I didn't forget

Sorry 'bout it, I'm so way behind in posting our books and activities...sort of hodge-podge, but this is how our week went:

Dec 12:

read Mortimer's Christmas Manger {possibly my favorite so far} and made a gingerbread house with pink skittles {pink is Max' favorite color, if you didn't know}

Dec 13:
read both the 12 Days of Christmas (classic style) and Elmo's 12 Days of Christmas (we both liked Elmo's edition Waaaaay better).

and made up our own song that went something like this:
12 big block animals, 11 teething rings, 10 colors of playdoh, 9 girlie headbands, 8 pairs of socks, 7 colorful blocks, 6 church ties, 5 really yummy cookies, 4 stuffed animals, 3 Christmas movies, 2 playhouses and a baby Jesus in a manger!

we sang it a few times, then listened to the Destiny's Child edition...hee hee (where instead of 5 golden rings they say: " on the 5th day of Christmas, my baby gave ta me Quality T-I-M-E....sigh...cracks me up!)

Dec 14:

read Annabelles Wish

and went to the San Diego Zoo...where they have lots of deer, and things like it...and they really had a reindeer!

Dec 15:

Read Santa's Toy Shop

and picked out presents for our cousins Emma and Ashleigh...

can't tell what we got you guys!

Dec 16:

read A Christmas Dress for Ellen {makes me boob} and cut snowflakes out of Coffee Filters...Max did AWESOME with is scissors...which we haven't worked a ton with. {I only made 1...I helped max make 1, and he made 3 others...}

Dec 17:

read How the Grinch Stole Christmas

watched How the Grinch Stole Christmas {he loves that show}

and made Grinch Poop Cookies...mmm, doesn't that sound good? {green MnM's}

I added butterscotch chips...oh my...I ate waaaay too many...and now I need to go running tomorrow...well, everyday for the last 6 months, but especially tomorrow!

Dec 18:

read A Christmas Bell for Anya {makes me boob}

and went to Balboa Island to watch the Christmas Light Boat Parade...or rather, look at the lights around balboa {which are awesome} because getting there 1 hour and a half early to sit and look at water is not a good plan for a 3 year old, but the lights we did look at were awesome!

lights have nothing to do with this story...but we had to put it somewhere, and I couldn't think of anything related... then we went to a neighborhood closer to home and drove around and saw some awesome lights. I let Max sit in the front seat while we looked at all the fun lights, which he thought was stinkin awesome, but Ivy thought was the worst idea yet...she wanted her big brother back!

thanks for the tip, Kristy!

and that's the last week or so...holy crud, sorry I've been so behind. so unlike me, I know!

A Letter from Santa

So, I open the mailbox this afternoon to see how many Christmas cards that I get to look at today...{my favorite}

and I pulled one of these out of the slot: Are you kiddin'? How fun!

Max and I sent a letter to Santa, but I told him that because there are so many kids, he probably wouldn't get a letter back from him, so we needed to go see him to make sure he got our letter.

This one has postage on it and everything...I caught our mailman, Mark, but it wasn't him...how fun!

Max is asleep and I can't wait to open it!

maybe I'll post...we'll see, but cool anyways, huh?

Stockings

My Great Aunt Bette...{my Grandma's sister} who lives just down the street from us knit (knitted?? is that a word? whatever) everyone in her family a Christmas stocking...and then everyone in their families..and their families...and then there just got to be too many for her to keep up. So sad! My brother-in-law Jeff got the last one in our family. So that left me with my stocking that I LOVE, and then none to match. Luckily, Bette had a brother named Max...and we got his! (thanks, Norma) and then I covered another brother's name with stitching to make Jeff's pseudo stocking to match...but how was I going to come up with a matching one for Ivy??? Problem solved: I found a lady on Craigslist to knit one to match, and I'm thrilled with how it turned out. She did such a great job!

So, here's a little shout out to anyone of my cousins, or my mom's cousins...or their kids...or something. If you want some stockings to match your awesome ones that Bette made, let me know, and I'll give you her number! {my stocking says A. Joy...kind of fun, huh?}

some pictures

Just some random pictures from the weekend... making parking lots never gets old...especially monster truck parking lots.

