Ella's First Real Haircut

Although Ella has had her bangs trimmed several times, she never has had real haircut.  After 2 and 1/2 years, her hair had grown down to the middle of her back.  I honestly don't know how this happened as I feel like it grew over night from her shoulders to half way down her back.  Regardless, Ron loved it and I didn't.  Both of my girls were born with my incredibly thin hair.  As a result, once it starts to grow past the shoulders, it looks extremely stringy and thin a few hours after brushing it.  Plus, Ella constantly gets food in her hair while eating in the high chair which makes for lots of knots and screams whenever I try to brush it.  I was more than ready to cut it several months ago, but Ron kept on insisting that I let it grow.  I finally hit a wall a few days ago and decided to sneak out this morning to get her hair cut since this was the only day of the two week vacation that Ron had to go into work.  Desperate times call for desperate measures.  So although today marked the first official day of Christmas vacation, I dragged the kids out of the house bright and early this morning to hit the post office and then to arrive at Kid's Cuts ten minutes before it opened.  This children's salon does not make appointments and I have learned if you arrive after it opens, there can already be a waiting list a mile long.  So, like Urgent Care, if we get there before it opens and wait right outside the door, we can be the first name on the list.  It's the perfect system and that is exactly what we did!  In addition, Logan's locks had gotten a little too long for me since his last haircut, so we killed two birds with one stone and got both of their heads of hair cut while they cruised in a blue, sparkly speed boat and a Disney princess convertible car.  Not too shabby for the first day off from school!

Ella's before picture.  Please note that her hair does not always look this silky, shiny, and smooth. :-)

Ella's after picture.  Several inches were cut off!

Ella all seated in her convertible car and ready to go!

The hair stylist beginning to cut Ella's locks.

Ella thoroughly enjoying the experience.

Ella flashing me one of her million dollar smiles.

Logan loving life while in his speed boat.

The stylist working hard to clean up Logan's locks.

Almost done and getting her hair dried!

Ella showing off her new haircut before hopping out of her pink car.

Preschool Christmas Party

One of many things I love about Logan attending Lia's former preschool this year is getting to experience some of the same, wonderful events all over again with another child.  Today was no exception as we headed over to Logan's preschool with Ella in tow to participate in the gingerbread house activity that they host every December.  It was so fun to sit down in the beautiful chapel and watch Logan sing several Christmas songs with the other students in his class.  He can be the cutest thing when he wants to be and my heart just melted watching him sing his little heart out.  After he was done singing, Logan joined Ella and me at the table to make his little gingerbread house.  Luckily, Ella was totally content to sit and eat one piece of candy after the next and didn't fight over building the house with Logan.  As a result, the two of us were basically left alone to focus on making the cutest, little gingerbread house.  Logan has recently developed a very careful and methodical side to him when it comes to coloring and creating things.  This is a drastic change from the boy who colored all crazy and outside of the lines last year during his old preschool co-op.  We worked together as a team to make a very neat and symmetrical gingerbread house.  I was really impressed when we were done as it looked much better than most of the other gingerbread houses in the room that looked like someone had dumped frosting and candy all over them!  ;-)  Hah!  Good job, Logie boy.

Logan singing away with his classmates.

Logan making one of the several hand gestures while singing the Christmas song.

Putting his head on his hands.

Logan giving mama an adorable smile!

Posing for a picture while decorating the gingerbread house.

Logan and Ella sitting side by side.

Logan working hard decorating his gingerbread house.

Logan posing with his finished product and his beloved teacher, Miss Vera.

Making Gingerbread Houses

Tonight Ron and I helped the kids with our annual building and decorating gingerbread houses for FHE.  This is something that we started doing a few years ago when Lia and Logan were both old enough to appreciate it and we have been doing it ever since.  It is hand's down one of the kids' favorite FHE activities that we do every year and I love how everyone is getting old enough to really get into it--even Miss Ella!  Like last year, we divided and conquered again with our houses.  Ron helped Lia with hers and I helped Logan and Ella with theirs.  I split the house in half and let Logan decorate one wall, the front, and one roof.  Ella got the other wall, the backside, and the other roof.  Amazingly enough, the two of them got along pretty well and their house didn't turn out that bad.  Of course, Lia's and papa's turned out artistic and beautiful.  I just love these family, Christmas traditions that help to make December so special and unique compared to the rest of the year!

