Circus, Circus!

Sunday afternoon we took the girls to the circus and they had a GREAT time! They had been looking forward to it for so long, and it was just like I remembered. After the show Grace said "that really WAS the greatest show on earth!" We got there early enough to see some pre-show activities like magic acts, clowns, autographs, and clown dress up. I think maybe Georgia is about to go through a growth spurt because she has been sleeping a lot lately, and she ended up sleeping in my lap through the first act of the show. She seemed to really like the second part though especially the animal acts. I hope this is one of those things they remember forever, I know I remember my first time at the circus even now. Love, love, love making memories with my girls!

Ready to begin...

Little Georgia watching the action!

Parent Drop-In

Thursday night was Parent Drop-In night at Georgia's Montessori preschool. I remembered this night when Gracie was a student there, and we were all really looking forward to it-especially Georgia! Basically, it is a time for parents to come out and let the children show off everything they've been working on. The kids are so proud of themselves for doing their "big kid" work. Georgia kept telling us the whole way there that she was going to show us her "work." Her teachers tell us all the time that she is very serious about her school work and is a very busy girl. I kind of remember Gracie at this age and her Montessori work, and I was really impressed with Georgia. In just a few months she has mastered her letter sounds, and is able to recognize all her letters on flashcards. She told me she is working on her reading. Wow! I think the only thing Gracie studied at this age was playtime so this is a pleasant surprise for me!

Georgia showing off her work

Georgia and her sandpaper letters

Babysitting Blaine

Saturday night my sister Caroline asked us to keep her eight month old, Blaine so they could go out for Valentine's Day. The girls love to play with their little cousin, and he is an easy baby to take care of. Georgia especially loves playing mommy with her life sized baby doll! I think they probably tired him out pretty quickly, and he fell asleep in Georgia's old crib. It was fun to have him for the night, but I'll be happy with just my two thank you very much!

Valentine's Day

We had a pretty low key Valentine's Day at our house this year. We stayed home most of the day, and Gracie had a friend spent the night. After we ate dinner at Las Palmas, we came home and made Kenneth a carrot cake for his Valentine's dessert. It was such a sweet day, and I really enjoyed spending it with all my Valentines!

Real Snow!!!

Just scratch that post a few days ago about going to find real snow, because today it found us! Though still not waist high snow drifts, we did have a respectable amount which I qualify as enough to play in without hitting dirt. Georgia had her Valentine's Day party at Montessori school this morning, and since Grace is out for Winter break she was able to tag along. I think Georgia really liked having her sister see what a big girl she is and show off, and Grace loves to be around little kids so much. Afterwards, I had to run some errands for the store and that's when the snow started! By the time we got home, the girls were DYING to play in the yard. It didn't last long though-my girls don't like being cold! It was fun while it lasted and they even got to make their first snow angel!

Sick-y

I am very fortunate to have two girls that are rarely sick (knock on wood). Most years we go from check up to check up without so much as an antibiotic or even Tylenol. Imagine my surprise today when I ended up with not one, but TWO sick little girls-apparently unrelated! Grace came home today with a tummy-ache that ended in vomiting. At about 6:30, as I was making dinner I walked around the sofa to find Georgia asleep on the floor with a fever. What!?!? After doctoring them both up, I got them to sleep pretty early and with little fuss. Luckily Grace is out of school tomorrow, but Georgia has her class Valentine's Day party in the morning. Hopefully, she will feel well enought to go-we'll find out soon enough!

A little snow...

We had a few flurries this morning and the girls were so happy you would have thought they were in a blizzard! Nothing stuck, but we did have some pretty little fluffs floating around, and a thought occured to me-my girls think this is really what snow is like! They have never seen more than a couple of inches of snow in their lives, barely enough to cover the lawn, and they really think this is it. They have no idea what it's like in areas where there is REAL snow, enough to make snowmen, snow cream, and snow angels. So I have made a very important decision-we are taking a special trip to find snow! I don't know what that will entail, but I think this weekend since the kids have a long weekend out of school we're going to drive to the mountains and find some snow, and play in it. Sounds simple enough, right?



Here is a picture of the girls playing in the little bit of snow we had recently, and yes that is a tiny snowball Gracie is holding!

Annie!

Last weekend we took the girls to the Fox Theater to see Annie. Santa left them tickets in their stocking, and we have so been looking forward to this treat. Gracie is of course a seasoned veteran when it comes to theater-going, but this was actually Georgia's first trip to the Fox. Well, suffice it to say she is IN LOVE! When we left, I asked her what she thought and she said "the theater was beau-ti-ful, but I didn't see any foxes in there." Hilarious! We all loved the show and periodically when I looked over at Georgia she was staring at the beautiful ceiling. It really brought back memories from my first trip to the Fox to see Annie over 20 years ago, and I remembered parts of it I haven't thought about since then. How I wondered if the ceiling was really a ceiling or is it the sky, or how fancy the Egyptian themed bathrooms are, or even who exactly gets to sit in those two box seats to name a few! When she asked me these things, I remembered wondering the same things as a child, and I was so grateful that my sweet girls are able to experience the things I enjoyed most about my childhood.

Winter Photos

We just had new photos of the girls done and I thought I'd share a few!

Grace Barnett, age 9

Georgia Barnett, age 3

My girls are growing up so fast, I can almost see the difference weekly! Time seems to slip by so quickly, and I am constantly reminding myself to soak up every sweet second. We have a lot of fun activities planned for the next few months, so we'll definitely be enjoying our little ones!