Holly Jolly Holidays!

Ok, it's only December 1st and we've already crossed a few "December to-do's' off our list! Today Piper had her annual Christmas recital, but they chose an OUTDOOR venue for it this year....That's pretty risky for December in Oklahoma! It could be 75 degrees out (like it was 3 days ago), or it could be 20.  You never know.  Unfortunately, it was only in the 40's.  But it was cloudy and on the river so it was really windy and bone-chilling cold!  Shawn sat in the car with Lucy and Sully until it was closer to Piper's turn to dance because it was brutal but I had to sit outside with her and freeze my buns off!  She was fine though. I kept trying to help her stay warm and she kept shrugging me off and saying she wasn't that cold!  Good thing! If it would have been Lucy out there it would have been a different story, haha! THANKFULLY after she was done dancing the sun came out so we were able to enjoy the day's festivities and it turned into a nice day (it got up to the mid-60's so that was perfect!)  She is doing hip-hop this year which is different for her, but she seems to enjoy it so that's good!  Her song was called Shake-Santa-Shake and it was a cute little routine :)  I always LOVE watching my kids perform.  It's my favorite! I was so proud of her for being so brave!

The recital took place at The Riverwalk (a place full of shops and restaurants and the amphitheater where she performed) so after the recital, we got some lunch, took a train ride (Sully was in HEAVEN on the "choo-choo!"), the kids jumped in some inflatables, they made some ornaments, and we got to see Santa! There was live Christmas music playing from a band and everyone was cheerful and filled with Holiday cheer.  I can't think of a better way to kick-off December! It was a perfect day!

This was Santa trying to show Sully that he was a nice guy....If Santa could convince Sully that him and Shawn were friends, Sully would sit on his lap. And it worked! Hahaha! For the 1st time in his little life he finally SMILED on Santa's lap! The last 2 Christmases, he wouldn't even go NEAR Santa!

• Lucy wants a monogrammed Back-Pack (specifically with ice-cream cones on it)
• Piper wants a spring horse (the old fashioned kind you can sit and bounce/rock on)
• Sully wants a toddler friendly remote control Lightning McQueen car (and it BETTER work because it was a clearance item when Toys R' Us went under! Yikes!)

 

It was SO COLD!

 

We've also broken out the Christmas PJs, started our yearly calendar, and made red and green play-doh.

 I also started *another* part-time job! I know, I seem to go through so many jobs, haha!  This one is nice because it's only once or twice a week and I can always say no if I need to!  I am a substitute teacher at a Preschool.  It's just a mile down the road from our house and I'll just sub in any of the classes that need me from birth to Pre-K! The best part is, Sully gets to come with me!  He will always be in the 2 year old class when I sub.  I'm glad because I think some extra social interaction and structure will be good for him!  At home, I try to teach him things but learning with ME is boring for him.  He just wants to play.  I'm hoping that if he witnesses other kids sitting and learning, he will copy them and pick up on some things.  This preschool is a good one- it has a year long waiting list so I'm actually extremely lucky that I get to bring him with me for FREE while I make a little bit of money on the side! He was SO excited to put on his back-pack and go. He was NOT so excited when I left him in his class-room.  It was overwhelming for him.  It broke my heart to see him cry when I walked away :(  But his teacher texted me and told me that was totally fine and playing so nicely with the other kids.  He just had a hard time at first since it was new.  But this will be good for both of us! Our first day was Thursday and it went really well!

Next weekend we get to have Piper's birthday party so this week will be busy prepping for that! Had to get the blog written so I don't get too far behind this month!

Happy December Everyone!