The Sights and Sounds of Christmas

As you can tell it was a busy semester, so much so that I didn't get a single post written, but here we are, nearing the end of 2012 and after a wonder-filled Holiday season. So rather than trying to recap the past three months, I thought I'd just reflect on the past month or so for it really was a merry time.

The season got kicked off with a visit to Meijer Gardens in early December to see the many Christmas trees and the holiday train display. The girls loved all the colors on the different Christmas trees and watched the train circle around the display with smiles and giggles.

The girls were excited to see Santa for the first time shortly after that at a party at church. When we arrived, Alyssa was pretty much unable to talk to anyone until she had sat on Santa's lap. She made a beeline to Santa, running from several feet away and giving him a big hug. Lauren, on the other hand, slowly backed up when we got close and then just clung as she didn't want anything to do with "HoHoHo," so Aaron got a nice picture with Santa and his little girls.

After this, we didn't have high expectations for our visit to Santa at the mall. We waited in line for what seemed like an eternity, each of the girls thinking about what they wanted to ask for. Just before their turn, Lauren spotted the candy canes in Santa's chest for kids that sat on his lap, so there was absolutely no fussing when I set her on his lap. When Santa asked her what she wanted, she repeated everything that Alyssa said.

We enjoyed some quality family time together as we all helped decorate the tree, went to a Christmas parade, baked Christmas cookies, and drove one night to look at Christmas lights.

Alyssa had her first Christmas concert with her preschool. It was so cute to see all the kiddos up on stage, and she did such an amazing job. I love to watch the video and see her singing her heart out, mouth wide open, belting it out. At one point you can hear her over all the other kids. Her class sang "Rudolph" and "Frosty". She practiced the songs a lot and knew them pretty well, but every once in a while she'd get the verses for Rudolph mixed up. I don't want to post the video of the actual concert out of respect for the other kiddos. We've been amazed at how both of them have learned so many of the Christmas songs this year. Lauren doesn't quite sing every word, but she usually hits the words at the end of each line.

Alyssa also had a "show" for her Twinkle Toes dance class. They showed off their ballet moves and their tapping. Alyssa definitely prefers tap, but she does a good job with both as she's good at following directions and listening to her teacher. Again, I'm only including a very short clip so none of her classmates appear.

We had several other Christmas parties that we all enjoyed before we left for Minnesota on the 21st. Our week in Minnesota was filled with family and friend time, just what we needed. The girls were so very excited to spend time with the Menke family and play with their friends.

We went to a children's Christmas Eve mass at 4:30. The girls were tuned in to what was going on, watching the other kids carry in Baby Jesus to place in the manger. Alyssa even joined the kids up front as the priest talked to them about how important it is that they open the gift of Jesus' love and share it with others and both sang their hearts out, especially Alyssa to Away in the Manger.

After that we headed home to a nice meal and prepared for Santa's arrival. The girls placed carrots out for the reindeer. Alyssa only wanted to give Prancer one, and Lauren only wanted to give one to Lauren. Alyssa was concerned that the other reindeer might eat the carrots, so she had to write their names on plates so that they would know who they were for. And they placed cookies out for Santa and even stopped to pause for a few pictures to mark the holiday. They were allowed to open a few gifts early since we skyped with Aunt Sarah who couldn't make it home. And then it was off to bed.

Christmas morning was so exciting. Alyssa waited for Lauren to wake up and then they headed downstairs to find their gifts. Alyssa was so excited she didn't know what to do with herself - jumping up and down, pointing and laughing. Then they discovered that the reindeer had nibbled on the carrots and Santa had eaten the cookies. And then they dove into the presents. I got so into watching them open presents that I forgot to take pictures (and never got around to copying them from Grammy's camera onto my computer).  They enjoyed all of it and were tickled with the new toys, clothes, and treats. We spent the rest of the day playing and then joined up with the Krautkremers and Uncle Bob at the Krautkremer cabin for more fun.

Some of the highlights from the rest of the week were taking in a Gopher basketball game, a guys night at a Timberwolves game, a Happy Hour with a good friend, and hanging out with the Krautkremers and Skluzaceks. It is so fun to watch the girls together and also see them develop friendships. And we especially enjoyed a little more "adult" time as they're starting to entertain themselves more.

A highlight for the girls was going to see Little Red Riding Hood at the Old Log Theater with Auntie Stacy. They wore red capes and were treated to lunch at their favorite place - "Old MacDonalds".

