Park Place

The season wouldn't be complete without a little bit of hot chocolate and iceskating!

Once again we bundled everyone up and headed to the rink. This is our third year of doing this and I have really seen a difference with the two older girls.

It clicked right away for this chick and she was whizzing by everyone for most of the night. Not even hanging on to the sides this year!

We went on a weekend evening so it was a lot more packed compared to when we go during the week. Margaret was a little bit more cautious. She liked having a hand from her daddy.

Walter did great too! Although he spent most of his time holding onto the rail he was more independent about it than I thought he would be. Unlike the girls, he was actually into falling. When he would fall he would stand up and give me this grin... silly boys!

Next time I think I might make him wear his helmet!

Little Miss C got to hang out with me on the sidelines this year. She was very concerned where her "Daddy" was at all times and could hardly take her eyes off of him. The entire time that everyone skated she was glued to the sidelines watching everyone go round. It was almost as if she was taking mental notes of what to do next year when she got out on the ice.

We ended our night with ice cream for the kiddos (brrrr) and a latte for mom!

Hope you are all finding time to fit in your Holiday traditions!!!

Baked with Love!

Started our baking early this year...

we have got lots of helpers to get the job done!

Getting a little goofy as the night wore on.

Trying to split up the baking a bit this year. Hoping it won't be so overwhelming! Usually I try to do something new each year but this year I think I am sticking to the basics!

Happy Baking to All!

Troupe

Isabella has been working hard this fall in her Troupe dance class. This was a step up from her dance lessons that she has taken since she was three. Last spring she got up the nerve to try out and she got in:) This class introduces Jazz to the Tap and Ballet. It also is preparing them for competition.

She celebrated her last class of this session with a Nutcracker Party with the girls.

Melts my heart to see her loving to dance!!!

Very proud of you bug, keep working hard!

Meet Charlie!

Meet Charlie.

He is a jolly ole' elf with a lot of spunk!

So I fell into the "Elf on a Shelf" trap.

I had heard about this last year but didn't think much about it. This year he has seemed to have exploded because he is everywhere and everyone has him.

He fell from the sky and landed right on our porch. When the kids noticed him out in the cold they immediately begged for us to keep him. Of course I couldn't resist this cute little guy and I caved. He is now, offically, the Zimmerman elf. The children named him "Charlie"! Throughout the day he watches to make sure that my children are behaving. By night he sneeks out and takes flight to visit Santa and let him know if they have been naughty or nice. Each morning he is in a new spot and he is not to be touched or his magic will be lost.

This has been great fun for my kids each morning to find "Charlie". He has even gotten them to do things around here on the first time asked. Every time Walter misbehaves and I remind him of Charlie and he walks right up to him and apologizes.

I have decided that I really like this little elf. Even if I have woken up several mornings in a panic to get downstairs to move him before they awake, he is so worth it!

Ho Ho Ho

As I look at this picture of our family with Santa, I kind of feel bad for making this my children's "Santa" experience this year. I mean really Santa, move the hair out of your face so we can see both eyes, and does he look younger in the face than Kyle and I? I think he does, how will I explain that one?

Shame on me for being so critical of Santa! He'll probably leave me a box of rocks now. I really shouldn't complain, my kids were really into him. They told him exactly what they wanted for Christmas, all except for Caroline. She loved looking at him, just didn't want him to touch her or have to touch him herself. Throughout the party she constantly walked right close to him to wave, then would turn to run. No tears this year so that was a plus:)
We took the kids to our church's annual children's Christmas party. It's so much fun for them with crafts, carnival games, face painting, and balloon making.
We look forward to this event every year and I am so thankful that my children never tire of it. It is a great way for us to get into the Christmas spirit!

Business up front...Party in the back

Caroline pulled into Sheer Madness last week to get her first hair trim!

The mullet is offically gone! Not that I have anything against people with mullets, just not on my baby girl. Kyle has been telling me for quite some time that she needed to get rid of the mullet. I resisted thinking the front would somehow catch up on its own. Plus, she is my baby. In my mind I thought maybe if I never get her hair cut she will remain a baby to me forever...right?
Okay, well too many jokes about the mullet got to me and I rushed right into Sheer Madness for this cute little bob...
She did great with no tears and loved getting to drive the orange sportscar.

Mom did great too, no tears, watching the last of her babies get their first hair cut:)

That's it, won't get to do that again!

Another reminder to appreciate each and every moment with my children, no matter how hard that is at times, they grow up way too fast!

Turkey Cake

I will never forget the Thanksgiving night that I went into labor with my Margaret Mary.

We had both sets of families over that year because we knew she would be coming soon. After spending the day in the kitchen and eatting a huge meal I had it in my mind that I was going to walk that baby right out of me. I made my mom walk several miles with me, then Kyle's mom walked a couple more miles.

Once home, nothing.

I waited a bit and then went out and did several laps around the cul-de-sac.

Again no progress.

Frustrated, and barely able to move at this point, I gave up. I sat down to watch Grey's Anatomy at 8:00 p.m. that night and boom, my contractions started! By 8:00 a.m. I got to meet my Margaret Mary:)

I have teased her all month leading up to her big day that since it was on actual Thanksgiving this year we would be having turkey cake, turkey decorations, turkey crafts, and heck we would probably all just dress up like turkeys! Of course she thought this was hysterical but then whispered in my ear "really mom?" I think I actually had her a little worried:)

It was a great day that she got to spend with family. I think I spent too much time in the kitchen because this is the only picture that I got and it was from the morning. Kyle took the cake shots but they were too blurry to post, and no it was not a turkey cake:)

Turkey Stroll 5K 2011

Beautiful day for a run! We took the kids out of the stroller and let them run across the finish line! Loved getting to do this, hope to do it every year!