Christmas 2015!

It was an amazing Christmas this year! We continued our family traditions which started on Christmas Eve. The first activity was decorating our gingerbread house. It was so warm this year, our gingerbread house started dripping icing so we had to keep it in the refrigerator. I had fun decorating this year by helping to put shingles on the roof, making a gravel walkway and hanging M&M's all over the house! It was good we had things to do inside because the weather, while warm outside, was rainy and icky.

In the afternoon, Mommy and Daddy let us open one of our exchange gifts. They got me new glittery boots (aka heels)! I got to put on my new sparkly dress, with my new boots in preparation for Christmas Eve Mass. Although it was crowded, mass was good. When we got home, we ate our Christmas Eve meal of spaetzel soup. After dinner we went for a ride around the neighborhood (windows down) enjoying some Christmas lights and when we got home we sang Christmas carols. I could play jingle bells and Mommy played the rest of the carols. Following carols, we opened the rest of our family exchange gifts. I was so excited to see Adam open the gift I got for him! We had fun using his new walkie talkies, we would use them to tell each other how much we love each other. Before bed, we put cookies and milk out for Santa and wrote him a note.

On Christmas morning, we slept late in preparation for the big day to come. I think Daddy and Mommy were happy that we slept so late. We came downstairs to find the family room filled with wonderful gifts, a train going around the Christmas Tree and a new desk for my room!! Santa brought me some horses, Frozen sheets, a lego set, a sleeping bag, a flashlight and a scarf. He brought me everything that I told him I wanted when we visited him at his workshop! I immediately wanted to take all of my toys in my bedroom. When I wasn't building legos sitting at my desk or playing with my new toys we got to see all of our family on the computer. We saw Grammie and Gramps and opened their presents in the morning. I got some more legos from them and Grammie made me my own blanket! After that, Uncle Mike called us for a few minutes and we saw Kaitlyn and Lauren! Then, later in the day we saw Mimi, Papa, Uncle Marcus and Aunt Tracie. We opened the gifts from them and I got supplies to make my own jewelry! All of my new toys and activities will keep me busy! I am so thankful for everything I got and being able to see all my family on Christmas! We finished off our day with a delicious Christmas dinner followed by cookies, chocolate milk and our new Paddington movie!!

My First Theater Experience!

I've continued to enjoy being at home with Mommy during my track out from school. I helped her do some shopping, we went swimming together and the weather continued to be beautiful so we enjoyed being at parks. One day at the park I ran into Mrs Taylor! It was fun seeing her! At the end of the week I enjoyed going to Adam's Christmas concert and watching him sing. That night, Hannah babysat for us while Mommy and Daddy went to a Christmas party. I just love when she comes to watch us! Adam and I are always on our best behavior for her.

Mommy and Daddy planned a special evening for us on Saturday! We drove to downtown Raleigh and went out to eat at a restaurant. Following that we walked down the street, passing by the ice skating rink to the theater. When we got there, we took pictures with Rudolph, the giant Bumble, then found our way to our seats. I waited in anticipation for the play to begin, and when it did I enjoyed every second! The costumes and dancing were so fun to see, and I loved how big the Bumble was! I can't wait until we get to go see a play again!

We topped off a great weekend on Sunday baking cookies with Daddy during the day, then after dinner we watched the Polar Express and decorated our cookies! What fun!!

Track Out Fun!

I have been enjoying my time off from school, spending time with Adam and Mommy during the day, playing at parks and enjoying the warm December weather and partaking in some fun holiday activities. My first week off, Mimi and Papa visited! I was confused when Mommy said that we didn't have to go to the airport to pick them up, but sure enough, they arrived in their car Monday morning after we dropped Adam off at school. I enjoyed spending time with them, reading, playing games, singing, playing the piano and going to parks! That was my favorite! We discovered the Rolesville park had new play equipment and it was so much fun playing there. Papa took all sorts of funny videos of us swinging and playing on the equipment, I hope that he makes another awesome video for Adam and me.

