Monday, December 5, 2011

holiday fun!

We've had a fun month of November. We had a pretty quiet and relaxing Thanksgiving which was actually really nice. We had a "mini" meal on Thanksgiving Day. We had ham, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn, and the girls favorite: cranberries. Violet had six helpings of cranberries while Olivia had two helpings. We thought Violet's belly was going to explode, but she made it through!!

On Friday, November 25th, we went to the doctor for the girls' annual well check. They both had hearing and vision tests, which they both passed. They also had their blood pressure taken for the first time. They weren't scared when the machine gave their arm a "big hug." They are about 50th-75th percentile in weight and height. Violet weighed 37.4 pounds and was 40.5" tall. Olivia weighed 35.6 pounds and was 40.5" tall. They are both healthy little girls!!

We also picked out our Christmas tree. We got a real tree again this year but we got a different type of tree than in the past. We put on some Christmas music as we decorated it. Olivia and Violet weren't very interested in hanging the ornaments on the tree because they thought they would get scratched, but they loved putting the wire hanger on the ornament and handing them to me for hanging. They also love wrapping Christmas gifts this year. They ask for paper and then they go into their toy room and find something to wrap for themselves. After they wrap it, they open it and then act surprised about what it is!

On Sunday, November 27th, Jamie's family came to our house and we had a traditional Thanksgiving meal: turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, balsamic glazed carrots, corn, stuffing, rolls, salad and of course cranberries again. Jamie's Dad had surgery the next day so they stayed overnight at our house. Jamie's Dad has a condition where his windpipe collapses, causing him to cough until his airway opens up again. He had surgery to repair his windpipe so it would no longer collapse. The procedure went well but it is going to take him a few months to fully recover.

On Tuesday, November 29th, the girls turned four. In the morning we went to visit Grandpa in the hospital, and then we went to Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America. They went on quite a few rides but it took a lot of convincing to get them to try the little roller coaster. They tried it, but they both cried the whole time. After we got off, Olivia said she liked the straight part but didn't like the curvy parts. Their favorite ride was Azul the train, who drove them around in a circle. We ate lunch in the food court. We told the girls that they could have whatever they wanted for their birthday lunch. We walked around and looked at the food options; they both decided on macaroni & cheese, plain chips and milk. What a lunch! :) Grandma Suchy was with us, and we met up with Terri, Aaron, William & Noelle for ice cream at the mall. We came home and opened presents before we went to swimming lessons. Their favorite gift was their sleds - Olivia got a red one and Violet got a pink one, which is what they asked for. After swimming lessons, we had a piece of birthday cake before bed. The girls had a great birthday and are already asking when it will be their next one!

This past Saturday, December 3rd, we went downtown for the Holidazzle parade, which is a fairytale themed parade of floats and people covered in lights. Olivia and Violet LOVED it! After a float would pass, Violet would peer down the street for lights and yell, "I see another one coming!" Then she would jump up and down and clap. Olivia waved at everybody that passed us; however, she wasn't too fond of the wicked witch riding bike beside the Wizard of Oz float. Santa was in the last float that passed by, and the girls were sad when it was over. We watched the parade with Jamie's cousin Kraig and his daughter Athena. We all had fun, and it was such a beautiful night with a light snowfall.

Our tree is decorated!
November 29th: we are 4!!

Riding Azul the Train at Nickelodeon Universe, their favorite ride
Olivia, Violet & Athena, ready for the Holidazzle Parade to begin!


Monday, October 31, 2011

a royal halloween

Olivia and Violet loved Halloween this year. Last Friday, they had a Fall Festival at the church that their daycare is connected to. After we walked in, the first thing for us to do was a guessing game. There were four different sized jars filled with various candies, and each child had to place a guess as to how many candies were in the jar. There were also four various sizes of pumpkins where each child could guess the weight. Some of the girls' answers were pretty funny, such as Violet guessing the smallest pumpkin to weigh 67 pounds. At the end of the night, the winners were announced, and Olivia won jar #1 which consisted of 70 tootsie rolls. She was so excited that she guessed the right number!

