Five!

So yesterday was the Big Day. I spent Monday baking and prepping and running to the store (and forgetting my cell phone there), and then Tuesday morning we loaded up the car, took one last trip to King Soopers, and then headed out to Little Monkey Bizness--but not before opening gifts at home:











Things were a little disorganized at Little Monkey Bizness--apparently the place is run by high schoolers. But, regardless, they had our room ready for us:



For the first hour the kids played...













After play time was up we wrangled everyone in to the party room for lunch and cake (well, cupcakes):








After lunch was over we packed up and headed home, taking the Smiths with us. They stayed until bedtime and the kids had a great time opening Abby's party presents and playing with all the loot the girls have accumulated over the last few days. I think we have 10 new board games. It's awesome!

Abby has really embraced her 5-ness with both hands. All of a sudden she's Little Miss Independent. This morning, out of nowhere, she went and got her toothbrush and brushed her teeth herself. Then she asked to do school (which was very fun using the Inchimals we got from Green and Par and the What's Gnu game Dan and I gave her). And all day she kept saying, "I'm going to sleep in my own bed tonight!" Well, that second one didn't quite happen, but regardless she totally wants to be *bigger*. Totally awesome on one hand, and totally difficult to swallow on the other. My little girl is getting so grown up!!!

Merry Christmas!

It's a sunny, non-snowy day here in Colorado, and we're so happy to be celebrating Christmas! The girls were up at 6, and we're now all busy admiring and playing with our new gifts. By far the best present of the day was the Pillow Pet each girl received. We bought these ages ago and, as I'm sure is true in your neck of the woods, these things are *everywhere*, and every single time we've passed a display the girls have gone bananas over them. Nothing like knowing you hit the nail on the head with a gift! It was the second-to-last one they opened, and there was much jumping and rejoicing.



Later this morning we'll head to my parents' place for the traditional cinnamon roll breakfast (I made gluten-free ones for Abby and I--we'll see how they are) and gift-opening, followed by the traditional roast beef and Yorkshire pudding lunch, which I think will be eaten in front of the Lakers game at lunch. (That part isn't so traditional, but our big celebratory meal was last night at Dolce Vida, our new favorite restaurant, so it's not as big a deal if everyone scatters today at lunch. Heck, most likely the girls will be sleep through it, given how early they were up!)

We pray this holiday is one of warmth and love and peace in our Lord, Jesus Christ. May He bless you and, more importantly, draw you ever nearer to Him (the best blessing of all!) this coming year. Merry Christmas to all!!

The Little Dancer That Could (and did!!)

First off, major apologies for how long it's taken me to get a new post up. Between rewriting a book in less than 6 weeks and desperately trying to finish two handmade Christmas gifts in time for the holiday, I haven't had any free time in forever. I've got a couple other posts to write, but they probably won't go up until the new year. Keep an eye out, though!

So today was Abby's last dance class. Oh my heavens, how she loves dance class! We signed her (and PJ) up for classes starting in January, and this time she'll be taking ballet *and* tap.

At today's class, though, they put on a show at the end to demonstrate all the stuff they've learned over the 8 week session. They'd put butcher paper over the windows so we couldn't see in, and when Miss Joy came to get us 10 minutes before class was done, we walked in to find the girls in "picture pose" and in costume! (I didn't have my phone, can you believe it?! But a friend took pictures and promised to send them, so as soon as I get them I'll add them to this post.) They all--even Abby--sat nice and still for the cameras; Abby was even smiling! After the parents had satisfied their need for pictures, Miss Joy started them off on the first of two performances.

They were all adorable, of course. But Abby was one of maybe 2 or 3 kids that actually stayed with the teacher the whole time. (Miss Joy stood in the corner and did the moves with them.) They twirled, they tapped their toes, they did cute little beginner ballet moves, and when the song was over and the applause began, Abby burst into tears and ran to my lap.

This set off a chain reaction, and soon the performers 'on stage' numbered half of what they had. Miss Joy gave everyone a minute to compose themselves, then asked if they'd like to do it again. The 3 that had remained up front wanted to dance again, but none of the girls that had retreated to their parents wanted to. Miss Joy (who is awesome, awesome, awesome with the kids) said they was okay, they could sit and watch their classmates and see what it looked like when they danced in front of others.

The music started again. They danced in their circle, then formed a line to show off all their moves...

and then...

are you sitting down?...

Abby went back up.

Yes. You read that right. With tears still on her cheeks and her little mouth in a serious frown, without a single word from me or anyone else, Abby ran back up and finished out the dance with her classmates. And this time, she was the only one who followed the dance all the way though.

'Course, when it was all over, she started crying again and didn't stop for about half an hour. "I don't like people watching me dance in my dance class" was the only explanation I got out of her, about 20 minutes later. But contrary to that, LIttle Miss Spunky sure showed everyone what she was made of!

Braver and braver, this one. She pet a snake and a giant millipede last week at a zoo party, she pet a lobster and held an empty lobster shell at Red Lobster last night, and now, in front of a dozen (or two dozen, once you add in all the siblings that were there) strangers, she not only danced, but she was willing to dance again even though everyone had seen her run off stage in tears.

Way to go, Little Dancer!!!