Qipaos from China

Peter and I brought back qipaos for the girls from our trip to China. Here they are modeling them. Mom & Dad stayed with them while we were over there and they did great (i.e. everyone survived!)

Graduación de Kinder

Claudia is now a first grader! We went to her graduation ceremony which was mostly outside the classroom. Then we headed back in the classroom for snacks. Claudia's teacher started saying something in Spanish, but I didn't catch any of it. I looked at Claudia and she explained that we were going to go back outside to take a picture with all of the kids and then come back inside to have the snacks. So fun to see how she was able to translate that for me!

Happy Easter!

After the big birthday party day on Saturday, there was just enough time and energy for the Easter Bunny to hide some eggs. Of course, Claudia was awake earlier than during the week and was ready to go. The girls stayed in their jammies, slipped on shoes and coats and headed out to hunt for eggs. Later in the day Claudia wanted me to hide them so they could find them again. Then Juliet wanted to hide them. She hid them all in one place, right next to her sandbox.

Happy Birthday Miss Bean!

Today was Claudia's 6th birthday! With the Toy Story theme for the birthday party, we decided to make Alien cupcakes to take into her classroom. I frosted the cupcakes, Claudia added the marshmallow eyes and the sour apple licorice antenna and then I added the dots for the eyes and their mouths. It was lots of fun!

Here's Claudia in her classroom. She helped me pass out the cupcakes so she was one of the last ones finished. I'm surprised they don't have a rule against chocolate cupcakes in the classroom. I would be ok with a no treats rule too. :-)

Uno, dos, tres, quatro, cinco, seis, siete...

Claudia received a "Math Whiz" award today for mastering counting to 100 by 1s, 2s, 5s, & 10s in Spanish. She's now saying that she wants to be a mathematician when she grows up. That should make her Uncle David and cousin Jillian happy!

And not to be outdone in the cuteness department, this was Juliet saying "Cheeeez" while Peter was taking a picture of Claudia and her award. Juliet should get the 2 year old math whiz award as I've heard her count to 7 in Spanish.

Lights, camera, action!

Claudia was Edward in her classroom's play "Edward and the Pirates". I still haven't found out how she was chosen - whether she was selected or volunteered herself. I was a little surprised because she can be shy in certain situations. But she was excited and she already had her lines memorized by the time she brought them home for practice.

I couldn't take any photos while she was on stage (no flash allowed) so I'll see what I can get from the dvd that we'll buy from the school. She spends the first little bit of the play on stage by herself, making remarks after the narrator's comments. She was so confident and so adorable! She said she really enjoyed performing. We'll see what this turns into. :-)

She was excited to get her rose.

I decided to bring Juliet to the play as I thought she would enjoy it. She liked watching Claudia in her Christmas show (and she kept pointing and saying "There's Claudia."). But this time, she wasn't so interested. Luckily I had crackers to keep her and Snoopy entertained and another lap to keep her comfy.

Mom and Dad are still visiting so they got to enjoy the show as well. Juliet insisted on walking from the car since she finds any way she can to assert her independence.

The tooth fairy makes his/her (?) first visit!

Today when we were in the car just about to start a drive to a birthday party for one of Juliet's buddies, Claudia said "I lost it, it just came out!" But I didn't know what she was talking about until I looked back at her and saw the blood on her lip. She hadn't mentioned that she had a loose tooth recently, so I was surprised. As her friends and classmates have been losing their teeth she had been asking when she was going to start losing hers "because that's a sign you're growing up". I tried to convince her there were other signs - growing out of your shoes, your pants, needing to get your long hair cut. I don't think she really bought it. She was excited to go to bed to see what would await her in the morning (a toy story stationary set), and told both of us right before bed that she was growing up. Boy, is she ever!

Gung Hay Fat Choy

The girls got new Chinese outfits from Gralu and Grandpa, just in time for the new year. Poh Poh and Gong Gong gave us all red packets. The girls and I spent our monies at the One Spot at Target.

I think I need to take them to smiling school. :-)

Woohoo! Look who's 2!

Yay! This little two year old is very proud of herself. She's very TWO. She's trying to assert her independence, so I've quickly learned the quickest way from point A to point B is to ask her if she needs help. Most times she'll say "yeah". But if you attempt to do something for her without asking that simple question... well, you just wish you had.

