Tea at the Tuscan

Our annual New Year Tea signals the end of the holidays to me. I don't want to see this vacation end! The company was great at the tea room. I loved sitting by Janna, Diane, Bonnie and Dana. I love this tradition of some reflective me time before the season ends.

Photo a Day: Day 8: More Wrestling

This New Year's Eve we are staying home as a family. We invited Jared over to spend the night with us, too. The kids set up a wrestling ring in the basement and printed tickets for us to come to the match. It was the best two out of three. Quinton won. Big shock. We played Wii Bowling as a family, too. Ready to ring in the new year!

Photo a Day: Day 7: Clear the DVR

We were lucky to get some days and nights to ourselves when Charlene took the kiddos for two nights. We made some great little dinners, cleared the DVR and went to bed early. We watched eight episodes of Chuck in a row. Great to have down time with each other.

Photo a Day: Day 6: Barbie House

Quinton arranged all of Addison's Barbies in her dollhouse as a gift for her. He cleared out the junk that had accumulated and made a little place for every Barbie...well, except for the five or more who he couldn't find a place for. He even had the butterfly Barbie flying out of the roof. Addison was very excited when he showed it to her as she got up this morning. It was a sweet moment of brotherly love.

Photo a Day: Day 5: Cinderella

For Christmas we got my mom tickets to the Fifth Avenue's production of Cinderella. This time we would take Addison as well and make it a girls' night out. Addison dressed in her Cinderella costume and wore a tiara. She carried her Cinderella doll that Rod and Charlene got her for Christmas as well. She did great at the show. We were in row two center so her view wasn't obstructed, but it took two seat cushions to get her to the correct height. Addison was so good at keeping still and quiet throughout the show. She amazed us! Everyone had to comment on how cute she was and they called her Cinderella. She was coy at first and then got braver at talking to the kind strangers. Cinderella even waved at Addison from the stage during the curtain call. All in all it was a beautiful evening with my two favorite ladies.

Photo a Day: Day 1: Christmas Eve

The kids are now both fully into the electronic, handheld game device age. Last year Addison got a Leapster, but this entire year she has coveted her brother's DSIXL. So, of course, the little princess gets what her heart desires. We opened gifts from my mom and dad on Christmas Eve to spread out the mayhem, and when Addison opened her DSI she screamed and pranced around. She was very excited to be a part of the big girl world. Of course the evening ended with both of them on their devices, lost in a world I don't understand. Luckily she hasn't been tnat obsessed with it over the break...Quinton, on the other hand, is another story!

Where have those teeth gone?

Q has been losing teeth like crazy during second grade. He is so cute with his new smile! I can't believe how big the new teeth are. He was notorious for grinding his teeth when he was little, so they were barely little nubs. Such a sweet smile. How could I ever love another face more?

Photo a Day: Day 4: Wrestling

The kids always want to wrestle with Daddy. They beg him to wrestle nearly every night. It has gotten to the point where he can only take one of them on at a time because they are so spirited when they wrestle that he fears someone might get hurt. This night they settled for a mini-wrestling tickle-fest. He always holds them down and says, "Who smells like poop?" until they say "Mommy!". However, as soon as they escape they say, "Reversal! Daddy smells like poop and Mommy smells like flowers!"

Photo a Day: Day 3: December 26, 2011

We went to Jason and Yessika's house to spend time with them after the holidays. We ordered pizza and the kids had a great time playing with each other. Josie and Q kept having piano playoffs to see who was better (Josie won that one!) and they played epic hide and seek games. We vowed to get together more often and are even planning a sleepover. Great times with good friends.

Photo a Day: Day 2: Christmas Day

I am going to try with all my might to collect a photo a day for a year. Yeah, sounds daunting, but I am going to try to establish the habit while I am on vacation and perhaps it will become second nature? This is a photo from Christmas Day of Theresa, Kristi and the kids and I. It was great to have some friends over to celebrate the holidays. Addison became obsessed with Kristi's hair. She kept playing with it and wrapping her fingers around it. A beautiful day with good friends.