Cake decorating!

I guess anyone who knows me is now aware that I have become a little obsessed with cakes. I just finished my first cake decorating class and this picture shows my final cake. I have to say that although we were only doing the basics that I had a lot of fun. I don't usually think of myself as a creative person. But making cakes helps me feel like I could be. If I can just get past worrying about messing up. My teacher in the class had to keep encouraging me not to worry about getting it wrong. She would basically tell me not to be afraid of it--its only icing.

Courtney turns 7!

Happy Birthday Courtney! She has been counting down the days to her birthday for weeks. We started things off early by bringing a treat to her class on Friday and her whole class sang to her. Saturday was the official day and we had a great day. First she got to take Leanne and Chantel with her to see "Alice in Wonderland." Grandma Haycock and Great-Grandma Leder were able to join us at the movie as well. The girls all loved the movie. I was a little worried when the Jabberwocky came out that they might get scared, but they had no problem. Then we came back to the house where they got to decorate some paper dolls, while I cooked up some pizza. Then the rest of the family showed up. We had a houseful and it was fun. I let Courtney pick out what cake she wanted and she picked a castle. It was quite an adventure to make and put together, but I gotta say that it was so much fun too! Of course now that I have done it once I know exactly how I would do it better, but oh well. We were so glad that all went smoothly and hope that everyone who came had a great time. Many thanks for all the gifts.

Paige turns 2!

Happy Birthday to Paige! We let her take a long nap right before the party, because I was hard at work on the cake and I wanted her to be nice and cheerful. Well, I guess we let her sleep a little too long because we could hardly wake her up. She still looks a little sleepy in the pictures. Oh well, we still had fun. She still hasn't figured out the candles and needed help blowing them out. But she perked up when it was time to open presents and LOVED the cake and ice cream. Our little house was bursting with cousins and grandparents etc. It was great to have everyone there to help us celebrate. We sure are lucky to live so close to family.

Paige is really developing her personality. She is taking after her big sister in wanting to dress up in pretty dresses as much as possible. I often find her jeans thrown aside in favor of some play dress she dug out of the laundry or dress-up box. She may be little, but she is determined and she knows her mind. Paige often insists on trying to do things herself. "I do it" she tells me. She is a great little helper in whatever I may be doing from laundry to dishes or cooking. She never wants to be left out.

This post is long overdue. As you can see, Paige broke her arm. We actually had it put on Christmas Eve. That was an ordeal itself, getting an appointment that close to Christmas. I almost had to go all the way to Portland. In the end, however, a kind doctor in Salem fit us in. Before that we were using a splint and ace bandage that she could easily wiggle out of, and that was a battle for a few days. Then, after having the cast for 3 weeks we went in and took it off only to be told that she needed to have it put back on for another two weeks. Today was the day that we finally got it off for good! Hooray we made it. Bathtime was hard, but eating was worse. She still makes a horrible mess of herself while eating, but is determined to do it herself. It was not easy trying to keep that cast presentable.
When she broke it, she wasn't doing anything remarkable. She was just plopping down over my lap on the couch. She thought it was very funny and kept doing it over and over. She must have just landed wrong the last time. But really I thought it was nothing more than a bump on her nose at first.
Having a child with a broken limb, I've found, is like a rite of passage in motherhood. Everywhere we would go, mothers would treat me like I'd just joined a club that I didn't even know existed. They would all tell me their stories and sympathize with me. It was kinda fun but odd because many times it would be complete strangers.

The Nutcracker

Courtney was in her first performance of the Nutcracker this last weekend. She was pretty excited and their dance was very cute. Her class was the youngest group again and they were all concentrating on their steps so much they had a hard time remembering to smile, but they were great anyway. They came out hiding under Mother Cinnamon's skirt and at the end of the dance she ordered them to hide under again when they left the stage. We were all impressed with the performances of the older girls. They looked so professional. Courtney is excited to someday be the sugar plum fairy because she got to wear pink and had a solo. Luckily it wasn't too long and so the little kids didn't get too restless. Paige was standing up on my lap and cheering for each dance. I can see that she'll want to be in ballet too, when the time comes. It is so fun that Leanne gets to be in the same class as Courtney and she also had a little girl from the ward in her class this year. It was a great start to the Christmas season for us.

Harvestvest!

It's pumpkin time again! Courtney had a day off of school and it was sunny and warm, so we decided to head out to the pumpkin patch. We went to EZ Orchards because we could see the petting zoo and climb hay bales etc. at no extra charge. The kids loved riding in the wagon out to the field to pick out their pumpkins. We got some fun pictures.I especially liked this one of Paige on the tractor. Then, we were all so warm, we decided to get some ice cream!

1st Grader!

Here's my big first grader. I can't believe that she is so old! Either that or I am getting old. This year has seen Courtney make real strides in coming out of her shyness. She tells me that I don't need to meet her at the bus stop anymore, but I still feel like I need to. She really enjoys school and going to ballet with Leann. She never has a problem getting up in the morning, and is happy from the moment she wakes up. Courtney's favorite thing to do is drawing. She will spend a lot of time every day just making pictures to fill up my refrigerator door. Having things "just perfect" as she says is very important to her. What she wears and how her hair is done is very important to her. She is already starting to comment on what I wear and how I do my hair! If she could get away with it she would probably wear a dress everyday and put curlers in her hair. Everytime I tell her that she is growing up too fast she tells me it's OK if she grows up because she will take care of me when I am "old." She also plans to have her own bookstore someday where she draws the pictures for the books, so I can come and buy them.