(max asked me to take a picture of it.)
max is awesome at taking turns with Ivy with the tunnel...just a little impatient when she just sits in the tube for too long because it's so freaking rad.

Ivy tried two piggies in her hair today...max said she looked like Frank, from the movie Cars...she kinda did. I think I'm going to have to make two little nubbins instead of the crazy long hair that she's got going...we think she looked like cindy lou-hoo

crazy little kiddo...he's so cute, and he says the funniest things!

ps...I'm never going to be able to get a picture but Ivy can roll her tongue...you know like make it into a little burrito. It's hilarious. I'll try to get a pic, so stay tuned!

my rainy roots!

It is pouring in Southern California...POURING. There is a crazy big puddle...or lake, you might call it, right outside our door. The Pacific Ocean has situated itself right underneath my parking space, the garage is flooding...grrrrr...my good table is in there...and it's still comin'! Aside from worrying about my table, I love it! it feels like home. {good ole Woodinville, WA}

Anyways, I remember many a CC practices running intervals across a muddy soccer field in a downpour...many, many, many. So, while Ivy and I were watching Max play outside with his newly purchased Galloshes {from the safety of the front door} I kept hearing my awesome coach in the back of my mind yelling: "we love the muck!" while he slipped and skidded through the mud.

Max had so much fun playing in the rain...it was so cute to watch him. Fun how the simple things are the most amazing. Just wish I had me a pair of cute pink ones...or zebra! hmmm... we love the muck!...thanks for the inspiration Coach McClement!

Oh three, how I love thee...{and Dec 11}

So, age three and almost a half... the hardest so far. ohhhhh my gosh. can't even explain it, but I sure miss my sweet little boy, and I hope to get him back someday...really soon.

Anyway, Max and I took a trip to the store this morning to get some necessities for our book/activity...

pretty normal thing, Ivy was sleeping, Jeff was home, Max and I got in the car, went to Albertsons, chose the Green Truck-cart, went to go pick out some pink milk and molasses, Max asked for and was granted some gum, checked out and headed back to the car to go home. I opened up his pink milk for him to drink on the way home, and as he was drinking it, he said 'oooh, my gum!'...well, that just means, he dropped it, and it landed on his shoulder or somewhere that he couldn't see...but alas. It's not on his shirt, he's fiddling with it....in his hair. Soooo sad. He's needed a haircut for a while now, but we just haven't done it... Poor little guy is totally distraught about first of all, the fact that this demands he get his haircut instantly...which he HATES! second of all that he lost his gum {again}... sheesh. Umm, isn't it kind of funny? Can you see it? really, the shark fin of gum would have made me laugh...but I didn't really laugh, because I was too bugged about the pink milk that, in an effort to throw it at me in anger, was dumped all over the backseat of my car {mid-wind-up}. Seriously...no gum, no drinks in the car. are you kiddin'?

Love age three.

love it!

He was sooo sad...but it makes me laugh.

anyway, onto our book and activity...This book is hilarious!

The Gingerbread Pirates

and we made Grandma Ellsworth's Famous Gingerbread men...and don't worry,
we BOTH wore Pirate hats while doing them.
oh yes, WE did.
anybody want one...come over...i can't eat all of these myself.

Drive-Thru Nativity

I had never heard of anything like this until Tuesday, but my friends Autumn and Lauren told me about this...just a couple blocks from our apt, a church puts on a Drive-Thru nativity. We were the 5th people in line, so it went super fast. There were several stations, each with live actors and animals. you just drive up, listen to their vignette for a minute or so, and then drive to the next station. So awesome. They did such a great job, and it was fun to have Max watch a nativity instead of just reading about it in our books.
if you haven't gone, you totally have to go!!!

Dec 8, 9 & 10

Dec 10:

we read Jingle Bells, learned the song and made a jingle bell necklace...and then danced around the room jingling like crazy...

Dec 9:

We read a book that I LOVED when I was little: the Sweet Smell of Christmas. It has scratch and sniff things inside it...and they smell sooo good.

So, after we read the book, we made a little pot of the sweet smell of Christmas for our house. The Scentsy pot is off... We call this our little pot of Ann Painter, it smells amazing!

