Christmas 2013

We had an amazing Christmas at home this year. I love that Santa has gotten to come to our house 2 years in a row! Here are the kids finding their gifts from the big guy on Christmas morning-

Layla worked hard all December on her Santa advent calendar. She was SO excited to put the red nose on him for Christmas day. 

Then it was time to open gifts. 

After lunch we decided to take the kids outside and play in the snow. Jack loves to zoom around on the sled and L loves to make snow angels and play "treasure" in the snow. 

What a GREAT day!

A couple days after we decided to visit the Santa house here in town. L was NOT into the big guy this year and J could have cared less, so we decided not to wait in line when Santa was actually there. But we have to get our annual picture in the chair! The kids were too busy looking at all the trains to care about my camera:

Here are some more pictures of the house-

We also decided it would be fun to go bowling while Grandma and Grandpa were here! This was L's second time bowling and she really enjoyed it. This was J's first time and he really didn't care for it...he wanted to crawl around and see everything else.

What a great few weeks it has been. I felt like I did a great job of getting pictures until I realized I didn't get one of Gma and Gpa Barton with the kids!!! UGH! My New Year's resolution (at least one of them...) is to be better with PICTURES!

Layla's 4th Birthday

Can't believe our baby girl turned 4 a few days ago. She requested a unicorn birthday party this year complete with rainbow cupcakes and balloons. And of course, that's what the birthday princess got-

Layla and her friends had so much fun decorating their own unicorn horns.

Grandma Barton even helped Jack do one!

 

Layla had to share all of her photo books and special ornaments with Miss Carrie. 

Here we are playing pin the horn on the unicorn. The kids loved it!

Layla was so excited to do her cake and candle that she didn't want to sit still for a good picture.

She acted a little shy again this year but was all for it for the most part. This was the first year she actually blew out her own candle. I have a feeling our services will no longer be needed when it is time to make a wish.

Of course we had sprinkles on our ice cream! And L just ate the frosting.

Here is most of the gang. We are so thankful for these great kids and their families! Layla is one lucky girl to have all these BFFs! PS- you can tell how much fun she had by how frizzy her hair is! LOL

We tried to get another picture with the birthday girl but the dogs would NOT leave us alone. Another photo opportunity ruined by Oscar and Moose. At least we got a good smile out of L. :)

She had a lot of fun opening gifts again this year. Some of her favs include the lip stick and chocolate candy!

Moose forgot to buy her a present so she got a hug.

And Daddy gave the bday girl an extra hug too.

Layla had such a great time at her party! After gifts we headed off to her favorite restaurant- Olive Garden, where she ate "1,000 breadsticks", 3 spaghetti noodles and 6 pieces of chocolate.

Thank you for all the messages, gifts and fun to everyone!! I can't wait to see how she grows this year...who knows what kind of theme she'll come up with for 5! ;o)

Layla's Preschool Bday Party and Holiday Open House

Layla got to celebrate her birthday at school Thursday. It was the last day of school before winter break and a VERY busy day. She woke up that morning to a BIG surprise...Grandma and Grandpa Rosco are here!! We kept their trip a secret...her face was priceless when she woke up with Grandma by the bed.

After a super quick breakfast we were off to preschool. Her teachers had everything ready for the birthday girl-

She was so proud to wear her birthday hat all day!

Here she is hard at work before circle time.

This picture. There are just no words.

She got to be the special helper for the day and feed the fish, help her teacher during circle time (with the calendar, weather and days of the week).

Then it was time for show and tell. She brought her black bear-

Her "chickens book"-

Her "Oscar Robot"-

And 3 felt carrots. LOL

The teacher let her pick out a special book from the book bin (she picked a Clifford book).

Then she got to share with the class some fun Layla facts- It is kind of hard to read in the picture but she told us her birthday was December 29th, she has 1 brother, her pet's names are Oscar and Moose, she likes chocolate ice cream and her favorite TV show is Rapunzel.

Then it was snack time. The class sang her happy birthday (she was obviously thrilled) and then we ate unicorn cookies that Grandma Rosco made.

THEN Santa came to visit the class!! He was so much fun and even read the kids his favorite story.

Layla wasn't too sure about it...she just kept staring.

She didn't want to talk to him or sit on his lap, but she was more than willing to take a candy treat bag from him.

That night we had her preschool holiday open house. It was fun to watch her play with her friends, see all the holiday crafts they've been working hard on this month AND see them sing a few holiday songs.

I knew Layla wasn't into the songs. She sings them at home but acts like it is TOTALLY lame to sing in front of other people. Not many of the kids really got into it. The absolute BEST part was that she was sitting there grimacing, saw us and winked. It was SO sweet. She did like to play the instruments though.

And she was the only one to take a bow at the end. LOL

We are so thankful for Layla's wonderful teachers and her friends at preschool. She has a great group of kids and really loves going. She's grown so much since she started and I can't wait to see how she grows this next semester. :)