Advent Calendar: Day 20

Day 20: Cookie Exchange

One of the moms from church class suggested that we do a cookie exchange this year.  So tonight, we had to prepare our cookies to give to our classmates.  Each child got six of our cookies and we came home with six of everyone else's.  Then we made name tags for each of the bags. 

This is a boy who is ready to fill some bags!

Nora helped me count out six cookies for
each bag.

I wrapped them up pretty.

And Myles helped put them in the bags.

Moving right along to making the name tags.
But first, she had to call Gram on "her phone"
to tell her what we were doing.

One finger print per name tag (and since
Nora is the only one technically enrolled in
the class, it was her prints).  Myles got a
sheet of paper to paint on.

Each finger print then got a red nose, eyes,
and some antlers to be transformed into
the cutest reindeer face I've ever seen.

Advent Calendar: Day 19

Day 19: Dinner by the Tree

Tonight, we had dinner in front of our
Christmas tree.  We pulled the coffee table
over by the tree and ate there.  

They loved it.  She asked again the next day if we could
eat by the tree again.

Advent Calendar: Day 18

Day 18: Pick Toys to Donate to Goodwill

When I first started the advent activity calendar, I mentioned I wanted to also include service activities, not just fun ones.  At this age, there aren't too many she can do but this one was perfect for her and right up her alley.  I explained how it works when we donate toys to Goodwill (we donate other things there quite often so she's familiar with the process) and she was excited to drop the toys off for the other children to play with. Myles was still too little.  He did, however, think it was a blast to have all the toys out of the toy box at one time.

We clean out the toy box and found a
few toys that we haven't used in a while
and thought it was time to let other kids
have something fun to play with.

Advent Calendar: Day 17

Day 17: Make a Paper Chain for Decoration

The strips of paper are ready and the gluing begins.

I was a little surprised at how into this activity she got.
She really enjoyed choosing which colors came next,
getting the glue on the end, shoving the papers through. 

Myles came and went during the project. He'd help
for a bit and then run off to play. 

He was pretty good at threading the paper through too.
Side note - completely ignore my very clean room and
focus only on my handsome child.  It was the end of
the day... it gets better after they're in bed.

Concentration tongue.  Must be a good activity.

Then we ran out of glue so we moved to the stapler.

She decided it was done when it was twice her size!

I put it into the shape of an 'M' to put on Myles'
door.  

Advent Calendar: Day 16

Day 16: Eat a Candy Cane

Today, Greg graduated from college so Dan and i were there helping celebrate. The kids stayed with my mom (Could you imagine those two sitting through a two hour college commencement?! Me either.) So I knew I had to make today's activity very simple. I came up with eat a candy cane. It happened right before we put them in the car to drive home with coincidentally was also bed time for two very tired kids and the pictures show it. Here's day 16...

I know I've said before that Myles stops
to say cheese for pictures now but he hasn't
yet realized that he's actually supposed to
smile.

She didn't have too much of her candy
cane (gasp!) before she put her head down.
Remember - tired kiddos.

Red tongue!

Advent Calendar: Day 15

Day 15: Christmas with the Lulich's

We went back to Wisconsin this weekend
to see Dan's youngest brother graduate
from Madison.  But first, we celebrated
Christmas with the Lulich's.

Myles didn't need any help with his.
I suppose he has been getting a lot
of practice with our nightly Christmas books.

He got a drill set to add to his workbench. 

Missy Mo received all things sparkly. 

Purple sparkly shoes.  She put them on and
tried to run in them to insist they fit despite
the fact that they were a little too big.
She also got silver sparkly boots (which
she has worn every day since she got them).

Myles got right to work.

I guess the chair was a little wiggly.

Thanks, Lulich clan!

Lutheran Home

Moms & Tots, or what's known as church class 'round these parts, was a little different today.  Today, we met at Lutheran Home to perform a few of the Christmas songs we've been singing in class for some of the residents.  All of the kids dressed up in their Christmas outfits for the special occasion.  

We performed right in front of a very
temptingly decorated Christmas tree.

And while we waited for all of our friends to come, what
else do you do but stretch and warm up?!

Touch your toes.

We sang three songs for about six of the Lutheran Home residents.  The first was a song we sing every week to start our class, Clap Your Hands.  Not a Christmas song but it wouldn't be church class without singing that song first.

Next, Jingle Bells.
Everyone took their own set of jingle bells to shake
during the song.  

Mrs. Young, the teacher, had the
kids test their bells by shaking them
down low.  Tested and approved.

Yes, I know... blurry picture.  It's to show you just how
much dancing was going on during jingle bells.  Lots of fun.

Myles must have been a little gun-shy by the new
environment.  He stuck by my side most of the
time and sat uncharacteristically still most of the time.

 

Here's most of the bunch in front of the residents. 

Getting ready for a class portrait.

Getting 10 kids ages three and under to all gather for a
picture, as you can imagine, is no easy task.  

Missy Mo lifts her dress for the picture.

This is probably the best we're gonna
get.  From the left we have Tess (in Mrs.
Young's arms) Ethan, Nora, Myles, Mallory,
Maggie (front) Isabella, Devon, and Avery
(who isn't really in the picture... but kinda)

Nora with our fearless leader, Mrs. Young.
Our kids are blessed to have her teaching
this program for us.  Nora has been
praying for her nightly lately.  And I think
at any other point in time throughout the
morning she would have been totally
into taking a picture with her but she
just found out they were getting cookies -
and they just started passing them out.

Sure.... they sit still and together at the promise of cookies.

After cookies, we were free to talk with
the residents if we wanted.  Mrs. Young
asked Nora if she was going to talk
with the people or if she was going to
be bashful.  Her response: "I think I'm
gonna be bashful."

I loved watching all the kids in an environment like this singing and dancing to the songs they know and love. I'm so grateful we signed up for this class when Nora was just 18 months old.