Dec 8:

we read Snowmen at Night...

...and had a California snowball fight with our marshmallow shooters... safety goggles and all.

Dec 7

another oldie book...The Cat that Climbed the Christmas Tree... then Max painted a tree using his hand prints...we'll decorate it later after it dries...

Dec 6

We read the REALLY old school... (like the inscription on the inside cover reads: to Dean, from Mother...meaning, it was given to Max's Grandpa when he was a little boy)...

The Happiest Christmas.

It was sooooo cute, about the animals helping Santa Claus. Then we walked down to Main St. with Lauren and her kids to watch the Parade and annual lighting of the Pier.

(Jillonnie, Lauren and their kids...Autumn's kids were there, too!)When we got to where Jillonnie was waiting for us...Marie and Doyle were sitting right next to them, and their daughter, Brook, who's a cheerleader for HB High School was dancing in the parade...how luck!!! so, they helped us with the two crazies...well, the one crazy, and we got to watch with them! We saw all sorts of these: They all had 'Santa's surfboards' on top.

Santa came by in an HB Fire Truck wearing his Hawaiian shirt...so fun!

we love California!

we lost Jillonnie and Lauren along the way (sorry guys) but we had a fun time! thanks for the fun idea!

Dec 5

We read the old school Frosty the Snowman, watched the movie...

and built a California Snowman...inside... with a Joann's craft kit.

Ivy liked it.

Dec 4

I've been slacking on my Christmas Book Advent...

Friday, we read the Polar Express (it's the 25th anniversary of the book)

and then we drove down to the irvine spectrum and took a ride on their 'polar express'. Max LOVED it... and we were the only ones on board!

Em-Aa-Ex

Do you notice anything wrong with this previously-in-perfect-condition book? Let me first say that generally, Max is fabulous with books. He is always very careful with them, and I can't think of ANY that he has ever torn or ruined...other than the normal wear and tear...seriously. So you can imagine my surprise when I see a mysterious flap on the floor. Autie: "gasp! Max, this was not a good choice, did you rip this flap out of a book?"
Max: "yeah."
Autie: "Show me where it goes so we can fix it..."
He opens the book to this page, and I stick the flap in so I can re-tape it...whatever...and close the book when I see two more flaps hiding under the chair.
Autie: "Are you kiddin' me? Max we don't ruin our books, that makes mommy sad! Why did you do that?"
Max: "Be-cauauauauause (if you've talked to Max in any length, you know how he says that word and it's hilarious} I wanted to spell em-aa-ex...."
enough said...I'm still bugged about the book, but that was so cute. ha, just thought I'd share.

Dec 3

Max unwrapped: The Longest Christmas List Ever {love this one!} and wrote a letter to Santa...he actually did write an M, an A and an X all by himself, just not in the spot where he was supposed to...so, I held his hand to write Santa and Max, but you can see the M with a million bumps int he middle of the page in purple...the A is hidden behind the envelope {sorry about it} and the X is in blue right above the real X. Good job writing, bub.

I transcribed exactly what he said he wanted, including the 'thank you'. I enjoy that. But I think that he got the doggy from the book, because that is what the little boy in the book wanted. ha! Hopefully he'll be happy when Santa drops his presents off!

Dec 1 & 2

Dec 1:

we read: Mickey Mouse goes Christmas Shopping

(heehee, Jeff's old school book, it was actually really cute)! and met our friends Melody and Corban to watch the parade at Disneyland...

{umm, they saved us awesome seats!!!}
Max was enthralled...and really sat on the curb and watched the whole thing...we didn't ride any rides...we went to watch the parade, and that's it...crazy, but so fun!I liked the gingerbread men...they all had completely flat heads and bodies...like they had been laying on a cookie sheet... It was such an awesome parade, gave me goose bumps, and all the princesses and their boyfriends were in it...sooo fun!Dec 2:
we read Humphrey's First Christmas... we got out our 'discovering michael' nativity and made sure we put a blanket on Jesus, just like Humphrey did...that book is Daaaaaaarling, if you haven't read it...

Dear Ivy, are you serious with that?

you're crackin' me up...seriously