Lia flashing me a smile while papa assesses what should be done next.

Logan pauses from his work to give me a crazy smile.

Lia and Logan working together.

Mama and the little ones.

Cute Lia and her gingerbread house.

Ella putting another candy on the backside.

The Nutcracker with Girl Scouts

Lia and I have been going to see The Nutcracker Ballet every December since she was four years old and in preK.  We have attended two different productions over the years put on by two different ballet schools in Tacoma and Renton.  This year, her Girl Scout troop decided to attend another production in Olympia and so we decided to check this one out instead.  We drove down with Lia's good friends, Sienna and Mollie, and their moms and had a great time on this special mommy-daughter date that we do every year.  I thought that this school's production was the best one that we had seen thus far with beautiful sets, costumes, and dancing.  I will forever love the "Waltz of the Snowflakes" and the music that accompanies it.  This ballet is just so magical to me and I love being able to share this with my daughter every year!

Lia in the lobby before the ballet started with Sienna and Mollie.

Mother and daughter in front of the beautiful, Christmas tree in the foyer.

Lia posing in one of the fun, photo cutouts. 

Since Lia's troop attended the ballet on a special "Girl Scout Day," all of the girls were allowed to walk up on the stage after the production was over to meet the dancers.  Some of the troop waited in line to pose for a picture around the Sugar Plum Fairy's amazing throne.  Here is Lia with some of her friends.

Lia having the time of her life sitting in this larger-than-life, candy throne!

Every year, Lia loves meeting the dancers and taking pictures with them.  Here she is with the Snow Queen,

Clara,

and the Sugar Plum Fairy!

Santa Parade 2016

For the fourth year in a row, Lia's Girl Scout troop participated in our town's Santa Parade.  Her troop decided to decorate their float and dress up in theme of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.  After a little debate, I put the kibosh on Lia's idea of dressing up like Violet Beauregard because it would have taken too much time and effort to figure out how to make Lia look like a giant blueberry.  However, I quickly jumped on her second idea of dressing up like a golden ticket.  After making a trip to both Michaels and Joanns, I made a tutu and put together a costume for just a couple of dollars.  I thought that Lia looked pretty, darn cute heading out the door as a golden ticket tonight.  For the first time ever, I sent her with a friend to meet up with her troop so that I could come a little later with Logan and Ella who have never watched the parade as toddlers (Logan was a baby the last time he went and Ella has never been).  The rain actually held off for most of the evening and we had a fun time watching all of the floats, tractors, animals, and people walk by all decked out in Christmas lights and costumes.  I just love this local tradition and enjoyed introducing it to Logan and Ella tonight!

Lia all dressed up as the golden ticket and ready to go!

Lia's float approaching us!

A close-up of Lia.  I am so glad that she happened to be sitting on the same side of the road that we were standing on.

A shot of their float decked out with candy and Willy Wonka hats.

Lia waving to the crowd.

After Lia's float turned the corner, we left the curb to go and meet her at the end of the parade (which finished right around the block).  Here she is giving me a smile as their float was parking.

Lia with her entire troop and fearless Girl Scout leader.  Don't they all look so cute?!

Journey To Bethlehem

For the second time, I decided to try to plan a family outing to the Adventist church in Auburn to attend their amazing living nativity.  We had attended three years ago when Lia was five and Logan was one, but haven't been back since.  When I looked into the weekend that this event was occurring, I realized that we already had plans Friday through Sunday evening.  As a result, Thursday was our only option, but Ron was busy with a work obligation.  So, I decided to venture out on my own with the kids and we had a great time.  We got there 45 minutes before our designated time slot and the children did pretty good waiting in the chapel til our tour began.  When it was time to go, we quickly bundled up, met our two guides, and off we went with our "caravan" to travel through the city of Bethlehem.  Like last time, it was an amazing experience and I am so impressed with the amount of time, effort, and money this church puts into recreating this ancient city.  I especially love it because it reminds me of my time spent living in the Holy Land over twenty years ago.  Logan and Ella were a little scared of the rude, Roman soldiers, but otherwise they did a great job walking in the dark and keeping up with the group.  I think that it really helped Lia and Logan to remember why we celebrate Christmas.  Hopefully, we can do this again another year!

