Red and Green

 Stella's pick for nail color this week.

Our Christmas project this week: hand wreaths.

 First, we painted paper plates green...

Then we outlined our hands and cut them out.

 We glued our cut out hands onto our plates...

...and decorated the bows.

Last piece...and then completion!  

Now, I am sure you all know, that a wreath isn't complete unless it is adorned with princesses.

A Puppet Show

The girls have this felt monster puppet kit.  It is so cute and keeps them occupied for a while.  Honestly, I love it because it is not messy but, Stella considers it a "project."  This last weekend, Stella decided to put on a puppet show for us.  She sang Christmas songs.  Esme clapped after each song and smiled the entire time.

Jewelry Project

I was inspired and decided to take on my first jewelry project.  I ordered most of the supplies and then headed to Michael's for some scrapbook paper.

 Like my Holiday snacking?  Keeps the mind sharp, right?

See where I am going with this?

So fun!  

Here is a finished result.  This one, I made for myself.  I may have made some earrings too.  

I can't show them all, though...these may be Christmas presents. Also considering putting some of these in the shop I would like to do (after the Holidays).  Would you buy them?

And...just because she was watching me and asking questions...

Yes, we can not, will not, go through the day without some sort of dress up clothing.  

Tis the Season

Stella's first school Christmas program was last week.  It was so cute.  I laughed so hard watching the toddlers to three year old classes sing/yell/stand there.  Stella's pre-K class preformed wonderfully.  They sang Meke Kalikimaka wearing sunglasses and some choreography.  Hilarious.  Then got serious with Silent Night along with sign language!!  Stella has been singing it around the house the last couple weeks and Esme has picked up a few moves and words/sign language.

 There she is, red candy cane dress.  

I didn't get many pictures as I chose to record it instead.  I could definitely hear her from where I was sitting...far away.  Esme was so excited to see her "Stelly" on stage she started to run towards it.

My Little Monkey

Esme just completed her first round of Gymnastics.  She LOVES it so much.  Of course, she still wants to do ballet like her sister too (I am going to enroll her in her first ballet class in January along with the gymnastics).  But, this is where she belongs.  These are shots from her last class.

 It is kind of like Gymboree on steriods.  The age group is one and a half to three in this class, but the instructors do introduce a new foundation skill every week.

 She swings her legs up there with out any assistance.  The girl has abs.

 She never fell.  She loves doing the high beams but gets so mad at me for touching/spotting her.

Ummm...my future goal.  

Waiting patiently for the flying machine.

I think she may have cut a few kids that were on the fence.

ARGH! My camera was on the wrong setting and I didn't check it once in the five shots I took of her "fllying."  At least you can see the pure joy on her face here.  This was the first time they did the flying machine...she was so high, and she LOVED it. 

Ok, now a little something more project related...

I received a package today with some craft supplies!  I will be busy and of course will be sharing!  Yea, I'm so excited, this is a new one for me.  It's not like I don't have a few other things to work on...or anything.

The Grinch Gift

Every week I take the girls to story time at one of our libraries.  They love it.  The librarians are so great, they sing songs in between the stories to keep the attention of the little ones and there is a separate story time for Stella's age group, so they get longer stories and more challenging songs.  Today I tried a different location...Pottery Barn Kids.  I get these emails all the time to come join and this week was The Grinch.  I thought, ok, we'll give it ago.  First of all, I love me some PB.  I usually stalk their clearance (especially online, have I ever shared with you the secret prices?).  Although, I have never taken the girls there before, they LOVED this store.  Well no kidding, you have to go through five "bedrooms," three kitchen sets, a few dolls and strollers, and a vanity with a pretend blow dryer (ok, I admit, I really enjoyed watching Esme pretend to do her hair), JUST to get to the corner where the story time takes place.  Once there, the kids get to sit in the cute comfy chairs and listen.  Stella of course was glued and Esme lost interest about halfway through.  The Grinch is a long story with not very many pictures, in mostly black and white no less.  No worries, she climbed into a bed and pretended to go to sleep while looking at a Batman book.  Following the story, the kids were able to gather at a table and color Christmas themed pictures.  It was cute, go five times and you get $10 off (per child).  But, still, I enjoy the library better.

