Every Princess Needs a Castle!

I had a bulletin board project for my Educational Psychology class, and I opted to do a castle-themed one to encourage reading. Well, I couldn't help but put the castle in Kate's room so the girls could use it to play! I also made a knight, princess, unicorns, and dragons, but I want to wait to laminate them before letting the girls have them too! The girls just love it! Who knew some colored poster board could make old toys seem new again?!?

Updates...It's About Time!

I underestimated how much time my classes would steal from me this semester! Sorry it's been so long since the last post, but I'm trying!!

Kate had her quarterly eye doctor appointment last week. Her prescription had to be changed to a stronger one, but the good news is that the eye she used nearly 0% is now up to 50%!! That is excellent news because it means that her brain is telling her eyes to WORK instead of essentially shut off.

Kate is also in school three days a week now! She is really enjoying the social element of preschool, but I'm noticing some real big steps in her cognitive development. Lately she's been very interested in dinosaurs, unicorns, and, of course, princesses.

Sarah is equally interested in dinosaurs, unicorns, and princesses, but she's also quite fascinated with books. While she enjoys someone reading to her, she'd much rather sit and "read" herself. :) She also has decided to become quite the talker! I'm not sure if it's due to Kate not being home as often or if Sarah has decided to break out of her shell, but she is certainly opinionated and not afraid to tell you about it! It's fun to hear some of the silly things she comes up with!

Other than that....the girls are just as fun and exciting as ever! Every day is an adventure with them, and they are growing up so fast. It's hard to believe that Kate will be 5 in just a few months! And 4 seems like an awfully big number for little Sarah. Time flies....

A Winter Wonderland

Kate and Sarah were fascinated with Grandma Jansen's snow globe...Kate even asked me later if she could get one for herself. :)

Because Girls Can Never Have Too Many Presents...Right??

As if the girls didn't get enough presents, at Grandpa and Grandma Jansen's house they had more to open! Sarah's favorite was the Puppy Hotel, and Kate just LOVED her princess clock!

Some of Our Favorite People

Have Your Present and Open It Too!! Part 1

The girls had so much fun opening presents on Christmas morning with PaPa, Nana, and Uncle Michael, John, and Thomas. 'Santa' was very good to them this year!

Have Your Present and Open It Too! Part 2

Christmas morning at Nana's and PaPa's house was so much fun!!

The Breakfast of Champions

Every girl needs a good breakfast before a day of present-opening and candy-eating! The tree was lit, Nana made pancakes (one of the girls' favorites!), and Uncle Thomas even smiled for a picture. Sarah was so tickled she even gave her "big eye" face! What a fun and yummy Christmas breakfast!

Little Red and Goldilocks on Christmas Morning

The girls stayed the night at Nana's house on Christmas Eve, and these are two pictures Nana took of them on Christmas morning. Obviously, Kate was more cooperative than Sarah! :)

Would you like some snow with your Christmas?

The girls were so excited to see snow (even though it wasn't much) on Christmas morning. Sarah was a little less thrilled than Kate, but even still, they went outside for a moment with PaPa. Let it snow!

Blonde Beauty...with help from Aunt Barb!

Sarah and Kate tell me all the time, "Aunt Barb is the best braider. Even better than you Mom!" Well, I can't argue! Here are a couple pictures of Sarah's hair after Barb spend some time on them...I could never do it!

The Morning Santa Came to Town

The Morning Santa Came to Town...Sarah

Sarah slept in on our Christmas morning, but Kate was quick to wake her once the presents were discovered. It took Sarah a little longer to wake up, though once she realized what was going on, it didn't take much! She was very excited about the movie they got - The Three Musketeers (the Barbie version, of course) and the Barbie to go with it!

The Morning Santa Came to Town...Kate

Kate was too cute on "our" Christmas morning. We celebrated a couple days early so we could get to Nana and Papa's house for Christmas Eve. Anyway, she woke up, peeked out of her room down the hallway to check if anyone was watching. Carefully and quitely, she tip-toed down the hall, doing her best to avoid making any noise. As soon as the Christmas tree came into her view, she bolted to it, gasping as she saw the presents under the tree. "Oh my goodness, this is AMAZING!" was her response. She then came running into my room to wake me. After all, she has to share her discovery! Here are some pictures of her on Christmas morning here. She loved everything Santa brought for her. Smart guy. :)

Christmas Goodies from Uncle Perry and Aunt Terry!

The girls received a package in the mail from Uncle Perry and Aunt Terry, and it was just FULL of goodies! Kate especially loved the outfit, and Sarah was a huge fan of the unicorns. They both also use their princess purses around the house to carry their little necklaces and bracelets and such. Thank you Uncle Perry and Aunt Terry! We love you!