Our caravan leader talking to some other people as we began our journey to Bethlehem.

Talking to the Three Wise Men.

One of the REAL camels on display next to the Wise men's camp.

Some of the vendors selling their goods inside the city of Bethlehem.

Being taxed by one of the Roman leaders inside the city.

The angels announcing the birth of Christ while we were in the fields with the shepherds.

Finding Mary and Joseph with their real baby inside a stable.

Lia, Logan, and Ella all bundled up and heading back to the car after our journey was finished.

Lia Gets Lea!

After I had decided to buy Lia her fourth and final American Girl Doll last December (when I managed to get Grace Thomas for an unbelievable $44 instead of $120), the Girl of the Year 2016 was released a few weeks later on January 1st.  And much to our surprise, this doll's name was Lea Clark. I just couldn't believe it.  What are the chances of an American Girl Doll being released during the few short years that our daughter is into these kind of dolls with the SAME name?!  Apparently 100%.  Regardless, I knew right away that we would have to buy this doll before she was retired in December of 2016; however, I wasn't thrilled about buying another doll--especially after deciding that we were done.  Then Ron came up with the brilliant idea of having Lia save up every single penny to buy this doll herself.  We proposed this idea to Lia back in January and she immediately agreed with enthusiasm.  And so for the next eleven months, Lia worked really hard to earn and save one dollar at a time from her weekly chores.  I was so impressed at how much self-control she practiced for almost an entire year.  Lia never deviated once from her end goal even though there were several toys along the way that she wanted to have.  Occasionally, Lia got a little extra help like the $33 we were able to get back from Walmart and Costco after returning some birthday gifts from friends that she didn't want or need.  She also got $5 from grandpa after cutting several inches off of her hair and grandma also paid Lia $5 for doing several chores when I was out of town and grandma watched her for two days.  Slowly, but surely, Lia's little stash of money grew and grew and she patiently waited until she had saved up a whopping $120.  I was so proud of how well she stuck to reaching this goal--especially for a girl her age.
In addition, since I am now a bit of an expert at finding and making deals with AGD products, I knew that I needed to get Lia some sort of discount on this doll to make paying for her even more of a possibility.  Luckily, a 30% off sale occurred over the Easter weekend and grandpa kindly agreed to drive up to the store in Lynnwood to buy Lea Clark and some of the other items in her collection.  As a result, I actually had the doll hidden in one of our closets for seven months before Lia earned the money to pay for her.  And thanks to the discount, Lia's $120 that she earned by Thanksgiving weekend was actually enough to pay for the doll, her pajamas, and two of her pets!  So instead of taking Lia up to the store in December like we had planned, we surprised her with a trip to the "store" in our bedroom tonight after putting both Ella and Logan to bed.  I had her come into our bedroom and cover her eyes.  I then brought out all four items that she had earned in four of the red, American Girl Doll bags with white tissue paper sticking out (exactly like the store) and put them on the floor in front of her.  When Lia opened her eyes, she was so confused and excited!  After explaining to Lia that she had earned enough money to pay for FOUR items, we had her open the gift bags.  She was so excited and a little speechless!  The pictures below show it all!

Lia opening the last of the four bags and the best one of them all!  Her new doll, Lea Clark!

Lia showing off the pretty box before opening it.

Two girls with the same name!

When Lia reached $100, I put it in her bank account to keep it safe and to make a little interest, but the remaining $20 were kept in an envelope in her bedroom.  Here are her twenty one-dollar bills all laid out neatly on the floor.

Lia immediately decided that Lea needed to be put into her pajamas before going to bed.  So, here is my expert changing her doll's clothes.

Lia showing off Lea in her darling jungle-themed pajamas with her turtle and Margay cat, stuffed animals.

Showing off the tropical animals that go with Lea's collection.

Lea and her animals.

Lia then wanted to introduce Lea to all of her other dolls (a tradition Lia now does every time she gets a new doll).  Here they are all lined up with their own pets.

Lia, her dolls, and her mega dollhouse.

What can I say?

We heart American Girl and all of the happiness and hours of imaginative play that it brings into our lives.