My real meaning to this entry is what happened after we arrived home.  We were given cute Grinch wrapping paper that Stella assumed her own.  She decided that she needed to use it to wrap her own Grinch book.

 She told me this was to be her friend, Isabelle's, Christmas gift.  I tried to convince her that we could go to Target and pick out something new for Isabelle.

 "NO Mommy, this is perfect.  She will love this book in the Grinch paper." 

 OKaaaayeeee.....this Mama knows when to just let things happen (well until she forgets, hopefully).

 She loves a good pose, when she hears the camera shutter.

So proud.  

Let's Talk About Comfort

How about bedtime comfort?  I just need to be cold enough to snuggle under blankets and that is my comfort.  The girls' have other things in mind.

Here is Stella's Bed this morning...

 Oh, excuse my manners, let me introduce you.  This is Dolly, Blanky (which she has actually slept with since about 10 months old), bunny, Rapunzel, Rainbow Dog, Unicorny the pillow pet and last, Pink Unicorn.  Stella sleeps right there in the middle.  Do you see that little spot?  This is the order they have to be placed in every night as well.

Not to be out done, is little sister Esme (who HAS TO DO EVERYTHING her big sister does)...

These are neccessities,  Singy, her Water, Violet (which is the only original sleep item from about 6 months old), OX, Bear, Cinderella, Belle, and ball (do you see it?), and of course her pillow pet actually used as a pillow named, "BUG." To be completely honest, this picture is missing "Baby," which is lugged everywhere and is the reason for missing the photo.  Also missing are the books.  I have already been in and picked up her room this morning, but she usually has a good amount of books piled to the side that she likes to sleep with.  Occasionally, she feels the need to sleep with her Lightening McQueen car.

Should I mention that both girls also fall to sleep to a Children's CD?

A Few Favorites

I have a few winter favorites to share.  I just love them so much, I feel the need to tell you.

 If you like a little cinnamon on your hot chocolate...you will LOVE these.  

Portion control does not exist here.

 Since moving to CO my skin has been dryer.  I did not expect my feet to get as bad as they did but let's just say I had to buy some new socks.  This stuff is amazing.  I love it because I didn't have to do time consuming steps to get pedi soft feet again.  A little goes a long way and this tub is quite big.  It makes my hands really soft too.  Ben may also be using it on his elbows. 

And, just because I recently started burning this again...my favorite winter candle.  Such a good scent. I love it because it is crisp yet wintery and cozy but not so much that you couldn't use it the entire season.

I burned this until March last year and it still felt appropriate.

Kids Acitivities

So I found this website through Pinterest.  This fellow (BRILLIANT) blog mommy does home schooling and has little ones.  I found some simple activities to try with the girls.  They were so entertained, I had this guilt moment.  Like, why didn't I try this before?  How did I NOT think of this?  Seriously?  I spend eight dollars at the Dollar Tree and Esme played for 40 min! Stella takes it to "quiet time" every day. I already plan to go get more supplies. Okay, enough suspense, I will share with you.

I bought a divider dip like tray, some pom poms, dinosaurs, Christmas erasers, magnet numbers, and some plastic tongs.

 Pile one group of items in the center, then sort.  I helped Esme the first time and she watched Stella once.  She now will pick an item, dump it in the center, and sort all by herself.

 I love the Blog Mommy's use of the tongs to sort.  What a great way to work on fine motor skills.

Once Esme finishes a group, she gets so excited, "I DID IT!!!" She puts them away and then dumps a new group starting all over.  For Stella, I have been making it more challenging by creating certain patterns or groupings. I am looking for marbles for her to sort too.  

Then the same Blog Mommy also had a sort of treasure hunt game that I also love.  I mean, please tell me I am not the only Mommy out there not to think of these simple activities?  I cannot believe how LONG this keeps a two year old occupied. 

 Bury your letters or numbers from a puzzle in a tub of rice.

 Then have them treasure hunt for the items to put away.

I didn't have a number puzzle, so I picked up some magnets for the D-Tree. Then, I made a photo copy of the numbers in order (I would like to figure out our printer to make color copies so

 they have to match the color and number).  

I like the idea of the word recognition with the numbers.  It would be nice to laminate these sheets.  You could really photo copy anything and bury it in the rice. So fun!  

How many of you are headed to the good ol ' D-Tree?