The weekend after the visit from Mimi and Papa was the Wake Forest Christmas Parade! It was HOT outside watching the parade. It didn't feel much like Christmas, but at least it was great weather for enjoying a parade! Santa was my favorite part, but I did enjoy the enormous caravan of Mustangs that drove by as a part of the Wake Forest Mustang club. The evening after the parade we got to go see the rodeo!! I still really liked the horse drill team because the horses were decorated with tinsel and lights, but the bulls were putting on a great show as well. I just love the rodeo! The next day we went to a party at the park for the other Cora. She is moving across the country after Christmas so she had a party to say goodbye to all her friends. I had fun seeing her and some of my other friends from school at the park.

Me, Brooklyn, Austin, Cora, and Molly

We've been adding more and more ornaments to our Advent tree, counting down the days until Christmas - only on week until the big day!!!

Tree Lightings!

Friday was my last day of school before my next break and I am officially halfway done with kindergarten! I had a wonderful report card and my teacher says that I am doing really well with my reading and numbers! We did lots of activities at centers this past week leading up to our last day. We made a gingerbread house, decorated a cookie, constructed a Rudolph, Santa mask and elf hat! Now I am all ready to take a nice break before the holidays begin. We started the holidays last weekend by decorating the house outside, but this past weekend we decorated the inside. On Friday night, we had a lot of fun activities planned. First, we got to go out to our favorite restaurant with the mannequins and that was followed by a visit to Town Hall for the tree lighting ceremony. We got there just in time to see Santa roll in on the fire truck!

After that, we went to hunt for the Young Family Christmas tree! We didn't find it at the first tree lot, but we found it at the second. Adam and I liked it much better because they had Christmas music and inflatables to make the atmosphere fun for getting our tree! With our tree all set up, Adam and I were finally able to decorate it with ornaments. Then, later on in the day Mommy set up our Christmas tree in the playroom complete with the singing Santa! I love him! He has been busy singing and dancing ever since. Not to mention I kiss him goodnight before bed! Now the Christmas season has truly begun. We count the days on our Advent calendar, and light the Advent candles at the dinner table in anticipation for Jesus' birthday!

Turkey Day 2015

I was very Thankful to be together with my family for Thanksgiving this year. A beautiful, sunny, warm fall day made way for a deliciously roasted Turkey and yummy pumpkin pie for dinner!

Watching Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

The day before Thanksgiving was filled with activity. I helped Mommy make the pumpkin pie. I was in charge of mixing the eggs, milk and pumpkin together in preparation for pouring it into the pie shell. Then, shortly after lunch, Daddy came home! We went for a long walk in the afternoon enjoying the beautiful weather. On our walk, we searched for firewood so that we could have a fire for the long weekend. I had fun hiking through the woods and filling the wagon with sticks. Adam gets to go hiking with Mommy much more than I do because I'm usually at school, so I had lots of fun.
Thanksgiving was another beautiful day. We enjoyed seeing our family on the computer and we played outside! I even got to show Grammie and Gramps how well I can ride my two wheeler! When we came in from playing the house smelled glorious! And dinner tasted just ask good as it smelled! My favorite food at the feast was the cranberry sauce - I loved it so much I had seconds!
On Friday we watched Mommy and Daddy hang the lights on the house and spent most of the day outside again. That night after we had pizza, we had our camp fire outside! We could see lots of stars until the full moon rose into the sky! It was so beautiful! Adam and I enjoyed some pumpkin pie by the fire and got to stay up late until all the wood we had collected burned! I just can't wait until we get to camp out all night long in the backyard! On Saturday we celebrated Daddy's birthday. After dinner, I enjoyed watching him open presents. We sang him happy birthday then enjoyed the cake we baked him. I can't believe he is 35 years old!!
I had a really fun Thanksgiving weekend, and little did I know that the fun was going to keep coming. On Monday night after school and KidzFit, Mommy said that we needed to change clothes because we were going to visit someone. I thought perhaps we were going to eat dinner with someone or something, but we were going to see Santa! I was so excited when we got up the stairs and I saw him sitting there! Luckily the wait wasn't too long for me to sit in his lap and tell him that I wanted a scarf, Frozen sheets and a desk for Christmas! He asked me if I had been eating my vegetables and if I had been good. Of course, yes! I have been good! I can't wait until Christmas! Unfortunately it was raining so we couldn't ride the sleigh, but we did get to do some crafts and eat a cookie before we had to go.

