Snow day!

A real, honest-to-goodness snow fall! We'd heard jibber-jabber about a real snow fall for about a week. We were all skeptical, but optimistic that the white stuff would come and leave enough snow to call off school and for the kids to enjoy. We kept a close eye on the weather as Tuesday approached. The city of Raleigh did a phenomenal job preparing the city for the "worst." In the 48 hours leading up to the predicted snowfall, the city began prepping the streets. Salt, sand and brine were laid out. I fully stocked our pantry and gassed up the car. Tuesday arrived and schools were canceled. Although we didn't see our first flakes until Tuesday night, thanks to our city and news outlets, we were prepared! We were lucky....

 Family and friends in Atlanta and Birmingham didn't fare so well. The mayhem and awful stories pouring out of those cities are just heart-breaking. My brother (in Atlanta) had to sleep at his office...for two nights. My cousin (also Atlanta) and a nursing mom couldn't get back to her 3mo old for over 36 hours. My in-laws (in Birmingham) had to abandon their car and walk several miles home after picking up kids from school. The youngest, in K, almost had to spend the night at his school. My Northern and Western friends laugh at the thought that a mere 2 inches of snow could shut down and paralyze a city. As crazy as it sounds, it did! 

Despite the terrible stories, we had a great day playing in the snow! Daisy had the most fun. She LOVES snow! We used to let her out in our backyard in Denver until she'd come back to the door...sometimes hours later. She loved jumping and running in it! Although we only had a few inches of snow, she didn't let that stop her fun. It was like the old days! Too cute! 

Hannah loved it, too! We spent time sledding, building a snowman, and filling buckets up. Hannah doesn't have the proper clothes to stay outside in snow for long periods, so we took her out throughout the day. We gave her her first cup of hot apple cider to help warm her up. She loved it! 

Trying to make a snowball...

Our attempt at making a snowman. Unfortunately, we had a dry snow so it wasn't very good for snowman making.

The obligatory house photo :)

Frigid day fun!

My parents came to NC for the week to help me celebrate my birthday. We had a very cold stint while they were here. It was in the low 60's Monday and early Tuesday, but by Tuesday night it was snowing! Hannah has seen snow before (big Chicago blizzard!), but it's been quite a while. She just completed a snow unit at school, so she was thrilled when the big, fat flakes started pouring from the sky! Not much stuck to the ground, but it was enough to call off school. 

It was bitterly cold, so we decided to stay at the house and complete a fun craft. I turned to Pinterest and found a great sensory activity. We had all the ingredients on hand and got to work making snow fluff to build a snowman. The activity was super fun and very messy....perfect for this preschooler. Hannah chose to make a purple snowman... Naturally. She and Grandmommy made the fluff and then rolled each ball in glitter to give him some extra spice :) he turned out cute! 

This moment....

After a week of Daisy sleeping on our couch at night ( a big no, no!!), we got her a new bed. Seems like Hannah thought it was for her. Poor Daisy!!!

A little art....

Thursday was a cold and rainy day, so we headed to the NC Art Museum for their preschool art and movement class. Hannah had a blast!

They introduced a work of art and then prepared a fun lesson around it. Hannah started by making her own version of the painting. Here she is showing it off with the real painting in the background:

Next, the instructor talked about lines and circles (the main shapes in this painting). She did a series of movements and dances where the kids had to form circles and lines with their bodies, it was super cute! The kids really got moving! Then, the instructor took the kids down the hall to view another work of art with lots of circles and lines and they discussed it. The class ended with the instructor encouraging the kids to find circles and lines throughout the museum's displays. Hannah and I walked around for a while afterward and she actually had fun looking for the shapes. What a great way to introduce kids to the visual arts! We will definitely go back!

The Christmas spirit

Preparing for last Christmas with Hannah was fun, but she didn't really "get it." This year, she does. We've packed a ton of Christmas related fun into a few short weeks. 

Her preschool has done a great job of preparing her for the real meaning of Christmas. I sat down with her one day in early December to read the Christmas story in the Children's Bible we have and she already knew it! I was very impressed! So, I began to ask her questions. She knew Mary and Joseph traveled to Bethlehem, that there was no room at the Inn, and that Jesus was born in a stable. She knew that there were shepherds, animals, and wisemen present, and finally she knew about the star that led them there. We've talked a lot about the Christmas story during advent and sang a lot of songs.

Hannah was very into decorating the Christmas tree this year. She loved the whole process and pretty much redecorated all the branches she could reach each moment throughout the advent season. What a stinker!

