These shoes are made for walking

It's official - Pierce is now in "Big Boy Shoes". He completely wore out his first pair of Robeez...so now he's on to the real thing...shoes with rubber soles. Sniff, sniff...anyone got a tissue?

Roller Derby

One of Nana's gifts for the girls was roller skates...Dora for Rowan and Barbie for Hayden. They were such a sight hanging on to Daddy and Nana as they practiced in the house. A few days later I took them to a soft surfaced park and they were really improving...Roller Derby here they come!

Holiday Decorating

As you can tell, I hadn't planned on putting these pictures on the blog (hence Rowan with no pants and me looking a fright), but I know our families are wanting to see what we've been up to, so I am putting pride aside...here ya' go! Pierce was napping while we decorated...we figured it was safer and easier that way...maybe next year Pierce!

The girls' favorite decoration is the nesting Santas...they love putting them together and hiding them inside each other.

Turkey Day

The girls have been busy decorating our house for Thanksgiving. They really loved making the "Turkey Topper" hats. Rowan was so proud of her accomplishment.
Nana spent Thanksgiving with us...and cooked our whole meal! Yum!

Lakeshore Learning

In the constant pursuit of entertaining my kids (cheaply), we are always looking for fun places to play...I mean "shop"...here we are perusing Lakeshore Learning. Their stuff is super cute!

Chuck E Cheese

While Nana was here, we went to "where a kid can be a kid"...AKA Chuck E. Cheese. The girls are really into hip hop dancing...they definitely have better moves than their parents do...don't tell Gavin I said that..he likes to think of himself as the "King of the Dance Floor" :)

Big sisters are showing little brother how to "strut your stuff"!

Pierce LOVES seeing the big mouse...most kids seem to be scared, but he loves him!

A happy boy who doesn't have to sit on the sidelines in a stroller anymore...time to explore!

PIZZA NIGHT! The fun thing about primarily homeschooling Hayden is that we incorporate lots of fun things into our family activities. For "Pp Week" we made pizzas!

Daddy took pizza making very seriously - trying to get the crust "just right".

Both of the girls enjoy cooking...Pierce's activity was playing in the trash...you can spot his head right above Hayden's hand...he loves to throw things away...including our plates, cups, utensils....what a big help!


Do you notice anything about Rowan's "after" picture? No clothes again...this is definitely a trend with her these days.

Hayden shows off her finished pizza.

Pigs in a Blanket

Pp is for pigs in a blanket!

Pudding

P is also for Pierce and Pudding!

Spaghetti Anyone?

The cardinal rule of having a toddler in the house?...Take lots of messy pictures....so here you go!

I am sure you've probably noticed the missing bib...yes, Pierce is way too smart to keep that old thing on! No designer duds for this dude!

Our Best Disney Day Yet

We took the kids to Disney on the Monday before the week of Thanksgiving hoping that most people wouldn't be taking a trip right before a holiday, and our prediction paid off. We had the least crowded day yet at Disneyland. So our plan was to head straight to the little kid rides, and Peter Pan (our family favorite) was first on the list. We tried to ride ones that normally have longer lines like the boats and the cars, and we hardly had to wait at all!

After we were done in Fantasyland, we went to check out the Haunted House which has been totally revamped as "The Nightmare Before Christmas" for the holidays. We also rode some of our other family standards....The Pirates of the Caribbean and Buzz Light Year.We then decided to head to California Adventure Park, and see if we cold ride the Toy Story's Midway Mania. Gavin and the girls rode it last time, but I was worried that Pierce was too small so we sat out during our last Disney trip. Boy, I didn't know what I was missing! It was so amazing and interactive, and totally perfect for a competitive gal like me. As we were heading out of the theme park, we heard them announce that a High School Musical 3 performance was about to start, so we waited a few minutes and out came a rolling stage with dancers and fun music!

The girls were so excited (especially Hayden who is a big HSM fan).They chose people to come dance in the program from the audience, and neither of the girls got chosen to go, and both Gavin and I felt a little disappointed for them, thinking they had missed out on a fun opportunity. And we were a bit surprised because Hayden truly has an uncanny success rate of being chosen for various shows and performances at theme parks. Little did we know what was yet to come. Later in the show they choose three kids to "dress up" and introduce to the audience, and Hayden was picked for that! She was beyond thrilled to be a part of the show and even got a special pin to keep.

It was a perfect illustration of a quote that Gavin and I try to remind ourselves of..."Disappointment is taking score too soon". I certainly was re-reminded of that golden nugget of inspiration today.
By 1:30ish, the kids were tired and we headed home...what a fun and memorable day!