Christmas Morning

Christmas morning Paige game running in at 8:30ish telling me it was time for Santa's presents.  (gotta love it when they are too young to get up early for Christmas.)  We went down stairs and she was so excited.  More than anything she liked opening the presents (then quickly setting it aside for the next one,) and she loved the candy in the stocking. It was a fun morning.

Here she is with her presents.  

I made us matching flannel pants.  

Santa's Cookies

Here are the cookies we decorated for Santa.  We did them Christmas Eve morning so that I could bathe her right after (hence the bed-head and PJs).  I think there is something magical in the way little kids slop on frosting and add tons of sprinkles.  My girl loves her sprinkles.

Our Pretty House

With the help from the home teachers we were able to illuminate our house this Christmas season.  I love it!!!

Building an Igloo

We were blasted with snow today.  Paige was more than content to stay inside but I made her come out and play.  We made an igloo.  Or at least tried.  I think the blocks needed to be thicker to get them to come together to form the roof but it turned out to make a good  little fort and kept us out playing for a good hour or so.

Paige knocked a "window" in one of the walls.
Peek a boo!

Christmas Dress

And visions of sugar plums danced in her head.....

A quick photo shoot before church today.  She was so cute in her Santa dress. 

Calm & Quiet

We have a neighbor who is a nurse and often works long shifts.  On her long days she asks us to check in on her puppies, Jack & Molly (remember the dog from the Halloween pictures...that's Molly)  Usually this is a welcome distraction and Paige and the puppies run each other to exhaustion.  They can be loud and hyper puppies, especially if they've been locked in the basement for 9-10 hours.  So today we go over and the puppies seem especially hyper and yappy.  And Paige was just not into them.  So I'm trying to keep Paige happy and help the puppies get some energy out, when Paige decides to pull some toys out.  She gets a slinky and turns to me and says, "I want to play with something calm and quiet."  It just killed me.  Way to be subtle Paige.  

Preschool Performance

Here are some pictures from Paige's Preschool Christmas program.  Okay, really it was  just singing a couple songs and then we made gingerbread houses.  But it was cute.  For some reason Paige has taken calling Rudolf (the red-nose reindeer) "Pink Nose of the Reindeer."  I'm not sure where it came from but it makes me laugh, and then she laughs and it is a good time by all.  Another funny Paige-ism for the season is calling snickerdoodle cookies "Cinnamon-doodles." 

Little Gym Show

Tonight was the last night for Paige's gym class, so they had their show night.  Paige loves going to little gym and adores her teachers.  In the show she got timid, but usually she is very confident in doing her skills in class.  She is great at listening and following directions.  

Gingerbread House

Today's project was the gingerbread house.  Paige was way into it until it was actually time to put it all together.  Then she was off in her own world.  Her favorite part was the lollipop trees. 

Paige Skipping

Paige is an excellent skipper.  I was told it is unusual for 3 year olds to skip, so I thought I would document this for her.  

Zoo Lights

I'm trying to get out and do some of these holiday events with Paige.  Tonight we went to Zoo Lights.  The zoo was all decked out in lights. It was fun.  Here are a couple of pictures from the outing.

Christmas Card Shoot

Photography has slowed down enough that I found time to do our Christmas card.  I originally wanted to do snow pictures but we haven't had snow, so I went to plan B.  I think it turned out very cute.  Paige was freezing but mostly cooperative.  The Baby Jesus and manger was made by my Aunt Pam.  It is been a wonderful addition to our nativity collection.  

Getting Ready For Christmas

We stayed home from church today because it looked like Paige had an eye infection (now I think it is just a sty.)  So to fill the day we did all the Christmas decorating.  I usually do it before we go to Thanksgiving that way when we get home it is done.  Paige was so cute.  She kept oohing and aahing at every ornament.  It was fun to tell her the stories behind each one.  And remember with her the trips we've gone on.  I love this age.  She is so into the magic of Christmas.  It is going to be a great December. 

This is Paige putting the star on the tree.  Not quite tall enough.

Can't Fall Behind

I realized that it has been a couple weeks since I updated.  Sorry.  We've been caught up in our every day lives.  I've been teaching craft classes on Saturdays for our enrichment groups.  Its been fun and I've almost have all my Christmas gifts made.  Go me!  Fall has finally come and I had to deal with the daunting task of raking up my yard.  So far I'm at 18 bags, and will probably have to do more next week.  But you know, you get some cute photos when you rake leaves with a 3 year old.  Paige's enthusiasm for raking wore out after about  15 minutes.  Then she was just interested in knowing if the piles were deep enough to jump in.  So, fun was had by all.  

Happy Halloween

Here is Miss Paige's halloween portraits.  She is Dorothy.  I don't think she has a clue who Dorothy is, but the costume fits and she likes the ruby slippers.  She is way excited about Halloween this year because she gets "new candy."  We are going to go to the Witch Hunt at Gardner Village and then the Halloween games & trick-0r-treat the downtown stores, then our ward is having a neighborhood trunk-or-treat/potluck.  It should be a full day.  

Happy Haunts!

Jack O Lantern Shirt

I thought I would share our Halloween project from yesterday.  I got the idea from the Family Fun magazine.  this was my first attempt at tie-dyin.  I think it turned out so cute.  And is an excellent way to use up those stained white tee-shirt.

Happy Halloween!

First Snow of the Season

We woke up to a few inches of snow this morning.  I was okay with it because I knew it would melt before the end of the day and I knew that Paige would be so excited.  When she finally woke up (9:00am) she was so excited.  We put her snow clothes over here PJs and headed outside.  We ate the snow.

Made snow angels.
And even a snowman.  
It was a fun morning, but I'm glad it melted and that I have a few weeks until we get snow that stays.

BYU Paige

As many of you know Bart was a HUGE BYU fan.  The past couple years it has been too hard for me to get too involve with watching BYU football.  But this year it called to me.  I realized that I attended or worked every home BYU game from 1993-2005.  So it has become a part of me.  Paige and I have been "borrowing" TV from neighbors, friends and family to watch the games.  So far, we've been able to watch all the games.  I realized that Paige didn't have a BYU shirt and that Bart would  not be okay with that.  So I quickly went out to get her one.  Here are some cute pictures of her.  Still being a BYU fan. 

Whenever I tell Paige "touchdown" she touches the floor.  It thought it was cute. 

September Pictures

I promise these pictures were taken in September.  This past week has just had its own issues and I haven't had time to process them.  We are enduring (I don't think I can say enjoying) an extended summer.  The temps are still in the high 80s and low 90s.  Ugh!  I'm ready for fall.  Paige was a trooper to do these pictures.  We had a friend along to help and she did a great job at getting Paige to smile while I played with the camera.  

Cascade Springs

Well, it is the almost the end of the month, so we ventured out to do our August photo shoot.  I originally bought this dress for our annual photo shoot on the Outer Banks (NC), but I cancelled that trip.  So I decided to she how it would look in a mountain setting.  We drove to Cascade Springs.  I had never been there before, but heard it was a beautiful area.  We weren't disappointed.  Paige was relatively cooperative for this shoot, she even let me do her hair. So here is the final result.  I hope you enjoy. 

I know this is from the back, but she looked so tall, I thought I would include it. 

I love how pensive she looks in this one.  And the reflection in the water.

Look at this little girl posing.  This is what I get when I say, "Don't look at the camera and don't smile."

Here are the Paige looks I love.