December 2011 - Christmas

This is the first year that Mariah had really gotten into the idea of Christmas.  She had things she asked for, and was really looking forward to Santa coming to bring presents.  We also spent a lot of time talking about the real meaning of Christmas, and I'm pleased to say that Mariah knows that Santa brings us presents because he loves Jesus.  :)

A very sleepy Mariah sees the presents.  We had to get the kids up early because Christmas was on a Sunday, so we had to get to church.  Luckily our ward had the "late" slot, so we didn't have to be there until 9:00 am.

Mariah is looking at the tags and grinning because she sees a present for her.

James was less tired and more into opening presents than I thought he would be!  

He was pretty excited about his toys.

Such a happy boy!  He absolutely loved the train he got.

This was the main present for both of the kids this year.  I wanted to get them a play kitchen, but everything I looked at was overpriced or flimsy.  Luckily my father-in-law is a pretty awesome woodworker!  I came up with the plans, he built it, and then Chris and I did the sanding, painting and all of the finishing work.  I have to say I'm quite pleased with the results! 

At first Mariah wasn't quite sure what to think, it seems she was a bit overwhelmed at first.  Once she realized what she was looking at, she was super excited.  

Mariah showing off her pink princess cape.

James was quite happy with the toolbench that we got!

He had to inspect the whole thing.

 And of course, Mariah got her Dora Mermaid costume!  At first she thought it was a dress and was sad that Santa forgot her mermaid tail, but she was pretty excited once she realized what it was. I was excited that it turned out so well, I made it without any sort of a pattern. 

After playing for a bit, we had some breakfast and then headed to church.  My parents came with us, because their ward was meeting at 7:00 and my parents wanted to sleep in a bit!  After church we headed to my parents house.

Grandma and Grandpa had lots of surprises for the kids!  They love that chalkboard and play with it all the time.  They also got some trains and other things to play with at Grandma's house, as well as some fun clothes.  Our big family present wasn't under the tree, so I don't have a picture of it, but we got a swing set!

And it seems this is about the point where I forgot that I had a camera, because that's the end of the pictures!  We had fun playing with lots of toys, and then headed to Grandma and Grandpa Draper's house for dinner, playing with cousins, and even more presents.  It was a wonderful family-filled day.  I love spending the day with my family, celebrating the gift of Christ, which makes our salvation possible. 

December 2011 - Santa

We got to go to a Christmas party by Kids on the Move, the group that was in charge of James's speech therapy.  This was the first kid centered Christmas party we had ever been to, and it was the first time that James and Mariah got to meet Santa!

We started off with some fun crafts.  This one was a snowman paper bag puppet.

Mariah loved picking out the pieces and gluing them on. 

James discovered orange slices!  I think he ate 2 or 3 full oranges that night!

While we waited in line for Santa, Mariah was practically beside herself.  She would lean and try to get as close to Santa as she could, and almost cut in line a couple of times.  Then suddenly it was our turn...

and Mariah decided she was shy! 

Santa gave her a little teddy bear, and she told Santa that she wanted a Dora Mermaid Tail for Christmas.

Then she gave Santa a hug, though she wasn't too sure about the idea!

Next was James's turn, and he didn't really have an opinion either way about Santa.  He got a funny little squirrel, but was mostly interested in the string cheese he was munching on.

Mariah also got a stocking from Santa, and she was very excited to unload it.  First she found a toothbrush,

then some soap and a washcloth.

Next was a capri sun,

and then CANDY!  She was progressively more excited with each item she took out. 

Sadly, I didn't get a picture of the best part, because I wasn't expecting it.  After she pulled out the candy, the stocking was empty (so I put away the camera to help her pack up).  She reached in, found it was empty, and then exclaimed "And a sock to wear!" and gleefully tried to put it on over her sneaker.  Kids always love the container the gift came in the best!

November 2011

It has been so fun to watch Mariah and James learn to play together more and more.  They still fight a lot, but it's really sweet when they play together.

More ring around the rosie, still a favorite to this day. 

They both really wanted to ride this toy, and instead of fighting, Mariah decided to share!

Such sweet kids.

November also means Mariah's birthday, and she turned 3!

We started out the day with preschool.  She got to wear her new birthday skirt.

She also got to use her new Elmo backpack.  She was so excited to show off her skirt and backpack.  You can also see how cute her curly hair is when she lets me style it.  Mariah had so much fun at preschool with Ms. Sheri.

Later that evening we had our family over for cake and presents.

So many presents to open!

Mariah really wanted a Princess Dora cake with the yellow dress.

I think I did a pretty awesome job!

Getting ready to blow out the candles.

After she had her cake, Mariah had to put on the beautiful princess dress that Grandma and Grandpa Draper gave her, complete with all the trimmings!  

It was a very successful birthday party, and I still can't believe my little girl is already 3. 

October 2011 - Halloweeen

We started off Halloween with a preschool party.  Some of my friends and I have gotten together to do a small preschool for our kids.  There are just 4 moms and for preschoolers, but it has been a really fun adventure for all of us.  

 Ms. Erika started off the party with some goblin alien visitors who didn't want to touch the ground.  They kids had a hard time keeping the balloons up, but they loved chasing them around.

 James noticed the camera out and gave me a cute smile. 

 I'm glad that I got these pictures of James during the party, because I managed to not take any of him while he was trick-or-treating!  He was mostly being carried and wasn't really into it anyway.

After the goblins were safe, Ms. Wendy helped the kids be a mummy.  The boys weren't very interested, but Mariah and Kaylee had so much fun that they asked to be a mummy twice.  

 

After the preschool party, we chilled for a while, and then went trick-or-treating with some really good friends of ours.  We hit the ward trunk-or-treat first, but of course I didn't manage to take any pictures there.  After the trunk-or-treat we went to visit some grandparents and friends.  

 Adria is striking a cheetah pose, and Mariah is looking a bit bewildered.

 Cute girls walking together, hand in hand with Hellboy.  I wish I'd gotten a better picture of his costume, but again, not so great with the camera.

 Making their door approach.  Mariah was a little bit shy about going up to the doors, so Adria usually got their first.  

I think by this point our little butterfly was getting tired, so she was pretty shy when I tried to get a good picture.  Such a cutie!

October 2011

 Mariah loves to be my helper.  Sometimes she is less helpful than others, but she is learning.

She is really good at lining cupcake pans for me.

 This is the first time that James and Mariah played ring around the rosie together.  

They both still love to do it.

All fall down!

We had the opportunity to go to Hee-Haw farms, and the kids had so much fun!  We didn't do the maze because the kids were so young and it was kind of late, but they didn't seem to mind.

 

 Mariah thought these cutout were hilarious, as you can see by the silly face she's making.

 Riding on the tractor tires.  James wasn't so sure about them.  He was also starting to get tired.

 Mariah thought the tractor swing was fun, but not as much fun as...

The GIANT slide!  Sadly my camera was having issues at this point (it had gotten moisture in it somehow), so this is a terrible picture, but she loved this thing.  She was so much smaller than anyone else riding it, but she wanted to keep going again and again!

 Around the time we moved into our house, Mariah stopped taking naps.  However, she didn't stop being tired, and would quite often pass out while doing things.  She was so asleep here that she didn't wake up for any of James's harassment. 

CHEESE!  My kids love having their pictures taken, particularly James.  Whenever he sees a camera or thinks I'm going to take a picture with my phone he grins and says "cheese!"

 

 CHEESE!