Christmas Baking

Lame excuse #1 for why the blog has been lacking: We've been doing so much holiday baking (and eating) around the Erickson house.

Margot enjoys some home made whipped cream Soren whipped up.

My merry Christmas elf carefully puts a chocolate in each pretzel.

Gingerbread house time. As you can see Elsie had a great time. No-smile Margot had fun too, but decided to pull her grouchy face for the picture.

We might just have a professional baker on our hands.

Margot spent most of her baking time using the dough like play-do. Yes, she was in a headband stage during December.

Cookie decorating with Grandma and Grandpa G., Gabe and Stella. I'm not kidding when these cookies looked too good to eat (aka cookies stuffed with frosting and sprinkles)

Tiny Dancer

Elsie had her first dance recital tonight. Her class of fourteen 4 and 5-year-olds did two dances in front of hundreds of people! I was SOOO impressed by my little lady getting out there and showing her moves. It was one of those happy-tears types of night. Oh, this little one of mine is growing up and it is so much fun to watch it happen. As you will see from Margot in this picture, little sister was not about to be out-shown by her big sister. Margot wore this incredibly random princess dress and necklace to Elsie's concert. She also spent about an hour dancing on the sidelines and doing her best to imitate each and every dance performed. We may have a show-stealer on our hands.

Snowman Weather

So far, this winter you have to act quick if you want to play in the snow. A fact I'm not complaining about but my 4-year-old doesn't share my opinion.

Any who, snowman making is SUPER easy when you have big cousin, Michael, to help out. Now if he could cook, clean, and change diapers things would be looking real easy.

A Margot Moment

Here's a day in the life of Margot. First, see how many random outfits she can wear in one day. This hand-me-down dance costume is one of her current favorites. Next, always have one slipper on, which is not pictured so you'll just have to trust me on this. She walks around wearing one of Elsie's slippers for the better part of her day. Just to make things more exciting she at times will insist on wearing gloves inside the house. Gloves that I need to help her maneuver each little finger into the correct hole. It is a tedious chore. Her hair is always crazy. She walks around the house looking like this and telling people to call her Cinderella.
Margot: "I Cinderella"
Me: "Hi Cinderella! How are you?"
Margot: "Gut. Bye."

We have this conversation at least 16 times a day.

One last story for you. Today I went into Margot's room after nap to get her out of her crib. She had taken off all her clothes. Luckily the diaper with still on. I asked, "Margot Belle, why would you take off all your clothes? It's too cold to be naked." Her answer: "I go swimming Mom."

First Snow!

Snow in mid-November is super exciting when you live with a 4-year-old. Her enthusiasm was contagious. When Elsie looked out the window and said "It looks amazing" I had to agree with her. On Saturday, we played in the snow, made a snowman, sled down our tiny hill and had hot chocolate. As noted above Elsie is a big fan of the snow. Margot is going to need some time to adjust.

After the girls are done shoveling they are going to put together the snow blower.

Carving Time

We (I) carved 5 pumpkins today, which Soren's comment to this was "that's a little aggressive" I guess I just really have the Halloween spirit this year, plus my jack-o-lanterns look like they were carved by my toddler, meaning I didn't take much time/effort. Because when you have a 4 and 2-year old, the main experience is getting messy, right? It's fun to dig in the seeds and pumpkin gunk. Our daughters are exact opposites when it comes to getting dirty. As you will see in the pictures below:

Here Elsie carefully uses the official pumpkin scooper. Note how her other hand is NO WHERE near the mess.
And then there's Margot, having the time of her life! It's my thinking that the entire time she kept waiting to get in trouble for getting so messy. She eventually did get in trouble for throwing seeds/gunk across the room (after being asked several times not to do that). A person can only be so patient.

Here's the pumpkin line-up.

Ain't No Party Like a Preschool Party

Whew, those preschool teachers know how to throw a party. Last week, I volunteered in Elsie's classroom for their Harvest Party. (side note: I loved being a parent volunteer. It was so much fun to see Elsie in the classroom) The party included a trick or treat parade, face painting, bingo, two snacks, two crafts, and a game. I helped the kids make a pumpkin craft and had to assist 4 and 5 year olds cut 10 pieces of paper. I think I will brag about this accomplishment for the next few weeks.

Elsie with her ghost face paint playing a mean game of Bingo.
One happy customer.