Easter

We again spent Easter in Canada this year and as usual we had the Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday.  Aunt D helped with hiding all the eggs.  The girls had a blast looking for all the eggs, even though I forgot their Easter baskets at home and they had to improvise.

On Sunday morning we all went to church and when we returned Q was fast asleep and Y, after waiting several hours, couldn't wait any longer and wanted to see what the Easter Bunny had brought them.  

We took them on a wagon ride to the park where, among other things, Y enjoyed pushing Q on the swings!

We weren't able to get photos of the girls in their Easter outfits because Q was fast asleep and Y didn't want to stay "dressed up" for that long, she wanted to go out and play.  So we took photos at a later date, but since I'm writing this post after the fact, here they are:

Can you tell that Y is a lil' diva already?

Christmas!

 On Christmas Eve we baked and decorated sugar cookies for Santa!  Aunt D and Y were very creative and thus their cookies came out a lot prettier than mine.

Q, while she couldn't really help us decorate all the cookies, she did more than her fair share of eating them.  She managed to find the perfect spot around the table we were using to decorate and each time I looked at her she had a different cookie in her hands (and mouth).

In the late afternoon/early evening various family members started to arrive.  We ate, laughed, played a had an all around great time just hanging out together.  Aunt S recently bought a new camera and she was able to take lots and lots of great pictures!

We put the girls to bed, and shortly thereafter Santa arrived...

The girls (mostly Y) woke all of us up bright and early to head down stairs and open all the gifts.  They did a pretty good job of waiting until everyone was gathered together before they started.  Here's a photo taken amid the chaos.

It snowed a little on Christmas Day but the next day (Boxing Day in Canada) we were walloped!  We had read one report on Christmas Day that told us we'd get several inches at home (Michigan) but only a couple centimeters in Canada so we thought we'd try to head out early.  However, the following morning when we checked the weather reports we read that the snow wouldn't begin until later in the evening with a 1 inch accumulation and the rest coming later in the night, so we decided we'd be safe leaving after dinner.  And then the snow started falling, and falling, and falling and we realized there was no way we were going anywhere!

Y begged and begged to go out and play in it but we hadn't brought along any snow gear.  So we finally settled on placing plastic bags over her feet and socks (to at least keep her feet dry) and then letting her wear her NON-snow boots out.  Luckily Nana B. is really short so she was able to fold the legs of her snow pants up a few inches and make a few quick adjustments at the waist and Y was able to wear those out.  She attempted to run in the snow, she fell in the snow, made snow angels in the snow and build a snowman with Nana B. (which actually looks more like a snow duck).  All of these while Q and I watched them outside of the window.

Uncle L, knowing that Aunt D wasn't feeling well decided that he would go out and brave the freezing cold temperatures to build a snowman for her.  Coming from Peru this was the largest accumulation of snow she had ever seen, and she was too sick to even play in it :(.  But luckily for her, there will surely be plenty more opportunities!

Memorial Day Weekend

Summer has unofficially begun!!!  This is the weekend that Y has been waiting for since September.  There was no containing her excitement this week when we told her that the pool would be opening on Friday.  And then each and every morning she would ask me what day it was and if it wasn't Friday she'd proceed to ask me what the next day is up until she reached Friday and she could figure out how many days were left until Friday.  She does this with ANY and ALL things she finds exciting so I try not to tell her things too far in advance because the thought of doing that ritual for more than a few days exhausts me just thinking about it.

On Friday (May 25) we told Y that B would take her to the pool after dinner, I have rarely seen her finish eating that fast and she cleaned her plate!  I decided that while he took her to the pool I would head out and buy swim diapers for Q as well as some much needed items for Saturday when we'd decided to go to the zoo.  When we returned from the store B and Y were still at the pool so we walked over to watch them play.  Y had pretty much refused to get in the water because she thought it was too cold, I think she just needed to warm up to the idea of getting into a pool full of water.  She pretty much refused to go any farther than the top step and so the only part of her to get wet was her feet and ankles.  And even after refusing to go any farther in the water she did not want to leave when it came time to go, we think she was worried that she'd come back and the pool would be closed again for winter.

