Leading Up to Christmas

 Last Saturday night we had our ward Christmas party. It was great fun, and included all the little girls from Junior Primary (with a few additions) dancing to the Nutcracker. I wasn't sure if Naomi would do it since she's been "a little shy" lately, but she did! I was very proud of her. She followed along for all the choreographed parts, although she did freeze up at the "freestyle" section and just stood in the back with her back to the audience. But I was very proud of her. I know how scary it can be, and she did awesome getting over her fears.

 The primary room was transformed to Nativity dress-up central.

 Awesome horse costume.

 Then on Sunday, the girls wore their Christmas dresses. We've got to use them as much as possible, right?

 I know Emma's getting too old to have her pacifier outside of her crib, but I have a hard time saying "no" sometimes. Like when she's screaming and the only way to get her to stop is by giving her her pacifier.

Okay, this picture doesn't quite fit in, but I thought I'd mention we've gone to Kango twice this week. The girls love it, and it's nice that it's so close to Naomi's preschool.

Snow Day

 We really haven't had a lot of snow so far this winter, so last Friday when there was snow on the ground, the girls dragged me out of the house to go play in the snow.

 Naomi quickly found some friends to play with. I guess they had the same idea.

 Zoe tried to start a snowball fight, but the others were lacking enthusiasm.

 Then "we" made a snowman. The girls directed me how big to make the sections of the snowman, or at least, I made them and they reassured me they were the right size. I was very grateful for their expertise.

Ella actually made her own snowman. She never finished, but I was impressed with how much she was able to do on her own.

After that, we all went home for hot chocolate, of course. And within a few hours, all the snow was melted. What's up with that? Not that I'm complaining...

Preschool Picture

Naomi got her preschool class picture this week. I meant to have her tell me all the names before I posted it, but I'll have to add that later. Isn't this the greatest class picture you've ever seen? 1/3 of the kids are grumpy, 1/3 aren't looking at the camera... there's only one real smile in the whole lot of kids, and Naomi's eyes are half shut. Well, I'm glad I only paid $4. :)

Okay, I talked to Naomi, and she told me all but one of the names.
Back row (teachers): Lori, Amanda, Kim, Stephanie, ?(Naomi didn't know the of the teacher in the red shirt, but said that she liked her), Patty, Lisa (the main teacher), Andrea
2nd row: Monae, Sarah (who Naomi talks about a lot), Paola, Shawn, Ruth, Aries
1st Row: Ella, Naomi, Aidan, Maggie, Addison

Candy!

 On Monday our housing complex had a "gingerbread" house-making activity. The girls had a lot of fun.

 Emma carefully selected the best-tasting graham crackers.

 Hard at work on the house.

 Ta-Da! Naomi may have had some help. ;) She did a great job with the frosting, though, and she added all the m&ms herself.

That night the girls put out their shoes so Black Peter could come! This is a tradition that Kurt grew up with, so I don't really know the back story, but on the 5th of December they would put out their shoes and in the night Black Peter would come and put candy or a toy in their shoes. We were just going to have the girls put their shoes out, but they insisted on putting out our shoes, too. I thought it was very sweet. :)

Oops, I Did it Again

 Well, after working so hard to lose weight in 2009, I managed to gain it all back and then some in the months after I had Emma. All that cake, I suppose. This is me at the end of last year.

And here I am today. I'm still not back to where I was in 2009, but I have lost all 30 pounds of my post-pregnancy weight. That's right, I gained 30 pounds after I had Emma. I'm still mad at myself about that, but whatcha gonna do. Lose weight, I guess. I'm bummed I spent the year losing extra weight instead of picking up where I left off before I had Emma, but I guess that's what next year is for, right?

Family Pictures

 My friend Lisa from Lisa Ruth Photography took some fantastic family pictures for us.

 I love my cute girls.

 Emma was not very happy for most of the session. I think she may have been hungry. I wish I had brought a snack for her, since she's a bit of a bear when she's hungry, but she managed to find something to smile about in the end.

This one is definitely our favorite. Our cute little family in what may be our last fall in Rochester. Kind of bittersweet.

Kango!

 First of all, Emma is more insistent on fashion choices these days. She really wanted to wear sunglasses. Isn't she stylish? ;)

 And on to Kango. Kango is a play place close to Naomi's preschool. They have inflatable bouncy toys, a maze to climb up and slide down, and a place where you can ride bikes and rollerskates. There was a groupon for half off a year-long membership, so we decided to get one! Here's to more options in the cold, long winter!

Naomi was beyond excited. The membership came with a t-shirt and she has been wanting to wear it every day since. We went this past Wednesday with her friend, Ruth, who is a neighbor and also in her preschool class. The girls had a lot of fun. I'm hoping we can coordinate more trips with friends!