The InDeeds of Life: 2013

December Highlights

December was full of fun adventures.

We returned to our library's mini children's museum, which we had neglected unintentionally for some time. It was a refreshing change to be there with two independent players. Last time I was there, Hibou was still a baby who needed carrying. In which case it's a fun place, but a lot of work. This time, it was a total delight. They just played. And I just sat. Brilliant!

We got to hang out with Uncle A and Aunt L a little bit more before they returned home to the West.

It snowed (the first of...many this season it seems...)

We played with friends. Hibou likes to love on babies.

We read magazines.

And talked on the phone.

Practices riding Papillon's bike on an unseasonably warm day.

Dressed up with friends.

Played with our favorite Baby Friend.

Kids love babies in baskets.

Like most good fun, all this can be exhausting.

It snowed some more.

Oh, and there was Christmas.

At home. Low key. Fun family.

It was a great time.

Baby Froggy Announcement

The day after Christmas we had a ultrasound, after which we felt confident enough (and in love enough!) that we wanted to tell the world about "Baby Froggy".

Obviously we had to get the girls to make the announcement. It was a fun photo shoot. These are two of my favorites.

Papillon's First Ballet Class

Papillon has been obsessed with dancing for some time now. Partially because of watching Angelina Ballerina, I am sure. But it is proving to be more than just a passing phase.

Back in August she started taking a ballet class once a week. It was more of an "intro to movement class". But she did get to wear a leotard, so it was close enough to ballet.

The first week she cried and clung to me for the first half of the class. But I did manage to sneak out before the end of the class. And the next week, with only slight trepidation, she went in by herself.

After that, parents are not allowed in the class, so she had to do it on her own, or not do it at all. There were 2 weeks in the middle where she suddenly didn't want to go. But she muddle through that as well.

We learned halfway through the class, from one of her teachers, that Papillon mostly watched the goings ons. Happily. But she didn't really participate much. Of course, that's our little Papillon, the contented observer.

The final week of class we got to go in and watch. And yes, she mostly watched. But she watched with a smile on her face. And she definitely shows off what she learns in class when she is at home. So I'd call that a success!

Yes...dancing solo for all to watch...that didn't happen!

Obediently standing on a dot, waiting for the music.

Papillon, her teachers and a few classmates.

We decided to take the spring semester off. But we intend to resume ballet class in the fall when she'll be in the 4 year old class and learn some official ballet positions.

Snow!

It's actually January...but I'm gonna backdate some of these posts, for memory's sake. These are from the snow we had in December.

Fun in the snow with Dad. (Mom is a chicken when it comes to cold weather)

Papillon read a book or watched a movie somewhere that must have included snow angels, cause she's been obsessed with them for a while now. This was her first opportunity to actually make one.

Snow on the mittens!

A bit skeptical. Not as skeptical as Papillon at her age, but Hibou is still not sure why Papillon thought laying down in this cold stuff would be fun.

Thanksgiving at the Beach

This year for Thanksgiving my entire family gathered at a Beach House for an exciting off-season holiday.

It was a little chilly. Fortunately, our beach house was well equipped with cozy blankets.

They're actually watching TV...not praying. Haha.

Got to check out our favorite beach town pizza shop!

Trying to get a good Christmas Card family shot....it was a little cold to expect enthusiastic smiles from the little ones.

It was a cute attempt nonetheless.

Just having fun at the beach house.

The girls' favorite nook.

Waiting for the post-Thanksgiving town Christmas Tree lighting with Uncle E.

And Aunt Mimi!

Beach kisses.

My parents. Cute as ever.

Uncle E and his girlfriend (then, as of Christmas officially his fiancee!)

Grandpa and Papillon working on some coloring.

Grandpa is a popular man at breakfast time (he shares his cereal)

Reading with Uncle E.

It was a delightful time all around! Certainly something to try and recreate in years to come!

Halloween

For Halloween this year, both my girls dressed as Ballerinas (which they did last year as well!). Then we went trick or treating at the zoo. The tricky part about ballerina costumes is that they are hard to make warm. This is why most little kids dress has lions, or puppies, or something warm. But we muddled through.

With our friend the Ladybug.

Tiny ballerinas.

November Highlights

A few November highlights for you.

Playing in the leaves! Fun for Papillon; still weird for Hibou, but she worked it out.

Sister Love!

Sharing ice cream at CFA

Watching TV in the most relaxed way possible.

Playing hide and seek. Hibou thinks that you must lick the tree in order to properly hide your eyes.

Goofy girls just sitting outside.

Goof!

Fun with our Preschool Co-Op. Learning about colors.

Hanging out with a new Baby Friend. Apparently Papillon remembers when I used to let Hibou suck on my finger to calm her down.

Playing with our other favorite Baby Friends!

More sister cuteness.

More preschool!

Meeting Aunt Mimi's new puppy, Zelda.

Hibou - Potty Trained

Before it goes undocumented, and in years down the road, I doubt (or possibly exaggerate) Hibou's potty training story, I better immortalize this info in a blog post!

Hibou started insisting that she pee on the potty when she was about 20 months old. She has a little friend who was potty trained about the same time, and apparently she was inspired!    I didn't feel ready to attempt such an undertaking with such a little girl, but it became unavoidable.

One day the first week in November, she kept telling me she had to go potty. Totally unprompted by me and while wearing diapers, she asked 5 times throughout the day to go potty. She peed each time. And her diaper was dry all day. We were even out and about at a friends house that day.

Still I wasn't convinced. The next day or two, she kept asking to go, and kept going every time she asked to.   Finally, one day, she comes into the kitchen where I was doing dishes, and says "Me undies too". I explained she was a little too young for undies and she started crying. Literally on and off all afternoon she cried about wanting to wear undies.

So the next day, we went with undies. We used the same method that we did with Papillon. Meaning we spent a lot of time in the bathroom that day! But it was a success!   We had 3 or 4 days of occasional accidents (mostly cause I wasn't paying attention to her, so I wasn't prompting her enough). But it wasn't more than a week before we were accident free.

And by January, she was diaper free overnight as well. She still (even now in May 2014) has to pee in the middle of the night most nights. But she'll wake up to let me know.

I really didn't think that we'd be diaper free in this house for many years. But at this point I am actually getting pretty used to this diaperless mode...

Family "Camping"

We decided to go on a little family adventure in November. The original thought was to try our hand at camping. Then it got cold and we chickened out. So we opted for a hike and picnic and then a night at a hotel (yay for using Mon Amour's travel points to score some sweet free vacations).

Trying S'mores. Hibou likes them. Papillon prefers her marshmallows untoasted and separate from the rest of her treats.

Exploring.

We took the girls on a brief "hike", but had made the mistake of telling them about the hotel in advance. So Papillon spent the entire time asking if it was time to "go to the hotel and watch TV yet". Clearly we need to get outdoors more often....

Eventually we did head to the hotel. And after a lovely cozy night, we did a bit of non-wilderness exploring.

This particular adventure came with endless ice cream samples. Huzzah!

What is it about kids in overalls that are so darn adorable?

October Highlights

Helping at the bakery.

Celebrating Food Day at the Bakery

Resting a bit on the short walk to the library.

So fancy!

Goofy face

A family trip to the zoo

Painting with apples. Thank heavens for smocks!

Another zoo trip. We liked this snake cause it was behind class. Around the corner there was another snake...loose! (I am assuming it was a local snake, not an escaped zoo snake, but we didn't stick around to find out)

Washing apples

Walking to church

Hay ride with Nana

Corn maze

Pumpkins

Learning about how apples smell in "preschool"

Sisters.

Clearly we love the zoo.