More Valentine's Day Fun

Jocelyn is really big on making crafts lately, so I have been searching the internet and Pinterest for ideas of things to do with her. I found this idea on pinterest and we decorated more than one room of our house with Valentine's Day heart garland.

I lined the back of some scrapbook paper in Valentine's Day patterns and colors and Jocelyn and MeMe cut on the lines to make strips of paper. Then, then each strip was folded in half and stapled into heart shapes. After I punched holes into each heart, Jocelyn strung each onto a piece of pink yarn and we hung them from our dining room light, Jocelyn's ceiling fan in her room, and also in our living room. We even made one for MeMe to take home! It was a pretty fun activity and Jocelyn really enjoyed practicing her cutting skills!

For Jocelyn's Valentine's Day party at school we made some gluten free rice krispie treats, covered them in melted pink candy wafers (also gluten free), and sprinkled them with Valentine's Day sprinkles. We cut them into heart shapes, added a stick--because everything is more fun to eat on a stick--and then put them into little bags tied with heart ribbons. Jocelyn told me they were a big hit!

I love Valentine's Day. I find that I enjoy the "smaller" holidays more than the "big" ones. I think it's because we can do a few simple crafts and decorations, make a couple of treats, and it's perfect. There's not too much planning or preparation, which leads to less stress and a more enjoyable holiday! Todd would just look at me and say, "Bah humbug", but I just can't help the way I feel! I guess I should try harder to make the bigger holidays come with less stress--All I can do is promise to try!

Jocelyn's 1st School Valentines

I saw this idea in Family Fun Magazine .
I thought it was a really cute idea, and really wanted to try to do it for Jocelyn's Preschool valentines.She's getting so big, yet she is still smaller than a Tootsie Pop! ;-)

Reagan's 1st Haircut!

Today I gave Reagan her first haircut! It's awkward to keep letting the back of her hair grow since the front is so far from catching up. So, today I trimmed those crazy stray hairs that were making her little baby mullet look a little wild.

Those little pieces of hair in my hand are the first hair Reagan grew, and now they will live in a little envelope in her baby book.

Now she has a more put-together looking baby mullet! ;-)

Congratulations Reagan, on your very first haircut! You did an amazing job keeping your head still for mommy!

Messy Fun!

Jocelyn BEGGED and BEGGED to paint the cardboard playhouse that Santa brought for Christmas. After days of me trying to get her to settle for markers and crayons, I finally gave in. We moved the house to the basement (a much more paint-friendly environment than the carpeted living room)and I got out the paint.

They both enjoyed the experience immensely!

Reagan made a much bigger mess than Jocelyn did--especially on herself!
The really fun part for mommy came when it was time to clean up and I had to get the two paint-covered monkeys UPSTAIRS to the bathtub. We made it without covering the rest of the house (minus the bathtub) with paint. The girls were intrigued with the color the bath water turned and I was intrigued with how the "washable" paint stained their skin! After soaking and scrubbing, Reagan looked like she was covered head to toe in bluish bruises! Oh well, nothing a couple more baths won't take care of! The girls had fun painting their playhouse and that's all that matters!

Jocelyn's 4th Birthday Party!

On January 8th we celebrated Jocelyn's 4th birthday!

This year, Jocelyn wanted to have a dress-up party for her birthday. She was diligent and her desire was unchanging over many months, so I moved forward with the party plans. Her birthday was on a Sunday, so we got to celebrate with her friends and family on her actual birthday!

The party was WONDERFUL! Jocelyn picked out a Belle dress and she was truly the "Belle" of the ball. She looked like a real Princess! She was so excited for her party and to see all of her friends come all dressed up.

As her friends arrived, all the little girls (and one little boy)gathered together. They looked like a beautiful splash of every color of the rainbow. They were all excited and ready to party!

I created several different dress-up stations. One was for hair, where they got to pick out a colorful hair extension to pin in their hair. The next was Make-up, where they applied eyeshadow and lip gloss. Then there was a variety of jewlery available to chose from: Earrings, braceletes, rings, and necklaces. The last station was for their nails. Each girl was able to chose two different colors and paint their nails. All of their "goodies" could then be stored in their very own purse goody bag.

After getting all dolled up, the kids had a little bit of time to eat before it was time to read some stories, play some games, and do some movement exercises with Jocelyn's favorite Librarian, Miss Dolores. Miss Dolores really did a wonderful job. All of the children were actively engaged, interested and having a "ball" the entire time Miss Dolores entertained them!

Afterwards, it was Jocelyn's big moment! Cake time! The kids gathered around and everyone in attendance sang "Happy Birthday" to Jocelyn. Cake and ice cream was passed out, the kids got their sugar high, and then Jocelyn began opening presents! Jocelyn received so many nice gifts from everyone! It was like Christmas all over again. Jocelyn truly love each and every gift.

After this, the party concluded. The kids all seemed to be nice and ready to get home and take a long nap after so many festivities!

Birthday party #4...SUCCESS! Jocelyn even thanked me without being prompted. Now that will make any mother's heart melt and make all the stress of planning worth every second!

Happy 4th Birthday J-Bear!!! We love you!!!

Christmas!

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! We were especially lucky to have been able to spend it with my Mom and Dad, who up until recently could never travel to Pittsburgh during winter weather at Christmastime. This year, they only had to drive from CLEVELAND, so they were able to celebrate and join in all the festivities!

We spent Chritmas Eve at the Weaver's home. It was a great time with family, friends and yummy food! The girls (and Todd and I as well) really enjoy spending time with everyone so much this time of year.

We made it home before Santa landed in Pittsburgh, thank goodness! Just look at the beautiful display he left for the girls!

Jocelyn opening the #1 present on her wish list. Bakepops!

And I hear Reagan must take after me...she got this gift from my Aunt Beth (the clothes she is wearing). She had to put them on immediately.
And then, when they thought it was all over, Todd and I surprised the girls with their present from us! The best part of this gift was that I made a VERY lucky Craigslist find back in October!

It was a very fun Christmas!

Trip to See Santa

We took the girls to the mall to see Santa...it wasn't a great success. Reagan won't go anywhere near Santa, and Jocelyn didn't want to sit on his lap either! We did get a picture of Jocelyn sitting next to Santa in his chair, but compared to years past it was a disappointing picture. Not a huge deal for us, maybe next year we will skip out on the whole process altogether. We will have to see how Jocelyn feels about it. We did get a couple of cute pictures of the girls while we were there, though.

Ice Skating!

Todd took Jocelyn to Ice Castle for her very first time ice skating! Jocelyn was upset that there weren't any other people there, but had a great time with her daddy!

Gingerbread House Making

The Brentwood Library had a Gingerbread House workshop this year!

Reagan made one...(well, she ran around while Todd made it, but when the candy came out she was suddenly more interested).

...and Jocelyn made her first one all by herself!

The final product:
Reagan's

Jocelyn's

LOVE THEM!