just pets. Grumpy is still a member of our family.


So why do I say "she's back!"? Because Andy and I both noticed a few days ago that we hadn't seen Grumpy for a few days. We also noticed that a few days earlier, we had both seen a pair of bald eagles in the trees near our home. So I watched for her everyday, called her name when she didn't show for dinner, worried over my cat's disappearance. I had just told my good friend today that I think it's time we admit that something must have happened to her, and she wasn't coming back. Then, I went outside to help out my daycare mom and there was Grumpy! She ran to me, meowing and wanting to be held. She's skinny and has some sores on her sides, but she's alive and she's back. I'm so happy and I can't wait for the girls to see her (Lilly was napping and Alayna is at school) And so that you can all fully rejoice with us, here's a pic of Grumpy that I took last spring. She's such a cuddle bug and really a good cat. People always comment on how interesting her coloring is (and if anyone wants a cat that looks just like her, she has a baby that's her twin!)

Almost a year...

I have been thinking about our upcoming month and one week, and to be honest, my head is spinning. I got thinking about it all this morning when I realized that today, Mikayla is 11 months old. Yup, my baby is almost a toddler. I don't want to admit it, but I've been told that there's no denying it. She is such a good baby, and she's my last baby, so I have problems letting go of the fact that she's not going to be a baby much longer. I was hoping she'd stay that way forever. But, that's not possible. And I have a feeling that with all we have planned in the next few weeks, she'll be one before I know it.

In the next five weeks, we have some HUGE things happening in our house. Today is Mikayla's 11 month birthday, Sunday we have a double birthday party, next Sunday is Alayna's Sunday School program (in which she's Mary and sings a solo! check back for video in a few weeks) and another birthday party, the following Thursday is her school program, then that Saturday we are going to the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert. Following that is Andy's family Christmas that we are hosting on the 22nd, then Christmas Eve with both sets of parents, and Christmas Day with my side of the family-which we are hosting. Are you all still with me? Because then we hit Mikayla's first birthday on the 29th, New Years, Alayna starts back to school, and then Miss Alayna turns 7 on Jan 6th. I'm not ready to admit to that one, either...

So, please wish me well in the upcoming weeks. Scattered in there we are hoping to go to the Holidazzle Parade and Macy's 8th Floor, a friend is having a murder mystery party that we're still not sure if we'll make, and I have a pile of presents that I need to wrap. I am so in need of a personal assistant-anyone want to apply for the job? It doesn't pay anything, but I'll love you tremendously!

Christmas time is here!

I hope you all had great Thanksgivings. Ours was wonderful and we had two different dinners over two days, so I stuffed myself silly twice! What more can you ask for your favorite meal?

And now that Thanksgiving has come and gone, I can focus on Christmas! I LOVE Christmas. We started with our decorating on Thursday night, putting up the non-tree decorations. We have our Gingerbread village up, the various knick-knacks that replace some pictures on the shelf, our pine garland on the multiple stair rails, the stocking are hung...but not by the chimney because we don't have one of those. We go with the stairs. The only thing that was left were the trees.

So yesterday afternoon (after a crazy-hectic morning and early afternoon) we set out to the tree farm to cut down our trees. We tried a new farm that was closer to home than the one we've always visited. It was nice, but we could tell the guy was in a middle stage. Most of the trees were either too big or too small. In a few years, he'll have a great supply again.

But, we did find two trees that worked and looked great. Only we didn't really test them that well before we cut them down. We got them home and went to trim the one, and it was the prickliest tree ever. I'm not kidding you. This thing is half cactus. But, we donned our gloves and trimmed it to size. The girls were so excited to put on the lights, beads and ornaments. Lilly was most excited about putting the train around the tree and has asked at least 1,539,867,430 times since last night if she can turn it on. Guess what's hiding in my closet for her for Christmas?

The second tree is great and while trimming it to size, both Andy and I commented on how nice and soft this tree was. It was no problem to hold, manage and move around-even without gloves. Well, that softness is great for feeling, but not so great for ornaments. The branches are also soft and they just bend and droop with the heavier ornaments. But, we made things work and tried to put the heavier ones up top.

Both trees are now beautifully decorated and standing proudly in our living and family rooms. I've been impressed with my daycare kiddos today, because I've only had to warn once or twice about touching the tree. I really hope that I'm not jinxing myself by typing that out. We shall see!

