Christmas in NJ 2009

Santa was very good to Stella and Des this year.  When they first got up, the kids opened their stockings first.  Then after a leisurely breakfast, we (minus Appachen who, unfortunately, had to work today) all gathered around the Christmas tree to open our presents.  Stella was in charge of distributing the gifts to their rightful owners.  The above collage is a glimpse into the mayhem of Christmas morning in NJ.

Stella got board games like Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders, Hello Kitty slippers, Crayola paint set, and several DVDs and CDs she has been wanting.  Des got Lincoln Logs, a cool Hot Wheels Drop Force track set, a cowboy dress-up costume, a stuffed Mickey Mouse doll, CDs and DVDs, and, of course, puzzles.

As soon as we were done opening all of the gifts, Des immediately wanted to play with his new wooden jigsaw puzzles.  Here he is doing a Tigger and Pooh 12-piece jigsaw puzzle for the very first time all by himself without any trouble.

  

I guess he has graduated from a puzzle master-in-training to a little puzzle master himself!  We are so proud of you Des!

Christmas Eve

Amamma and Appachen hosted a Christmas party at their house on Christmas Eve.  The kids had fun playing seeing some of my extended family.  But they mostly spend the night playing with the twin girls from across the street.  But somehow we forgot to take pictures once the party started.  Here are a few shots we did take before many of the guests arrived.

Stella & Des with Aunt Sil

Us with Amamma &Aunt Sil

Merry Christmas

Wishing you a very joyous holiday season, from our family to yours!

We got professional pictures taken of us in November and below are some of our favorite ones from the

shoot.

To Grandparents' House We Go

We left for NJ yesterday and arrived there late last night (around 11:30 PM).  We had one layover in Dallas and overall, things went smoothly...the flights were on time, we had enough time in Dallas to eat dinner, and the flights were smooth.  Des had a few crying spells here and there on the last leg of the flight, which was the longest leg (about 3.5 hours), but luckily, he fell asleep the last hour.  While we were waiting to board our flight in Fort Smith, Ark, the kids loved this Winter Wonderland display that they had setup in the airport.  They especially loved the snowmen! 

Fort Smith is a rather small airport and it was not very busy when we were there, so the kids had all sorts of room to run around before boarding the plane.

Visiting Santa

We went to get our yearly picture with Santa today.  We figured that the line wouldn't be long at 12 noon on a Monday, but we were wrong.  I guess everyone else had the same idea.  We waited over an hour in line but the kids did great since we fed them lunch in their stroller while we were waiting in line.  The whole time we were in line, Stella kept saying that she was on the "nice list" and that she was going to ask Santa for a big girl bike when it was her turn. 
So our turn finally came and I put Stella on Santa's lap; she resisted a little bit because she was shy.  She wanted me to sit on Santa's lap so that she could sit on my lap.  Des didn't cry but wasn't too thrilled about sitting on Santa's lap.  After I placed him on Santa's lap, I went to stand by the photographer and when Des saw me, I heard him say,"There's Mama" several times in a way to tell himself that everything is okay because Mama is just right there.  So sweet!!!  He had that "deer caught in the headlights look" to his face the whole time and did not want to smile for the picture, whatsoever.  He wanted us to get it over with ASAP. 

Stella was very sad after we finished taking pictures with Santa b/c she thought Santa was going to give her her big girl bike right then and there.  She really, really wants the bike and she was trying to hold it together afterwards but her lips were quivering and her eyes welled up.  We had to explain that Santa was getting his list ready today but will bring her gift to her on Christmas day.  But since we will be in NJ for Xmas, we are going to give it to her tomorrow morning prior to leaving for NJ for the holidays, telling her that Santa left her an early Christmas present.