On Saturday we had decided that we would go to the Detroit Zoo.  We hadn't been since Y was about Q's age, so that makes it about 3 years ago!  We were long overdue for a visit.  Y loved seeing all the animals, her favorite was the lions, or the tigers, or the giraffes all depending on when you asked her - it changed quite often!  It was supposed to be a fairly warm day with a chance of rain showers.  It rained quite a bit before we arrived and then at about the time we were going to stop for lunch it rained again.  It was perfect because the rain was just stopping as we were finishing up our lunch.  And it ended up feeling quite a bit cooler than what was forecast because the sun didn't really break through all the clouds until late afternoon/early evening as we were leaving.  It was Q's first trip to the zoo and I don't think we could have asked for a more perfect day!

On Monday we did our usual Monday grocery shopping and then decided to hit the pool because it was a scorcher - 95 degrees!!  This was Q's first time in a pool and we were amazed at how much she loved it.  She didn't seem to be affected by the coolness of the water, she just wanted to float around and splash in it - she really was in heaven!  Y was again a bit hesitant but once she saw that B, Q and myself were all getting in she climbed in without any problems.  She did insist on B holding her and would not let go!  We had to slowly coerce her to allow him to hold her in the water with her back against his chest so that she could rely on her floaties and noodle to keep her afloat.  After she got used to it he let her go and she didn't think twice.  She was right back to being as comfortable in the water as she had been last year.  We're looking forward to a long, enjoyable swim season!

Easter 2012

While I miss celebrating Easter with my family in North Carolina I am so grateful that we have family close to go share the holiday with!  It is awesome to be able to sit around and laugh and joke with family, even if you have to depart early due to a 3 year old that won't quit yelling - she had too much sugar AND it was almost her normal bedtime.

We had good food, good laughs, good company and I wish we could all get together and do it more often but since none of us are rich we all must return to our normal lives. 

This year, for the first time, we had the Easter egg hunt on Saturday!  We asked Aunt S to hide the eggs and she did an absolutely amazing job!  They were hidden in places and ways that I never would have thought to hide them.  They were nestled in branches of bushes, perched in window seals, sitting in chairs, leaning up against trees, behind brooms and rakes, and I believe there was even one placed ever so perfectly on a piece of plastic piping!  I was so happy that I asked her to do it because I had planned to just put them in the grass and that requires absolutely no creativity at all!  So now, Aunt S will be the designated egg hider each year!

Y, of course, found the majority of the eggs and she did most of it with little help.  Q found 9 eggs with my help but she would have been more than content had she only found 2 - one for each hand.  She also had little interest in the chocolate that was inside the egg, Y was an entirely different story...which ended in that yelling and screaming mentioned above.

On Sunday morning the Easter Bunny arrived before heading out to church.  Y's basket had lots of princess items mixed in with a little Tinkerbell and Strawberry Shortcake, plus a beautiful towel embroidered with her name and a chocolate bunny.  Q's basket also had an embroidered towel as well as some bath toys, I guess the Easter Bunny knows that Q can't have chocolate yet so he didn't bring her a bunny.  Both also received a really cute stuffed friend from Uncle B and Aunt S which they can sleep with in their bed/crib.

Since we celebrated with Easter Dinner on Saturday we were able to have a nice relaxing day after church.  We received so many complements on the girl's dresses this year.  They are from The Children's Place (big surprise) and I loved that they were so similar but slightly different in design at the top.  I also knitted each of them 2 shrugs, one in pink and another in purple, and had them each wear it in the opposite color.  Y got to wear purple because it happens to be her favorite color...for this month anyway.



The Fox Boys

Christmas 2011

We had an awesome Christmas spent in Canada with our family and friends there.  We arrived on Friday evening, had dinner and just relaxed for the night.  On Saturday, Christmas Eve, we went to spend a few hours with a friend who's visiting with her new husband children - it was great to catch up and just sit around laughing and joking.  After returning in the early evening we had dinner and then again sat around talking, mostly laughing at each other or something Y said or did.  She also put on her new princess apron to help Nana B. in the kitchen but really ended up doing pretty much everything but what was intended.



Christmas Eve

 We awoke on Sunday, Christmas morning, to go to church.  I had been preparing Y all week telling her that we would go to church first and then come back to open presents.  Preparing her beforehand as well as her being only 3 and not quite as impatient as she could be helped us attain this seemingly impossible task of convincing her to wait.  Once we came back we even got her to cooperate long enough to take some family photos!

