iWhat??

I've had an iPhone for about 10 min....so far, I think I like my Blackberry better...my fingers seem to fat for the keys and every time I type "Arnie" it automatically changes it to "Anne". So, for the next few days people may get emails or texts about Anne!

I've been waiting to write my next post because I'm trying to upload a video. So far the video is taking forever. The gist of it, is Maggie got an email video from Santa the yesterday, he knew all about her and had the picture of the 2 of them together from last weekend, she was AMAZED. The video I'm trying to upload is actually her watching the Santa message. The elves had to pull the lever on their machine to find out if she was going to end up on the naughty list or the nice list, she looked genuinely concerned :)

Here is a link to the message from Santa, it's cute, I'll keep trying to upload the video of Maggie watching.....

http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/gzUVNemR1zEYoTt2k2g88vQ

On Wednesday night after Maggie got done at church, she came running out to tell me "WE GOT TO SING ON THE STAGE MOM!!!" She was SO excieted. She also told me that the kids didn't get to hold their own microphones....that was the only dissapointment in the whole thing. She's really excieted about her Sunday School chirstmas program on Sunday.  Her class is singing one little song at the begining, she's been practicing like she's headed for the grammy's :)  I'll work on my video skills before then

Yesterday, Grace's first top tooth started to make an appearance...Maggie asked if once it's half way in we could give her a hotdog. I told her we might need to wait a little longer. 

Brown Christmas?

It's been raining here for 2 days, so most of the snow is gone. The forecast seems to be hovering in the mid 30's for the next several days, it looks like we may have a muddy brown Christmas instead of a pretty white one! I don't like the cold, but I do hope for a white Christmas.

Arnie is safely home from skiing and it sounds like he had a great time. He even walked without limping or groaning this morning. I presume he'll ski again, but I don't think he'll take a 20 year break between the next 2 trips, like he did the last two.

The girls and I got some shopping done in Omaha and now it's time to start wrapping and wrapping and wrapping...I really like how the tree looks with all the pretty paper and bows under it, if I'm going to have time to enjoy it, I better get started.

Gracie has been "crawling" (more like army crawl/scooting) for awhile, but now she is REALLY efficient at it. Last night she was laying by the tree while I worked on some wrapping and before I knew it she was across the family room and I could hear her pounding on the wood floor behind the couch....it's time to be sure we keep the basement door closed.

Maggie begged Grandpa to put up the Santa in the yard....

I think Maggie was telling Grandpa just how to make it look right.

Grace and Santa having a chat....

Gracie and Santa having a fight...

I think she won! (We added her name to her helmet last week, she seems
to like that people talk to her. It freaks Arnie out a little.)

After Santa was blown-up, Maggie and Grandpa built a great snowman.

Grandma came to the rescue with some arms.



I'm surprised Maggie didn't eat the red pepper mouth before they were done...
Maggie thought it was pretty funny to use Uncle Deems hat :)

 

Uncle Evan and Aunt Amy picked out a hat for Gracie and Uncle Evan even used his
big noggin to stretch it out for her, fits perfect!!

Thanks Uncle Evan (and Aunt Amy too!)

only child...

Maggie spent Friday night hanging out with Aunt Laura and then stayed in Omaha at Grandma and Grandpas on Saturday night, so Gracie enjoyed a little 'only child' time. I think she mostly missed her big sister. Friday night we went out for supper and it was like the old days again, only one kid to juggle. I had to work Saturday morning and we went to the Panther game on Saturday night, but otherwise Arnie and Gracie played and I sewed. I'm tyring to get a Christmas project done for Maggie...and since she was gone it was a perfect time to make a big dent in it.

This morning Arnie headed for Colorado, to do a little skiing with some guys and Grace and I went to Omaha to join Maggie and get a little Christmas shopping done. We made our annual trip to talk to Santa, it went MUCH better this year then last....no screaming or running. Maggie did great. She told Santa Gracie wanted a baby toy and she wanted a John Deere Gator and a duck(??). 

When we got home from seeing Santa, Grandpa had out the old video projector and the reels from when I was little. It was fun to watch. It was like seeing my girls on the screen. I was bouncing across the beach at about 3, looking alot like another bouncy little girl I know and when I was little, like Grace, my face was every bit as round. 

A couple of quick Maggieisms....
Friday on our way to meet Laura, she saw some deer decoys in someones lawn, she said, "Mom, those deer are really REAL. Their mom told them to relax and take a rest, that's why they are holding SO still."

This morning she and my parents went out for breakfast, she usually orders Sprite with cranberry juice in it to drink. This morning was no exception, she ordered it and the waitress told her they didn't have any cranberry juice, Maggie's response was "well, then I guess I'll just have something pink to drink." :) the waitress had some strawberry milk, so that apparently fit the bill!

We LOVE Santa!!

Grandpa, WHAT is that old machine?

Maggie didn't understand why there wasn't any sound, or why we had to watch it on a sheet (not the tv)
....or why I was so young :)

This is a picture (from one of the reels) of my dad and I skiing down the mountain in Colorado when
I was just a little younger then Maggie. Maybe after Arnie's "guy" ski trip, he'll
be ready to teach Maggie.

