Pre-K Christmas Program

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the kids school this year? I really, really love it AND I really, really love their teachers! Alia's class worked very hard, for several weeks,  on their Christmas program and let me assure you, it did not dissapoint. The kids did an amazing job and of course, were absolutely precious. Jason and I were both so proud of Alia! If you would have asked me a couple of years ago that Alia would be on stage speaking in front of a crowd, I wouldn't have believed you. 

(Video included below)

Alia's whole class ... 10 girls and 3 boys

Our little angel

The following day Alia's class celebrated the accomplishment with pj day. They ate christmas cookies, watched Frosty and drank hot chocolate. The weather tried to complicate things a bit, but as usual her teachers were amazing and made it happen.

(Note that her adorable teachers are wearing matching pajamas!)

I put together a "shorter" version of her program for you. You can see Alia say her part and I included all of the little songs they sang. Warning - video is still about 6 minutes long. Get comfy! The cuteness makes it totally worth it!

Christmas Party FUN!

From Alia's birthday party, we went straight to a Christmas party. Two parties in one day! We Douglas's are partying fools :-) This crew has been together since well before I entered the picture and the Christmas party is a wonderful tradition. 

The kids do a book exchange. Here they are drawing numbers.

and choosing books

Our parties have changed quite a bit. 10 kids ages 5.5 and under 

(and Brian holding the newest member of the crew)

And a silly picture of course. That's the only way you can get them to look at the camera.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening, was watching two dads wrestle 7 kids. Solid entertainment!

Build-A-Bear Workshop

We had Alia's 5th birthday party at Build-A-Bear Workshop in Washington Square mall last weekend. We were forced to do it early, because they don't host parties for the few weeks right around Christmas. I can totally see why! The party was a big it. The kids loved it, but boy was it crazy in there! It was the least expensive and least amount of prep time ever for a birthday party and the kids all loved their new,  stuffed friends. 

Party table set up right in the middle of the mall ...

Two adorable, silly little 5 year old girls :-)

6 out of 8 party goers ....

silly faces, of course

School Pics 2013

Heaping piles of cuteness on a plate right here!! These are just pictures of the pictures ... grandparents, have no fear, a copy will be coming your way at some point!

I think this picture captures Max's little personality perfectly. 

He looks like he's developing some sort of very bad idea right here :-)

Max's class

This photographer was clearly awesome. This picture captures my sweet, shy little girl.

Pre-K

Nutcracker 2013

Alia was once again a part of her dance studio's holiday production of the Nutcracker. It is turning out to be a highlight of the year for her. This year she was cast as a little lamb. I volunteered in the dressing room on dress rehearsal night and the first performance and then watched the second. I enjoyed every single minute of it. We are both already looking forward to next year. 

Alia has high hopes of being a Gingersnap!

A couple of dressing room photos

A few on stage shots ...

I don't have the performance video yet, but here is a little clip of one of their rehearsals to help you get the idea.

I would also like to note that Alia listens to the Nutcracker music every night as she falls asleep and knows which dances go with which pieces of music. The Gingersnap music is her favorite!

Thanksgiving 2013

This year we had Papaw and Mimi in town for Thanksgiving. I was so excited that our new dining room table that was supposed to be back ordered until January, got delivered the Monday before Thanksgiving. It was perfect. We started as we always do ...

We had cinnamon rolls for breakfast and welcomed back our elf "Besh".

He brought us the Elf Story DVD this year which was a pretty big hit. 

Then we got out all of the Christmas decorations and started putting up the tree ... The fake tree that we've had for about 8 years now. The one that we keep saying we are going to get rid of because a huge section of the lights that are on the tree are burnt out (and have been for a good four years). But, not it's like a part of the family. It made the move with us, so up it went!

The kids were very helpful hanging up ornaments. Max liked to put his all in one spot.

Alia liked the fancy, sparkly ones.

The mostly finished product. Some new ornaments and artwork has been added in recent days :-)

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care ... Until we bumped into them, nearly decapitated Mimi and broke the stocking holders. No worries, 3M hooks to the rescue!

Hangin out with Papaw

We did an early Christmas with Papaw and Mimi. Alia got stocked up on Doc McStuffins gear.

Max of course, was thrilled to get some new cars (and other stuff too)!

The last day of Pre-K before Thanksgiving break, I went in to volunteer to help with their "feast". It was actually very cool. The kids helped prep all of the food.

I was the fruit salad station. Here are some of Alia's friends worked hard on slicing and chopping (with butter knives). 

The also made butter and pumpkin pudding. The practiced table manners the previous week and did family style snacks. Her teachers are just amazing and this group of kids pretty much rocks!

Max sporting his Thanksgiving shirt

This is possibly the best picture ever taken of Dad and me.

Unfortunately during Dad and Deb's visit, Jason had to fly back to Indy for his uncle's funeral. It worked out nicely that I had some extra help with the kids. (Alia had her Nutcracker performances, more on that later.) However, he did miss out on yet another amazing dinner at Toro Bravo. We got a babysitter and then ate ourselves into a coma! 

Big Moments for the Grown-up Douglas's

Yes, I realize I am WAY behind on my blogging, but to say that we have been busy would be a huge understatement. 2013 has been a big year for us and November kept with the theme ...

On Veteran's Day I ran a 5k with Vets 4 Vets. 

If you don't already know about this organization that I am involved with, check it out http://www.vets4vetsnw.com/ 

It was a really big deal, because running is not my thing and I even managed to get a pretty decent time. I'm considering investing in actual running shoes so that I am ready, willing and able to do similar runs in the future. 

November 15, 2013 marked the 10 year anniversary of our first day. That weekend, we splurged, got a babysitter and headed downtown overnight. It was awesome!

November 2013 also marked the end of an era. We traded in Jason's truck that he'd had for 12 years and got a minivan! We miss the truck, but we love the van.