Stagefright

Marshall had his preschool Christmas program the other night.  He has been singing these songs around the house for weeks; he even performed some of them for my parents.  When it came down to it though, his mouth didn't move at all and he did all the actions very small.  He can be such a shy little guy.

Stagefright-Video 2

Stagefright -Video 1

Meeting Santa

A couple of weeks ago we had our church Christmas party.  Of course it included a visit from Santa.  Bridget followed Santa from the door, all the way up to the stage and was one of the first in line.  Unfortunately in all of the excitement a boy fell off the stage and cut his head open.  I immediately asked these two excellent boys to hold on to Bridget for me.  They were so darling with her and kept her safe during the wait in line. 

Cute Benson insisted that Bridget sit on Santa's lap with him.  I think it helped them both be a little more brave.  :)  

 

Marshall was one of the last kids to visit with Santa.  As you can tell, he was thrilled to be there.  He did work up the courage though to tell Santa that he would like a telescope for Christmas. 

Visit From Grandparents

Last week we were LUCKY enough, yes, luck is what it is, to have a visit from BOTH of my parents for seven days!  We have lived in Milwaukee for 5 1/2 years and never once have we had a visit from my parents at the same time without them bringing my younger siblings.  Every year we make the prediction that this will be our year, but finally 2012 brought us luck.  The night before they arrived I really was just waiting for a phone call letting me know that something horrible had happened and one or both of them would not be coming.  My prayers must have been heard because they both came, stayed as long as they were supposed to, and it was a grand seven days.  

Literally within minutes of arriving Marshall had claimed my mom and Bridget went for my dad.  My kids probably read more books the week they were here than they have in the last month! 

I think Bridget spent every night on my dad's lap reading books with him.  :)

We took a trip to the Milwaukee Central Library.  Gorgeous as always.  Bridget had the grandparents to herself as Marshall was in school. 

I love, love, love this picture.

The next morning we went to Jump Zone.  Bridget wowed my parents with her coordination and adventurous spirit. 

Grandma Laura and Marshall spent an afternoon making a gingerbread house.  Can't wait to eat it on December 26th.  :)

Such an imitator.  :)

A trip to Candy Cane Lane. 

A day at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Of course I had to capture a picture of this for Richard.

Some potential jewelry options. 

We celebrated Christmas early with my parents and exchanged gifts with each other.  We all agreed this was the highlight of the week.

A trip to Discovery World.  Marshall was beyond excited to take them all around the aquarium.

I actually worked up the nerve to pet this fish.  After about five times of attempting it I finally asked my dad to just hold my hand in the water.  I squirmed the entire time.  I'm a wuss.

Bridget is terrified of walking over these glass floors.  Grandpa Toney was the only one to get her to walk over them.  :)

Oh thanks Mom and Dad for such a fun and perfectly timed visit!  This is what the kids and I spent our afternoon doing after they left.  

Hair Accessories

Such a girl.  Headbands to bed.  Love her.

First Field Trip

Marshall had his first school field trip the week of Thanksgiving.  It was at the Betty Brinn Children's Museum.  He has been begging me to go there for a year and I have never given in because our free membership had expired and I am too cheap to pay for that place!  But, this field trip brought a reduced admission price and all of us could tag along.  We made a morning of it and had a grand time.

Can I just say how grateful I am for this little boy?!  Marshall ran around with this boy from his class for the last hour we were there.  He had Marshall doing things he has never been brave enough to do at that museum on his own.  I'm glad he has school friends.  :)

Thanksgiving

Better post about this before Christmas is here right?!

We had a delightful Thanksgiving, and I mean, delightful.  We all slept in, woke up to gorgeous weather, had waffles for breakfast, I went for a run, we went on a family walk, and then had a picnic on our front lawn!  A picnic.  In Wisconsin.  Outside.  On Thanksgiving.  

Definitely memorable.

Our afternoon was spent in naps, food preparation, football watching, and football playing.  That night we joined together with good Milwaukee friends for an amazing feast where I had the best stuffing ever.

The kids were relegated to the basement.  This helped to make our meal semi-relaxing.  :)

We surely have so much to be thankful for.  Our Thanksgiving Grateful Turkey is still decorating our front door; I have grown quite attached to it.

Some things that may not be seen on every thankful list:  Wii controller, Philly pillowpet, front loaders.  :)

Leake Funnies

Some funny things have been overheard in our house the last few weeks.  Here's a sampling...

Marshall:  asking how many more weeks until grandparents come to visit, we told him two weeks.  "Is this two?"  Holding up two fingers on his hand.  We said he was right, his response, "Ah!!!  I just hate this hand!"

Richard:  Richard does not get much love from either child on most mornings.  A few mornings ago Marshall woke up and was calling for me.  Richard went in to get him to bring him into bed with me, but Marshall would not have anything to do with Richard.  From my bed I heard Richard say, "I am the dad in this house and I want to be loved in the morning!"

Marshall:  On Thanksgiving Day no less, was throwing a tantrum after we turned off the Wii.  "No more kids in this family!"

Can't leave Bridget out!  Although she isn't talking in sentences, she still spices things up around here.  In the last few weeks she has climbed to the second drawer of her dresser (five drawers tall), jumped out of her crib, and gotten a comb stuck in her hair.

Bad Morning

The following picture perfectly describes how my morning went from 5:45-9:15. 

Banana bread gone terribly wrong.

At least the rest of the day went much better!

She Talks-Part Two

She Talks!

Bridget's vocabulary has made another leap!  Here are the videos to prove it. 

50 Weeks

We moved into our house 50 weeks ago.  It took 50 weeks for our bedroom to go from this

to this

We moved some things around, de-junked, and replaced our seven year old Walmart bedding.  Quite a nice makeover if I do say so myself.  Its not a masterpiece, but after living in this home for a year I've decided while I like a nice looking home, I don't really enjoy creating a nice looking home.  :)  I have neither the creativity or the patience.  But, I am loving this room!  Now I need to find some motivation to tackle the drapes in the living room.