Gingerbread Houses & Craft Fails

You can't make Gingerbread Houses without some Peppermint Hot Chocolate.  =)  (Seriously, I am addicted to this stuff.)

It has been YEARS since we decorated Gingerbread Houses.  We used to go to a friend's house and have a little Gingerbread Making Party but since they moved this tradition has gotten a little lost.  It was time to revive it this year.  So we got a pile of candy, a couple of kits, the ABCD+2 neighbors and got busy building.

This is his new "cheese" face.  Totally cracks me up.  He was so excited that he got to decorate his house.  That boy had a blast decorating his little A-Frame.

B was so excited that she got a little house to herself to decorate.  She got quite creative in her decorating too.

 A and C's houses were a bit more complicated to put together.  I had B and D's houses done and almost decorated by the time they were halfway done putting theirs together.  The girls' house fell apart and had to be undecorated, demolished and re-assembled.

Such serious concentration was going on at the boys side of the table.  They had their design all planned out even before they began building it.  Typical boys.  =)

A was so proud of his house.  He did a great job for being two.  Of course the whole thing collapsed when he started picking off the candy and licking the icing, LOL!

Here is B's adorable little cottage.  It turned out so cute.  She added lots of colorful candy to hers.

Here is the boys' flat roof masterpiece.  The little gingerbread marshmallows represented our family and the neighbor's.  So sweet!

The girls were frantically trying to catch up after their minor disaster.  Here is C adding a little more frosting to make it perfect.

Here is the girls' finished house.  It looks great.  They even decorated the lawn to give it some character.

The big house was Nana and my project, although I ended up doing it because she was busy trying to save the girls' house from absolute ruin.

We made a huge mess but we had so much fun!!

After the kids were done with their projects Nana and I decided to work on one of our own.  Candy covered Cones.  Made to look like Christmas trees.  While great in theory, mine didn't turn out as planned.

It looks like a tree the Grinch would of made.  #epiccraftfail

Nana's started out so pretty (which made my disaster, well more of a disaster).  Her candy was straight and staying in place.  That is for the first ten minutes then it became an oozing mess like mine.  Oh well.  We can say we tried it.  We had so much fun laughing at our 'creations' that it made the whole night worth it.  

C's Busy Fall

C has had a very busy fall.  She is now in fifth grade, can you believe it?  She is getting so tall, she now wears a size six women's shoe.  She is doing well with her speech and maturing quite a bit.  We have entered the tween phase which is always interesting.

C is working very hard at school this year.  She is blowing through her math and mastering concepts she struggled with last year.  She is doing well with her reading, although it is still difficult for her, and writing is coming a long way.

C is still quite the artist.  She is taking an art class and a pottery class at school.  She loves both of the classes.  Most of her time is spent drawing and designing.  Her new favorite thing to draw are clothing designs.  A girl after her Mom's heart.  

C has been trying to grow her hair out for quite a while but it just wasn't working.  Her hair was growing thicker but just not longer.  After months of fighting with knots and trying to get it out of her face she begged to cut it all off.

Mom and B anxiously awaiting the final result.

She loves it short!!  The cut is perfect for her.  Short and simple.  Dad was not impressed with her new do however.  He wanted to know what happened to his little girl.

A's Busy Fall

A has had a busy fall for a first grader.  He is definitely learning to state his mind and is full of adventure.

 A has been having a hard time figuring out reading.  He began complaining early in the fall that he was having trouble seeing, that things were blury.  We took him to see the eye doctor, fearing the worst, since his Dad and Mom both wear glasses.

 A's vision is 20/20.  His problem is not his vision itself but his eyes are having to work a little harder at focusing.  This is due to growing.  Nothing serious.  He was bummed that he didn't need glasses, Mom and Dad were thrilled.

Aidan earned his Little Kicks Blackbelt over the summer.  This fall he tested out of the Little Kicks program (a year early) and moved up to the official white belt class.  He is now on the path to earning his Black Belt in Taekwondo.  He loves being in the older class but is a little intimidated since he is the smallest kid in the class.  He is doing great.

A is doing well in school.  He is not as excited about school as B is but he is getting there.  He really likes some of the new curriculum we have gotten this year.  He loves all of his classes at school.  He is learning so much this year.  I am so proud of how hard he is working.

B's Busy Fall

Here is a post about our Curly Girly and her busy fall...

B has been growing so much this fall.  She is quite a 'girly' girl and would wear dresses every day if Mom would let her.  (Let's face it Preschool is much more fun to enjoy in jeans, especially playing outside).  She is a charming little model in all things Curly Girly.

D and B are slowly becoming buddies.  They have had their issues and still can fight quite a bit but as D gets older they are discovering more and more things they can do together.

One of her rare, bashful moments in front of the camera.

 Early in the fall B came down with a miserable cold.  She was sick for over a week.  Vicks was her friend that week.

Such a goof and quick to make friends wherever she goes.  B can't wait until next year when she is old enough to go to the "big kids'" school as an actual student, not just a sister.  In the meantime she likes to play in the family room while the older two are in class.

B is such a great helper.  Especially when mommy is making something yummy like Brownies.

B has become quite the budding artist this fall.  Her pictures have matured quite a bit and I no longer find myself having to ask "Can you tell me about your picture?" just so I can discern what her scribbles are suppose to be.

Here is B on her first day of preschool.  She was a preschool expert this year.  She was quite proud to be the one to show the new students the classroom and schedule.

B is so eager to learn and do schoolwork with the older two.  I have had a hard time keeping up with her.  I had to order her Kindergarten curriculum early, she was already ready to dive in.  By the time she is in Kindergarten she will be doing some First Grade work.  I am amazed at how excited she is to learn and how quickly she picks things up.

Our budding model.  B loves to have her hair done and model Mom's new dresses.  It doesn't help that her closet is slowly filling up with handmade dresses from Mom.

D's Busy Fall

Here is a post...all about D...

Can you tell that our little dude is growing up?  He is getting so big and his little personality is just getting bigger and bigger.  He is so sweet and such a stinker all at once.

Here is D at the doctor's office after his check up.  That grin of his gets him out of more trouble then Dad and I would ever admit, LOL!

See here he is, big boy!  He is already in size 3T and it won't be long before he is into 4T.  A couple of A's shirts went directly from his dresser to D's.  D and B wear the same size shoe.

D loves to build and play with train tracks.  Every time he goes to work with Mom at the Toy Store he builds a train track.  

Yes our youngest boy has a head full of curly blonde hair, even after two haircuts it just keeps curling.  When we let it get a little long he looks like a little surfer boy.  So adorable!

No longer taking naps because he can't miss anything during the day, D sleeps hard all night long.

D loves going to the "big kids'" school.  Especially when he gets to hang out in the family room and play with all the toys.  It is hard to believe that in less then a year he will be in preschool already

Like I said, D plays until he just can't anymore.  There are nights when I find him sleeping in the weirdest places and positions.

D is going to make an amazing father one day.  He loves playing with B's baby dolls, he even changes their diapers and clothes.  He is so sweet and tender-hearted.

D is talking more and more every day.  He is saying things much clearer and is getting a little less shy although he still doesn't say much in public.  He is very good at saying "No!" and "Stop That!"

One of D's new favorite things to do is play dress-up.  He loves to sword fight (although look out he is fierce), put on costumes and run through the house growling.  He has such an active imagination for a two year old.