Advent

I wish I had pulled the pics off the camera-but we went to the gym instead. But the kids and I had a great time today making cookies (martha stewart's sugar cookie recipe is GOOD) and decorating and eating them. I'd like to try to focus on the season this year. The last 2 years I've barely just survived days and Christmas has come and gone in a flurry of shopping, wrapping and wrangling kids away from the tree. Now I feel like we're thriving. I immagine though that by the end of the week (I'm working 36 hours this week) I'll be just surviving!

Wesley decorated outside this past weekend so that is done, now we just need to get the tree up-but I think we're going to wait until next weekend. Mary is already wrecking havoc on the candles-I think we'll hold off a little!

I just can't believe how they are growing up each day. Every day Mary talks more, is more nurturing (if I can't find her in kids klub I just find the smallest baby-she's there taking care of it). It's so bad that the person in kids klub today asked me if we were having another baby "for Mary". um. Not planning on it. I feel bad because I would have loved a baby brother or sister-but at age 8+ not at 2-3. I do think I will do my best to give her baby oportunities as she grows-let her be a mother's helper, babysit with her, do nursery etc. We had to take 2 baby dolls with us to the gym today (we left them in the car seat though). I love seeing her with the babies. Yesterday I went to get them up and she was sitting in her crib feeding a baby. I asked her if she was ready to get up and she said "no I feeding baby". She finished feeding the baby and then was ready to get up! lol. I would love to buy her the entire bitty baby set from American girl. I just looked at them again. But where to start and end?

http://store.americangirl.com/agshop/html/thumbnail.jsf/title/Bitty+Baby+Dolls/saleGroupId/129/uniqueId/95/nodeId/11/webMenuId/5/LeftMenu/TRUE/hiddNodeId/TRUE
Ohy.

Robert played playdough by himself (using the playdough scissors!) for probably 30 min today-it was crazy. Mary was helping with the cookies (Robert was interested at the begining and then decided that playdough was more fun) she loved rolling and cutting out! It was amazing to watch both of them. They are getting so big. Mary is still super excited about the pop up nativity book. She loves finding baby Jesus. She'll bring it to me "baby de-sus, baby de-sus, read baby de-sus". I'm so glad that they are interested in the real reason. I want to create magical Christmases full of wonder but I don't want to loose the real reason for the season. So it's cool.