Famous!

We don't get the paper, but at the library they do...and Abilehi let me know that Alegria and Odette were both in it today!  She kindly gave me the paper to keep.  Here are the scanned pictures:

Today was also preschool day!  Before using Alegria's white board again, I just had to get a picture of it...I had no idea if it was she or Cameron who drew the huge swirl, but it was an impressive watering hole for Alegria's jungle animals:

Today we learned the story of Saint "N"icholas, after which the children colored a picture of Saint "N"icholas with a "N"oodle beard.  The children love glue, so they had a fun time going crazy with it on their cardstock pictures!  I then spray-painted the noodles white and let them dry.  I wish I had gotten a picture of the finished products...they were pretty neat!

The shape of the week was a star, so for snack time, the children got to frost and decorate their own star sugar cookies.  They LOVED that!  And boy, was it a mess!  Haha!

One of the books that I had in the pile that Abilehi checked out for me from the library was called, "Draw Me A Star."  I ended up not using the book, but in case I did (the star drawing was great!), I had to make a small adjustment to one of the pages...for propriety's sake!

Once the children all left, I brought Odette out of her bedroom (she had NOT napped at all, but had been whining/talking to herself almost the entire time...luckily not loud enough to bother us...but I'm definitely going to have to think of something else for next time I teach preschool...it seems Odette has stopped taking a morning nap).

Odette was more than happy to finally be out of her crib and to be able to play:

Daddy came home early from work and got lots of hugs and kisses:

Alegria discovered swinging from a door:

Trampoline Time!!!

Time to settle down by reading some books...

And finally it was bedtime...

Good night!  :)

Christmas Night with the Ladies

As I was getting dinner ready, Alegria built herself a house under her little table that I'd left out in the kitchen since we still have preschool on Friday and will be using it again.  I can never get enough of her cute smile and infectious laughter when I "find" her!

In the meantime, Odette had fun emptying my tupperware cabinet, thinking that was funny and would make me laugh, too...I must admit...her smile makes me laugh...she's so cute!!!

As soon as the girls were eating and happy, I gave them kisses and headed off to church a little earlier than the 7 o'clock event start time so that Abilehi, Amanda, and I could do one more run-through of the song before the program.

After our song practice, I set up a few crafts that I had brought to display along with other ladies' crafts, and then took pictures of the set-up.  The activity committee did a great job!

I brought in my advent calendar, Odette's letter "O" frame, a patriotic tutu, and a few hairbows to display:

Yummy treats!

Extras for hot cocoa after the show!  Mmm!

What a beautiful Nativity set!

The program was just as beautiful as the decor.  There were two ladies reading poetry and scriptures about the birth of Jesus and in between readings, they had musical numbers...all were wonderful!  I wish I had had enough memory on my memory card to record them all!

Abilehi and I sang a Spanish Christmas carol called "Estrella de Luz:"

When the program was all over, I asked a friend to take a picture of Abilehi and me (I couldn't decide which of these was better, so I included both!):

It was a fun night!

Sleep well, everyone!

Ugly Christmas Sweater Party

It's preschool time again!  Before I put the letter, shape, and number of the week on Alegria's white board, I had to document the beautiful drawing that Daddy had made for her the other day...unfortunately, Alegria had already partially erased the elephant faces...I don't know why...maybe she was trying to kiss them since the elephant is her favorite animal...?

The living room all set up and ready to go:

Chloe was the first one to arrive.  She found a spot, sat down, and began putting together a puzzle.  When she finished, Alegria patted her head and told her she did a great job!  Lol!

Josh was out sick today, so once William arrived, we began. 

Working on their letter "N" work sheet:

Making a "N"ecklace out of "N"oodles:

The color of the week is orange, so they had oranges to eat, as well as nuts, since the letter of the week is "N:"

Once everyone was gone, Odette took a nap and Alegria colored in her room:

Daddy finally came home and the girls cuddled with him:

In the evening, we had a Hail and Farewell/Ugly Christmas Sweater Party to attend.  Because Odette was receiving her 3rd ACR Cup tonight, we all went.  However, because it was far away and there's a new Squadron Commander and Cameron wasn't sure whether he'd have to stay the whole time or not, we took two separate cars...he drove his truck and I drove myself and the girls in my car.

Well...we were almost at the venue, when Alegria all of a sudden told me, "Mommy, I need to throw up."  I happened to be on the phone at the time with Cameron discussing the route I was taking us (he was following behind) and he was telling me that he was afraid the GPS was taking us in the wrong direction...

Anyway.

Within the few seconds that I quickly hung up with him and pulled over, it was already too late...Alegria had thrown up all over herself and her seat...poor little girl!!!

Cameron had, of course, stopped as well, and we assessed the situation.  Alegria said she felt much better after throwing up and we cleaned up as best we could...and kept going.  We were literally two minutes away!!!

We got there and got the girls and went in.  Cameron said we'd only stay until Odette was awarded her cup and that then we'd all leave.  Now that Alegria had thrown up, he had a good excuse to steal away as well.

We sat down and waited for dinner to be served.  When it finally arrived, the girls did not want much of what was offered, except for the bread.  Thankfully I had brought goldfish and other snacks for them:

Alegria, Odette, and me, all dressed up Christmas-style!

When the Squadron Commander (SCO) stopped by our table to say hi, Cameron explained to him why he was wearing his Giants sweater...because the SCO is a Cowboys fan, so this particular sweater would be "ugly" to him!  And then they made a bet...that if the Cowboys won the game that following Sunday against the Giants, Cameron would have to wear the SCO's Cowboys jersey all day long the following day...and vice-versa!

Alegria and Daddy:

Cameron borrowed Alegria's hat to make his attire a little more festive:

What beautiful eyelashes!

What beautiful eyes!

 

Odette discovered some mint candies at the table, but didn't care much for them and instead kept holding them under her chin like this:

 

 

Finally the "formal" portion of the evening began.  Eventually they got to the part where they presented Odette with her cup, as well as a nice little card and a framed set of "Orders."  The "Orders" were pretty fun to read!

 

 

What's funny...and a little sad...is that by now, Odette is already 15 months old and barely getting these items...

Oh well.

After that, we got our coats and headed home.  Cameron actually drove the girls home and I drove his truck.  Even though I don't have the most sensitive nose, the smell of the vomit was making me sick...

Once home, we threw all of Alegria's clothes in the wash, cleaned her up some more, making sure to brush her teeth, tongue, and mouth extra long tonight, and then we got both girls in bed.

I sure hope Alegria is still feeling well tomorrow.  Whenever we'd ask her all throughout the evening, she kept saying she felt well and she truly was acting like herself, so...I don't know why she threw up...we'll see how she is in the morning.

Then it was time to clean the car and car seat up really well.  The car seat cover went in the wash with Alegria's clothes (and extra soap!) and then with a billion anti-bacterial wipes, I cleaned up the seat itself where some vomit had reached the plastic.  Cameron scrubbed the car floors really well and then we Febreezed it a LOT.

I've got my fingers crossed that we got it all and that the car will smell better in the morning.

Good night!