What's Christmasy about Aliens?

There is a park in a neighboring city that has a huge light display during the holidays. It has become an annual tradition to drive through the park and see the various lights showing trains, ice skaters, Rudolph, elves, Santa, etc.:

They added some new displays this year - of aliens and space ships. As we drove by, Jia asked, "What's Christmasy about aliens?" Good question. It was hilarious. Then, we drove on to view the big pirate display filled with cannonballs, skeletons, pirates with swords and the like. They attempted to evoke holiday spirit by adding a big red bow around the anchor. It was too funny! In any event, we all had a good time.

Pictures from Thanksgiving

We had such a great day! We didn't end up taking too many pictures, but there are a few to share:

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have so much to be thankful for: our family, our jobs, our warm home...the list goes on and on. At dinner each night we discuss why are are thankful. Jia recently said, "I'm thankful because everything in my life is perfect, except for time-outs and Willa's behavior at school pick-up."

She later said, "Willa is the best sister ever. I don't think I'd ever want another one to join our family!"

At dinner, Willa usually says, "I'm thankful for this nice, nice dinner, and this nice, nice glass of milk, and this nice, nice family, and this nice, nice chair..." and she looks around the room and names everything she likes. It's so cute!

Also, every day since her birthday, she has come up to me and said, "Thank you so much for my presents. I really love them." I love how sweet she is.

Jia came home from school this week and wrote that she was thankful for:

A house
Mom and Dad
My sister
Friends
That I can read
That I can write
That I like my room
Life

What a great list! Happy Thanksgiving!

Monkeys, Shoes and School Pictures

Our two little monkeys went to see Curious George Live today. We were given free tickets and the girls had a blast!

And Jia and I did this yesterday. What is it?


A shoe-tying class at Nordstrom! After learning how to tie shoes, Jia was given a certificate, sticker, practice shoe with a lace, an easy reminder story on how to tie, lip gloss and a huge cookie! I'm amazed how well it worked. She's been tying bows all day today!


Lastly, I had to share the girls' school pictures. I never have high hopes for them, so I was ecstatic with how well these turned out!

I was so impressed that the photographers got the girls to smile naturally. Yay for cute pictures!

Also, today is the anniversary of Willa's referral! Three years ago! Wow!!!

Willa's Birthday Celebration

...went on and on!

We gave Willa her big present on the weekend before her birthday so she could play with it all day (as her birthday was on a school day).

She had asked for it and was so excited!



On her birthday itself, I volunteered in her class at school. Her teacher made her a sweet birthday crown.


That night, my parents stopped by.



There was some dressing-up as usual!



We had cupcakes that night:

The following weekend, we had a family party for her.



Happy Party Girl!

Welcome Winter!

A well-timed snowfall is a glorious thing. It fell on Friday night, so Saturday was spent doing this:

It was a wet, heavy snow perfect for building snowmen:

And for eating!


Fort making too!

The Bee is Three!

Our Willa Bee is three! How can she be so old? She's our baby! How can she now be this bright, bubbly little chatterbox?

She has such a huge personality. She really lives up to her Bee nickname. Willa is always animated and almost perpetually cheerful. (Except when she's mad and then we all know it!) She is very empathetic and constantly tries to help others in need.

At her recent school conference, we heard nothing but excellent things about her. How lucky we are. Her teacher said that although she's the youngest in the class, she is the most adept at navigating social situations. And she's a smarty too. She knows all her letters and is working hard at reading. (Yes, this post is all about how awesome Willa is.)

She is also quite skilled at her job of being a little sister, in every sense. She knows exactly how to push Jia's buttons, but spends much more time in rampant laughter with her.

Jia came out of her quiet time the other day and showed me a tribute she wrote to Willa for her birthday. On the first page, she wrote, "Happy berthday to you, happy berthday to you, happy berthday dear Willa, happy berthday to you." Then she drew pictures of Willa's three favorite things: a princess, a fairy and a baby with the letters P, F and B on them.

On the next page, she wrote the alphabet (because Willa loves pointing out letters) and then wrote "pikcher time" (picture time) and drew a huge birthday cake, a cupcake with the number 3 on it, lots of stars, a heart, a flower, and tons of xoxoxoxo's.

On a final page, she wrote, "I love you Willa" five times.

It was the sweetest thing I've ever seen in my whole life.

I can't think of a more fitting birthday present. Happy Birthday to the Bee!