Fun Weekend

Our weekend started off with me taking the girls up to Messy Play at Madeleine’s school Saturday morning. This is something they do once a year and they have all sorts of stations set up for the kids to play, do art projects and get messy. Now last year Madeleine was not sure she wanted to go because she did not want to get messy. This year she was definitely in to it. Last year she wanted nothing to do with face painting… this year she really got into it at the self face painting station. Amazing how much can change in a year.

Hadley on the other hand kept telling us she was going to get dirty at Messy Play but she did not touch one messy thing. She did get drenched in the water play room where you could bathe babies and pretend to fish. This is Hadley's current reaction to mess. She did not like her blue tongue (courtesty of some candy which she did like)

Later in the day we went to get new tennis shoes with Poppy which is always a treat since you also get a cookie as you leave the store. Hadley went up two shoe sizes… guess we should have listened when she said her shoes were tight. The day ended with us finally hanging up some decorations in the girl’s room. Jim’s mom made these great name boards. I’m so excited to finally have some things on the walls!

Sunday the forecast was calling for it to be 65 so we decided to head to a park in the morning. Madeleine had gotten a bike for her birthday last year but after a few falls was a little unsure of it. We took her last weekend to ride it and she did great. So we set off again this weekend to a park with more pavement. She had way more confidence this week and had a blast riding. She was even picking up the pace going uphill. Jim told her that her legs were going to be tired and she said no they were happy. Hadley enjoyed “riding” her tricycle. Her feet are just starting to hit the pedals so I think in a few months she will be going on her own power.

Madeleine also had a blast playing on the playground. Hadley was scared of the slides but liked climbing up and down. Again how things change in a year. Last year, Hadley was fearless and Madeleine was scared of the slides. Guess it is a 2 year old thing.

At the end of the weekend, March roared in like the lion it is supposed to be but a day early. The tornado sirens started going off at 11:15 pm and after assessing the situation, we woke up the girls and headed to the basement. Luckily no damage at our house other than Hadley (and by default me) not getting back to sleep until 1 am. So after a warm day yesterday we are back to 30 degree weather today. I’m ready for spring to be here for good… minus the threat of tornados!

Happy Birthday Hadley!

Hadley Rose is 2 today! She has been talking for weeks about how her birthday is coming up and that it is in February. She is quite chatty. She is also definitely a two year old and is not happy when she does not get her way. She makes us laugh constantly with her silly faces. She is very sweet and loves to snuggle. I can't believe she is 2 already.

We had a a little birthday party for her on Saturday. We did a Hello Kitty theme as she is a big fan of Hello Kitty and always points out the Hello Kitty sign at Target. This weekend the weather was actually nice so yesterday we hit the zoo in the morning and Jim took the girls for a bike ride in the afternoon. It was a great birthday weekend. She loves to tell us she is 2 and hold up all 5 fingers... we have to work on that one :)

The Birthday Girl... had to go with the Valentine's theme this year

PaPa, Hadley and Me
All shy when everyone was singing to her
Digging into the cupcakes or at least the icing
Opening presents
Madeleine at the party... she keeps telling Hadley when it is her birthday she will just have to watch
Bike ride at Grant's Trail... it is getting a little tight in the trailer

Slow January

So January has been a slow month for pictures... and well without pictures the blog really is not that exciting. But I took a few the other night so now I have a reason to post. We have had a snowy January although we haven't really gotten out to enjoy it. Hadley is getting excited for her upcoming birthday and moved up to the 2 yr old room at school. When you ask her how old she is going to be she sometimes answers 1 and sometimes 3. Madeleine is still dancing away and also loves to talk about her birthday although she has a much longer wait. Both girls absolutely love going to a bounce house place by us called Monkey Joes. Jim and I like it because it burns off some energy!

The ballerina in action

Hadley created quite a snuggle place the other night... she loves to cuddle up with all her babies. Her crib is quite full.

Christmas

One of my many goals for 2011 is to post more than I did in 2010... hopefully Jim is going to help with this effort! We had a great Christmas and break afterwards. We were lucky to have Amy, Seth and Dave in town even though Amy and Seth had to leave early to beat the blizzard back to NYC. The girls are having a hard time understanding that Christmas is over. I think they both would love to have a tree in our house year round. Hadley told me today, "miss tree, get another one." After Christmas we spent some time relaxing at the lake... I'll leave Jim to update about that.

