the girls' school christmas program

I was saying to Nick how strange it would feel that we'd be in the audience without a squirmy Caroline in our laps... they would BOTH be up on stage this time! Famous. Last. Words. Caroline cried and cried when her class got up on stage, and finally a teacher brought her down and she sang the songs from my lap. We were so surprised! Caroline seems like the type who would enjoy the spotlight. Maybe she was tired and overwhelmed! ??

Kate VOLUNTEERED to be a townsperson. Shocker, huh? When the teacher told me she volunteered for a part, I was pretty sure she'd gotten Kate mixed up with someone else. I was SO proud of her for coming out of her shell and trying something new. She did very well, but she didn't like her costume. It wasn't quite up to her princess costume standards!

And here's a video from Nick's phone of the kids singing "Happy Birthday, Jesus." Such a sweet song!

'tis the season...

for Christmas cards...

And here's the image a little bigger. I love getting sweet sister shots! They're definitely hard to come by, and Daddy was a BIG help to snag this one.

for pictures with Santa... 

Kate held this pose the whole time, and Caroline was between sobs here.

and for Christmas programs...

Kate's class helped sing "Away in a Manger," "Joy to the World," and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas." The little ones were all thoroughly distracted by all that was happening on stage and watching the big screens, but they managed to squeeze in the lyrics here and there. :)

The picture on the right was when they told the kids to "catch a bubble" so they would be quiet. I loved Kate's little bubble face!

Caroline and I are off to Kate's "Happy Birthday, Jesus" Christmas party at school here in just a few minutes! This post could go on and on.... so many fun things to enjoy during the Christmas season!

back to school

Kate goes to preschool one day a week. She did great going in this morning... not a single tear! Here are a couple of quick snaps taken at the end of the day. You can tell she was tired! 

347/365: MDO Christmas Party

{MDO Christmas Party} We were supposed to make a craft of baby Jesus in the manger. But SOMEONE kept taking the sticks off the paper to tap out a drum beat.  :) *Photo credit to the dad sitting at our table.*

284/365: Kate's first day of MDO

{Kate's first day of MDO} Kate started a Mother's Day Out program today! We originally thought we would wait until next year to start her, but because we found a great program that offers a one day a week option, we decided to get her started now. We were thrilled that they had a spot for her! She did GREAT! When I dropped her off she even reached across the door to go to her teacher. And when I picked her up, her teacher reported, "You'd never have known it was her first day." Woo hoo! I wasn't sure how she was going to take to the whole "nap mat" thing, but they said she slept for about an hour. Impressive!

Kate with her teacher...

And her craft from today...