Stella's First Piano Recital

Stella had her first piano recital today at the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall on the campus of the Univ. of Arkansas.  We couldn't be more proud of our little girl!!!  She was the youngest and least experienced student there.  When she walked up on stage, I thought about the tiny baby girl with the big eyes that the nurse placed on my belly seconds after she was born almost 4.5 years ago and now that same little girl was about to play in her first recital!  It brought tears to my eyes.
Stella was the first to perform.   When she was introduced and called up on stage, everyone started clapping for her even before she got to the center of the stage to take her bow.  That sort of startled and amused her at the same time.  The half smile and look of bewilderment on her face as she turned around to look at the audience was priceless to me...I don't think I will ever forget it.
Anyway, her teacher helped her get situated on the bench and Stella started to play her piece, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Variation A. Seconds into her performance, Des who had been fine up until then, got himself stuck in between the bottom and back portion of his seat and he just starts screaming.  He was screaming pretty much the whole time Stella performed.  Stella looked over at Des but kept her composure and played her piece without interruption...a true performer.  And wouldn't you know it, Des stops crying just before Stella finishes.  He behaved himself the rest of the time, being quiet when he was supposed to and clapping when he was supposed to.  It was such a shame that he had to scream during his sister's first ever recital.
When Stella  finished, she started coming down the steps on the left side of the stage but then changed her mind at the last minute and skipped across the stage to come down the steps on the opposite side of the stage.  That just made everyone laugh.  Stella doesn't get that she is supposed to be serious during a recital.  The way I see it, she has the rest of her life to be serious and somber.  She is a bubbly 4-year old girl who was happy and proud to have completed her first ever recital!!!!

Well without further ado, here is the video of Stella's first piano recital... with Desmond's screaming and all.  Enjoy!

Bed Buddies

The Gup wanted to sleep with Stella last night and got in her bed all the way under the covers and was so happy at the idea of sleeping with his big sis!  Stella was game at first because she thought that it was just a big joke.

But then, when we turned off the lights and said good night, she was not having it.  She said, "No, Guppa has to sleep in his crib, and I have to sleep alone in my bed."  This made Des very sad and he was not a happy camper when we had to pry him off of Stella's bed to take him to his crib.

Domo Arrigato, Mr. Roboto

Dada made this robot out of a cardboard box for the kids and the kids love playing with it, especially Des.  He just looks so cute in it.  He will put it on and run around really fast around the house or will run straight into me if I am sitting on the couch.  At one point, he fell down face forward, he wasn't hurt at all but he couldn't get up...kind of like a beettle on it's back.  It was so funny to watch him try to wiggle himself out of the robot box.  Eventually, Mama felt sorry for him and helped the lil' guy out.

Out of the Mouth of Babes

Like I said before, Des rarely mispronounces words, but when he does, it is the cutest thing to us.  For example, he refers to a handstand as "hamstamp".  Here he is doing his version of a "hamstamp" with the assistance of the couch.

He also refers to meatballs as "meatdogs"!  We were at Dada's department Xmas party at the Olive Garden and when Desmond's plate of spaghetti and meatballs arrived, Des says "Mmm, meatdogs, yum!"  Hilarious.

Lately, he has been telling Stella what to do...giving his big sis a taste of her own medicine.  The other day at lunch, Stella had her feet on the table, and before I could say anything, Des yells, "Stella, get you feet off the table!"  And when Stella obliged, Des said, "Yeah, good job."

Then another time at lunch, Stella left her seat without being excused but she had finished all of her lunch so it was not a big deal to me.  But Des thought otherwise.  He yells out loud (so that Stella could hear him since she was already in her room), "Stella, get back here, you're not skused!"

This last story is a riot.  A while ago, Des was naked was running around the house naked before his nighttime bath.  While Dada was getting his bath ready, Des comes to the bathroom and tells Dada, "Dada, I spilled."  Dada asked him to show him where he spilled and Des led him to the wet spot on the carpet (in front of the doorway to Stella's bedroom).  Dada then asked Des whether he peed and he said "Yes".  So "I spilled" is an euphimism for "I peed".  So cute!!!

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas

Stella is really into Christmas this year...way more than she has ever been.   And she is having a lot of fun doing all of the Xmas related activities.  We went and got our tree on Thursday night, but by the time we got home, made and ate dinner, and took baths, it was bedtime.  So all Stella got to do that night was help Dada string the lights on the tree and she and Gup each got to put one ornament on the tree.  The next morning after breakfast, Stella, Des, and I decorated the tree while Dada was at work...Stella just could not wait any longer.