Maggie and I made some felt snowmen the other day. She's been having fun
dressing them and making new "stuff" to stick on them.

Happy girl taking a helmet break.

Gracie was tired of sitting with Santa....

Mmmmmmm......a tootsie pop!!

Maggie wanted a picture of daddy skiing....he'll be thrilled that I posted it here.



Dr jekyll.....

Wow, how fast things can change. Maggie was so sweet all afternoon...we did our shopping, she let me take some pictures of she and Grace in the snow, we played....and then all of the sudden, my sweet little girl turned into a total BRAT!  For the last 3 hours she's been snotty, whinny, rude and just plain rotten! She's had time-outs, she's been sent to her room and for the first time ever we had to stay home from dinner because we knew she couldn't be out in public. We were supposed to meet Dick, Betti and Jeff for supper and it broke my heart when we had to take that away from her, but she was swinging at Arnie and yelling NO!, so we knew we had no choice.  Where did my sweet little girl go??  I have a real fear that she will grow up to be a brat and that somehow I won't notice or be able to fix it. I know, I know, all 3 year olds have "brat moments" but what if mine never turns back into her good little self?  what if I created the monster? You can send your dogs to obedience school, why can't you send your kids??  AHHHHHHHHHH, these things should come with owners manuals. 

It seems that tonight everyone in our house needs a little extra patience.

Update, I wrote the paragraph above, then went to tuck maggie in to bed and she was back to her sweet self. Lots of hugs and I love yous. I don't know if that makes me feel better or if I'm more disturbed that she can turn it on and off so quickly. I guess we'll see what tomorrow brings...

The first of the turkey loot....

Maggie has been obsessed with the pajama drive at school. She can't fathom that there are kids who don't have warm pajamas to wear to bed. I'm sorry we live in a world where that's a reality but I'm glad she has compassion and cares so deeply for others.  The other day I took her shopping and we picked out several pairs of jammies. She's asked several times since if she could use her gift card to buy more. So today we had our first shopping trip with the Turkey winnings. She HAD to have her own basket (because, as she told me, she was too short to push a cart) and she HAD to carry it, drag it, push it, whatever it took to get through the store. She made it very clear she didn't need my help. We talked about what she wanted to buy before we went, she wanted 2 more pairs of pajamas for school (actually she wanted like 10 more, but I talked her into 2 for now, I'm thinking there will be more in our future), she also asked if she could buy a Christmas present for Grace with her money and a pack of strawberry flavored gum for her.  Off we went to target....



I wish I had taken a picture at the register, she scanned her card then had to sign for it. She was too short so I had to hold her and couldn't get a picture. She was so happy.  She picked out 2 pj's, a turtle toy for grace, a puppy for Baby Chocolate Milk to "walk" and of course some gum. She just learned to chew gum last week, so it's a BIG deal at our house!  She still has lots of $ left on her "credit card" so she's making a list of what else she might buy....

Crazy time of year!!!

Every year I think I'm ready for the Holiday hustle and bustle, and somehow when it gets here, the time flies faster then ever.  Maggie is loving Christmas time, she's old enough to understand most of what's happening, be excited about Santa, etc... There are SO many things she and I could be doing, making or playing with that would make for great holiday memories....but there are only so many hours in a day, so what we get done we get done.

Last Sunday we had an early Hanukkah dinner with Dick and Betti, before they head for Arizona. Maggie got a microphone....nothing like giving an already LOUD 3 year old, something to amplify her noise :) she LOVES it. Once she learns to hold it a little farther from her mouth, so you can understand what she's saying, I'm sure there will be lots of 'concert' videos to post. 

It's snowing at our house again today. I'm hoping when I pick Maggie up at school she won't notice. It's really cold out, I don't want to make "snowing angels" today.

Gracie though the wrapping paper looked like a good snack.

Maggie wanted Gracie to hurry up!!

Tonight on stage....MAGGIE ROBINSON.

Gracie's turn to sing.

mmmmmm.....bananas!!!  Grace's helmet is sort of a part of her now, she doesn't seem to mind it at all.
She seems to be getting used to being warmer too, she's not sweating as much.  Thank goodness, her helmet was
starting to get a little smelly.

First snow...

The first white stuff of the year is here! Maggie asked about a million times this morning if it was time to put her snowsuit on and go make "snowing angels" yet?? She and daddy are out playing in it now.

Grace is doing great with her helmet, she really doesn't seem to mind it anymore at all. She is even letting us take it on and off without crying all the time. It doesn't seem to have slowed her down much she's still scooting all over the place.

Friday afternoon, 5 girlfriends and I headed to Sioux Falls for 24 hours of girl time and shopping. We had the best time. The drive home was a bit of a long one, since it snowed about 5 inches while we were there, but we made it safe, got some shopping done and had a great time! AND Arnie and the girls did great here...a little daddy daughters time is good for everyone.








I made Gracie a christmas bib a couple of weeks ago, so Maggie asked if we could make her a christmas pillow....so we've been working on it for a couple of days and this morning we finished it.








Didn't she do good?? she asked if we could put a pocket on the back for her letter to santa....





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