Artist

Last week I was a writer, this week I'm working on being an artist. I have colored at least 5 entire sheets of paper in colorful stripes. I typically show off the progress of my work after completing one or a couple new stripes. After I complete my work I sometimes add stickers and then up on the refrigerator it goes. Luckily there are a ton of magnetic clips to use. On Veteran's Day I even made a special art piece to commemorate the holiday.

I also think that Adam is benefitting from all my coloring. He usually sits at the table with me and draws too, practicing how to hold his pencil and draw new shapes and letters. He's pretty good at keeping up with me, for example we can play Guess Who together! I can even get him to play dress up with me too! 

Authorship

This week at school I got my interim report card. I'm still doing very well at school although Mommy and Daddy are dumbfounded by the fact that I didn't receive the best score in writing… my report card coming just days after I wrote and illustrated my very first book. I started it at school, meaning I had a title page made and a bunch of blank pages on the inside. At home I finished my book, entitled "Cora and Adam". In the book Adam and I have an adventure at the park. I am so proud of my book I read it to the family 3 times in a row when it was fresh off the press! I love writing, and can't believe my teachers don't think I have mastered writing. Perhaps it's because I sometimes rush and forget to capitalize the first letter of the sentence or randomly capitalize words in the middle of the sentence. I'm only 5, I've got plenty of time to practice writing…

Happy Halloween 2015

Quarrelsome Queen had an excellent Halloween this year! I had been thinking about my costume for quite some time and it took me a while to decide what exactly I would be, but I'm happy with being a queen! Luckily Mommy made me an excellent Queen costume, complete with nail painting and make-up (my favorite part)! When I was out halloweeining, most people thought that I was a princess or gypsy, but I was quick to correct them! I was so grown up this year, I was able to walk up to all the houses on my own, even the really scary ones!
During the day we carved pumpkins - and because Halloween was on a Saturday, we could all enjoy the carving fun. This year I stuck my hands in the pumpkin and pulled out the gooey, slimy seeds. I designed my own pumpkin face too! Daddy was upset that my eyes weren't big enough and that my eyes and nose were all triangles, but I don't care! It was my design and I liked it! Mommy ended up carving a necklace into my pumpkin, which made it extra special! This year I counted down to Halloween from the first day of October, and believe me, it was well worth the wait!

A New Backyard

The backyard has transformed over the past couple of weeks. Adam and I have spent lots of time back there playing in the sand box while Mommy and Daddy work back there to finish the transformation. After they removed the trees and planted some shrubs, Mommy and Daddy moved piles of mulch into the backyard. Two weeks later, the landscapers came and planted trees. Finally the mulch was moved into place and the fire pit was installed. Daddy did a great job installing it, and best of all he let Adam and me help smooth the concrete once he poured it in place! I am a great help! Now all we have to do is wait for it to completely dry so we can have a fire, just like we do at camp!

Enjoying lunch with a view of the new backyard!

My First Official Dance Class!

This week I started my dance classes! My birthday was almost two months ago, and it's like I'm still getting gifts! Grammie and Gramps were excited to hear that I enjoyed my first class. Although some of the ballet moves have some strange names, and there's some tricky tap steps, I tried my best. Surely after a few weeks I will be a great dancer, ready for Dancing with the Stars! Okay, maybe not that, but I'll figure out the ballet positions and be better at knowing which leg to lift when the teacher instructs us to do a left arabesque!

Track In!

I thought the day would never come. No, not the end to the record number days of rain, but school! I enjoyed my time off from school, but I also really love seeing my friends and teacher at school! Even though we started to get homework assignments, I still can't wait to go to school every day! Plus, I love that Daddy helps me with my homework in the evenings after dinner. It's my special Daddy/daughter time!

My first writing homework assignment! I got a star!

This weekend Daddy set up his drum set in the attic. It is really cool! I like to play it, but even better is when Daddy plays it! I just want to dance to the beat when he jams on the drums!