First up: HALLOWEEN
My dad and Susie made these adorable spiders for all the grandkids to see on Halloween!
Okay, so, Eden's favorite TV show right now is Spirit. It's about a girl named Lucky and her horse, Spirit. Eden absolutely cracks me up, because when it came time to pick out Halloween costumes, did she want to dress up as Lucky, the girl? HECK NO! She wanted to be Spirit! I LOVE HER SO MUCH! I can't really explain it, but just her choosing to dress up as the horse instead of the girl just makes my heart burst with love for her! She's so funny! And free-spirited!
After I picked the girls up from school on Halloween, I took them to a Halloween dance party at their dance studio. All the kids got to dress up, they learned a dance to the Ghostbusters theme song, and then there was cake and candy. At the very beginning, the dance instructor gathered all the students into a big circle so that they could go around and introduce themselves. When it was Eden's turn, she jumped into the circle, told everybody her name, explained her costume, and then gave a little "neigh neigh" before returning to her spot. When it was Ila's turn, she hid behind Eden. So Eden told everybody her name for her.
While I was watching this happen (and I knew exactly how it was going to go down before it did), I couldn't help but think how absolutely different the two of them are from each other but how perfect each is in their own way. I LOVE that Eden is outgoing, has never met a stranger, and doesn't get nervous when she has to introduce herself in front of a crowd. And I LOVE that Ila is an introvert. And I LOVE that when Ila got nervous, she turned to Eden for comfort, and I LOVE that Eden took care of her in her moment of shyness. (By the way, I identify with Ila and still can't introduce myself in front of a crowd at the age of 32. At least not without sweaty palms and irregular heartbeats. And I sure as heck wouldn't be able to neigh like a horse in front of anybody!)
After the dance party, we stopped at my dad and Susie's for Halloween pictures with the spiders, and then we met Dustin at the church for Trunk or Treat. The kids wore themselves out playing games, getting candy (SO MUCH CANDY!), and running around with friends. It was such a fun evening!
James also started walking on Halloween!!!! I've mentioned him being a late walker. He didn't take his first steps until August at 14 months old. But even after that, he still preferred crawling and would only take a few steps at a time. But all of a sudden on Halloween, he saw all those other kids running to cars to get candy, and he took off!
THANKSGIVING
Look! This is from pre-school, and one of the things Ila chose to be thankful for was Eden! I mean, that sucks for the rest of us in the family, but yay Eden!
Eden had to dress up like a pilgrim for her Thanksgiving feast at school.
We spent Thanksgiving at Dustin's parents' house. Last year in kindergarten, Eden had to dress up as an Indian for the Thanksgiving Feast at school. So I put Ila in Eden's outfit from last year, Eden re-wore her pilgrim costume, and James just got to be James. :)
After stuffing ourselves with turkey, we left James with my in-laws for a few hours while we took our little Pilgrim and Indian to see The Grinch.
DECEMBER (Because Christmas is so much more than just 1 day!)
Mary, our elf, arrived on December 1st - right on schedule!
I took Eden to see The Nutcracker - her very first time!
This was a little photo set-up they had at Eden's school during the Christmas program.
Eden got this globe from my dad and Susie for Christmas, and she was THRILLED! It comes with a pen, and when you touch a country, it tells you facts about that country. When you choose to listen to music from The United States of America, it plays bluegrass. Eden now plays bluegrass music VERY LOUDLY and dances around the house, like every single day.
The kids rip open the presents as fast as lightning... Dustin gets to start putting things together.
"James, can you take a picture with your sisters in front of the tree?"
Nope, he sure couldn't!
Eden with her California cousin, Bailey. Eden always refers to Bailey, Chase, and Marley as her "California cousins". Never just "cousins".
baby's first carhart
Granny and Ila
cousins AND best friends (minus Eden who was sick on Christmas Eve and stayed home with Dustin while I took Ila and James to Pops and Granny's)
Ila, putting out oats for the reindeer on Christmas Eve
girl still loves her some Spider-Man
A few things about Christmas Day:
Eden was still sick and slept until almost 9. Poor thing. Which meant that Ila got to see and inspect everything first all by herself. James woke up shortly after Ila did but had no idea what was going on, haha! Ila has been talking about soccer for months now and was very excited to get a ball and net. We stayed home on Christmas Day, and my mom (Mark had to work) and Dustin's parents came over for dinner. Eden ran fever off and on all day, but she made the most of it! She alternated between playing with her new stuff and laying on the couch watching The Star as her fever came and went. It was our first time to ever stay home on Christmas Day, and that's the way to go with little kids y'all! Pretty sure I'm going to tell people to come to us every year now! Even though I hate that poor Eden didn't feel good on Christmas, it was a wonderful day!
NEW YEAR'S EVE
We went to Andy and Kim's house for New Year's Eve. I bought the kids sparkling grape juice and these champagne flutes. Everybody hated the grape juice, but one month later, Eden and Ila are still excited to drink everything out of their fancy glasses!
And there ya have it!
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