Dance Recital

Olivia takes dance lessons once a week. She had a Christmas dance recital this weekend. She did great! She did really well remembering her dance steps and even tried to help a few other girls along !

Our Elf Suprise

It has been our tradition that Elly, our Elf on the Shelf,  leaves us a present under our tree the first night the tree is up. She usually leaves us pajamas, but I found a good sale on pjs while Olivia and I were shopping so Elly needed to leave us a different gift this year ;)
She left us a magically book. As you read the book Santa gives you directions, teacher you about the North Pole, and ever responds to you. It is really cute,  and now Chase is old enough to read it to Olivia and William while Mommy makes dinner.

Olivia's Sweet Shoppe

Our sweet Olivia celebrated her 5th birthday last week. We planned a candy themed party at the park for her. My dad constructed a Tootsie Toss game and Gum Ball Racing Track for us from plywood, to make sure it could withstand all the little hands.  We had Nerd filled necklaces and a cupcake painting station. And to complete the candy theme we had chocolate cover marshmallows, candy cover popcorn, giant frog gummies, caramel apples, vanilla wafers, etc. The kids loved the unlimited candy  buffet :)
I didn't want to send more candy home with the kids, figuring their parents would be pretty annoyed with the excess sugar. So in my search for a party favor I found a woman who makes soap into candy shapes. I ordered an entire candy bar (gummy bears, life savors, rock candy sticks, licorice, marshmallows, swedish fish, etc) out of soap. It turned out so cute and really surprised people. I did keep it covered with cellophane until the party was wrapping up to make sure no one accidentally  grabbed one to eat it.  My kids have taken a different "candy" into the bath each night.

Olivia had a great afternoon with all of her friends!

Chase's Thanksgiving Show

Chase's class performed their first show this morning. It was cute, all about saving the turkeys from our dinner tables- Ha!
Chase has a buddy in his class, Drew. They go to our church and live just down the street so the boys play often. Drew has a little brother Parker, who was in my Sunday school class last year. Parker and William are best buds too :)
All the kids did a great job!

Pow Wow

Olivia performed in her school Pow Wow this morning. She did a great job and even made sure to turn and look at my camera when she sang her songs :) Her Native American name was Princess Sunflower- very fitting as she is a princess and loves flowers. The boy she is standing next to is Alex, they have become fast friends this year. He is very sweet and smart so I am hoping it is a sign of the kind of boys she will be drawn to ;)

Cake fun!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Benjamin Turns 1!

We celebrate Benny's first birthday today! Poor Ben was a bit under the weather (fever and runny nose) and wasn't up for much partying but the rest of us had a great time. Jeannie planned a Little Man Mustache Bash party for him. It was super cute, she had an awesome photo booth (picture to come later), decorate your own tie, create a balloon face and many other fun games and activities.

Fun Run 2013

Chase's school just completed a Boosterthon Fun Run Fundraiser. Chase ran 35 laps (over 2 miles) and raised $140 for his school. We are so proud of him.

Sweet Daddy

We sure do love our Daddy. Ryan has taken Chase and Olivia each to a Gator game this season. They love getting Daddy all to themselves for the day! They come back completely exhausted, sugared up and loaded down with trinkets but smiling ear to ear. What special memories they are making :) William got to stay up late this week and was just loving having Ryan's undivided attention. Daddy do this, Daddy do that, Daddy do this and that- hehehehe.

Back to School

So we are back to school. Chase started first grade and Olivia is in PK-4. They both have great teachers and are having a fun year so far. Chase has a lot of old friends in his class and his teacher is a Gator!! He also gets to attend "specials" this year, so everyday they go to computer, art, music or PE (last year the teacher planned art and music in the classroom). He has made a new friend, Drew. They eat lunch together everyday, we have had several playdates and they get along great!

Olivia has lots of new kids in her class but she makes friends easily and has a table of very sweet little girls.

We have settled into a nice routine. William and I run errands, gym, cleaning and some special playtime while everyone is in school. Then he goes down for a nap and Olivia and I get some special time together. I am working on her reading skills. She is completely obsessed with coloring but it means she has great pencil skills too. Some days we just color together but I am trying to squeeze reading in too.
Chase is riding the bus home this year, which he loves! The bus has 2 girls who are "patrols", 5th graders who maintain order and manage the assigned seating. Chase is totally in love with these girls of authority and cannot wait til he is old enough to become a patrol.