bribery

dan and i recently succumb to a very blatant form of bribery...and so far it has been one of the most successful things we have done as parents! since allison was about three months old she has sucked her thumb. while it was super cute when she was young...the older she gets the less cute it is. she has been wanting to get her ears pierced...so we made a deal. if she would stop sucking her thumb she could get her ears pierced.  lucky for her...and us...her thumb got kind of raw this winter since it has been so dry and cold. so we took full advantage of the situation and bandaged that thing up so she couldn't suck it. that worked for a couple of days and then we put some of the nasty tasting thumb sucking/nail biting stuff on it. she still continued to not suck her thumb! after about two weeks of not sucking her thumb we took her to get her ears pierced. 

she was kind of nervous and afraid that it would hurt but she was super brave. we went to a place where they do both ears at the same time so that it only hurts once. she picked out some cute little flower earrings and before she knew it it was done!

ready to go waiting on daddy's lap!

wait...you're going to do what?

ok...i guess...as long as it will look pretty...

ouch!

so brave! that wasn't so bad. she didn't even cry!

such a proud little girl. she got her ears pierced and hasn't gone back to sucking her thumb once! what a big girl...and such smart parents to capitalize on the situation!

awards ceremony

at the end of every quarter logan's school has an awards ceremony. the kids get a certificate for completing all the academic goals for the previous semester. 

he is such a great student and the report from his teacher couldn't be better. here is what she has to say about him, "logan has grown so much this semester! he takes his work seriously and makes sure he is done and cleaned up before going to play or do other optional activities. his reading has significantly improved. logan has confidence when he reads now and tries (successfully) to sound out new and unfamiliar words. he is an active participant during math journal time and is always using his manners and raising his hand. logan is a wonderful student and i am very lucky to have him in my class!"

we are so proud of you logan and all your hard work! way to go!

more family pictures 2012

in december we went to phoenix where my sister's friend took some family pictures for us. we weren't able to be there when everyone else was, so don't look to closely...but our little family is photoshopped in.

dance

allison has been taking a dance class at the YMCA. i think she enjoys it although i'm not sure how entertaining it is for her. it is a young college age girl that teaches it and while super cute she is kind of awkward with little kids. anyway....it's relatively cheap and flexible so for right now it works great! here are some pictures of her all dressed up ready for class.

by the way....she poses herself :)

jesus wants me for a sunbeam

logan and allison have new primary classes this year! 

allison is now a big sunbeam. lucky for her dan is her teacher...maybe not so lucky for him! haha....i'm sure it will take some getting use to but it will all work out in the end. 

logan is now in CTR 5. wow! he is getting so big! i hear he is a great kid in class...which is always nice to hear as a parent. we are so proud of the young boy he is growing into!

build-a-bear

the kids got build-a-bear gift cards from granno this year. so off we went to the mall to create some new friends.

here is logan pushing on the pedal to fill up his bear. he picked out a camouflage bear which is very fitting for him.

here is allison being shy about stuffing her bear....sigh....

logan volunteered to step in and help her. what a good big brother!

they were super into combing their bear's hair and making them look all pretty.

allison affectionately named her bear "cutie bear." i love how both the kids picked out patterned bears.

 

and finally logan, with "army man bear."

thank you so much to granno for the gift cards! they had so much fun and now have a special bear to remind them of her!

christmas 2012

christmas eve

 the kids filled out their letters to santa and left him some cookies and milk...and don't forget the carrots for his reindeer!

 santa had come and put all the presents under the tree. i'd say we got a pretty good haul this year! the stockings were hung and the kids were sleeping away in their beds by then.

christmas day

christmas morning we got up and opened presents. the kids were so excited to see what santa had brought them!

 logan's favorite was a remote control helicopter.

 logan also got a skateboard which came in at a close second.

 allison's favorite was a remote control my little pony car.

then we had some quality snuggling time. it was nice to stay home and have a quiet christmas with our little family. later in the day we went to dan's parents house to have a gift exchange and christmas dinner.