Halloween 2013

Maybe someday, I'll get caught up to this point, but if not, at least Halloween gets mentioned. ;)

First up, the annual hot dog/mac and cheese meal.

This year, both girls were witches. Bethany had wanted to be a witch last year, but it didn't happen, so we made sure she got her wish this year. I made their skirts and capes, and the rest of the outfit was random stuff we had.

Here they are before we left to go trick or treating. We just traveled up and down the street, chatted with the neighbors, and collected way more candy than they needed. Fortunately, our closest neighbors gave out popcorn and chips, so little Miss Salty Tooth Clara was in heaven.

 Daddy let them get the hats with wigs. Obviously, this was not a good look, but they had fun with the pretend hair. Clara's clashed with her glasses, but I suppose that just made her look witchier.

 Bethany has been counting down the days to Halloween all week. She woke up last Sunday and asked when it would be Thursday, because Thursday was Halloween. We are a bit afraid she now thinks that Halloween is always on a Thursday. This morning, she was sad for hours because Halloween was over. Naturally, she wants to go trick or treating every night. This is SUCH a change for her, because she used to be too scared to even talk to people, much less get close enough to them to reach for a piece of candy.

 Off we go!

 Action shot. (Bethany's wig is hilarious.)

 Some neighbors had made this little spot for photos (??? dinosaur???), and they bribed Bethany with a huge handful of candy to take this picture. That grin is all about the candy she sees in the lady's hand.

Here's a close-up of this year's jack o'lantern. Bethany drew the face on a sheet of paper, and then helped Daddy recreate it on the pumpkin. It's hard to see here, but the pumpkin itself was covered with bumps. Bethany picked it out BECAUSE of the bumps, of course.

Here she is, creating her design.

And Clara was more than happy to provide moral support during the process.

Lately.

Clara got her first haircut, courtesy of Nana. (She cuts everyone's hair but Lindsey's. She also cuts her own hair - don't ask me how.)

It was sad for me, of course, but I was determined not to let her go all the way to mullet. I made that mistake with Bethany, and the photographic evidence is hilarious.

Beautiful girl. :)

Uncle Pete came to visit in January while he was home from Singapore. We had a great time, and the girls LOVE him. Our college friend Uncle Dr. T. also moved back to Atlanta, so the three of us had a mini-reunion with amazing food. (Also, Lindsey took the girls to Granny's for the night, so I actually got to sleep after we went to dinner. Amazing.)

We have been writing a lot. Clara is learning to manage a marker. She does not like crayons.

Bethany is learning that symbols stand for things, so she makes these vertical lines to form words. She can read it to you, but the readings aren't always consistent. I believe this was a card for someone.

She has also taught herself to write the letter B. That's it in the corner of the paper. She makes a line, and then adds circles. The number of circles varies. Sometimes it's two (so it actually looks like a B), and sometimes it's twenty. We are just rolling with it for now.

Mommy's new kitchen allows for biscuit making. I am on a quest to find the perfect recipe. I'm close. Bethany loves to roll out her own tiny piece of dough.

Sometimes we dance in the tower. Please note Clara's oven mitt. She loves to wear it, even though it makes her look like a fiddler crab.

Christmas 2012

Just a few little Christmas photos to record the big day. We all had the stomach flu for the week and half leading up to Christmas, so our celebration was low-key. On Christmas Eve, Granny came to visit and spend the day. Clara loved her new books, and Bethany has had a blast sewing with the sewing block Granny got for her.

Bethany enjoys wearing all of this. All the time. Sort of like a bag lady.

Here are the girls after church on Christmas Eve. I almost took the plunge and got long-sleeved Christmas dresses. Thank goodness I didn't, because we had 70 degree weather. Again. It rained most of the day, but the sun came out as we were driving to church.  

We went to bed, and the girls actually slept until after the sun came up. I know I don't have many years left of that!

Bethany is not a morning person.

Their big gift was this farmer's market stand, complete with cash register, scale, and credit card swiper. They love it. One of Bethany's big thrills is beating the top of the scale like the Pampered Chef food chopper. She is slowly learning that things cost money, so the cash register has been fun. Typically, things cost "90 10."

