Black eye

 A few weeks ago, the kids were running around the house (as usual) and Grayson (accidentally, kind of?) slammed the bedroom door in Avery's face.  He got her pretty good, so we knew it was going to be bad the next day....

 We told her to make a tough girl face and Daddy taught her to say "you should see the other guy" if anyone asked her what happened. 

 Here she is covering it up when going out in public.

Ice Skating

Avery had been asking to go ice skating since her birthday in July.  Finally, we set a date for her and her BFF, Polina, to go together for the first time.  

 The Winter Olympics had just started and she was watching a lot of ice skating on TV.  She wanted to do spins and leg lifts her first lap around. I was amazed at the confidence she had out there!

Yes, we had the girls wear their helmets "just in case" - we didn't know what to expect for their first time!  They did great and we left with tired, happy and injury free little girls!

We even went again two weeks later on a warmer day to meet up with Madi and Tori.

Going back to the Municipal Ice Rink after all these years really brought back great memories! I spent SOOOO much time there as a kid and I loved to see Avery enjoy it too!

Chocolate entertainment

We don't normally keep chocolate out for fear of children (and parents!) eating it all day long...

But Grayson entertained himself for hours "lining" up the Dove Promises and then filling the bucket up with them (and he didn't even sneak and eat one!)

This worked out well until one was dropped and Guster tried to eat it, wrapper and all. Don't worry - Mommy saved the day and reached in Guster's mouth to retrieve it!  

Snow Days!

I'm quite a bit behind on the blog. As I recall what our backyard looked like a month ago...

 I can't help but think how pretty the freshly fallen snow was, but I'm really hoping that it is over with!

Lots of snow falls this winter meant lots of snow days stuck at home!  On one of those days, we invited Madi to come over to spend the day with us.  The kids were thrilled to have their big cousin over for the day and Avery was double thrilled that  I didn't make her take a nap.  While Gray napped, the girls had some great time together. 

Painting... 

 doing calisthenics in the basement...

 followed by hot chocolate, heart shaped Peeps and lots of laughs...

We love having Madi over! She entertains the kids and also gets them to listen...she's going to an awesome babysitter in a few years (and we are so lucky to have so close by!)

5 o'clock dance party

This is classic Avery right here.  I have NO idea where she gets these moves! Wondering if that's what she learns every Tuesday night at dance class?

Click here to watch a 2:30 video of Avery dancing during our 5 o'clock dance parties at home

She actually was dancing to a Maroon 5 song (what can I say, she loves Adam Levine!), but Guster started barking in the middle of it.  So Adam edited this song on top of it and it just seems to work with her moves!

Updated kids rooms

At any given moment, this is generally what the floors look like in the kids rooms (or any room in our house for that matter!)

But one day recently, we cleaned up a bit and I decided to document it on film. Plus we've updated their rooms since my December posts showing their new wall colors.

So now, Grayson has some navy blue stripes on top of the bright orange (just on one wall though!)

Such a cute and cozy bed he has, but I don't even remember the last time he slept in it.  He prefers (and demands) the floor...sometimes in a sleeping bag, but most often he just pulls every blanket, pillow and stuffed animal he owns and puts it on the floor with him.

This is most often the bedtime scene in his room once he finally falls asleep...

the entire contents of his bed on the floor as well as the entire contents of his book bin.

We wake up to an empty book bin nearly every morning.

  Avery's update room includes small white polka dots (decals) on her biggest wall.  

Thanks to our generous families and Santa this year, she got a mirror, bookshelf, bedspread, chair, and toy box to complete the look. (The shelf is a hand-me-down from my coworker's daughter!)

It may be crazy, hot pink, but I have to admit-I kind of love it. Avery definitely loves it too! This girly girl is definitely rubbing off on her Mommy.  I even have a pink shirt or two in my wardrobe now.  

We still have a few more things to put on the walls (and maybe curtains eventually), but I'm sure their rooms will be the first completed rooms in our home. I'm also sure that our bedroom will be the last 

: (

Is that a ghost?

What is this shadowy figure you see?......

It's Grayson standing in the front window. It's his favorite place to hide and do his business.  We just can't get this kid to poop on the potty!