3rd week of December 2016

(okay...today is December 15, 2017 and I'm blogging about the third week of December **2016**.  I am now a full year behind.  UGH!!!!! I need to get more committed to taking the time to blog.)

Silliness

Working on her number puzzle with Landen

One of her cute Christmas outfits

Peter and I went to our first regular season Cowboys game!  We had great seats that we had won in the last CROSSMARK Casino Night Silent Auction.  Our friends Tida and Jason came along.  It was a lot of fun (and FREEZING outside!!!)

The Stadium is so big

Cheerleaders

Tida and I went to get some food.  While we were gone, they scored!!!

Later in the game, we hit up some shopping and while we were out, they scored again!  So we didn't spend much time in our seats watching the game after that because clearly they only played well when we weren't watching.  :)

The game went into overtime and the Cowboys won!  It was a fun game to watch.

And yet another Christmas outfit (I am so appreciative to my neighbor who passed on all these adorable clothes from her daughter who has outgrown them.  She has given me bags and bags and bags of stuff.)

One of Maxwell's best friends, Preston, is moving out of state.  They went to preschool together and have remained friends since.  

There were tears and much sadness when it was time for this last play date to be over.  :(  (Tears from Preston...I'm not sure if Maxwell fully understands plus he's not an easy crier.)

Ready with our hot chocolate!  Let's go see some Christmas lights!

We went to downtown Frisco and walked around.

A collage of just some of the holiday outfits Emmalyn has worn.  It took a conscious effort to make sure they all got worn once!

Emmalyn wasn't feeling well so we headed to the doctor.  A year later, I have no memory of what was wrong with her but I'm sure it was just a cold or something like that.

Entertaining himself during her visit.

I took the day off work a few days before Christmas when Maxwell was already out of school and we had a date day.

We started off with lunch at a restaurant with Ms. Mary Ann

Then I took him to Top Golf.  (I had the best game I've ever had!!  I was killin it!)

He loves top golf!

Katherine came over one night and we wrapped presents together and enjoyed some wine and snacks.  It was a fun way to wrap (just a little less torture).

Kid update:

Emmalyn likes to cuddle if I'm sleeping in more  in the morning.  It's super sweet.  She will bring her iPad and climb up and sit next to me and keep watching.  Lately she has been getting up at 5 am, it's a fight to get her back to sleep.  (I sure don't want to up that early!)  She wants either cereal and milk or to cuddle in our bed. I try and keep her in her own bed until 6 and then finally give in and let her come into our bed.  She doesn't want to sleep in her open foot sleep sack anymore so it's just PJs and a blanket.

The kids are really good.  They like to get up early so Peter or I will get up and get them cereal/milk in the kitchen and they will eat while watching things on their iPads.  It let's us get a little more sleep.  :)

Max is usually up at 6 but just gets up on own, gets his iPad in the front room and is now at a point that he doesn't even let us know he's awake anymore   A few times he's come into our room at 4 am to cuddle because he had a bad dream (I got him to tell me the details of one once - he was in a pool that was 36.4 feet deep and he wanted to swim down and touch bottom but couldn't get back up)  He's excited that he has what he thinks is a loose tooth.  I tried it and it wiggles maybe just a little but there were a couple others on the bottom that feel a little loose.

"BUT MOM" is a common phrase out of both kids' mouths and it is driving me nuts.

First week of November 2016

Pajama day at school (and Maxwell participated!)

Playing at the park

Look who is wearing big girl panties!

With Grandma Donna (I think during the day with Britt)

My friend Beth at work

My friend Andrea came to my work and helped about 50 of us make these signs.  I made one with a "G" so I could give it to Maxwell's kinder teacher - Garza.

Crazy hair day at school

It certainly looked crazy :)

Emmalyn joined in the fun too

Playing at the mall during the day with Britt

"cheese face"

Yup, cheese face again.  Those ringlets!  No curling iron needed for this one.

Cuddled up with the kiddos

Maxwell practicing his Kindermusic rhythm cards.  He's doing a great job.

We took the kids to the "Festival at the Switchyard" in downtown Carrolton.  The kids had fun playing games.  (They took turns though because we were standing in a silly line waiting for face painting.  While I'm glad to see my kids now enjoy it, face painting is the WORST line wherever you go.  You spend at least an hour just waiting and then trying to entertain the kids while you wait.  This new trend of total face painting instead of the old way with a ghost on a cheek or a rainbow takes so much time!!!!

Maxwell waited in the stroller more than Emmalyn did

Emmalyn got some flowers (mom's choice) and Maxwell is the Pokemon Pikachu

We took the kids home and left them with a new babysitter - girl down the street and then we headed back to the concert for a free Barenaked Ladies Concert!

First we went out to dinner and while we were eating fireworks went off behind us - it was great show!

The concert was so fun!  The last time we saw these guys was at an Medal Ceremony Concert during the 2002 SLC Olympic games.

Being silly with dad outside of Costco

Loving the smiles and giggles

We had Souper Salad for dinner.  Peter and I used to go all the time when we lived in SLC so it was a little nostalgic.

So, we have been sort of potty training all week.  Emmalyn does great with pooping on the potty but then she will sometimes sit on the potty, do nothing, and then pee on the floor a minute later.  If she's in pull-ups she treats it like a diaper so that choice is out.  It's either panties, nude, or diaper.  She's having multiple accidents a day.  :(  When we went to the festival I just put her in a pull-up because I didn't want to deal with it.  That night with the babysitter she was in diapers but then asked to go potty before going to bed.  The next morning she said she needed to go pee and she actually did so that's a win!

Mornings are good.  Maxwell gets up around 6 am.  Peter will give him cereal or will leave a bowl with cereal in it and put a cup of milk in the fridge so he can do it himself.  Emmalyn wakes around the same time but I try to get her to cuddle with me in bed for an extra half hour.  She immediately asks for milk when she wakes up by saying, "your milk" and I'm still telling her it's empty.  After about a half hour she'll go to the kitchen and Peter will get her cereal.  Both kids watch their iPad while eating and can be independent which means we can get a few more minutes of sleep!mo