December Happenings

In December, Meredith geared up for Christmas decked out in her hand-me-down holiday outfits from the twins and spread the Christmas cheer!

Meredith couldn’t make up her mind whether to be naughty or nice this December! We rarely went on an outing without some kind of throwdown… even preschool drop-off had turned into a nightmare because Meredith refused to leave and would regularly throw herself down on the ground, kicking and screaming.

I never take her to the store anymore, unless it’s an absolute emergency because she always manages to make some kind of spectacle. In December, I was at Target with her when she started tantruming in the check-out line over the fact that I was putting the various candy bars and random items she had thrown into the cart back on the shelf. Restraining her in the cart seatbelt is impossible and she can climb out of the cart herself, so I was left with little option but to scurry out of there once I was done with the self-check out. A kind soul felt pity for me and offered to escort me to my car, pushing my cart for me, while I held a kicking and screaming Meredith under my arms like a football so that she wouldn’t be able to kick my stomach! Once in the car, it was another 20 minutes before I could restrain her in her carseat. She is SO stubborn, this one!

Not so cheery today.

Elfie returned and while his hiding spots mostly included climbing candy-cane striped pipe cleaners and literally sitting on shelves, the girls thought his antics were hilarious! They didn’t even seem to mind that he stayed in the same spot for several days in a row (no one ever told them the actual rules, so our elf goes at his own pace).

The twins chatting before their holiday dance and yoga recital.

The twins had just barely moved up into the 5-7 year old class and tried their best to keep up! We had Mele Kalikimaka in our head for weeks.

The girls were mostly excited about the recital because they got to wear a little makeup and received a rose and Yogurtland afterwards.

Sammy the reindeer pulls the sleigh.

Cheese!

I am terrible at any kind of construction project and cringe at the thought of putting together gingerbread houses, but this train wasn’t so hard.

Practicing their ice skating skills.

Checking out the camels and other animals at the live nativity in our city.

Jake was elected to the Board of Directors for our city and enjoyed texting me pictures of his picture in the office whenever he had a board meeting.

We had some warm days in December, which meant doing basically the same thing we do every day… going to the park.

Starfish!

Biking to the orange grove.

Lemons and limes, yum!

The girls rarely wait until we get home to try out their spoils. The blood oranges and clementines here are super juicy, and I rarely buy oranges at the grocery store anymore.

More sunny December days and park shenanigans.

Amelia on a random Daddy-Daughter date to the sporting goods store.

We’ve got a crazy on the loose in the orange grove!

Speaking of crazy, Meredith is a Little Miss Bossy Pants! Poor Bandit!

Lots of love,

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November in a nutshell

A random compilation of pre-Thanksgiving photos from November!

We begin with all of the festive Thanksgiving-themed school projects, including these very cute and useful laminated placemats:

More turkey projects:

Joyriding on a crisp fall day in the Barbie Jeep.

The night the girls most look forward to during the week is Friday night, which is movie night at our house. I won an air popper at the preschool’s annual dinner fundraiser, so the girls have enjoyed popping their own corn and don’t seem to mind the lack of butter or salt. We just eat it straight up plain!

My dreams of seeing Hamilton came true! I didn’t think I’d survive the drive up to LA since I was in the throes of morning sickness, but I had been dying to see this show forever and wasn’t going to let some pesky nausea and extreme fatigue stop me, even though this was the latest I had been out in months! We had some yummy tapas at a restaurant in the theater district before meeting our friends, Sheela and Todd, at the show.  I don’t often say anything is really worth the drive to LA, but this was definitely an exception. Best. Musical. Ever.

Samantha and Amelia did their best to smile and not look tortured in their school photos.

 

Meredith hangs with her bestie, Maple, whom she lovingly refers to as “May May.” They are hilarious together! One minute they are throwing sand and pushing each other, and the next they are hugging and kissing bye bye. Meredith frequently asks where May May is when we go to the park and she’s not there, and sometimes asks to bless May May in her prayers.

The twins started ice skating lessons, and despite spills and struggles the first few weeks, they love it. Ice skating is one of the few lessons we’ve tried that they are super excited to go to each week, probably because Jake buys them hot chocolate afterwards.

Daddy Daughter date at the Spectrum. I believe I was at a doctor’s appointment on this particular excursion and when I picked them up, I notice they were wearing new pants that we don’t own. They explained that Amelia had an accident, so instead of thinking to go to the car where I keep extra clothes, Jake just ran into one of the stores and bought them new undies and pants.

Livin’ la vida loca.

Meredith is obsessed with her dollies.

There’s an orange grove within biking distance of our house and the girls love to bike there, bringing big sacks of oranges home with them. The ride home is uphill all the way, so they are always exhausted when they get back.

Just past the orange grove is a fun little “Exploration Park” the girls like.

Showing off those strong muscles.

Gymnastics practice.

Thanksgiving potluck time! The hour of setting up, serving a class of hungry preschoolers and directing them to help clean up is tiring! I didn’t even get a chance to go say hi to Amelia in her class since her class is smaller and they were on to storytime by the time I got there. It seemed like every kid in this class asked for demanded two or three more helpings of everything… and then wasted it all! Argh! There was so much food that I wanted to take a few dishes home and call Thanksgiving done!

A few nighttime shenanigans:

Jake filmed this at 1 a.m. one night after Samantha had vomited and Amelia had woken up, startled and crying incoherently.  Apparently, she wanted to throw up too! Good times.

Lots of love,

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