A New Haircut

Autumn was insistent that she get a new haircut before school started. She wanted to go short. I begged her not to because her hair has been so cute lately. She insisted, so I gave in and scheduled the appointment.

Here she was before:

 After:

Autumn is thrilled with how it turned out. I'm a little sad, but she's adorable no matter what. To celebrate her new look, we went out for mommy/daughter Italian Ice. It was delicious. I'd call the day a success!

Preschool Valentine's and Fun with Friends

Nicky's always so happy in the mornings:

Autumn was really excited for her class Valentine's party. She was dressed and ready to go long before it was time for school. She looked like a little sweetheart.

 Treats for her class:

 And teachers:

 Autumn and McKenna showing off the V-day necklaces they made in class:

Her stash:

Her 'stache:

Her favorite thing was the little sticky hand:

Calvin has a little friend in his Kindergarten class named Brianna. She happens to be my cousin Tammy's daughter. I adore Tammy, and she lives 2 minutes away, so I have no idea why we didn't get together sooner. Today Brianna came over in the morning, they played video games, and ran around, and Calvin laughed more than I've ever heard him laugh with a friend. They were like peas and carrots.

When we went to the bus stop, they made me take lots of pictures and about a dozen videos of them jumping off this green thing. They thought all of it was HILARIOUS. I like her way better than a lot of the kids that come over to play. He seems to as well. 

Valentine's Date

 Cute girl, ready for school:

Although it's a few days early, my mom watched the kids so that Andy and I could have a Valentine's date.

We tried out a new Indian restaurant. We loved it. The food was amazing.

 

Rather than going out, we decided to go back home. We watched a movie and played Scrabble (I killed him).

After the movie, we went to pick up the kids. It was a fun date, and it's nice that after so many Valentine's Days together, we still enjoy each other' company.

All in a Day

Nicky is learning to pull himself up on things. We see his little face peeking out of all kinds of random places:

For Christmas, Andy gave me headphones so that we can watch tv after the kids are in bed without waking them. Autumn's favorite thing to do when Calvin is at school and Nicky is down for a nap, is to watch a show by herself. She generally requests popcorn and rootbeer, which we occasionally indulge. She thinks she's in heaven.

I also love that she is so good at playing on her own. She'll go outside for hours on end and is perfectly content to be in her own little world.

Calvin keeps drawing creepy pictures of Slender Man:

Autumn, The Perfect Party Guest

Autumn was invited to a party today by a girl from her preschool. She was very excited.

The party was at a gymnastics hall that's closed on Saturdays, so the birthday group had the place to themselves. There was a room set up with balloons and a cake, but most of the time was spent in a free-for-all on the gymnastic equipment. The mom said I could stay with her or leave. Autumn didn't seem to care, so I sat in the car and worked on my laptop. About half-way through the party, I went in to check on her.

I saw her having a fantastic time.

The birthday girl's mom ran up to me and said that Autumn had just fallen from the trampoline on her head. They kept checking on her, and she seemed fine, but they wanted me to know that she had hit really hard.

#1 Perfect Party Guest Tip:
Always take the attention away from the birthday kid by sustaining an injury that keeps the focus on you instead of them. (Calvin did this one yesterday!)

#2 Perfect Party Guest Tip:
Sit as close to the cake as you can possibly get. While the birthday girl's mom is cutting the cake, crowd in under her armpit, and SNEEZE all over that cake. Have snot all over your face so that they stop the cake cutting to clean you up, before proceeding to slice the now disgusting, germ infested cake.

 #3 Perfect Party Guest Tip:
Grab the biggest piece of cake you see (which is super easy because you're right there, in the personal bubble of the person cutting the cake), take two bites, and then drop it on the ground, food down, so that ice cream and cake are on the floor. Watch while the (not very bright) girl next to you tromps through your food, smearing it in a 3foot diameter around the table.

They said she was super sweet and they loved having her, but let's be honest, she was THAT kid for the party. I hope they invite her back though because she had so much fun. She was completely oblivious to all of the ways she made an impression at that party.