December 2012

The momentum we came out of November with just increased in December.  I do not remember a time when we have been this busy!  But it was all so much fun!
At Madeline's school, the 2nd graders do a Christmas play every year.  Their music teacher, Mrs. Vickers, had them do tryouts for the speaking roles.  Here is Madeline rehearsing with Nathan and I playing the other roles:)  She took memorizing her lines so seriously and did a great job!

She earned the roll of Penguin #13.  She had 5 lines to memorize and I had to create a simple costume.

The play was so cute.  They sang quite a few songs, did some dancing, and were very funny!

Madeline said all of her lines on cue and perfectly, so all of that hard work paid off!

Afterward, the school choir performed some Christmas music.  Here is a quick snippet of one of their cute songs about Santa's Reindeer:

We are so thankful to be at a school with such an amazing Music teacher.  She works so hard and offers such great opportunities for her students to explore their performing talents!

Two days later, Madeline had the opportunity to be on her dance studio's Christmas Parade float.  Our small town makes a big deal out of parades and this year was no different:)  People literally park their cars in parking lots the day before just to make sure they have a good spot to watch!
The float had a Grinch theme and was so cute.  Some of the girls dressed as ballerinas and some were little Who boys and girls.

The weather was a little cool, but not too bad and Madeline had the best time waving and playing with her friends on the float.  I know it is something she will not forget:)

I decided to start a tradition for Madeline this year.  I planned a Cookie decorating party for her and 5 of her friends.  I have a great love of decorating cookies and wanted to share that with them!

You can't have fun decorating without some good snacks and drinks.  I tried to balance out all of that sweetness with some salty cheese and Chex mix:)  Also, milk is a must with chocolate as an option!

All ready for decorating!

Lots of Christmas shapes to choose from!

Plenty of sprinkles to go around!

Here are some of the finished products.  They all did such a good job and had so much fun.  I can't wait to do it again next year!

Hope Landing, Will's therapy center, had a Christmas festival one weekend.  Sadly, it was so hot that day that we couldn't wear cute Christmas clothes but still had fun.  We went on a ride in a horse pulled carriage, made reindeer food, and visited with Santa.  I hate that I forgot my nice camera, once again, and had to make do with my phone.

I also did some baking and cookie decorating for teacher gifts this year.  It was the first time I had done any decorating since having Mallory and it was fun to do again!

We got the dogs an early Christmas gift, another dog bed so that they would each have their own.  I guess they are just used to cuddling together all of the time because they just keep squeezing in the new bed together:)

Madeline had a huge milestone as a Catholic.  She participated in her second Sacrament, First Confession.  Here she is just before, looking nervous:)  She did well and said it was so much easier than she thought it would be.  I was so proud of how well she prepared and took the time to acknowledge her sins and the importance of confessing them.  Her next step will be First Communion after Easter!

She also had her first piano recital.  She was asked to memorize, Away in a Manger.  Here she is practicing just before.  Mallory got really into it and decided to sing along:)  She did the same at the actual performance too!  Madeline handled it like a pro.  It did make her pause but then she just kept playing.  I'm so proud of the progress she has made in her first 6 months of lessons!

This little one started sitting unassisted right before Christmas!  She is so proud of herself:)

Sorry this was so long and random!  Next up will be Christmas Eve and Christmas Day!  I guess I didn't quite make my goal of being all caught up before 2013 but I'm still trying:)