She received lots of gifts and enjoyed slowly unwrapping each one.  She got all the things she requested from Santa, which was really only a Belle Tea Set and princess stuff.  After all the presents were unwrapped she played and all the adults relaxed until it was time for dinner.  Since Christmas fell on a Sunday this year, it was observed on Monday so B got that day off work too, it was nice to have him for an extended weekend!

I'm still patiently awaiting that year when we'll get to spend Christmas in North Carolina with my family, holidays make me miss home even more.  But we are grateful to have family within an hour's drive of us in which we can go to spend holidays with and be able to enjoy their company. 

The First Gingerbread House

A few weeks ago Y started asking if she could build a gingerbread house, so finally last week I decided that we would do it...soon!  I just had to decide between buying one of the kits which range from $8-$10 or use graham crackers and make my own icing and buy all the candy.  Finally after considering it I figured that it'd be cheaper to buy the kit than spend the money on buying all different types of candy - especially since we only wanted to make one house.  So we decided that building the gingerbread house would be our FHE (Family Home Evening for my non-LDS readers) activity on Sunday.

Y was excited and so she rushed through dinner and the FHE lesson and was ready to build her house.  I did all the structural work and then we put on all the candy and icing.  As for the icing she told me what she wanted and where she wanted it and I went to work.  For the most part she stuck to the design of the picture which was on the box. 

Here are some pictures, I think it turned out pretty well!

I love that it comes with a tray with indentions for "structural support."  It was 100 times easier than building with graham crackers!

The hardest part of the whole thing was getting the tree and gingerbread boy to stand up straight...don't let the picture fool you, it was quite difficult!

Yep...her face is covered in sugar and icing.  I'm surprised we managed to get her in bed so easily.

The finished product

Aerial view

Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is typically a pretty quiet holiday at our place, and this year was no exception.  B's parents come each year and this year we also invited the missionaries over.  I cooked all the food - from scratch - but had a bit of help from my Mother-in-Law which was definitely appreciated during those times when I had to go and nurse Q.  This year I was a bit ahead of the game though because I started all the prep work for the meal on Tuesday.  If you're curious about the menu, it was:  Turkey (as usual, but I did try a new marinade this year which was a HUGE hit), mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls, and homemade macaroni and cheese.  For dessert we had apple crisp and cherry pie (made completely from scratch, no store bought pie filling!  I'm very proud of this fact if you can't tell) both served with vanilla ice cream.  Dinner was great...dessert was even better!

Here are some photos Nana B. took while I was hard at work in the kitchen!

We headed out to go do our Black Friday shopping at 9:45pm - Walmart opened at 10pm - and Walmart is definitely one store I will be skipping in the future, at least until later in the day.  I've been to Walmart on Black Friday before but this was the first year I was there when the sales first started.  Let's just say it was an experience that I don't care to repeat again...and I did it all for a Bissell 3-in-1 Stick Vac!  After Walmart we headed to Kohl's and waiting outside for 15 minutes until the store opened at midnight.  This was the first time Nana B went with us on Black Friday so we left the girls home with Grandpa P.  While in Kohl's our strategy was to have B wait in line while Nana B. and I did all the shopping and periodically dropped things off to him...it worked and we were out of there in just over 2 hours.  Our next stop, JCPenney wasn't going to open until 3:30am so we had just over an hour to spare so we headed back home so I could nurse Q which would hopefully hold her over until we were done.  Our timing couldn't have been more perfect because she was awake sitting on the couch with Grandpa P. when we walked through the door.  She was sitting there quite peacefully with him and he said she's only woken up about 10 minutes prior to us arriving home.  I nursed her and we chatted for a bit before heading out again.  We finished up at JCPenney and were home by 5:45am.  I was in bed by 6am and almost as soon as I laid down Q woke up but I was so tired by that point I just nursed her in our bed while I slept.  But by 8am she was bright eyed and bushy tailed and that was the end of my sleep.  It was crazy and it was exhausting but all of our Christmas shopping is done!

