Merry Christmas friends and family!
For Thanksgiving, we visited the Burrill side of the family in San Jose. We even snapped a bunch of family photos, which I will say went much more smoothly than I had anticipated. The cousins had fun playing together and the weather was beautiful. Of course we ate more than our fair share of food, but who didn't?
Normally I wouldn't post picture of the girls' artwork, but the turkeys were sentimental. After Thanksgiving we put out our Christmas decorations, which logically meant putting the Thanksgiving ones away. I know I'm a horrible mother, but I told the girls we had to get rid of the turkeys and that we could make new ones next year. Danyka was devastated. I think she's mostly over it now, but I informed Scott that we were not going to create Future Pack Rats of America. Yes, I am a bit of a minimalist.
Last week had a fabulous time visiting my parents in Colorado. Since we are staying home for Christmas this year, we decided to visit in mid December and help my dad celebrate his 60th birthday. Since our birthdays are only three days apart, we got to celebrate mine as well. It was great spending time with the family.
While we were in Colorado Whitney had her ears pierced. She cried briefly, but she's been excited to show off her ears ever since. We let her pick out her earrings and we were quite happy with her choice. You never know what is brewing in a 2 1/2 year old's mind.
For Granddad's birthday we visited the North Pole amusement park in Colorado springs. Danyka and Whitney loved wearing Grandma's scarves. We had to wear lots of layers because it was VERY cold.
Whitney loved visiting Santa and even asked if he could join us on the rides. She would have sat with him all day long. Danyka thought she wanted to see Santa but she was overcome with fear when given the opportunity to sit with him. As you can see, there is no picture of Dany and Santa.
Most of the rides were geared toward small children but Granddad was glad he had the opportunity to sit with Whitney on the carousel and Danyka on the old fashioned cars. We all had a great day.
On Sunday, the day before we left, a storm hit. By the time we went outside to play, there was plenty of fresh snow and it was a whopping -8 degrees outside. As you can imagine, we didn't last very long. I'm glad there was a little snow because both girls stood in awe of the crystalized snowflakes that fell from the sky.
As soon as we arrived back home, life's reality set in once again. The next morning Scott and I joined Whitney for her last Mommy and Me dance class. She is such a ham. Although she won't be 3 until March, she will start in the 3 year old class come January. She is little miss independent and she is ready to move on without mommy.
The following night we packed up the family and headed to the church for Danyka's preschool Christmas performance. It was precious. This year she stood on risers and was particularly careful not to fall. Our favorite part was when Whitney yelled hi to her sister who then responded by saying, "Hi Whitney, I'm on the stage." So cute!
Last night Danyka had her final dance class for the fall session. She is learning a lot and it is a joy to watch her doing something she loves. She did not participate in the fall recital but we are hoping both she and Whitney will in the spring. I have to admit that I like watching the tap more than the ballet. It's so amusing.
Although this blog has been long, it is only a glimpse of what has taken place over the past few weeks. We are looking forward to a less busy calendar next month but we are anxiously awaiting Christmas morning. The girls are so excited and that makes the holidays so much fun. Danyka is really beginning to understand the true meaning of Christmas. It is so tender to see Jesus from a Child's perspective.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I'm sure I won't get around to blogging again for a while.
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