Holy Cupcakes!

With Violet's Birthday quickly approaching I decided I wanted to do something really special for her first birthday. My step-mom gave me a wonderful book a couple of years ago called "Hello, Cupcake". I've never been brave enough to make anything out of the book yet, but I thought I should try it. Lydia and I did a test run the Wednesday before her birthday. The first cupcakes were dry and the frosting was too soft and it made it difficult to decorate.

I used another cupcake recipe in the book and bought some Wilton decorating frosting. Saturday morning I baked the cupcakes and then began the long process of making Oreo sunflowers and M&M ladybugs. With each flower I got more and more used to the technique and got better.

It ended up taking 3 long hours, but I was super happy with the end result. I put them in the fridge to await Violet's birthday party the next day. Perhaps I will have to experiment again someday. I know Lydia and Adelle may ask for their own special cupcakes on their birthdays.

Lydia and her Choir

On December 16 Lydia performed with her school choir. They put on a great show and sang some fun songs. They sang classic Christmas songs and some silly songs as well, like "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer". Lydia was even chosen to sing a solo. Her voice rang out so beautifully and clear! I am so proud of her.

After the performance the kids had a short party complete with karaoke and tons of food. By the time Lydia got to the treat table though it had pretty much been cleared out! It is pretty crazy how much 4th, 5th, and 6th graders can eat. Lydia still managed to come home pretty sugared up! It has been fun to watch her sing in the choir. It enjoyed being in choirs as a kid and it is fun to see her picking up the tradition. Her voice is getting stronger as time goes by as well! Way to go Lydia!

Gotta Love those Faces

I love my family! They are too much fun!

Lydia and her Strings!

Last Wednesday Lydia had her orchestra concert. This is her second year learning the violin. She sounded great! She looks quite grown up when she plays as well. Her music teacher was quite enthusiastic as he played piano while the kids played their string instruments. Lydia seemed quite focused and I am so proud of her!!!

Violet enjoyed listening to her sister as well.

She wasn't too happy when I told her NO when it came to grabbing the camera.

Sweet Gingerbread

Sunday the 12th of December the girls and I decided to make the gingerbread house from the kit I had picked up at Costco. I wonder if consumers are beginning to get more lazy because our house came pre-built. The only thing left to do was to decorate it with lots and lots of frosting and candy. Lydia and Adelle decided to decorate the house and I decided to decorate the tree and two gingerbread people.

Adelle and Lydia found it was harder than it looked. They kept remarking that my frosting looked better, but I encouraged them to keep trying.

Violet looked on and in time grew impatient. We gave her snacks to keep her occupied.

My little project turned out okay. The girls were disappointed when I covered the bottom in coconut since they aren't big fans.

The kit came with the cutest gummy snowman. The girls even made eyes peeping out of the windows. In the front yard they even put pumpkins covered with icing since at the time our Halloween pumpkins still were on the front porch covered with snow. What did I say about lazy? Adelle took over the icing at the end and was quite proud of her icicles. Wes didn't join us because he confessed to Lydia this year that gingerbread kits are like paint by numbers and he just isn't a fun. We girls still had a fun time! I know we will all enjoy eating it after Christmas, even Wes!

Feeling Boxed In?

The other night I decided to have a little fun with violet. She can make a mess super quick and loves pulling out toys and books all over the living room. I decided to put her away with the toys. She enjoyed being in her little box for a bit, but protested soon after!

It gave her the grand idea a few days later to try and get in the box by herself. She ended up needing rescue when she got stuck hanging over the box, unable to climb in or get out. Silly girl!

Haircuts!

On December 1 we went to our local haircutting establishment to get Wes and the girls' hair cut. We decided that even little Violet was getting a little shaggy, so she got her very first trim. I asked them to save some of her hair, but then I forgot to take it :( She got to sit in daddy's lap to get it done.

She did pretty well, especially if I kept taking pictures. It was enough of a distraction.

Adelle decided to get a drastic change and chose an A-line cut, which we all think makes her look so grown up.

Her hair looks so thick and full now.

Lydia's hair was getting pretty long. She went more subtle and she looks great as well!

Wes got his hair cut as well. I myself decided to wait until Friday for a friend of mine to work her magic on my hair!

Snow Lydia

I love my Lydia. She is growing up more and more every day and I know that soon she will no longer be my girl, but will be a young lady. Lydia's aunt requested some pictures of her for a project. I caught her while she was playing in the snow!

Need Power?

