Masterpiece

Today Taylor created her first masterpiece. Taylor spent the morning with her Grammie (Hank's mom), and they did many fun things together. Taylor actually painted for the first time. She did a great job. We have her artwork taped up on our pantry door. I can't wait for the day when we have both Taylor and Landon's latest masterpieces on display.

Landon was with Mommy while Taylor had her one-on-one time with Grammie. The lucky boy got to watch me work out and then we spent a good long hour at the grocery store while dodging rain drops on the way. I love this weather! Just transporting two little ones in the wet cold is a little hard to do alone.

Landon is definitely a mommy's boy. He's always looking around for me and saves me the best, biggest smiles. I love to cuddle him and make sure we have at least an hour together each day. As I was pushing him in the shopping cart, he kept on leaning forward and grabbing for me and gave me long hugs. A few ladies in the store even commented how loving he was to me. I'm in heaven when my children show me love.

Pink Princess Tree

My parents came over yesterday with lots of goodies. But the most special gift was a pink princess tree. The beautiful 3-foot tree was decorated with princess stuff that I took off and put away with the many princess costumes that accompanied the tree. Now Taylor has lots of dress-up costumes, jewelry, shoes, tiaras, etc. when she is old enough. She likes to take off her clothes, but she's not quite at the level where she likes to dress herself.

So my mom and I tried to set up the tree in Taylor's room so she could enjoy it for the next few weeks. Every time we left her alone, she pulled them off and collected the "balls" (Taylor's name for ornaments). She even was gutsy enough to throw one over the staircase railing which instantly shattered upon impact.

So then we moved the tree downstairs into the living room up high on an end table. Sure enough, she pulled off the "balls" again. So later today I will be packaging up the beautiful tree and storing it away until next year. It was a great afternoon though to hang out with my parents and let the kids play with Oma and Opa.

Snow

We just got back a little while ago from taking the kids to a park in our community for a "snow" day. This was Taylor and Landon's first experience with snow. Taylor enjoyed sledding down the hills and pushing other people's strollers. She's so predictable. We were laughing with our neighbors about what type of jobs Taylor might enjoy when she's an adult. My suggestion was a grocery cart collector, and our neighbors suggested a lawn mower pusher aka a landscaper. If you know Taylor well, you know she LOVES to push anything she can get her little hands on. She has even taken away a walker from an elderly lady at the mall. She's quite crazy but so much fun!

Landon liked running his little fingers through the snow. It was a little too cold for his liking, but as always, he pushed the snow straight into his mouth. It must have felt good as his 5th tooth is coming in. I let him stand on the snow a little bit, but he had a hard time with the slippery snow that was quickly melting in the warm Arizona sun.

A Visit from Professor Taylor

Some pre-bedtime fun....

Santa Spotting

Well, they weren't overjoyed to see Santa. But they weren't scared either. For the most part, they both just stared up at him in awe. Landon was going for his glasses, and Taylor was, well, peaceful. Hank's mom and Oma came with me to the mall. I don't think I could have done it on my own. Taylor brought her doll stroller with her, and we let her walk up and down the mall...taking out a few pedestrians on the way. She would also enter into the stores that had eye-catching window displays and join the visual merchandising props. She came home though and took a great nap.

And tonight we headed over to some neighbors for a Christmas gathering. It was good to see some neighbors who we haven't seen in awhile. Landon has learned to sit up from a laying down position. Soon we'll have to lower his crib mattress as he can already bear some weight on his legs and stand a little. Christmas, life for that matter, is so much better with children.