The Morales Family

Thursday, December 8, 2011

Sunday, December 4, 2011

Yule Slide!

It's that time again for our annual trip down the Yule Slide at the Children's Museum. This year, Leah and Adam went by themselves

and I took Miss Emma.

I think she liked it!

The Children's Museum never disappoints, whether we stay from open to close or only for a few hours.

We went to the ward Christmas party at the church right after the museum, and I think the party was louder than the museum! We Mormons sure do know how to have fun!

It snowed last week, signaling the start of the long, cold, gray winter. That means more inside toys come out to play. Leah and Adam have been loving the corn box that I pulled out for them the other day.

Leah thinks the corn box is fun, though not quite as magical as the sand box at her preschool.

Adam finds the corn box so fascinating, he woke up at 4:00 IN THE MORNING, went downstairs, turned the lights on, pulled it (and the brown sugar) out and started playing with it before coming back upstairs to give Emma a blanket he had brought up with him. He started hoisting it into her bassinet, and that's when I woke up and realized what I'd just slept through.

Heaven help me when I have teenagers.

Sweet Sleeping Butterfly Baby

She just looked too cozy to move over to her "baskinet".

Haul Out The Holly

Despite warnings to myself last year, we pulled the Christmas tree out the two days after Thanksgiving. This year it makes more sense, as we will only have a few weeks to enjoy it before we head west for the holidays. And the kids knew- the minute Thanksgiving was over, they were ready to move onto Christmas. I told them I needed a chance to digest my turkey before I could decorate for Christmas, but finally- finally!- on Saturday, we pulled everything out.

And, of course, it was magical and fun, because everything about Christmas is magical and fun. Adam got to hang the star this year (I think I'm going to have to start keeping track of this privilege), and the kids had a great time sorting through the ornaments and listening to the stories that go along with our favorites.

We like to collect ornaments in place of traditional souvenirs to remember our journeys throughout the year. This year we added a Washington Monument ornament and an ornament for Emma's first Christmas.

We also added a beautiful snowflake I received from a visiting teaching friend, a nativity ornament from my sister's trip to Mexico, and a tiny Christmas tree decorate with jewelry from my Grandma Gardner's jewelry box. It's always fun to look back on the ornaments we've added in past years, too- whether it's the pizza guy from Chicago or the snowman from one of our first trips to Colorado when we were dating, the seahorse from the aquarium or the tiny Pinocchio from Jason's trip to Italy- each one has a great memory to go with it.

And after the tree was all set up and decorated (with no broken ornaments this year- impressive!) we enjoyed another favorite tradition- drinking hot chocolate and enjoying our hard work by the light of the tree.

And of course someone knocked over their mug 2.5 seconds after we took the picture... I think that may be part of the tradition! No biggie, though. That's what the blanket was for.

And I finally finished my Christmas tree skirt- started 16 months ago- and was able to put it under the Christmas tree. It was my first "real" quilting project, and I'll be honest, it might be my last, at least for a while.

Welcome Christmastime again!

First Preschool Program

We were delighted to attend Leah's first preschool program a few weeks back for Thanksgiving. She had been singing the songs at the top of her lungs and doing the motions with full gusto at home. We couldn't wait to see the action live with her whole class.

Of course, Leah is an observer. Always has been. She likes to check things out and know what is going on around her before she is willing to join in. She had fun with the program, and joined in with the singing... and shouting.

But most of all, she loved finding her way back to our family for apple cider and cookies afterward. And what a treat to get to visit with one of her beloved teachers, Miss Dee.