I am totally behind on my blog thanks to my home computer being on the fritz! About a month ago we had a MASSIVE snow storm. There was very large amounts of very WET, HEAVY snow. We lost power from 3:00 in the morning until about noon. Wes pulled out a box of puzzles that were supposed to be a family Christmas present since there wasn't much for us to do. It was a Sunday so the girls and I still headed to church, but it was cancelled after sacrament since the power had been off most of the day even at the church. The girls helped with part of the puzzle and then Wes and I finished it up. I was so grateful when the power came back on. I was worried how chilly it was getting without the heater.

Oh I'm Thankful!

Thanksgiving was great this year. I didn't take pictures AGAIN this year. Drat! I have this great camera and I didn't even use it. I really need to get in the habit again of snapping photos.

On Thanksgiving Day I spent a lot of the day working on the 2008 blog book and everyone enjoyed relaxing. Later in the afternoon Wes got my brother Philip and we headed to Wes' parents. It was fun to see everyone again. Violet was pretty entertaining. She was a little timid at first, especially around her uncle Jeff, but she began to warm up. At one point we were all copying her when she would clap and stop clapping and she just thought that was the greatest thing.

Adelle and Philip played Battleship while dinner was being made and after dinner. Adelle had a melt down at one point when we discovered that she had in fact been moving her ship to avoid being hit. I love her. She promised to be honest on the next game. Phil was really great with her. He really seemed to be super comfortable and he even began playing the piano and singing at one point! I love him!!!

Dinner was wonderful and we really enjoyed visiting with everyone. After dinner Wes and I enjoyed joking with his aunt and siblings while looking at the ads. We really didn't want to leave when 8:00 rolled around, but we needed to get Violet to bed.

The Sunday after Thanksgiving we headed to my step-mom's house. It had been snowing since the night before, but we braved the weather and made it there safely. Dinner was marvelous! The deserts were super yummy too. The girls and I especially liked the little cake balls and Candy Apple Salad. Yummy! We also enjoyed seeing everyone. It was really great to see my sister Sarah's art. She really is developing into quite the talented Artist. I could never draw or paint like she does and I am so proud to see her learning so much and working so hard at it! We couldn't stay too long though because the snow was still coming down and we knew it would be a long, scary drive. We did manage to make it home again.

I am so grateful for loving family that surrounds us, especially during this holiday season. I love each and every one of you. Thank you for loving us with all of your hearts and taking such good care of us!!!!

Missing Teeth, ThankLizzy Day, Nickles in Pockets, and School Triumphs

Well, things have been good these past couple of weeks. The girls continue to lose teeth. We worry that Adelle might not be able to eat anything but mashed bananas :) She certainly fits the old song "All I want for Christmas is my Two Front Teeth"...and several other ones as well! Lydia even lost another tooth. You'd think I wasn't taking care of my kids, but I know it is just the time for those baby teeth to pop out.



On another note, last Friday I decided to cook the 7.5 pound turkey breast that has been hanging out in the fridge defrosting. I decided if I was going to cook the turkey we were going to have all the sides that go along with it on special holidays. I even made homemade cranberry sauce. I had gotten the recipe from the Pioneer Woman blog. Love her! I declared it a holiday! We all sat around the table and savored every bite. It was really the first time I've made turkey for the whole family and it ended up being so moist and delicious! I thank my sister and her husband for giving us a meat thermometer. If I had just used the time of the package it would have been WAY overdone. It really was a sort of magical occasion and I could have sworn that it was Thanksgiving. Wes and I even did a little of Christmas shopping afterwards. We then all sat together for Toy Story 3. It was a very special day. I even picked up pumpkin pie and eggnog. Oh Heavens, it was good and I was so happy. I was teasing the family at dinner and said well aren't you going to say "Thank You". They already had but I was so engrossed in everything I'd missed it. They humored me and thanked me again. Wes then declared our little holiday "ThankLizzy Day". It may have to be a tradition each year :)



There has been the sound of coins jingling in a little girls pocket this week. Adelle has been having a hard time listening and wanting to follow directions. Wes was almost at his wits end. It was getting pretty frustrating at times. Inspired by a Bearenstein Bear book he decided to try a little experiment. Adelle gets 5 nickles a day and if she isn't listening she has to give us one of her nickles. At the end of the day if she has any nickles left she gets to keep them. Now, it may sound like we are paying Adelle to behave, but really I think it is helping her remember to listen when she hears those coins jingling and I believe it is helping her get into the habit of controlling her negative emotions and not arguing with us. It is working marvelously so far.

Speaking of marvelous things, the girls have done really great this past term. We had parent teacher conferences this week. We were a little worried about Lydia's grades at midterm because of some missed work and some forgetfulness on her part, but she really worked hard and got all B+ and A's. We are super proud of her. Adelle is doing really great as well. She is testing pretty high and her grades are wonderful. I love both of the girls teachers this year! We will have to find a way to celebrate the girls great grades soon. I'll have to keep you posted.

