The Magical Tooth Fairy

The Tooth Fairy stopped by our house last night! It was definitely a night full of anticipation. It began while brushing Juliana's teeth before bedtime. I noticed it was barely in place, so I did not want her to swallow it in her sleep. I gave it a little nudge, and -SNAP- it came out. Just as I said, "I GOT IT!!", she panicked, turned her head, and yes, she swallowed it. Although the tooth fairy did not have a tooth to take back to fairyland, she did leave what Juliana asked for. Juliana asked for "only coins, no dollars. They are only paper!" She got a gold dollar with, I won't attempt to spell her name, on it. Around 5am, she woke up excited telling us that the Tooth Fairy came by! She is still very excited and loves to play with her special money.

We know for sure that our baby girl is growing up. Time flies.....

Joy To The World

Merry Christmas everyone! The last week has been full, as has been the last two months. Grand (my Mom/Rosie) has been here since Dec. 21 and left about noon to head back to California. It was special to have her here for Christmas since it has been close to 10 years since she has spent Christmas with us. Working at the airport and flying stand-by does not equate to an easy travel time for her. This year she is retired and is able to make the trip! THANKS MOM! Juliana had her make-up done courtesy of Grand, hair set in rollers, and plenty of time to cuddle. Kevin was a snuggle bug with Grand. He loved to lay in her lap with his arms behind his head and relax. It was adorable to watch!

Our Christmas morning leaves us a lot to be thankful for. We all woke up healthy and happy! Santa arrived safely too!!! He left Juliana and Kevin a quick note to let them know that he loved the cookies, and Rudolph played with Shadow outside while he put out all of the presents. HAAAAAA! Speaking of presents, the kids were very spoiled this year! They got a Radio Flyer car from Grandpa and Nonnie, a Princess game from Auntie Shannon Schneider/Uncle Matt/Kelsey/Kamryn/Logan, lots of books from Grand, train set from Uncle Bryan/Jean, a ball, V-Smile, and much more from Santa.

Thank you to everyone for the gifts under the tree, but most importantly for being in our lives. MERRY CHRISTMAS! JOY TO THE WORLD.....

A Special Visit

Last night, we had a special visit from Juliana's preschool teacher. Miss Becca has always been incredibly good to Juliana, and to Jason and I. There certainly are not many teachers like her. She came by to give Juliana her birthday present. I am not sure that Juliana cared about opening presents, she just wanted to give a BIG HUG to Miss Becca. It is wonderful that Becca stopped by because she is no longer teaching. Hopefully there will be many more visits from Miss Becca.

I realized that I have not said much about Kevin lately. He's just being a boy. You know how it goes. Pouncing on his sister, pulling Shadow's ears, sticking foreign objects into the VCR, and exploring how the gas fireplace operates. OH NO! Other than that, he's just a little peach and makes us laugh constantly. If you could see this little man dance, you'd be on the floor laughing. What a cutie!

Grand arrives on thursday and leaves on Christmas Day. It will be fun to have her here for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. She can help throw carrots to the reindeer on Christmas Eve and set out the cookies and milk for Santa. Just in case I do not do another entry until after Christmas, MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! We wish everyone could fly to Michigan to be with us or that we could be in a million places at once.

"Don't save it all for Christmas day. Give a little love every day!"

Tooth Fairy vs. Santa

Last night was Juliana's school Christmas concert. It was quite a production! After waiting outside in the cold with a freezing (and injured Kevin), we finally were allowed inside the building only to wait another 30 min to get into the auditorium. It reminded us of Disney World. Waiting, waiting, then waiting some more. We sat down and looked at the program. Much to our surprise, we saw Juliana's name under the "Percussion" section. "OHHHHHH NOOOO!" was our first thought! She also had a special part in "Must Be Santa". The whole night was wonderful. The kids did a great job remembering the songs and dances.

This morning about 11 o'clock, Juliana tells me that her teeth hurt. Not knowing exactly what to think, I looked inside and didn't see anything abnormal. She kept saying they hurt, then finally pointed to her bottom middle tooth. IT IS LOOSE. Not just loose, but ready to fall out. Poor girl, she is terrified! I keep telling her that she is the luckiest little girl because she had her birthday in December, and now she will have the tooth fairy and Santa racing to our house. We will see which one arrives first! I'll let you know! An exciting milestone.

For all California family and friends, SEE YOU IN MARCH! We hope to make it to New England in 2007 too. Probably summertime. We have to get our traveling done before Kevin turns 2. Then we have 4 tickets to buy. OH GEEZE! Love to all.

A Clear Mind

Now that my brain is back to normal after the chaotic week, I can remember more about Juliana's birthday, her party, and what we have been up to in the last week or so. I am in the middle of getting "Thank You" notes organized to send out for everybody's thoughtfulness for Juliana's big day. A big Thank you to Auntie Meara for the coziest PJ's ever and yummy smelling bath stuff, thank you to Nana and Grampy for the prettiest princess Barbies and Tinkerbell sweatshirt, to Grand for swimming lessons, and much more.

WARNING TO EVERYONE... STAY AWAY FROM THE POST OFFICE! I was there today to send three boxes, and not only does it cost an arm and a leg, but the lines are horrendous! Kevin entertained a crowd of people with his versions of peek-a-boo and giggling. That helped pass the time and kept people smiling, including the cranky postal worker in the "do-it-yourself" area.

I know I'll have more after Juliana's Christmas concert tomorrow.

Family. What life is all about!

Our house is back to normal, although that certainly does not mean without chaos. Uncle Patrick returned to California early saturday morning, and Grandpa returned early this morning. Yesterday we had Juliana's 5th birthday party. She had 6 friends, 9 parents, and even Doreen Costa from Woodland stopped by. What a nice surprise! Chuck E. Cheese will never disappoint. He gave plenty of hugs to the kids, and ample games to play. Ski ball was hilarious! You should have seen the heavy red balls flying into other players areas, and adults ducking for cover when Juliana and her friends put tokens in for 10 more chances to knock us all out. It was quite amusing to watch, in hindsight of course.

Last night, Grandpa, Juliana, and I created an award winning gingerbread house. We never thought we were awake enough to actually make it, and it really turned out to be a masterpiece. Another wonderful memory with Grandpa. Thanks Grandpa for a wonderful visit, and Uncle Patrick too. MISS YOU ALREADY!

Hugs...

December days

Grandpa (my Dad) and Uncle Patrick (my brother) safely arrived from California on tuesday and we have had a great time ever since. We've been to the Henry Ford Museum, out to eat more than ever before, and just had a great time being together.

It is official, Juliana is a big 5 year old! I would not go as far as saying that anything has changed with her, although I have to admit, I look at her a little differently. She's turning into a school age child, and she has completely lost the toddler/preschooler mentality, personality, and stature. Her little family party was full of fun with Grandpa and Uncle Patrick. We went out to eat, had some yummy Tinkerbell cake, and opened a myriad of presents. She got plenty of Disney Princess toys, including a princess tea set from Mommy and Daddy, a Disney puzzle and game from Uncle Kyle Holmes, Disney balloons, and a 4 foot castle cut out for her room from Uncle Patrick. I wish I could be 5 again!

Going to go back with Grandpa and Uncle Patrick right now. Until next time...