We hosted our second annual gingerbread house decorating party. Hannah had 8 of her little friends over. Each had their own house and they took a lot of pride painting on icing and picking out the perfect accessories to go on it. We had a blast! I think I'm still cleaning up sprinkles :) 

Hannah's meeting with Santa Clause didn't go quite as well as I had expected. We'd just come back from Disney World, so I figured she was primed and ready for the big event. She patiently waited her turn and a talked about what she was going to ask Santa for. As we walked up to him, the tears began to flow. She grasped onto me and wouldn't let go. Santa was very patient and very good with her. He asked both of us to sit in his lap for a bit. Then, Hannah decided she was brave enough to fly solo. She sat up on is lap and talked to him. No smiles, just straight talk. She was very serious!

Unfortunately, our Holiday Express night was rained out this year. Never fear, we took Hannah to the Polar Express Night at Prestonwood. It was a fun night complete with dinner, a train ride, and Santa. The kids were encouraged to wear their PJs. They all loved this! When we arrived, the kids walked up to a ticket booth to receive their tickets for the train.  There was a mailbox close by to drop a letter to Santa in. It was a chilly night, so we were bundled up pretty good for the train ride. After that, We were seated with our friends the Moores and Murphys to enjoy a hot buffet dinner. The kids barely made it through dinner, they were all so excited! We stood in line to meet Santa. This time, Hannah bounded into his lap and gave the biggest smile!!

And, finally, we concluded with the Christmas baking!! We made peanut butter blossoms. H poured and mixed the ingredients and unwrapped each Hershey kiss. She did great!!

Disney world part 1

I've held off on writing this post for a month now. That's how long it's taken me to really process our trip. The Disney experience was better than I could have ever imagined. My heart is so full after watching Hannah's imaginary world come to life. I've always loved Disney, but seeing it through the eyes of a child is something spectacular. My cup runneth over! 

Thanksgiving week 2013 was spent with the entire Vance family at the most magical place on earth! We stayed at the Saratoga Springs Resort. We were on the bus system and were able to come and go from the parks as we pleased.

Day 1: Entering the gates to Magic Kingdom

This is an image I'll never forget. I was so, so, so excited! I knew Hannah would love every bit of Disney, but nothing could have prepared me for the joy I was about to experience though the eyes of my child, niece, and nephews. 

Day 1 was spent in the Magic Kingdom. I was a bit flustered the first day. There's definitely a learning curve for how Disney works and how to make the most of your time there. Day one for me was trying to learn the system. 

 H met Rapunzel, Snow White, the step sisters and Lady Tremaine (from Cinderella), Princess Aurora, and Cinderella. She rode Pirates of the Carribean, Small World (her very first ride!), Aladdin's Magic Carpets, Mickey's Pilharmagic (which she hated! she cried through the whole thing and kept asking to leave) and saw her first Disney Parade.

Rapunzel... "Not impressed!"

Meeting Tigger and Pooh

The stepsisters and lady tremaine- these girls were hilarious!!! It was my favorite character meet. H loved them too! They were really popular! It took us 3 tries to make the cued line to meet the . H asked them about Gus Gus and their response about "the little rodent" was classic. They also asked H if she was related since she had mouse ears on. Ha!

With cousin Madeline

The magic carpets with Aunt Kristina- H kept trying to push the carpets higher :)

Watching her first parade. Look at that face! I. Die!

This was a week where I let schedules and naps slide (for the most part) and just let H have a good time. I was shocked with how well she did. She rarely had a melt down. The few times she did, it was after a late night of either fireworks or dinner. She was a trooper!

Day 2: Hollywood Studios

We started off day 2 with our first character meal at Hollywood and Vine. It was the only place she was able to meet a Little Einstiens character. This was big for Hannah! She loved it! Hollywood Studios was much easier to navigate and meet characters in. Hannah loved this park! We got to meet a bunch of Disney Jr. Charachters, She got to see Disney Jr live on stage, rode the Toy Story Mania ride (loved it! And so did momma!), the great movie spectacular, and met a slew of other characters. I tried napping her in the park in the stroller, but no such luck. She was a happy camper though, so I can't complain. 

Meeting June- Hannah was mezmerized but the character's mouths.

Sophia- this was too cute! She touched Sophia's crown and hair and then picked up her amulet and said it's just like mine. 

Meeting Minnie was a dream for this Minnie crazy girl.

Aunt Kristina recommended we get an autograph book our first day in the park. What a hit! Hannah loved it and totally got into asking the characters for their signatures!

Meeting Mickey

Chip and Dale