Ready to go to Poppy and PaPa's for Christmas Eve

Madeleine and Poppy
One of the biggest hits with the kids... a singing dog that kind of dances too
I just love Hadley's look of awe when seeing her baby who she has named Baby Luna... Madeleine named a baby that once and it has stuck... not sure where that name came from. Also note that Hadley ditched her dress to wear just her slip for opening presents.
Hadley's new Elmo hat... another favorite. She wore it today and told me she wanted to "show Madeleine teachers"
First attempt at a Christmas family picture, someday everyone will look at the camera and smile
Christmas morning Santa brought Madeleine a ballet outfit for the baby she had gotten the night before. She was very excited to dance with her baby that she has named Baby Madeleine Von Lahr Krewet... she fits right in with Jim's family where everyone has the same name.
Madeleine expressed the most excitement over the pink and purple basketball she asked Santa for after seeing it in Target one day. Her reaction was priceless.
Another excited face from Hadley as she sees Santa brought her a book of just her pictures. She loves seeing pics of herself.
This might have been the girls' favorite present. With the press of a button it sings, spins and lights up. Amy and Seth be warned... Jim has promised that you will be getting a similar present when you have a 2yr old.
Christmas Day at D and Butch's

Second attempt at a Christmas family picture... we are getting closer to a good pic
Cousins all in cherries... not planned... they all looked so cute together but the picture thing wasn't really happening

More Christmas Fun

The Christmas fun continues... tonight we visited Santa at the mall. Next year, we will be going in early December. The whole thing took 1 1/2 hours with Santa taking a dinner break and then the elves had technical difficulties as soon as we were at the front of the line. Hadley did sit on his lap without crying! I don't have the picture yet because I need to scan it in. The woman behind us was urging us to just take one with my phone because of the delay but after waiting that long I was determine to pay way too much for the official Santa shot.

Last night Madeleine had a little Christmas show at her dance school. It was very cute and she did great even with a mishap. Her tap shoe went flying off her foot after one kick. She looked a little shocked at first but then smiled, got the shoe, put it back on and started dancing again. Her class got to do their dance twice and the second time she announced that she lost her shoe last time when they got to the part where her shoe went flying. Everyone laughed when her shoe went flying so on the way home she asked me if it was funny when her shoe fell off.

Tomorrow is my last day at work until Jan 4th... I can't wait for the break! Hope everyone has a great Christmas!

Some more December Pics:

At the Glendale Christmas Tree Lighting
Santa at the Glendale Tree Lighting... Hadley did not want to see him this time
Opening St. Nicholas presents
Decorating a gingerbread tree D got us... after we finished I found Madeleine licking the icing off the beater in the mixer
Hadley really just wanted to play with the candies
Hadley loves to stand at the door of Madeleine's dance class and watch
Madeleine at the start of the show, not intimidated at by all the people
Doing her dance
Recovering the shoe

Christmas Time

Time is flying and Christmas is almost here. We have been having lots of pre-Christmas fun. Madeleine is pretty much asking Santa for anything she can think of. Hadley likes Santa from a far but wants nothing to do with him close up. I just spent a fun weekend in NYC with Amy and Seth taking in the Christmas sights and going to see the Nutcracker. Now its time to start working on those cards and shopping!

Here are some pics of the fun we have been having.

On the wagon at the Christmas tree farm
Looking for the perfect tree
Madeleine
Helping Daddy cut down the tree
Sledding in the front yard... apparently they like the flat sledding but not downhill
Breakfast with Santa... Madeleine happily told him her list but Hadley wouldn't even look at him
The first year Madeleine has smiled while visiting with Santa

Halloween

We had a fun Halloween week. Madeleine started off with a party at school on Tuesday... round 1 of the candy. Then on Thursday, Kirkwood had their annual Halloween walk. In addition to the candy, their was a "concert" by Babaloo... big excitement for Madeleine as he is celeb among the St. Louis preschool crowd. Friday was a parade at Hadley's school. On Saturday, we carved our pumpkin and then Sunday was trick or treating. In St. Louis, you have to tell a joke to get your treat so I had prepped Madeleine. She would mumble her joke about the cow who eats grass and then yell Lawn Mooer without a pause. It was very cute. Hadley really got into trick or treating too and was running between houses. Now we are slowly enjoying all the candy.

Before the Halloween Walk... Tinkerbell and the Butterfly
Hadley cozy in her butterfly costume
Carving our pumpkin
Before Trick or Treating
After trick or treating