Mom & Dad made it in last night so they were here to celebrate again. We headed out to Aqui for dinner - one of the few places we can keep both girls entertained with chips, and one of us can indulge in a margarita. Then we were home, opening gifts, eating cake, and then the wild and craziness ensued. I'm amazed they both settled down so quickly even if it was past their bedtimes. Juliet hasn't figured out the "just tear it till you get most of the paper off" method. So Claudia did most of the unwrapping. I think that suited Claudia just fine because you could tell she couldn't stand just sitting there watching.

I made the woodstock cake that I had wanted for last year. Not exactly how I had it in my head, as I was wanting something on the caliber of Claudia's 1st bday Snoopy cake. Boy that was awesome. But I did my best given the tools I had (nothing but a knife, really).

The letters got scraped as I took it out of the fridge last night, unfortunately. Maybe I'll see if Michael's has a piping class. That could be fun!

Here's Juliet blowing out her candles (with a little help). And true to form, Claudia tries to come in and steal the scene.

Better late than never

I finally had a chance to make Juliet's stocking! Last year we used a generic one; this year I had the stocking sewn and her name on it, but didn't get a chance to put the rest together until today. It's a little simpler than I had originally intended but I think simple and finished is better than not! I took a shot with Claudia's stocking as well. From this shot it does look a little bit like Woodstock's in a boat (ha!) but it's his nest. Hmm...with the tree there, it really could be a sailboat. :-)

Are you having fun?

We headed back out to do some sledding today, but for some reason it was a no sledding day. Peter and Claudia were in a snowball fight and Juliet was laughing at them. Juliet was wishy washy about the cold. Hence the pacifier - and she resembles Maggie on the Simpsons. :-)

Here's a clip of Claudia working on her french fries and pizza wedges. She had lots of fun. Today was pretty cold with it snowing and blowing.

Dashing through the snow...

After opening gifts, letting the girls play with some new toys, skyping with the Spain/Gerkens and Juliet's nap, we headed outside to do some sledding. It was fairly late in the afternoon by the time we were all suited up and out at the sledding area and it was just starting to snow and the wind was picking up. We borrowed a sled from the resort and headed out. Here was the best run of Peter and the girls; I was trying to figure out the best place to stand so that I could capture them on video well, as well as keep out of their path and any other sledders. The mic really caught the wind; it wasn't as bad as it sounds. It was getting cold though. And Peter forgot his gloves so he was wearing mine and my hands were getting really cold trying to video them. Brrr!! To get the video to fit on the blog I had to trim more than half of it. The first 30 seconds was spent trying to get Claudia to move back further. And I need to learn not to walk when I'm videoing; that's why it gets so jumpy at times...

In fact, Claudia and Peter stayed out at least another 30 minutes. Juliet and I headed inside and went to the kids craft zone. And while I hate seeing any photos or videos of Juliet with her Fifi, we've learned that it's the best way to get her to stay out in the cold. And boy was it getting cold!

Merry Christmas!

The Snow Bunny & The Snow Crab

Claudia spent the morning at ski school. She learned her french fries and pizza slices and skied the mini-hill they had. She really enjoyed it! She's heading back for more on Sunday.

Juliet, however, was our little snow crab. She was terribly terribly unhappy outside. We all went to drop off Claudia at ski school and then headed outside to check out the school area. Juliet was crying lots and we were fighting her to keep her mittens on. At one point she was lying on the ground crying. All I could do was laugh (ok, not the whole time, but she's SO dramatic (some might call it rotten)). I'm sure less sleep, the altitude and the cold (as well as almost being 2) had a lot to do with it.

Peter skied in the morning and picked up Claudia and then he headed back to the slopes. After Juliet finished napping, we headed down to a big room where they have kids crafts set up. So we strung some bead garlands and made some paper ornaments to decorate the 4 ft tree we borrowed from a friend to bring up here. I forgot to bring lights or any other decorations, so that worked out perfect. As well as kept us entertained in the warmth!

Ho Ho Ho

Much like last year, Juliet didn't enjoy the trip to see Santa. But given she is more mobile now than she was this time last year, it was a little struggle. Peter and I weren't supposed to be in the picture, but the closer Peter got to Santa the more Juliet tried to crawl over his shoulder! So I jumped in and click!

This is my 100th post!!!

snowman

For Claudia's holiday party, I volunteered to organize the snowman activity. I had to assemble one to make sure it was doable. Here is one of the models:

I switched to the pipe cleaner earmuffs after Gina got the idea from something online. I was originally trying the felt hat, but that would have required A LOT of cutting and gluing felt. Not so fun/easy!

