Snow Day

It's snowing outside. We didn't have school today. But Mommy and Daddy went to work, so we went to Kyle's house. I was upset that Mommy wouldn't stay home and play with us! She told me if I was a good girl at Kyle's today, we'd go outside and play in the snow.

When we came home, Kaitlyn had made a big snowman in her front yard. I told Mommy I wanted to make one too. So we put on our snow gear and went outside. But we couldn't make snowballs because there was a sheet of ice on top of the snow! We tried to make a little snowman, but it just feel apart. So we just threw snowballs at each other. It was fun!

I'm doing my own exercises

Mommy has been getting into shape lately. She goes to Zumba, Zumba, Zumba. Tonight, I went to my own exercise class -- gymanstics!

I was so excited to start my class tonight. Yesterday, Mommy took us to Target to my uniform for class. Lilly got one too -- even though she's too little to take the class yet. She just wants to be like me!

Maverick Gymanstics was so exciting. There were a lot of big kids doing flips and all kinds of neat things in the gym. There were about 5 little girls in my class with me and we took turns doing our exercises.

First, we warmed up on the floor. Then we tried to do cartwheels. Then we jumped on this big trampoline. That was fun. And then we walked on a small board called a balance beam. Then we hung from a bar and then did a flip on it. That was really fun too. Jumping was my favorite!

Lilly, Granny, Daddy and Mommy watched me from the gallery. They were so proud of me when I finished. I can't wait for next week.

We're happy to pretend to be ballerinas with our new WVU tutu! We're staying busy with school and coloring in the evenings. Every night we color before we go to bed. It's our favorite pasttime.
In school, I (Lillly) am learning nursery rhymes. I learned today that Jack and Jill bumped their head and broke their crown.

Belle made me cry at school today because she took the ball from me in the gym. I've been crying quite a bit lately. Mostly, I just miss Mommy.

Little artists

Today, we tried our "magical" paint set from Grandpa and Grandma. We love it! It's so cool how the paintbrush changes to the color of the paint when you hold it above the jar. We're getting a lot of use out of all our art supplies -- from our Magna Doodles to our crayons -- every day. Pretty much, all we want to do is paint the world a pretty color! I even gave up an opportunity to play with Spike the other night so I could color!

Color in these dreary times

Belle's artwork is a colorful treat in these dreary, cold days. She's so proud of all of her drawings/paintings. We are enjoying all of their art supplies they received for Christmas. Every night, we either color, paint or trace letters. It's the first activity they want to do in the morning and the last thing on their minds at night.

Belle is doing very well tracing her letters and learning how to spell words. We're working on the word C-A-T.

Lilly is doing very well going potty more and more every day, with fewer and fewer accidents.

We're so proud of both of our big girls.

They are thrilled to be back in school and their normal routine. Belle's been so excited about school she's having a hard time sleeping at night.

There are so many wonderful changes taking place in our lives this year. The girls are learning something new every day. Daddy and I are starting new jobs this year. Daddy goes to work for Union Mission in two weeks. I will go to work for the Kanawha County Public Library at the end of February. Exciting opportunities (and a some big challenges) await us in 2009. We appreciate your prayers and support as we make these transitions.

Happy New Year

We're praying for good health and happiness in 2009. We suffered a lot of illnesses, broken bones and injuries in 2008. But our overall health is good, according to our recent visit with Dr. Rubin.

I (Belle) am now 40 3/4 inches tall and weigh 37 pounds.

Lilly is 36 inches tall and weighs 28 pounds. Mommy is waiting for her to break the 30-pound mark so she can move up to a booster seat!

We hope you had a wonderful holiday season and wish you health and happiness in the New Year.