Baking

Emma made cookies tonight in her Easy Bake Oven from Grandma and Grandpa. She mixed and stirred and pressed and really, really wanted to eat a bit of everything. And then Siri was eating directly from the sprinkles during the decorating. The really cool thing is that my mom sent some items from a Tupperware baking set that I had when I was little. The mixing bowl in the picture was from that set. We also have a yellow bowl with lid and a cake carrier, all in miniature sizes. Fun night activities!

Family EVERYWHERE!

We just threw this together last night when Emma was asking about how close we were to the ocean and Matt and I were trying to explain the Puget Sound. It wound up being a great project and today the girls were so excited that the map was up on their wall :)

Emma was much more concerned about where Disneyland was than family, so that's why Cinderella's Castle is on there!

First Solids!

Two days ago I started Ty on rice cereal! He took to it really well! Barely any tongue thrusting! I remember when I started to feed Siri, she pushed it out of her mouth for 2 weeks and it was really frustrating, so this is a treat! In the days since he's continued to welcome the spoon. I was being really lazy about starting 'cause it means a new, slightly more complex, chapter starts, but the pediatrician has been bugging me about it since the 2 month check-up, so I had to start before the appointment in January!

Rockin' the Dentist

We went to the dentist for the first time yesterday! It was great...we were the only ones at the office, which is the way I like it when bringing all the troops. Emma and Siri did great, sitting for the x-rays, and Emma got the whole sha-bang, the protective eyewear and the napkin around her neck. They explained all the tools to her and she was a little freaked out by the toothbrush, but went through with the cleaning, fluoride, and flossing. Siri was totally into it. She sat in my lap and the dentist while the dentist checked out her teeth, and the tech wasn't sure if she would be into having her teeth cleaned, but she was all about it, and rocked the fluoride being painted on her teeth. Their personalities came out during the visit, too. Emma wanted to tell stories and was a little nervous (brought on, I believe, by books about the dentist), and Siri wasn't afraid at all, but she didn't talk. So, they both got prizes and toothbrushes and floss, and Ty slept through the whole visit, so we all left happy!

Mini Me

Emma and Siri received Make and Play Build-A-Bear kits for their birthdays from Matt's aunt and uncle. They just arrived a couple of nights ago and I let them open them, but it was tough to fend off the girls because it was almost dinner time and these were projects. Emma wanted to open everything anyway, so we took the pets out to check 'em out and Siri was pretty freaked out at the unstuffed state of her bunny :) Anyway, we finally got to making them this afternoon and it was such a great project! The animal's needs to be turned inside out and sewed from the base of his neck, around all his limbs, to the other side of his neck, and the sewing is so easy because there are pre-made holes about 1/4-1/2 inch apart the whole way around. Emma did really great! She practically sewed the whole thing, and it was such a great first-time sewer project because the thread was embroidery floss and the needle was large and plastic. I recognized Emma's determined/engrossed-in-a-project face as my own, and it was so cool to see her "getting" sewing. She caught on right away. Then, she stuffed her bear, I sewed the butt closed, and she dressed it. (I sewed Siri's and figured she would enjoy stuffing it, but the stuffing turned out to be "too fluffy" for her. I laughed out loud at that one. :)

Hanukkah

Hanukkah came early this year, just one week after Thanksgiving. Not that that helps anything or makes anything worse. This time of year is crazy for us, regardless. Two birthdays and 3 holidays in 5 weeks! Honestly I was a little frustrated because it seemed like every night of Hanukkah involved rushing to get dinner on the table, light the candles, clear the table and open presents, then enjoy the presents and try to wind down before bedtime. I'm going to work on this for next year, and I'm trying to think of a creative way to do an adventish thing for the 8 days. I find myself in such a difficult place as a parent. When I see things in the store that I know that they would love I want to buy them, and I did with a few items, while knowing that I don't actually need to buy them anything, because they get things from so many lovely people in our family, plus from wonderful friends. They get so much that I think its hard for them to appreciate everything. I did some recirculating before the holidays, but I'm going to have the kids do some purging before Christmas because its so important to realize the depth of what we have. Anyway, it was a fun holiday to spend together, just the 5 of us. Hopefully we'll be with some Rosenbergs next year!




I gave them the lollipops from Nauna and Zeyda in the tub to prevent a sticky house, however it didn't prevent a sugar-hopped-up Siri from uncontrollably screaming at bedtime!

"Five, I'm five!.."

Yesterday morning Emma busted out the Shirly Temple song, "Im Five!" because it was her birthday!!! Holy cow, I can't believe I have a five year old! The day was great because we had synagogue, so everyone got to participate! People kept wishing her a "happy birthday", and then she'd tell them that it was a secret. Very funny since she was wearing her "birthday girl" shirt!
The festivities really started on Friday at preschool as it was her special day. She answered questions about herself, got to wear a crown, pick something out of the birthday box, and brought cupcakes with snowflakes on them. She got pink "Tangled" cupcakes at synagogue, and then at home, last night, we had lasagna, her fav (some days), texas toast, and for dessert, a purple oval cake (Emma's request). Then we opened presents: an easy bake oven (heads up if you get one: have the appropriate lightbulb on hand!), play doh cake makin' set, clothes, and more! It was a fun day for "Emmer"...can't believe she's 5!






Play Doh cupcake

Emma at 18 months.