Olivia on Stage

Olivia has come a really long way from being very anxious around crowds (school, play dates, birthday parties, etc). She used to be so anxious, that she would spend the entire time attached to me, and also showing some real aggression. She is still shy, but I am glad that she's becoming a happier little girl in front of groups. I am not sure if she will ever be anxious-free, but that's okay because that's her personality. This week, she was in THREE shows! She didn't quite act out the parts she was supposed to during both CBS and school programs. But, I am proud of her for trying!

On Wednesday, Olivia's pre-school class at Community Bible Study performed for all of the ladies. We are so grateful for CBS.

Thursday evening was the school's Christmas program. Grammy and Papa had just flown in from TX, so Olivia was super excited to perform! We missed the last five class days due to travel and snow days, so Olivia didn't get enough practice. In this video above, she did perform just a little bit. I edited out the parts where she was standing on the bench, messing with the bench pad, playing with a girl's halo behind her, and picking her nose, ha! I think the audience had some chuckles, since she was front and center of the angel chorus. 

The next morning, parents were invited to a "formal" observation and sit in on the entire class 45 minutes long. Olivia loves her ballet and tumbling class. This video is a little long, but I really enjoyed it since parents are only able to view the last 5-10 minutes of the last class of each month. 

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

I have to be honest. I love Christmas-time up here in New Jersey! I am so thankful for the super-cool memories we will make!

Santa came to visit the kids at Shop Rite. Callie cried and Olivia was terribly shy.

Trying to get the girls to pose in all of their Christmas outfits. Too bad we can't really wear them other times of the year.

Down the street from us is The Perfect Christmas Tree Farm. The owners have an old cottage decorated on the inside and outside with a gift shop and a special room for story time with Mrs. Claus. Olivia loved it, and wasn't so shy with the Missus. She read a story, had cookies and a little present for each child. So fun! This will definitely be an annual tradition while up in NJ.

Such a pretty flocked tree at the farm.

Click on the video above to watch Callie play Peekaboo.

On Tuesday, Dec 10th, schools were closed due to a forecast of 3-6 inches of snow with freezing rain. Ethan was supposed to drive down to Paulsboro NJ for a meeting. Luckily, he was able to work from home and play hookie with Olivia. Behind our house, there are two hills that all the kids in the neighborhood use to go sledding. It was a really fun first experience in snow for Olivia, but she needs real snow mittens. I stayed inside with Callie, and will need to get some snow wear to play outside next time.

Ready, set, go!

Little snow bunny

Hi ya!

At the end of the day.

House Tour

Click on the video above to see our NJ house. Nothing special, certainly not clean! We had the entire interior, front door and shutters painted back in October. 

November and Happy Birthday to Me

This past month, the girls, Ethan and I flew down to Houston to celebrate Stephanie and Tim's wedding. It was a really great time celebrating the couple. They are so special to us. The girls were great on the plane again, and enjoyed visiting with family. Didn't realize how much we missed Houston and great Texas food (BBQ and Mexican).  Since my camera and phone were stolen (boo), I don't have any pictures from our trip. But, here are a few I was able to capture with our other camera once we got back to NJ.

These pictures capture the essence of Crazy Callie.

Olivia still loves her dollhouse from Santa last year. 

And Callie loves kitchen utensils.

Ethan's sister Selena and her husband Blake were able to drive up from Pennsylvania to have Thanksgiving lunch with us. It was a great time! Ethan smoked a turkey breast (we just started using a smoker, and we LOVE it!) and I made the sides. The meal was glorious!

Our sweet girl said she is thankful for her room, mommy, daddy, Callie and her clothes.

Olivia's school had a Thanksgiving feast. I loved how simple it was. No one was dressed up in feathers or pilgrim outfits. There was no special craft. Just a hand full of mommies and church members who volunteered their time, donated food and cooked for the 36 kids and 7 staff members/teachers. We started off with a prayer and enjoyed the meal. 

Olivia loves pumpkin pie!

My birthday always sneaks up on everyone (in between Thanksgiving and Christmas), so it is typically a small affair. And I am okay with that. No need to spend a lot of money. I mean, that was an $8.00 cake and it was good! The day was great. Ethan had flowers and picked up Thai food take-out for dinner. The girls and I went to a Wegmans store in PA for the first time and it became a field trip! The store is big and has a dining area. At lunch there, I even ran into a lady who volunteers in the nursery at church. She and I connected right away!

On Monday, Olivia and I wrote a letter to Santa and we put it in our mailbox to send off to the North Pole. To my surprise yesterday, we received a letter from Santa to Olivia! It was great! Just one perk of small-town living....either the Postmaster or Courier took their time to put a HUGE HUGE smile on Olivia's face. No Elf on the Shelf for us...ever!!

Merry Christmas season!!

Next post, I'll give you a video tour of the house, since some of you have been asking.