We flew home on Friday, December 28. Neither of the girls slept on the plane as they were waiting for their drinks and snacks. We arrived into Lansing shortly after 11pm, and only Alyssa fell asleep on the hour drive home. Lauren was still wide awake when we drove into the garage shortly after midnight (she really is the Energizer Bunny).

They woke up the next morning to find Nana and PapPap waiting for them and that Santa had dropped off more presents under their tree in Michigan. Alyssa tore through the presents and Lauren enjoyed opening and playing with hers. She'd have been happy with just a few and then playing with them. They were a little disappointed that there wasn't a bunk bed under the tree, but Santa left them a note that his elves were still working on making it and that it would  be delivered in a few weeks. There was wrapping paper everywhere, toys galore, and two happy but tired little girls.

Experiencing Christmas through a child's eyes really is a fun experience. The girls enjoyed every last minute of the last month - from the Elf moving from place to place, the "mystery gifts" from the 12 Days of Christmas (thanks Aunt Cheryl!), the wide eyes at Christmas lights, the excitement of Santa, the songs of the season, and sharing in Jesus' birthday, it really is a special season. We are so thankful to be able to celebrate with family and friends and look forward to many more wonder-filled Christmases with our two precious girls in the future. From all of us to all of you, we wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Can I go to preschool now?

Ever since one of Alyssa's best day care buddies left day care and started preschool last fall, Alyssa has been talking about going to preschool. We started the search for a preschool in January and soon found that many of the options we were considering were either too expensive or wouldn't work with our schedules. Several friends had recommended Milestones to us, so we checked it out. It looked like a great environment, so we signed Alyssa up...and the wait began.

We went school shopping and got new shoes, got a new haircut, and even bought a book bag. We put together a calendar, so she could see which days she would go to Miss Gwen's and which days she would go to preschool. And yesterday, she picked out her outfit and a family picture to take with her, she packed her backpack, and she headed to bed praying that she would have a good day.

She got up with a smile this morning, got herself dressed, and waited. She didn't know quite what to do with herself while the rest of us got ready. She didn't need to eat breakfast because they provide that at preschool, and she didn't want to play...she just wanted to go. She had her rain boots and coat on (yes, it was a rainy morning) a good 30 minutes before we needed to leave and she kept asking "Can we go to preschool now?"

Finally, we left, dropped Lauren off at Miss Gwen's and headed to preschool. There were so many kids coming and going, she was looking everywhere, asking what they were doing and where they were going. But we finally arrived at her classroom. Her teacher, Miss K, was there and so was one of her day care friends. She walked right in, put her backpack in her cubby, smiled and pulled out a piece of paper and began to draw/color with markers.

When I picked her up, she was smiling. She told me it was so fun! She asked why she doesn't "ever ever" get to play with markers at home and told me all about cutting one paper and gluing it to another. She said they played outside, and that there's a big slide and three little slides. She told me all about the other little boy who left to go to another school and had to go to the sidewalk to catch the bus. She told us about cereal and bananas for breakfast, pizza grilled cheese and corn and peaches for lunch, and her yogurt & blueberries for snack. She told us about silly things that she did with her day care friend and she even told us that she didn't suck her thumb at nap time (not sure whether I believe that one though). She was so excited to tell everyone about her day and is already looking to Thursday when she goes back.

It's so great to see her so happy to be growing up, doing new things, and meeting new peoples. For as shy as she can be sometimes when we're around, it was awesome to watch her walk confidently into her classroom this morning and get the report that she'd had a great day.

Ride 'em and Jump 'em

We've only been able to get out to the lake shore a few times this summer, so we took advantage of a gorgeous Friday afternoon and Aaron being let off of work early for the holiday weekend to head to Grand Haven. It was a blue sky day, a sunshiney day, but also a red flag day, which meant the rip currents were strong and swimming was not recommended. But we braved it, knowing that we wouldn't be venturing too far into the water. Both Alyssa and Aaron had been dying to trying out their "boogie boards" (Aaron's was a Father's Day gift, and Alyssa's was really a kick board she found while out shopping one day), so the day was perfect for that, with lots of waves.

Alyssa wasted no times and headed to the water. She loved "riding" her "boogie board". She smiled and giggled the whole time.

She even got knocked under the water by a few waves and got back up and tried it again. She also really enjoyed jumping with the waves. Unfortunately in the video you can't hear her giggles and screeches, but she had such a good time.

