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Get Your Craft On!

Since my BG didn't have school today, we took advantage of Landry's nap time to work on her letters. Mamo and Papo gave her these wooden chip letters and lots of fun stuff to decorate them with as a Christmas gift. We made another trip to Hobby Lobby this morning so she could pick out a few more things for them.

She was having a hay day getting her craft on and watching American Idol. She loves to be crafty.....loves to make things sparkle and this was such a great gift for her! She can hardly wait to hang them on her wall!

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Steppin' Outta My Box...

...isn't easy for me sometimes. My sister gave me this sweater and scarf for Christmas and since I am totally in an "accessories" phase right now, I was excited about the scarf. This is my first scarf to own that doesn't go with my big heavy coat. I had no idea how I was supposed to tie my scarf.

After messing with it for a while and getting frustrated...my hubby suggested he tie it like his ties. He told me he thought it was "hot" and "sassy". Then he said, "I am not sure why I am I sassing my wife up to go out to dinner with her girlfriends...at Hooters!"

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There is nothin' like Tin Star chips and salsa and QUESO and Dr. Pepper and tortilla soup! Today we met the Leonard Ladies at the dance store to get some tights and stuff and then we went to dinner since both Daddies were not home this evening.

Let me tell ya....I was so excited when Jodi suggested Tin Star...I looked forward to it all day long.

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I just had to take this picture of Ashton tonight when we got home from dance. It shows three of her FAVORITE things...dance, choker necklaces, and zebra print! She is such a seven year old little girl and I just love her to pieces!

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This "cup stacking" is an activity the kids learn and practice every year in PE as part of an eye-hand coordination skill. I remember the excitement and buzz when I was teaching from my students. This is Ashton's third year to do "cup stacking" and she loves it!

They have actual cups that are made for this activity that you can order through the school. Ashton was telling me about the cup stacking ordering process today-trying hard to convince me we needed to get them for her. Later on, she asked me for some cups that she could use to practice. She must have practiced for about 15 or 20 minutes...it would have been longer if she hadn't been interrupted when dinner was ready.

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We have had redonkulously cold temperatures in our parts here lately...like I am talking in the teens! We live in Texas....we don't really know what to do with ourselves when it gets this cold.

I took this picture of the fountain at the entrance to our neighborhood...isn't it crazy?

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I am pretty sure she LOVED her birthday cake!

{I didn't actually take this picture...Jodi was in charge of my camera during most of the party and I she took some great pics~but it is on my camera so I am sure that counts}

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I really, really don't like this stuff!

We went out to dinner last night for Landry's birthday dinner. I will spare you the long details but we all got food poisoning...it was not fun at all! Needless to say, this bottle of Maalox sat on my bathroom counter for most of the day.

We will not be eating pizza for a while and we will add CPK to our list of places to never go to again.

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this is one time I will never forget...this is the time our sweet little Landry Paige was born TWO years ago today.

Happy Birthday Lan-Lan P!

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our nightly routine for our BG...

reading log....check!

planner....check!

snack...check!

lunch made and in the fridge....check!

water bottle ready to get filled in the a.m....check!

every night when our big girl goes to bed, we make sure she is all set to go!

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Ashton's own 365...

Daddy has had one of these tear off calendars every year for several years. Sometime in 2009 our BG noticed this neat thingy and loved tearing off the pages, which I think kind of took the fun out of it for Daddy.

Well, Mamo-the-Great (with a little help from Mommy and Daddy) bought her one of her very own for Christmas. She loves that it is in HER room and SHE gets to tear it off all by herself every night AND she gets to read and learn some neat info and facts about animals and such. She had it set up on Christmas Day and could hardly wait for January 1st to roll around so the tearing off could begin!

I love the simple things that make her happy....I love how she wants to be like her Daddy!

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you can't tell...

...but it is fuh-reezing outside today. I love the way the afternoon sun comes through the playroom windows. I love that while Ashton was having her "down time" watching her shows after school, Landry came in to color. I love how the sun makes it look warm, but it really isn't.

I really don't like the cold....but I do like little girls all warm inside having fun while mommy makes homemade chicken noodle soup!

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toddler legs in a nightgown...

It is tradition to get the girls matching Christmas pajamas. This year, I broke down and got Landry a nightgown to match her Big Sissy. I wasn't sure if I would like it...I really wanted her to be in footed jammies one more time.

She was in love when she put it on....I mean in love! I love it too. Tonight after bath, I wanted to snap a picture of her little legs in her nightgown. I have to admit that it is cute on her and one of my favorite things is when the girls have matching clothes!

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Do you know what this means?

yep. uh-huh. you got it. Lan-Lan P has masted opening doors. And now that she is a "door master", she feels the need to open and close doors all the time. She has a new independence~or at least she did for a short while before I put these bad boys on the door handles.

This one in particular is on the pantry door. She felt the need to open the pantry on her own and help herself to some cheetos...just because she could.

Ashton isn't loving that these things are bacl on. It takes her longer to get doors open and she gets frustrated when she can't get it. I have to admit, it was nice not having them on all the doorknobs.

Now these pretty things just blend nicely with the "Baby Proof" decor we have around our house these days. You know the pretty plastic gate in front of the fire place and the toddler locks on cabinets. It is all so PRETTY...but that is part of being the parent of a curious toddler!

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First Bath Night of 2010!

Ashton LOVES to put these color tablets in the bathtub. She has since she was about two. This is the first time we have used them since the girls have been taking a bath together. Ashton was so ecstatic that we were finally going to color the water again. She has been asking and knew we had to wait until Landry was old enough.

Landry didn't quite have the reaction we thought she would. She was so excited to hold the container. and to see the tablets. and to watch Ashton throw them in...but that was it.

She liked looking at the pretty blue water from OUTSIDE the tub. She wanted no part of getting IN the water. Finally, I just put her in standing up....she didn't like that her feet were in the blue water. She kept pulling her feet out of the water one at a time. After a while of showing her it was fine, she sat down and eventually got used to it. It was hysterical to watch!

It is so funny to me how differently kids react to things. Ashton was never concerned with the bath water....the first time we did it with her, she could hardly wait for us to get the tablets in the water. Landry who really isn't afraid of much was completely unsure of this whole colored water thing.