Elves

I turned the girls into elves, so here's a little ditty from them. They want to watch it over and over and over again, so beware if you have kids watching with you.


http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9559899365

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope and pray that you all have wonderful days filled with safety, love, happiness, joy and all of those things that you are thankful for. Personally, I know I'm going to have a good day. Thanksgiving meal, as a whole, is my favorite meal. I just love the combinations of the turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, green bean casserole, dinner rolls, corn & broccoli bake, etc. Notice I didn't say pie? I despise pie. But we usually have a Thanksgiving cheese cake or something that more than fills the pie void.

So what am I thankful for? I'm thankful for my wonderful husband, who always does what he can to support our family and give us the life that we want. He sacrifices a lot of things so that he can work extra, and I am forever grateful for that. He also makes sure to give me time to be someone other than Mom, which is wonderful. I am thankful for the 3 beautiful, healthy children that I have to hug, kiss and be with each and every day. I am thankful for all of my wonderful family and friends. I am thankful that my dad is okay after his fall and that it wasn't more serious than it ended up being. I am thankful for the house over my head, the food in my stomach, the clothes on my back...because I know that many people in the world don't have those things. I could go on and on, but I really don't have the time or the energy to write it all down. I have so many wonderful blessings in my life that I am thankful for!

Happy Thanksgiving to you all!

Uno Attack!

The girls have been on a huge Uno Attack kick and want to play it every night. This is quickly becoming Lilly's favorite game, as she loves to match up the colors and numbers. It's a great learning experience for her, too, as we talk about how she just laid down a '5' or an '8'. She's quickly learning more of her numbers. But, she doesn't totally grasp the concept of the game, either. She knows she wants to be the first one with no cards left, but she gets disappointed when she hits the button and doesn't get any cards.

Hermit crab?

Mikayla was crawling all over last night, playing with everything. Apparently she tried to pull up on Alayna's mini papason chair, but the chair won and flipped over on top of her. I didn't see any of this, because I was up in the kitchen getting a glass of milk. Anyway, Andy called my attention to the living room and asked where the camera was. My interest was piqued, so I had to see what was going on. As you will hear, I was laughing so hard that when I talked, I sounded like I had recently been huffing helium (as if I don't hate the sound of my voice on video enough) Anyway, here's our cruel parent moment for the next month or so. Come on, you know you would have taken video, too!

Oh My Goodness!

Mikayla is a funny little girl. She loves to be moving and doesn't like to sit still. She does her army crawl faster than seems possible without getting rug burn, she can't get herself into a sit from her belly because she's too impatient, she loves to pull up on things, and if you try to make her sit when she wants to stand, she will make her entire body go ram-rod straight until you give in, because she won't.

So last night I was sitting on the floor, playing with Mikayla, and she was in a standing mood. She's doing very well with her standing and balance, so I let go and she stood there for a few seconds. Before we knew it, she took off and took 4 steps towards Andy, stopping at his knee. Andy and I both looked at each other like, "Did she just do that?" then went ape like dorky parents do. We clapped and made a big deal, Mikayla clapped and squealed at herself, Alayna and Lilly came rushing down from brushing their teeth to see what the fuss was. So, like the dorky and normal parents that we are, we prompted her to walk back and forth between us several more times. I would say that she took 3-5 steps by herself on at least 8 different attempts. But the other big thing is, she would catch her balance and right herself most of the time when she'd start to fall!

Now I know that this seems early, and believe me, we're not proclaiming her a walker just yet. But, Alayna took off on Thanksgiving Day 2001 and hasn't stopped since. If you do the math, her birthday is January 6th, so that put her at 10.5 months old. Mikayla is December 29th. Yup-10.5 months old. We shall see...

First time in the snow this season

Our snow last Friday stuck around longer than we had anticipated. It was still there Friday after Alayna got home from school, so she and Lilly were able to play in it. Some had melted, but there was enough that they still had fun. It actually stuck around until late morning on Saturday. Here are some pics and funny videos...I apologize on the pics and the fact that they aren't closer. I was taking them from the back door, and I wasn't about to step into the snow barefoot.

Sunny thought that Alayna was going to throw a snowball for her, but in reality she was starting her snowman
This is Lilly making a snow angel...
Eating the snow...
Alayna's snowman, which didn't get very big because when you get off the bus at 4:10 and it gets dark at 4:45, you don't have much time!
And these videos are so funny. The girls would go down the slides and go sailing across the ground. Seriously, these videos don't do it justice because the first few times they would go much further on their feet. By the time I got the camera going, they had worn down some of the snow at the ends of the slide.