This is Halloween!

Almost all of us came down with colds Halloween Eve, but it didn't stop us from getting dressed up and going out to enjoy the night. First, we went to our ward costume contest and trunk or treat which turned into a trick or treat inside the church thanks to the rain. Lydia even won a prize for her costume. Erica joined us right before we went out the door and we were all excited to have her with us.

After the church party we hit a few streets close to our house. Erica was a pirate wench! Love her!

Lydia already had shelter from the rain with her pretty, purple parasol. I love the dark, looming sky in this picture. It was a little hard for her to walk around in her dress thanks to the hoop skirt, but she did a great job. I could totally relate since I'd worn a hoop skirt two years earlier.

Violet was warm and snugly as a cheetah! After a while she got tired of sitting in the stroller so I held her and she really loved going up to people's doors.

I didn't have any costumes that fit. I'm not quite at my pre-pregnancy figure so I threw together a vampire costume at the last minute. Wes had in fact made the corset and cape years earlier. The dress is a relic from times long past :)

Adelle was a little scared of me, especially when I hissed at her. He he!

It wasn't long before a very cold wind picked up and Adelle had to use the restroom so we quickly headed home.

The candy stash isn't as big as years past, but Adelle still got 172 pieces!

Erica hung out with us until the girls went to bed.

It ended up being a fun Halloween! I wonder what we'll dress up as next year ;)

Costumes

The Thursday before Halloween the girls got to dress up in their special costumes for school. I wish I would have gotten better pictures of Adelle's Mulan costume. She was in a hurry to get out the door to the bus. Her sleeves are particularly amazing and flow down almost to the floor.

Lydia as a southern belle! She just LOVED getting dressed up, wearing my pearls, and makeup.

Love it!

Thanks Daddy!

I love my husband so much! Not only is he the man I adore with all of my heart but he can also sew. The talent he has is amazing to me! He is also FAST! Oh, did I mention he is also a perfectionist! He will often start making something from a pattern and find that he doesn't like the way it is turning out. So what does he do? He just adapts it, changes it, and makes it his own. He decided he would dust of the sewing machine and make some fabulous costumes for Lydia and Adelle. Lydia decided all the way on our Disneyland vacation that she wanted to be a southern belle. I think Wes was the one that suggested it after Lydia bought a personalized parasol in New Orleans Square. Wes made the southern belle dress complete with on overdress and hoop skirt! Did I mention the man has oodles of talent?

Adelle wanted to be Mulan. She got nervous in the end because Lydia's was taking a while to make. Wes did come through for his girl though and he got it done the Sunday before Halloween. It only took him two days to do Adelle's since there wasn't any gathering. He did have some beautifully finished french seams on the costume though.

I love him!

New Friends

A couple of weeks ago after the girls and I had cleaned the house really good I thought it would be nice for the girls if they got some new friends. After our errands we went to the pet store and each of them chose a beta fish of their very own. Adelle chose a blue, female beta and named her Beauty. Lydia chose a crown tail, male beta which she named Prince Charles. Both of the girls were super excited. We saved by buying the fish bowls super cheap at the DI where we had gone to find a costume for Violet. The girls are very careful to always leave their bedroom door closed so our cat can't make a snack out of the special pets. Yeah for pets!

10 months and Violet's Faces

Violet has many faces. I decided to capture some of them.

Yesterday Violet turned 10 months old. She is growing up so much. She is now crawling on her knees and is pulling herself up on more and more things, including Wes' Aragorn sword which was hanging on the wall. It is now in the closet. She is making more and more sounds, including something that sounds vaguely like kitty. She isn't sleeping as well as she was last month. She likes to get up once a night nowadays. I hope that stops soon. She also isn't napping as well either. It is a phase I'm sure. It does look like she's about to get another tooth on the top so that could be contributing to the frequent wakings.

She is really getting her own little personality. She likes to yell at us to get her more food when she is in her highchair. We're trying to work through that one. She doesn't like green beans and she will throw them onto the floor. She likes most other foods and has recently become a big fan of banana bread.

She does give us lots of smiles and gets excited to see us. She gets especially excited to see Wes when he has been busy and cries when he goes away. She LOVES touch and feel books. She likes to touch all the special materials. She still loves to suck and bite blankets and stuffed animals. She loves to play Peek-A-Boo and is very good at it! It is pretty easy to make her laugh most days and it is a hearty laugh.

I can't believe in just two months she will be celebrating her first birthday. Time sure is flying!