Snow Day

Today, Ryan had "Snow Day" at her preschool. They have been learning about snow for the entire month of January and today they finally got to find out what it is all about. The moms and dads (and Charlies) got to come and watch the festivities.

These two pictures above are Ryan and her classmates before they headed out to the snow mound. I got to watch the morning routine in Ryan's classroom. As a teacher, I was very excited to watch. They talked about the calendar which is a very popular elementary school activity so I was thrilled to observe my 2 year old showing off her academic skills. They counted all the way to 26 because today is January 26th. They told the teacher that "today is Friday, yesterday was Thursday, and tomorrow is Saturday". They sang good morning songs. They talked about the weather and about what they are learning in school. Ryan was one of the loudest in the group.
Proud mommy moment, I tell ya!

And then... they were off to play in the snow...

At first, Ryan was not so sure about the snow. Can you tell?

She finally warmed up. Yeh for Snow Day!

The Mad Hatter

Ryan had a little heart-to-heart with the Mad Hatter yesterday about her upcoming birthday party. After changing her mind about her birthday party theme three times (I wonder where she gets that from? Haha), she is getting excited again for her tea party. We even bought little "Alice" her very own dress to wear.

5 rides and 3 princesses made a great day

There hasn't been much to write about lately because the Grace family is like one giant rotating germ lately. We can't seem to get healthy. But finally, today, just in time for our big trip to Disneyland with Aunt Nancy and Cousin Katie, Ryan was feeling up to it. Yeh! It was a great day for Disneyland too. There was hardly anyone there. We went on 5 rides and never stood in line for more than about 2 minutes. Then we ventured over to the new Princess area. I don't know the exact name for it but it was fantastic. First, we colored and decorated crowns with stickers. Then, we sang and dance with Jasmine, Snow White, and Princess Aurora during a half hour show. And finally, we listened to Princess Aurora tell the story of Sleeping Beauty. It was a nice way to end our day.

Lots of picture opportunities with the "fakey" princesses that danced alongside of the "real" princesses. The line to meet the "real" princesses was much too long. No line for the "fakey" princesses. Guess which one we chose?

The girls had the entire dance floor to themselves before the show started. Watch them bust a move.

Our own little princesses. What could be better than this?

Our Pasadena Day Trip

On Wednesday, the girls and I packed up the car and headed out at 8:45 a.m. We stopped at the local doughnut shop so that we had goodies for our first stop and were on our way.

First stop: Gigi's work
We planned to surprise Gigi at her work. I truly think our plan worked. Ryan walked right into the front office and yelled, "Surprise!" Gigi was busy talking with some people but she suddenly noticed some familiar little people hanging around in her office. She was shocked and totally excited. She had fun showing off her grandchildren to all her coworkers and friends.

Stop #2: Kidspace
We met Ryan's best friend from preschool, Addy, at Kidspace by the Rose Bowl for a couple of hours. I have never been there before but it is great fun for the kids. And Ryan especially missed her friend. She hadn't seen her since they got out for winter vacation December 22.


Stop #3: The Houghtons
Finally, we stopped by Casey, Jim, and Godmommy Katie's house for lunch and playtime. Casey got my favorite, Fresh Gourmet, and made the girls PB&J (cut into quarters) with pretzels and apples (without the skin). Casey, you are too much. Thank you. We got to give one last farewell to Katie before she headed back to college and give Casey her long overdue Christmas present from her godson Steven. Even Aunt Ginny stopped by for a visit too. They blew bubbles and played with the big blue exercise ball. And, of course, with all this activity... I forgot to get out my camera. Again. Casey, this is the second time we have come to your house and I have forgotten to get out the camera for the blog. Shame on me. So sorry. But here is a picture from a previous visit to the Houghton's which was just as much fun...

The Brave One

So last week, Tuesday night to be exact, I took the girls to Chuck E. Cheese. Steve had come down with the stomach flu and needed a little quiet time in the house. I knew I was in for it. 2 little tots, 1 pizza, 2 and a half hours of screaming filled fun, too many people, too many tight corners to lose children, and 1 huge helping of anxiety = the brave one, me.

OR... is this the brave one for the night?

"Hmmm... what is this contraption up here? I might have to check this one out!"


"Oooohhhh ya, this is my cup of tea!"

"There's no time to get up and walk. I had better just crawl. I'll get there faster."

"Weeeeeeeee!!!"

Yes, I think Charlie wins this one for winning "Most Brave of the Night" award. She went down head first and never looked back. At the bottom of the slide, giggled a little, got up, and ran around to do it again. And again. And again.