She also made friends with a little girl named Lily, they played together in the sand - burying Lily's dad and then getting buried themselves.

Lauren liked going out into the water as long as she was held, but she really enjoyed scooping up water with her sand bucket and then scooping sand in it as well. She was definitely a sand babe that day!

We enjoyed a nice dinner out in downtown Grand Haven and after a visit to the toy store, we headed home. We laughed because on the way home, Alyssa crashed, falling deep asleep. Despite her 40 minute nap on the way out to Grand Haven, she was played out.

 Lauren, on the other hand, sang and laughed and made silly faces the whole way home in spite of having only napped 10-15 minutes on the way to the beach. She really is our little Energizer Bunny.

We are sad to see our beach time end for the season, but look forward to jumping and riding many more waves in the future. One thing is for certain though - these two little blondies are destined to be beach babes -

Celebrate!

Lauren continually steals our heart by how cute she is and by how she just picks things up. A week ago at nap time, I was reading stories to her and Alyssa and she kind of grabbed at her diaper. I asked her if she needed to go potty, to which she said yeah and took off running toward the bathroom (keep in mind she's never "gone potty" before). She sat up on the "Elmo's world" seat and there it was - two little drops. Alyssa and I of course made a pretty big deal about that and she smiled and then let out a few more drops. We cheered again, and then she let out a little more. For her first time, she was pretty good at "turning it on and off" if you know what I mean.

She was so proud of herself, and when I asked her what she did, she said "tinkle tinkle". We called Nana and Grammy to tell them and then told Daddy when he got home. She went "tinkle tinkle" two more times that day, and has gone at least twice a day every day since then. She's not quite ready for pull-ups yet, but I think that's coming soon. Give us a weekend where we can stay home and work on it, and I think she might be good to go. But we'll see - it's only been a week!

She is so excited and proud of herself. Her "reward" for going "tinkle tinkle" in the potty is to do the potty dance. In fact that's her first response when you ask her if she needs to go. I caught her and Alyssa celebrating one of her tinkles the other day, and you just have to smile to watch them. And Lauren just adores doing this dance.

She asked to go potty during mass yesterday, so we headed out. She went, so Alyssa, Lauren and I were in the bathroom at church doing the potty dance. She wants so badly to be like her big sister and sit all by herself on the big potty, but she's still so little. I worry about her falling down through, but she wants to be independent and be a big girl. We'll keep you posted on her progress, but come on everybody, let's celebrate!

Fair fun

We have been on the go a good bit this summer, so we enjoyed a much slower pace this past weekend. It was nice because it was just us - no plans with anyone else, just Menke family time (not that we don't love our time with friends and family too!). We decided to go the Kent County Youth Fair in Lowell, which is the next town to the west of us. We weren't sure what to expect, but we thought we'd check it out.

It had rained a good bit the day before, so when we arrived, we found a pretty muddy parking lot, but thankfully we found a less muddy aisle to park in as I don't know if my little blue car could have got through some of the "roads". Alyssa's first comment when we got out of the car was "It stinks here" (that's my city girl!), but it was just the smell of the mud. We headed off toward the fair, and the fun began.

There was a tent with animals to pet, which Alyssa just loved. Lauren liked to look at the animals, but she wasn't convinced that they couldn't get her through the fence. She was a little skittish to say the least.

There was a special on rides until 6, so that was our first stop. Alyssa immediately chose to ride the roller coaster, and she absolutely loved it. She climbed on herself and sat right down next to another little girl. She tried to raise her hands, and you could hear her screeching and saying "whee" throughout the ride. So fun to watch her!

She chose a spinny ride next. She started out smiling, but by the end she was either bored or a little dizzy. Her smile wasn't nearly as big, and I said I think we should avoid any more of those (you know, she does get car sick after all!).

Poor Lauren wasn't big enough to go on either of these rides even though they were meant for kids. So we thought we'd all check out the Ferris Wheel. But even accompanied by a parent, she was too short to go on. She and I headed over to the carousel and the trucks while Daddy and Alyssa waited in line and rode the ferris wheel.

I laughed because I was holding Lauren in line for the trucks, so I just carried her over and buckled her in. Well, when the ride operator unbuckled her, I think she thought she couldn't walk or that she was only like a year old because he carried her back over to me. Something similar happened on the next ride too. The greatest surprise might have been though that she let these "strangers" carry her! Maybe someday she'll hit a growth spurt and look her age!