Then on Sunday, we made Xmas cookies from scratch.  The kids had so much fun cutting out the various shapes and helping decorate it.

But what they liked best was eating them.  They were very yummy cookies!!!  I guess when the recipe calls for 3 sticks of butter, you really can't go wrong =;)

Stella and Desmond also loved watching Dada climb up onto the roof of our house to string Xmas lights the weekend before.  They love seeing our house as well as all of the other houses in our neighborhood lit up with Xmas lights at nighttime.  It is so cute to behold the magic and awe of this holiday season through their innocent eyes!

Rainbow Pancakes

I saw this on another blog and thought it was a fun idea so I decided to make rainbow pancakes for the kids this morning.

Des decided to just dive right in without a fork!

It took some time to make and so breakfast was delayed a little bit this morning, but they loved it.  It was fun to see the excitement on their faces when breakfast was finally served.

Puzzle Master In Training

Desmond is getting to be a puzzle master himself learning from the original puzzle master, Stella.  He loves sitting down to do puzzles, which is amazing because Des can't sit still for more than 2 seconds.  The first puzzle he did all by himself was the wooden 9-piece Elmo jigsaw puzzle.  After he finishes putting together a puzzle, he will scream "I did it, I did it" excitedly.  We all clap and cheer for him which makes him so happy and proud.  We'll also tell him, "We are so proud of you Des" to which he replies "I'm so proud of you too!!"  Too funny.

Dada then dug out the Abby Cadabby and Mickey Mouse puzzle from storage and Des figured out how to do the Abby Cadabby 9-piece jigsaw puzzle all by himself within a day. 

 

 Now he is working on doing the Mickey puzzle.  He also helps Stella and Mama when we do the 60-piece jigsaw puzzle and he knows where a lot of the pieces go.

Yeah, little man...we are indeed so proud of you!!!

The Three Rs: Reading, Writing, & 'Rithmetic

Stella's handwriting is getting better and better each day by leaps and bounds.  These days, she is more willing to write letters and numbers even if she doesn't think she can write it perfectly.  Check out some of her letters below.

She is still reading away like a champ.  And now we are working on math with her.  She has addition figured out.  For example, if  you roll two dice, she will add up the numbers in her head and will tell you the sum within seconds.  Now we are working on subtraction with her.

Lights of the Ozarks

We went to see the Lights of the Ozarks today and it was so beautiful.  The historic Fayetteville town square (which hosted the Farmer's Market in the summer time) was transformed into a magical display of Christmas lights for the month of Dec.  Pretty much every square inch of the town square, from the grass to every single branch on every tree, were covered in lights and oh so pretty to look at.  We picked a perfect night to go because the weather was mild and it was not too crowded due to the fact that a lot of people were at home watching the Razorback football game. 

We tried our very best to capture the magic of all of the lights with our camera but these pictures don't do it justice! (Stella was not in a picture taking mood tonight, thus a lot of pix of Stella not smiling or looking at the camera.)

 They had a lit up carousel (not for riding on) that had the U of A's mascot, the razorback.  The razorback was present in lots of other areas throughout the square.

The kids favorite part of the night was riding around in the Cinderella pumpkin carriage ride around the town square.

A shot of the Cinderella pumpkin carriage. 

Des taking in the sights while waiting in line for the carriage ride.

Pix of us inside the carriage.

Des was so funny, every time the horse "neighed" (while we were waiting in line and during the carriage ride) he would neigh too.  He imitated the sound very well and was very loud, startling nearby spectators with his "neighs" =:)

Other fun things included popcorn, cookies and hot chocolate for sale, pony rides, and believe it or not, camel rides.  We have a picture to prove it.

Our kids did not want to ride the ponies or camels, thank goodness!

I just love the following two pictures of my two dudes surrounded by all of the pretty lights. 

This last pictures is especially sweet when Des gave Dada an impromptu kiss on the cheek.