Hannah looses her first tooth!

Hannah lost her first tooth the day after we returned from spending Christmas in Ohio, she says when biting into candy but the way I recall she was eating a pear and then said "look, my tooth came out".  She had been saying it was wiggly for about a week, and she was very happy that it was finally out and she could put it under her pillow for the tooth fairy.  In the morning, she awoke to $2!  We thought the tooth fairy was very generous, though Joseph informed us he has friends who have received $5, so really that's no big deal. :)

Hannah and Leah Scenes

In the cheer leading video Hannah is in the front row on the right in a white skirt bouncing all around, and Leah is center left in the second row.  For the holiday performances at school, Hannah is in a black dress in the back row on the right singing very loudly, and Leah is in a green dress in the back row on the left also singing quite enthusiastically.

Merry Christmas!

We went skating at red arrow downtown for the first time this season....we wondered if it would be too warm but there was still ice and it was perfect!  And as part of decorating for the holidays this year Jay set up some of our lionel trains and tracks, and Joseph built several houses and cars to go around it (I used to do that when I was a kid!).  The kids were also surprised to see Santa all over town this year, first at the school pancake breakfast (which we planned) and then also at Discovery World and our favorite bakery and pizzeria, Cranky Al's!  (p.s. they have a red velvet donut that is to die for.  Hannah agrees with me on this. ) We are still eagerly awaiting some snow....but enjoying what winter activity we can for now.  Will it be a white Christmas?????  We shall see!

Happy Chanukah!

The kids are enjoying Chanukah celebrations and the non stop giftapalooza that occurs for them this time of year.  Dreidel games have been quite popular at our house, though interestingly Joseph did not think it would be fair if everyone got to keep the money (quarters, dimes, nickels and pennies) they won at the end (not because for example it was my money, but because one kid might win more money than another kid!)  It seems Joseph will never be a gambler, or would just never want anyone else to win more than him. :)

Lil Cheerleaders

Leah and Hannah performed as Lil Cheerleaders to "Fireflies" at the Tosa West Boys Basketball game Friday night.  (In case the song title doesn't ring a bell, "I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly.  It's hard to say that I'd rather stay awake when I'm asleep 'Cause everything is never as it seems..)  Hannah literally jumped right in as soon as we arrived for cheer practice, and Leah had to find her in the crowd of little kids and cheerleaders.  Leah only took about 10min to get just as into it as Hannah was, and Leah did very crisp traditional cheerleader movements as she learned the routine whereas Hannah bopped along and shook her hips like it was a hip hop dance routine.  Jay and I both laughed out loud at Hannah's performance, how Leah sang the Kate Perry song out loud as the older girls performed, and both girls lit up with the hugest smiles when they finally spotted me, Jay and Joseph in the stands clapping them on.  It was a fun night....but oh what we're in for with these girls!!!!

Oh Snow Where Did You Go?

We got snow just before Thanksgiving, and though it disappeared in Milwaukee pretty quickly it stuck around in Winona and the kids got to go sledding every day over Thanksgiving break.  We are anxiously awaiting it's return to our neighborhood (yes that's right, I said it.)  The small hill across from our house is one of our favorite (and most convenient) play spots during the winter and I am really looking forward to sending the kids over there one of these weekends when they get "bored" in our house that has literally hundreds of indoor options but none that appeal to anyone.  We moved all of our arts and crafts up to the attic and created a new play area that helped us get through last weekend (and fulfilled Jay's year long wish of no longer having to look at all the stuff in our dining room), and my fingers are crossed for snow this weekend, though seems there's a low chance of that being that it's forecasted to be 40 and mostly sunny.  HMPH! (and yes, I am aware that this is cursing us to in fact get snow dumped on us at some later point, probably when we're driving to Illinois or Ohio, but if I type that then it probably won't happen that way.  I'm all for a white Christmas....just not while we're driving across states please!)