The girls chose to drive the space ships together...

and then Alyssa wanted to go down the fun slides. She was too small to go by herself, so I was chosen to go down with her. In all honesty, I think this might have been my first time down a slide like this. Together we climbed up the steps, got into our burlap sack, and wooshed down the slide. We both laughed and screeched, and I'm pretty sure we "caught air" going over the last bump. I was thankful that I went down with Alyssa as she might have been bounced right out of her lane!

By then it was time to make the night's big decision - what delicious fair delicacy to have for dinner. Lauren chose a hot dog and Alyssa a corn dog. They both chowed down and were ready to check out some animals. Both of the girls talked to the animals, but Alyssa was brave and pet any and all of them that she could.

There was a family fun show after this that we went to watch. It was an audience (read kid) participation show, and Alyssa was excited to get on stage. She was chosen to be a monkey, and she went up and practiced with the others and then headed back stage to wardrobe. Lauren, Daddy and I waited anxiously for her to come back out. When it was time, all the monkeys came back out but one - our Alyssa was missing. Just a few moments later, she came running out from the side of the tent, crying to us. We aren't sure what happened (whether they didn't have enough costumes or whether she just got stage fright), but that was the end of Alyssa' stage debut.

A local country band, The Scott Thompson Band, was playing that night as well, so we headed over to that tent to check them out. They were really good. They played mostly covers of other artist's songs, but they also had a few originals. The girls took to the open space in front of the stage and showed off their moves; they even got a shout out from the lead singer. During the break between sets, they were able to get some free bracelets, so they may have become groupies of their first band. We would definitely go see them again. 

All in all, it was a fun night. The weather was perfect, the size of the fair manageable, and the crowds not too big. We had a great time at the fair and both girls were talking about it the next day - Alyssa about her roller coaster ride and Lauren about the "hos" (aka horses).

I think Lauren might have been inspired by the clothes of many of the other fair goers as this was her dress up outfit the next day (isn't she adorable!). Alyssa, on the other hand, still preferred to be a princess!

Snip Snip

Just about a year ago we took Alyssa for her first hair cut; she was 33 months, and she loved it. You can revisit the moment here. Here we are a year later and her hair is long and blonde. It looks nice when it's down and when it's back in braids or a pony tail. Her biggest concern is that her bangs not get in her eyes, so she's been telling me that she needs to get them trimmed.

In the meantime, Lauren's hair has begun to grow too. It's amazing that she hadn't run into more things with the way her bangs were always in her eyes, so it was time for her to visit the hair salon as well - at 26 months. I remember being a little apprehensive about Alyssa's first cut, wondering how she'd respond, but my nervousness then was nothing like my fears about taking Lauren. Those of you who know her know why - she's a little unpredictable. And she doesn't particularly like you combing or messing with her hair.

So off we went yesterday afternoon to the hair salon. My hair stylist at Heidi Christine's is bubbly and friendly, and she interacts with the girls, always telling them what she's going to do. They have little red wagons for the kids to sit in and a DVD player for them to watch a movie while their hair is being cut.

Alyssa was up first, and she had picked out a short little bob for her new do. Here are the before shots:

And when she was done, she had grown up on me. I keep telling her that she looks like a 4-year old now. Thank heavens she reminds that she's only 3!

And then it was time for Lauren. She had been busy since we arrived at the salon, in and out of the wagon, checking out the candy machine, etc. This is what she looked like when she got there.

When it came time for her to sit, she of course wouldn't. So the stylist pulled out a chair, and I sat and held her. She was pretty excited with her gown - she liked the piggy and horse. But then the stylist began to comb Lauren's hair, and she didn't like that. I turned so she could see the movie, and between that and my conversation with her, she was distracted for a bit - until the stylist began to wet her hair. She wasn't too happy about that either, but then she was allowed to hold the spray bottle and could spray everyone else! That definitely brought a smile to her face.

The rest of the cut was filled with water spraying everywhere; everyone and everything was a little damper than when we arrived.

But at least she was happy and she got her hair cut! Here are the after shots.

Alyssa is just tickled with her new style. Lauren could really care less but it's so nice to be able to see her beautiful blue eyes and all of their many expressions. I made them stand still this morning for some quick photos. They're not the best, but they do show off their new dos!