Somewhere in all the MiX Gretchen turned 1!

This is our SwEeT BaBy GiRL!! She's now 1!!

I don't know how to fully explain myself when I talk about Gretchen. This little girl has my heart! She has always been such a good baby! She hardly ever cries and is content. Whenever my mind is racing, I can always count on her to come and sit on my lap to slow me down. I adore her chubalub legs and her sweet sugar toes and I secretly don't want her to grow any bigger! I mean she's just so precious right now....just want to savor this innocent little soul as long as possible.

She's shown below on her birthday! It was smack dab in the middle of all of the holiday celebrations.....she didn't seem to mind. :)

All of the cousins were home on her special day!

I love you dear G!!

You looked so beautiful in your princess crown!

Taking steps & playing

Daddy with his girls

We've been Holiday Busy

Apricot Chicken on China

Well we accomplished our pre-holiday dinner on our wedding china in which we even invited the girls to attend (although Gretchen was asleep for most of it). Gary and I had fun coming up with the menu which consisted of apricot chicken, stuffing, hot rolls, and green bean casserole. We also made a special beverage out of pomegranate and juices.

The girls assisted with setting the table and somehow managed to avoid any major catastophes.
It really was a special occasion.

And the food was fantastic!

Shortly after the meal, we began trimming the tree. I sure hope we can continue this tradition for many many years to come.

And here she is......Our Christmas tree 2009!

Rocking to Reading 2009

Day 7: Toothpick ornament

Please scroll to bottom for instructions.

This is a perfect way to recycle old Christmas cards. Maura and Sophia chose which card they wanted to "frame" with toothpicks. We cut out the image and secured it to card stock to make it more substantial. Next, make a hole at the top of the card for the hanger (I've just been using yarn on all of our ornaments, thus far). Put about a 1/2 inch of glue on the sides of the card. Then the girls lined the sides with wooden sticks to create a frame. So SIMPLE!!

Loved this one so much we may have to do it again!

http://www.imagitek.com/xmas/crafts/toothpic.html

Day 5 and 6: Pasta Wreaths

PEEKABOO!!

Please follow the link below for further details on this one.

http://ourworldwideclassroom.blogspot.com/2009/11/christmas-fun-2009-wreaths-and-glitter.html

You'll need to precut the wreaths. I used an old cardboard box and traced lids from various Tupperware to serve as the circle template. Next let the kids squirt the glue. Have them spread it with a q-tip to make sure the top of the wreath is covered. Then gather various food items for them to apply to the glue.

We chose to use what we had on hand. Pasta, cheerios, pretzels, and marshmallows.

Let the glue dry. Next up, time to coat with spray paint. Our girls both chose "gold".

It was shiny and looked nice.




I bought 2 large red bows from Dollar General....2 for a dollar.

(I added a little dollop of hot glue under each bow to keep it secure.)

And VOILA you have a cute ornament.

For some reason, I don't think this picture does the wreath justice. They really do look prettier in person. This one was FUN and very age appropriate for the girls.

Day 4: Reindeer ornament

Sophia is such a comedian. Her facial expressions are SO funny. This is a good example. She chose to make a blue Rudolph with accompanying blue antlers.

Kind of a cute idea. Here's the link for this one.

http://lets-explore.net/blog/2008/12/simple-reindeer-ornaments/

The girls in action.

Stay tuned for upcoming ornament posts. We'll see how long I'm able to keep this going.

Day 3: Paper chain garland

We were smart enough to think of this one on our own ;) Good ole' paper chain garland.

Maura got a paper cut within 10 minutes of this project, so Gary and I ended up doing the majority of this craft.

Sophia was able to hand us the coordinating color that we needed.

So simple and really shows up nicely on the tree.

This picture is to prove that Gretchen does exist! I find myself crafting with the kids during her nap time, so that's why she's not in many of blog entries. I'll try to do better. She's getting so big and will be turning one soon. SHE ADORES THE CAT!! I should have got some video. She was bouncing up and down squealing right before this pic. SO FUN!!