Just after Christmas we took the girls to Sea World to see their Christmas stuff. They got to visit Santa -- we told him he was taking his vacation in Orlando. ;-) They told him what their favorite gifts were, and we had a great, albeit COLD, time! We were definitely bundled up as we watched their ice show!Chris was busy over his "vacation" -- his biggest task was painting the girls' bedroom. We had picked a pink that I thought would look less Pepto Bismol and more dusty rose. I was out while Chris painted, and he called to let me know that he thought it might be a little darker than I expected. I told him to go ahead, there wasn't much we could do about it now! I came home and was greeted by the pinkest pink I'd ever seen! We also put up the toddler bed for Rachael. The girls were SO excited about their room! Here are a couple of pictures of them as they first came in, and you can catch a glimpse of the pink:
Gracie pretends to sleep for her photo op...
Rachael pretends to stretch and yawn...
January came and brought along MUCH colder weather, so we learned a lot about hats, scarves and gloves! These were taken when the girls were helping their daddy with some work on the back porch early one evening! This was before they had their scarves, which I may have run out to get that very night. I had no idea how much a scarf could help in the cool weather -- but why would I, being a native Floridian?? I was very thankful we were able to get all wrapped up every morning for school! So were the girls! (If you notice in the picture with Rachael, Chris is wearing shorts!! Even on the coldest day we had, he went outside and ran errands in shorts, it's like he never gets cold!!
January also brought Miss Rachael's 3rd birthday! We celebrated with family, and she picked the main dish -- pizza! When asked what kind of cake, without hesitation she replied, "Strawberry!" So strawberry she got! Rachael had a big week -- even though she started off under the weather, she managed to fit in a haircut, a little lunch after moms' group with her friends, her birthday party, bringing cake to school the following day, and then after we picked Gracie up from school on Friday, we headed over to the zoo. WHEW! We did manage to wear the girls out enough that Rachael told us she was ready to go to bed!
Gracie brought home her second report card -- that's still a little wild! She's doing great in school, and she's really impressing us with how well she's reading! There is no point in spelling out words in front of her anymore, she'll figure it out! Chris and I are going to have to figure out a new kind of code! Grace loves coming home and telling us what she's learned, and I LOVE that!
Rachael is also still a huge fan of school! For a little while there, she was acting like she was going to bolt after me when I dropped her off, but all it took was her sweet teacher offering to let her paint, and usually she'd be fine! :-) After the break, she was back to walking herself in and barely sparing me a wave! She is definitely talking clear enough for strangers to understand, and the funniest thing is when she gets her hands going! We are still working on the potty training thing -- and I do mean WE, it definitely takes parental involvement! She knows what to do, I think it's just going to take me being willing to give up the diapers and Pull-Ups during the day altogether, and I'm not there yet! Soon, though!The girls are so much fun, especially when they play together, which they do fairly well! Lately Rachael has become a little bit more affectionate with Grace, coming over and sitting in her lap or randomly giving her hugs. Gracie will usually holler out, "Mama! Look!" so I don't miss it. Love them!
Things are warming up here, hope that you and your family are staying warm as well!