Halloween

This year we actually went to trick-or-treat in the same neighborhood as last year, but with different friends (last year we went with the Moss' and this year the Davis').  The neighborhood REALLY gets into Halloween and Y got quite a bit of candy...and we only went around one block. 

Y was excited the whole day and just couldn't wait to get into her Tinkerbell costume, I've never seen her so cooperative when it comes to getting dressed and getting her hair done.  I think her favorite part of the night, aside from the candy obviously, was the ride in the wagon.  I think when Q gets a bit bigger it may be a good investment for us to buy a wagon for the two of them.

After a chilly night of trick-or-treating (it was much warmer than last year) we went back to our friend's home for some cider and donuts with both sets of friends from the neighborhood (we know them from church) and their neighbors.  It was a great Halloween and on the drive home Y commented a few times that she was sad Halloween was over and that she didn't want it to go.  I'm sure for a 3 year old telling her that it'll come again next year is no comfort.  She's struggling to grasp the concept of a week's time so trying to explain another year was way too much of a challenge.



I think she makes the cutest Tinkerbell I've ever seen, but of course I'm a bit biased!


And now that Halloween's over...she's just excited that she gets to dress as Tinkerbell EVERYDAY!

Mother's Day 2011

I am so very grateful for mothers!  I have been blessed to be surrounded by so many wonderful women that are such awesome examples of what motherhood should be.  I am not the perfect mother, any mother will tell you that there's really no such thing.  We all make mistakes and do just plain stupid things some time, but for the most part, we love our children and ultimately want the best for them. 

Motherhood is vastly different from what I thought it would be, I'm a very different mother than I ever thought I'd be.  Motherhood has made me a different person, a better person I hope.  I used to wonder what was happening to me when I realized my hopes and dreams were starting to change; all the things I had ever wanted in my life were all of a sudden so much less important.  Somewhere along the line I became less obsessed with having a large beautiful house, or the car of my dreams, or even having the job that would enable me to purchase those things.  And then I realized that it wasn't my dreams that had really changed, it was the value I placed in those dreams that changed.  Sure, someday I'd still love to have a big beautiful house and the car of my dreams but it's far less important to me than knowing that our child(ren) are mentally, physically and spiritually healthy.  Knowing that they know that they are one of the top priorities in my life, having an active role in their daily life, cheering them on whether they succeed or fail at anything, hugging and kissing them multiple times a day so that they know without a doubt just how much they are loved, and being able to be there when they need me and hopefully not having to brush them aside for whatever else happens to be going on at the moment.  Those are the things that really matter to me as a mom and those are the things that I have been able to witness the mothers in my life do.  I am nowhere near being the mother that I want to be but with so many positive examples of motherhood surrounding me, I know that sooner or later I will get there.

On a slightly different note, this Mother's Day (and Father's Day) we decided to give gifts to our parents but not to each other.  We have something planned at the end of the month that we are going to be spending the money on instead (more details on that later, for now it's top secret, and if you know the secret...don't let it slip!).  But I received lots of hugs and kisses and heard "Happy Mother's Day, Mommy" enough to leave me more than content with that.  We went to church, returned home and made phone calls or did video chats, had dinner, got lots of rest and enjoyed being together as a family.  I truly feel like the luckiest woman on the earth, well aside from the swollen feet, ankles and legs which I'm experiencing today, but even that couldn't ruin my day!

The beautiful bouquet of flowers and card Yanna made for me at church today!

 

She loves her mommy!



Happy Mother's Day to all women everywhere!  I hope your day was as amazing as mine!

Easter...A Few Weeks Late

This year (well pretty much every year) we spent Easter in Canada with family.  These are all the pictures I actually took which is kinda sad...I'm slacking on my picture taking habits.  I didn't really get photos of Y's Easter Egg Hunt, partially because she surprised me and fell asleep when I wasn't expecting it (she was wearing big girl underwear) and had a little accident while still wearing her Easter dress.  The other part was due to the fact that it was pretty stinkin' cold outside and Grandpa P had put some fertilizer on the grass a few days before so we figured it was safer to do it indoors as opposed to doing it in the yard.  It didn't seem to matter to her at all though, she loved searching for the eggs just as much!  Next year she'll have a little sister crawling behind her grabbing eggs of her own!