Shoppers in action! 

The sleeper hit of this holiday season were these candy bracelets the girls got in their stockings. They loved them, and gobbled them up. I think they were gone before noon on Christmas Day.

The next day, we drove to Macon to celebrate with Nana, Grandpa, and Uncle Andrew. Here is the girls' present from them - a garden wagon! It is a lot of fun (and it lives in Macon, because it is huge). Grandpa forgot important Santa-related lessons, and did not assemble it in advance. The girls got to "help" him figure out the instructions and then use the tools to put it together.  Please note that Bethany is wearing her "ballerina clothes." She loves the skirt in particular, because it has "four fluffs, and they make me twirl better."

Bethany turns 3!

Our sweet Bethany turned three. THREE. She is hilarious, kind, and loving. She also has an iron will. We assume this will be to her advantage on the Supreme Court. The beginning of three has been vastly superior to two and a half. I know it comes and goes, and she still has her moments, but she's also starting to have occasional rational thoughts. We like those, and encourage them when they show up.

Bethany's family cake was part of Grandpa's retirement cake. This thing was seriously DELICIOUS, and we had too much of it to necessitate making an additional cake. (Don't worry - I made her cupcakes for her actual party.) Bethany really got into blowing out the candles, so the pyromania trend continues.

 (Blogger decided to reorder these, so ignore the lack of storyline.) We had a few gifts from family and Mommy, Daddy, and Clara. She's finally gotten the "point" of presents, so she was really excited to see what was in her packages!

This kept Clara from shredding the wrapping paper prior to dinner. :) It worked, and Bethany got a kick out of it. I think it's going to become a tradition.

Unwrapping! At first, she tried to do it very, very carefully. I pointed out that she could rip the paper, and she was more than happy to do so. :) It made things move a lot faster...

Little sister says, "Hi."

The Saturday after her birthday, we celebrated at home with friends. Here's the birthday banner, still going strong. 

Bethany next to her birthday cupcakes - same recipe for three years. She is nothing if not consistent. This year, I asked her if she wanted a cake instead of cupcakes, and she looked at me as if I had three heads. 

Bethany and her buddy Harper - what you can't tell is that Bethany is actually telling a long and involved story, and Harper is politely pretending to listen. 

We made Christmas trees out of ice cream cones, green icing, and candy. It was a hit, but it did require a bit more parental help than I anticipated. Fortunately, all the friends' parents were good sports and pitched in. Bethany LOVED her tree, and would have made a dozen of them if we had let her. (Also - it is harder than you might think to find pointy cones...)

The weather was gorgeous, so we ate pizza and cupcakes outside.  Bethany decided to channel her inner Chicagoan, and wore her hat, scarf, and new vest the entire time. It was about 68 degrees. (My Aunt Paula & Uncle David sent her the vest for her birthday, and she adores it. She might sleep in it if we suggested that as a possibility.)

 

No, really, she wore all of that the entire time. She added her mittens before blowing out her candles. 

And here is the darling three year old. Cuddled up on the couch with about four stuffed friends and a book. Such an amazing kid. :)

Bethany's Favorites at Three:
Favorite Food: pasta (still, and probably always), strawberries, peaches, beef and noodles
Favorite Books: The Happy Lion series, Henry and Mudge (she looks for these at the library), Sunshine, and books about animals
Favorite TV shows: Mr. Rogers, but this is largely because she doesn't get to watch too much else. She also really likes to watch sports with Grandpa, Daddy, or Uncle Andrew.
Favorite Color: pink
Favorite Toy: dolls and animals, and scissors
Hilarious comments lately:
*After watching a YouTube video of Laurie Berkner, she asks for another one. I tell her no, she's watched enough. She replies, "But Mommy, it brings me such great joy!" (Seriously - where does she get this?)
*Everything, for a brief period last fall, was "unacceptable," pronounced, "unasseptable."
*Seeing a personal with probable mental issues talking to himself on the street, "Mommy, that man sure is being a silly goose," complete with head shaking like an old lady.