The wine bottle is to show scale; it's not what I was drinking at the time I was making it. I don't do red.

Ready for your close up, Frosty?

Season's Greetings!

Claudia and I worked on the gingerbread house this weekend. I tried a new way to decorate - instead of icing the roof I sprinkled powdered sugar on it. It worked well, and it simplified the process! Juliet wasn't around to help. Claudia is messy enough, I can't imagine what kind of mess Juliet would have made! In fact, after I took the picture, I turned my back and Juliet tried to pick off something from the roof. When I turned around she was smearing powdered sugar all over the table. I guess that's what happens when you put a toddler 6 inches away from a gingerbread house!!

To infinity and BEYOND!!

Toy Story has been ever present since Claudia started watching the movies about 6 months ago. She wanted to be Buzz Lightyear for Halloween and thought Juliet would make a cute alien. I started working on the costumes about 6 weeks ago, but the bulk of the work was done in the last week. It didn't help that I was in Vegas for 5 days leading up to Halloween. I got help from Peter's mom on Claudia's hood and Juliet's hat. I think both costumes turned out pretty good.

Juliet wouldn't let us put on the hat before we went out. She's also supposed to have a purple collar that she kept tugging off. But as soon as we stepped outside and headed down the sidewalk, I slipped it on and she barely noticed. That was good since I think the hat makes the costume, and Peter's mom and I had spent a few hours trying to figure out the best way to make the hat, including the ears, and be something that she could wear without too many problems.

Trick or treating was really fun this year. Last year Juliet wasn't walking so this year it was fun to see her trailing behind Claudia, on a mission. She carried her own bag and even when it seemed like she was about to start dragging it, she wouldn't let anyone take it away from her! And while I forgot to teach her to say "The Claw", she was really good at saying "thank you".

With my trip to Vegas, I didn't get to do anything for Peter and me. I bought some material for us to go as Woody and Jesse, but didn't find extra time. We did go out with our cowboy hats though.

Space Ranger Buzz was very excited to go trick or treating!

The little Alien spent the entire time holding her bag on her shoulder, her arm way up in the air so it wouldn't fall off. Too funny!

Smoooooooooches!

This would have been funnier if it had been in video mode to watch these 2 sit down and hug and kiss each other while Peter was trying to get a photo. For some reason, Claudia is into the headlock hug. Juliet doesn't seem to mind too much.

Primer día entero de escuela

(First full day of school)

The first day of school was yesterday, but it was short (1.5 hours) and the parents attended. It was a little overwhelming with the rush of people on campus. Claudia got upset at one point, saying that she missed her friends. We knew that no one from her preschool would be in her class, though one of her friends is in another classroom. I think the swarm of people surprised her. Today, the first full day of school, was a lot better: she made some friends quickly and was quick to tell Peter goodbye. Tonight she talked about what a great day she had; that she had fun. She also sang and gestured a new song she learned. It's all in Spanish but I was able to decipher what she was singing and Peter verified. She wasn't nearly as exhausted as I expected her to be, but I'm sure that will come soon enough.

Juliet was wondering where her sister was when she and I got in the car this morning as well as when I picked her up. In the car she pointed at Claudia's carseat and threw her hands out saying her version of "where's sister". She did the same when I picked her up today, and was looking around the play yard for her. Too sweet. It's a big adjustment for all of us, but fun times lay ahead!

Summer fun!

We headed to the lake to spend a few days with my sister and her fam. Claudia had a chance to kneeboard. She had lots of fun. I kneeboarded as well. It's hard to sit that way for very long, but I had fun trying. I also gave water skiing a shot, though I couldn't even pull myself out of the water. Maybe next time. Peter hadn't skied for many years, but he got up on his second try. Not bad! He did slip on a banana a couple times though!

We left Juliet with my folks; I didn't think she would enjoy being in the water too much. Good thing. On the second day (the only full day we were there) Claudia was in the water from 10am to 5pm with just a few breaks for lunch and snacks. She enjoyed jumping off the dock and this picture is of Peter throwing her off the dock. That only happened once. She ended up landing on her face. :-/

This is the rare picture of the four of us, and definitely a rare picture of the two of them where Claudia's not making a goofy face!! We had brunch with all the Spains at Alvamar on Sunday and were able to have our own private room which proved to be a great thing. We closed off both doors and let the girls run around. Juliet tried to make a break for it every time the door opened. Whew! She keeps us on our toes!