A Date with Abria

Abria really, really, really wanted her ice-cream to have a cherry on top, only to discover that she really, really, really doesn't like candied cherries.


Don't let the happy face fool you. Abria had the hardest time waiting for the train. It was the longest ten minutes of our day.

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The light show at Macy's!


The perfect end to the day-a nap in mommy's bed!

It is past Christmas and I still need to share details/pictures of that day, but in the meantime....
About a week before the holiday, Abria and I took the speedline into Philadelphia to see the light display at Macy's. I am not sure what she liked better-the train or the lights. We topped off the outing with lunch at her favorite restaurant: The Pop Shoppe in Collingswood. It was such a delight to spend the day together. I may be biased but truly think she is the cutest, funniest, most endearing three year old around.

Cookies!

If I do not bake another, ice another, or see another cookie for a very long time, I will be very happy! Miss Z. was home early from school yesterday so we spent some time decorating cookies. It was her very first time....so hard to remember that these 'normal' experiences haven't been part of her life. The girls went to town with decorations. Alette took forever to do each one and Z just plopped on a ton of icing/sprinkles on each. Abria whipped through her pile of cookies. True to her personality, she did a small, quick swipe of frosting on each, then declared herself finished. She just cannot be bothered to spend time on anything craft-like. The best part was eating the finished products!

Ho Ho Ho

In early December we had lunch with Pop-pop, Grandma Terry, and best of all, Santa! It felt a little early in the season-barely December and still very warm out. However, that did not dampen the girls' enthusiasm for the event. They loved making the crafts, decorating cupcakes, and sitting on Santa's knees. Both girls asked for a horse (oh dear!). Good thing Santa didn't make any promises.

Random Photos from the past few weeks

We had a great time visiting family and being in DC for Thanksgiving weekend. The girls loved staying at Uncle Rob's house-his dog, Scottie, is the one of the highlights of their time there! Post-Thanksgiving we went to the Air and Space Museum at the Smithsonian and had a chance to hang out with Laura, Zeb, their little guy Xander and grandmom! The weather was so beautiful that once the girls were tired of the museum, we hung out on the mall and let them burn off some energy before the ride home.


Just before Thanksgiving Alette, Abria and I visited the Herr's Factory and watched pretzels, tostitos and chips get made. It was a really, really long drive out but the factory was fascinating. The girls LOVED their free bag of potato chips!


Whenever one of my girls offers to help bake, there is always an ulterior motive. Can you guess what it is?


We've had a mild fall so I have tried to be diligent about getting the girls outside as often as possible. Our backyard is a mess of weeds-so the front sidewalk has become a reasonable substitute. Alette was actually annoyed with Abria in this picture. She was trying to color a pasture (color all the bricks green) for her deer and was annoyed that Abria was stepping near her work and would scare the (imaginary) deer away. The girls generally get along great and are best of friends, but sometimes they can argue over the most irrational things.

Horses 101

Both girls, especially Alette, are infactuated with horses. So when the opportunity came up for a homeschool class on horses, I jumped at the opportunity. The instructor taught them abit about different body parts, then had the kids groom and help saddle the horses. It was a little disconcerting to see Abria calmly brush an animal she could have easily walked under. However, Miller (the horse), truly had the patience of a saint and hardly moved as the kids brushed him, cleaned his hooves and saddled him up. Abria initially wanted to ride the smaller pony, but once Alette rode Miller, she too wanted to ride him.



It is hard to believe that only a year ago, neither girl would ride the ponies at the zoo. Abria jumped right into brushing Miller and was happy to pat the other horses in the stable while waiting for her turn to ride. Alette too was happy to jump in on the action of grooming and even tried picking Miller's hooves.


A very happy rider! It was great to see that the instructor actually showed the girls how to hold the reins, how to guide the horse and how to mount/dismount. So much more exciting than just getting plopped on a pony at a ride!


The sweet horse, Miller.