Jingle and Charlie Brown

Reece and Harper got to open some gifts early yesterday.  Harper got Jingle, it is a puppy with a book to go with it.  When you read certain parts of the book, Jingle will bark or "sing".  It is a pretty neat gift, she loves her new puppy!

Reece got a Charlie Brown book that has the words already recorded so he can "read" it himself.  He is pretty sure that the voice that is reading to him is Buddy our elf!

Reece

Reece asked me for more pancakes this morning.  I told him to put his plate on the stove and I would get him some more.  He asked "what is the stove, the thing under the microwave"? I had to laugh, I must use the microwave a little more than the stove!

Gingerbread House

We, mainly Reece and I, just made a gingerbread house.  It turned out pretty good!  Reece had fun putting it together, Harper had fun eating the gumdrops and sprees!

Buddy's Gift

Last night Reece and Harper were coloring and cutting paper into different shapes.  Reece brought a piece of paper to me that he said looked like jeans.  He said they could be for Buddy.  I told him to go and make another piece like the first and I would tape them together.  We put the pants together and left them on the table so that Buddy could put them on before he went to see Santa.

Buddy wearing his new jeans!

Buddy left them a thank you note.

Reece was so excited to see Buddy wearing the jeans that he had made.  He was also excited that Buddy said he was still on the nice list!

Message from Santa

Reece and Harper each received a message from Santa tonight (thank you Portable North Pole).  It was pretty funny to see their reactions to what Santa was saying.  Reece was for sure that Santa would say he was on the naughty list!  He was very surprised and excited that Santa said he was on the nice list, so was Harper.  

Snowman cookies....kind of

Harper and I decided that we were going to make Snowman cookies today.  The idea seemed pretty easy, dip nutter butters in almond bark and then make a face and buttons from candy. We had chocolate chips and mini m & m's to choose from.  After attempting the first one, I realized that they were not going to look like snowmen.  I decided to just put the candy on and forget the design part.  They are going to taste the same no matter what!

Buddy

Our elf on the shelf's name is Buddy.  He came to our house this week, Reece and Harper were pretty excited to see him.  Reece made sure that his Christmas list was right in front of Buddy, so that he could see everything he wanted and pass the info on to Santa.  Buddy always just sits around and watches what is going on.  I think that this year he may have to try some of the things on this 101 ideas list.

 

Wee Ha!!

Harper had a field trip to Texas Roadhouse today.  She came home with this cowgirl hat, she's been saying "wee ha"!!

New Addiction

I have recently started using Pinterest...that could easily be a new addiction. So much stuff to look at, I can see myself wasting lots of time.

Scary Stuff

Reece and Harper had a lot of fun in their costumes.  They did NOT care for daddy's costume!!  

Chili or Cold?

I told Harper that we were having chili for supper, she was really excited to eat it.  I put some in a bowl and gave it to her. She kept asking where her "cold" was?? I couldn't figure out what she was talking about, and then I though about it.  Chili and cold are the same aren't they?!?  She decided that she didn't want to eat it, so I poured it out.  She just came in and asked if I poured out her cold!

Night Game

Clint and I went to the Hawkeye game last night.  It was the Spirit Game and we (all the fans) performed card stunts that turned out really cool.  We had a good time hanging out with friends 

and family that we don't get to see that often. 

 It was a great day!

1st card stunt during national anthem.  

2nd card stunt after national anthem. 

 

view from our seats, black and gold striped stadium.
we are in the black section!

marching band forming the tigerhawk

Over 30

I just received an email that said welcome to over 30...that sounds old!!  Thanks Brandy!

The only thing worse...

than cleaning poop out of Harper's underwear is cleaning it out of the bathtub...GROSS!

(She is now down to 0 pom poms)

Bribery??

Today I started a reward system for Reece and Harper.  We will see if it works, usually they are excited about this kind of thing for a few days then are over it.  I bought some little fluffy pom poms, they can earn one by doing things on our list.  They each have a small container that they decorated with their favorite stickers. When their container is full, they will get to pick a prize.
Our list is... To get 1 pom pom:
*Eat Dinner
      -whine/cry during dinner= 1 pom pom taken away
*Use Listening Ears
      -No listening ears or talking back= 1 pom pom taken away
*Pick up toys when done playing with them
*Bring bowls, cups and plates to the sink when done eating
*Throw away your garbage...juice boxes
*Harper using the potty

So far, Harper has 2 pom poms and Reece has 0.  She went potty and ate dinner, Reece whined and about threw up eating dinner.

Bird Expert

Reece is learning about birds this week at school.  He came home last night and told me about peacocks and blue jays, today he told me all about owls.  He is so smart!

Harper's Day!

Today is Harper's 3rd birthday.  She took cupcakes to daycare today to share with her friends.  She wanted to have hamburgers for supper, but settled for peanut butter and jelly!

a few weeks old

1 year old (can't get the picture to turn)

2 years

a few months ago

Harper's Birthday Party

We celebrated Harper's 3rd birthday on Sunday.

Go Hawkeyes!

Reece and Harper in their Hawkeye gear before the first game!!  Clint and I went to the game on Saturday, it was awful.  We walked in the rain to the game and sat thru the first half in the rain, we left before halftime. 

New Rooms!!

Our addition/remodel is very close to being finished!!

Harper loves her new bed!  She thinks that she can have a sleepover now,  I don't think so!

Reece's new room

New Family Room

No More Diapers?!?

I think that we will soon be a diaper free household!! Harper decided on Sunday that she did not want to wear diapers anymore, and she has only had a few accidents in the last couple days. I hope that she is completely potty trained by this weekend!

Vacation!

We spent a few days in the Ozarks with my family.  It was so much fun!  The kids loved swimming, feeding the ducks, fish and turtles and going on their first boat ride.

feeding the fish, turtles and ducks

Reece mastered the backfloat!

No fear! He did "cannonballs" all day!

Too cool!

Our Fun Day

Today, Reece and Harper had their dentist appointments.  I told them their reward for being good would be a trip to the Children's Museum.  They both did GREAT at the dentist!  Then we had a fun day at the museum and stopped for ice cream on the way home.

Remodel: Update

Our home remodel is almost over!

Back of house, there is now a window in the spot where the siding is missing.

Family Room, window hole.

Harper's new room!

Reece's new room!

Smurfs

Reece is really into the Smurfs right now.  Nana took him to Build a Bear this weekend to get one, he named him Franky!