There were several other games that the girls were excited to play. They went fishing, tossed bean bags, pinned the nose on a pumpkin, and put together a puzzle just to name a few. They also had their picture taken and decorated a frame to put their picture in. There was also a coloring table, where Violet pretty much parked after we were done playing games. It was pretty interesting to watch their personalities come out. Olivia ran around socializing with her friend Sylvia from daycare, and they played a lot of games together. Meanwhile, Violet sat at the coloring table by her teacher Miss Laura and spent a lot of time coloring her pumpkin picture just the way she wanted it. Laura was telling me that the girls both spend a lot of time coloring Disney Princess pictures at daycare, but Violet has gotten to a point where she is very particular about making sure the princess is in the right colors. She will even go reference the picture of the princess in a storybook to make sure she is coloring the jewelry and shoes the correct color.

Tonight, Halloween night, we went trick-or-treating with Jamie's cousin's family; they have two daughters, Athena (6) and Aurora (2 1/2 months). Olivia, Violet & Athena ran from house to house pretty much the whole time we were trick or treating. It was nice for us parents to be able to wait at the end of the driveway. After every house, Olivia would run up to me and say, "I didn't get a trick! I got a treat!" Then she would put the treat in her bag, look in after it, and say "Whhhoooa!" I think she was amazed about how much candy she got. They did a great job and had a blast. They both asked if they could go trick-or-treating again tomorrow.

Olivia already says she wants to be Cinderella next year, and Violet wants to be Ariel. We'll see if they change their minds by next Halloween!!

Olivia laughed after wildly tossing a bean bag
Olivia and her friend Sylvia
Daycare friends Noah, Olivia, Sylvia & Brooklyn (note: Violet is coloring at the table in the background)
Violet and her teacher Miss Laura
Violet's favorite thing to do!
Violet, Aurora & Olivia before trick or treating
Your Royal Highnesses: Olivia, Athena & Violet on Halloween night
Our loot!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

early birthday

We celebrated Olivia & Violet's birthdays last weekend, along with their cousin Emma's birthday. It's hard to get everyone together, so we have to consolidate the family get togethers!! The girls had a great time and enjoyed spending time with their cousins. My sister Nikki's family was unable to attend, but the rest of their Thronson and Suchy cousins were there. The younger kids were wearing their Halloween costumes. Olivia and Violet had a hard time deciding on their costumes this year. I heard them say they wanted to be a banana, strawberry, Wonder Woman, a red crayon, and Little Red Riding Hood. They finally decided on princesses (of course). Olivia was Snow White, Violet was Sleeping Beauty, Emma was a white tiger, William was Justin Bieber, and Claire was a witch. The kids went on a scavenger hunt for candy, broke a piñata, and of course had cake and ice cream. Olivia and Violet had a ton of fun opening presents this year. They took turns opening presents with Emma one at a time and all three of the girls were very patient while waiting for their turn. Olivia was pretty excited about the art supplies she got from Grandma and Grandpa Suchy. When she opened it, she exclaimed happily "My art supplies!" Violet liked the movie "Annie" that she got from Granny and Grandpa Thronson. She held it all the way home and watched it later that night. Each birthday girl had a birthday cake that matched their costume which was really cute.

Since we celebrated their birthdays early, the girls are a little confused why they are still three. They keep asking when it's going to be their REAL birthday. I tell them it will be in about a month, and then they ask, "Why is it taking so long for my birthday to get here?"

But the best part was when Olivia declared: "When I'm four, I won't do naughty things anymore."

Hooray! :)

Birthday girls Violet, Emma & Olivia
Olivia (Snow White) & Violet (Sleeping Beauty)
Violet (Sleeping Beauty), Olivia (Snow White), Clare (witch), William (Justin Bieber)
Violet on the scavenger hunt
Olivia on the scavenger hunt: "I found one!!!!"
Violet taking a swing at the piñata
Olivia taking a swing at the pinata
Olivia and Granny T.
Violet and Grandma S.
Olivia with her matching birthday cake
Violet with her matching birthday cake
Blowing out the candles
Opening presents