Update on Dad

We went down to the hospital yesterday and watched the Packer/Viking game with my dad. And oh, what a good game it was...Anyway, Dad was doing really well. He was up and moving around, eating, feeling good. We're hopeful that he can come home today, as the docs made it sound pretty promising. Of course, he still has a long road ahead of him, including sleeping with his back brace on for the next 6 wks (comfortable, huh?) but just being home will be great.

While at the hospital, I got a call that Andy's uncle Bill had been airlifted to the same hospital my dad was at for a heart attack. Once the game was over, we went to visit Bill and see how he was doing. He was out of surgery and feeling great, he said, joking with everyone, including the nurses and doctors. Lilly said he didn't look like uncle Bill, so he took a hat from Will, put it on his head and then Lilly said it was, indeed, uncle Bill. We're hopeful that he will be home in a few days, too, but thankfully he seems to be okay.

Needless to say, I think I've had enough health/hospital drama to last me awhile. Andy's gramma is also going in for a routine knee-replacement this Wednesday, so I've had enough. No else one is allowed to get sick, hurt or hospitalized for quite awhile. So if you are reading this, consider yourself warned.

The Lion King

Saturday afternoon, Alayna and I joined our friends Jill, Mary and Karla, my aunt Diane, my cousin Kelly, and my mom for a matinee of Disney's The Lion King for it's 10th anniversary celebration of being on Broadway. It was phenomenal!

Alayna had been excited and every day for the past week, had done a countdown to The Day. She would wake up in the morning, look at her calendar and say, "Only 3 days until Lion King, Mom!" When Saturday arrived, she literally came running into my bedroom at 7:45 and exclaimed, "Today is Lion King!!" She could barely contain herself. The whole drive into the city, she asked if we were there yet, how much longer? When we got to the theatre, she stared in awe at all of the seats, the fancy ceilings, the crowds of people. She couldn't take it all in fast enough. She wanted to sit on the aisle seat so she could see better, so we all obliged and let her be the tail of our group.

When the lights started to dim, I thought she was going to wet herself, seriously. She was so excited. Well, for those of you who haven't seen the theatre production, they start out the show with The Circle of Life and various animals actually come down the aisles, through the seats, and walk up to the stage. At one point, Alayna looked over and right next to her was a huge costumed elephant-4 people, one for each leg!

As the show went on, I found myself watching Alayna more and more, and the actual show less and less. The excitement and wonder in her eyes was so great to see. She was tapping her fingers, bouncing her feet, nodding her head along to the music. She would laugh hysterically at the funny parts and stare wide-eyed at the dramatic parts (like the stampede-which was amazing!) Throughout the show, she would comment on scenes that were different than the movie, things that Lilly or Daddy would love, costumes that were "really cool."

When it was all done, she asked if we could go see it again. She actually wanted to see the showing at 7:00, but I told her that wouldn't be a possibility. But next time it came to the area, we would try to get tickets.

For those of you who haven't seen it, I would definitely recommend getting tickets. The costuming is amazing. You see the human forms, but they are easily overlooked by the incredible costumes that they are sporting. They are all humanoid, yet lifelike to the animal. My favorites had to be the giraffes, followed closely by the hyenas. But really, they were all so inventive, creative and amazing. I know that in our group, the entire production received 16 thumbs up.

Look what we got!

This pic was taken this morning at about 7:15. The girls (and me!) were so excited to see snow. We had some light flurries the other day, but it was all barely noticeable and nothing stuck to the ground.

This one was taken about 8:00 or so. Lilly is going nuts, she wants to play outside soooo badly. But I have the 2 babies here for daycare, so maybe once they nap I can let the big kids outside for a bit. We'll see.

This one was taken at 8:30! I am really getting into a Christmas mood now. I know the snow will be gone today, probably by noon, but I don't care. I LOVE snow.

And this is just our funny dog. Sunny also loves snow and was running up and down the driveway, scooping up the snow as she went. She'd then toss her head into the air, like she was having a snowball fight with herself. It's still snowing, and I just checked the deck railing. I'd say we have close to an inch. Oh, and for all you fair weather people, it's only 30 degrees out there at 9:15. LOVE it!