James' First Pre-K Concert at Pre-School for the Arts

James' first pre-school concert was this past Tuesday. His school, the Ellington Pre-School for the Arts hosted the event at a local church. It reminded me of when I graduated from Three Little Bears Nursery School, in a similar church basement.

Here is a look at a couple of his art pieces that were displayed in their art show:



Here he is below, having just found his seat. Does he look excited?


Ella wanted very much to join all of the big kids onstage!


Here is a closeup of him, having so much fun with the performance.


Here they are singing "I Have A Car and Its Made of Tin."



What is it about preschoolers, all dressed up, singing so beautifully that makes me want to smile? I LOVED IT!!


I have a similar picture of myself in the front row of a little recital that we had at my elementary school when I was in first grade. Maybe James will be showing one of these photos to his children!


I especially loved all of the scene design--it was great!


Just look at his smile! I always say that I had to go to college to get my theatre degree--this kid was born for the stage!


What a great time he had! Chris and I were so proud. We love being a part of his new school community, and we are so happy that James has found a such a wonderful place to learn and play!

A Silly Goose

My girl is such a ham. It must be a great feeling to be able to crack yourself up on a regular basis. I was reading yesterday on my bed and she came and wanted up. She then proceeded to start rolling around the bed, giggling and shrieking.


The light was so beautiful that I had to grab my camera.


I love that I have had a part in bringing this silly, crazy girl into the world. What a gift she is!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We are settled in the new place! It was a pretty smooth move. Other than a few boxes and some window treatments to hang, it is feeling like home. Just in time for Thanksgiving!

I hope you have a wonderful day visiting with your family and your friends. Enjoy the day--the opportunity for togetherness, sharing love, and giving thanks for all that is important to you. I know that my day will be filled with thankful thoughts, too.

Best to you and yours on this day,

Allison

Busy, Busy Busy

Hi friends! Just a quick note to let you know that we haven't fallen off of the face of the planet--we are just crazy busy with our move! Yes, for those of you that have been following us from the beginning, you know that we have moved a lot over the last two years--but we found a house that we couldn't resist and so this Saturday the 20th we will be laying our heads on our pillows in the new place.

I will miss a lot about our current home--the little architectural details that make me smile, the warmth and coziness of the kitchen, the great memories we have made here in the last year--and most of all I will miss the new friends I have made--especially my crafty friend Flannery. We have promised to stay close--and we are only moving 25 minutes away--so there will be plenty more joint crafty projects to blog about over at Vintage Pollyanna.

So in the meantime, that is where I have been. Painting at the new house, packing in the old house and certainly not blogging. But no fears--I will be back at it soon enough. I have also not been taking pictures--but I did snap this quick one a few days ago--highlighting the fact that in this house my kids build block towers with vintage kitchen tins!!!



Best to you and yours this week--be sure to come back and check in on me after the 20th!

Happy Birthday(s) Mom and Dad

Mom's birthday was November 3rd, and Dad's birthday was November 5th. Here they are on their wedding day,



And here they are a couple of years ago (I think this photo is from 2008).


Love you both. Mom I miss you so much. Dad, I love how wonderful you are with the kids, and I know Mom can see what a great Grandpa you are being to them.

XOXO

Allison

Happy Halloween 2010!

Halloween Bash #1

We were invited to attend a Halloween Bash at my dear friend Sheri's last night. A party at Sheri's? I'M THERE! I hadn't quite finished getting our costumes together, so there was some last-minute running around but we pulled it off!


James wanted to be Luigi from Mario Brothers. I lost his mustache (bad mommy) and when we got to Sheri's her daughter, Kameron, graciously offered to draw him one with eyeliner. He wasn't too keen on that idea, and wiped the one we had managed to draw on off immediately!

The picture below was one of my favorite moments of the evening--Kam tied donuts to a ribbon, and each participant had to eat their doughnut without using their hands. Guess who won? You know it! Moi! (Let's be happy that there aren't any pics of me swallowing the donut almost whole. YUCK!)


Here is my other favorite moment--Kam had us do a chain ghost storytelling game. James loved it! Almost every night we do a "made up story" before bed. One of us starts, and each takes a turn telling. This was a hit!!


And did you see Kam's hat? She was the Johnny Depp version of the Mad Hatter. AWESOME. Her costume was all put together by hand.

Here is a pic of another great moment (okay, the whole evening was filled with fabulous moments!) Sheri's son Joe is a volunteer fireman. He came in to the party after his shift in his uniform. He went to his room and a few minutes later he came out in a Dunkin Donuts uniform. I was like "Dude! That's classic!" Thinking it was his costume for the party. NOPE! He works across the street at D&D! D-o-h!!!!


We all ran across the street in our costumes and he gave James and Ella donuts (I had already had my fill, thank you VERY much!) James LOVES D&D and firemen, so Joe is his new hero!

Here is Sheri, or should I say Edward Scissorhands, and her daughter Kameron. Isn't their makeup fantastic? I seriously couldn't look Sheri in the eye all night. She FREAKED ME OUT!!!


Here is Joe, Sheri and Kam:


Here are two more party goers and really fun ladies, Aldene and her daughter Amanda:


Here is Sheri's Mom:


James making a fun Boo Drink!


Cute pic of the kids (love the wings!)


Chris dressed as Mike Holmes from Holmes on Holmes!


Meow!


Yum!


My little fairy princess! (Her little sparkly flats are so cute!!!!!)


Thanks Sheri! We had a spooky great time!!!!

Pumpkin Picking with Grandpa in Maine

We visited with my Dad and my sister Amy in Maine last weekend. Dad had grown some pumpkins for the kids, and took them out in the garden to harvest them.


It was a sweet moment for me. I remember as a child Dad growing pumpkins for Amy and I; he would put a mason jar with water next to the pumpkins, cut a slit in the shell and run a piece of cheesecloth from the slit in the pumpkin to the water in the jar. Somehow this would make the pumpkins grow larger.

I love the look on James' face in this photo:


He gave Ella a smaller "pupin" as she calls them; she carried it around the yard all afternoon!


Here's a shot of Dad and Ella that I fooled around with in Photoshop--I think that the hazy quality really captures my nostalgic feelings while I look at it.


The foliage was amazing--Autumn is definitely my favorite time of year! Happy pumpkin picking!

Let's Read

Reading is a FAVORITE pastime around here. James gets up every morning about 6am and reads in his room until it is time to head downstairs at 7. I don't know why it still surprises me every morning, but it still does.

After lunch he has quiet time in his room (this used to be his nap time) and reads.

We read before bed, too.

Here he is the other night reading one of the harder Thomas books his Grandpa gave him.


I get a little sad when I think about how I read to him almost every night from the time he was just a baby until he started to read on his own, and now he reads to me! That means that he is no longer my little baby boy anymore!

Here is Ella getting in on the reading action. She wouldn't let me even show here a book until a few months ago. In fact, if I put her on my lap with a book, she would SCREAM!!!! They are so different!



Here are my munchkins "reading" together!!!


OK, the truth is, Ella had just hopped up on the chair with her book when James abruptly left. He doesn't much like to share his reading with her!!

Too funny!

Smooch!!!

Here's a kiss for my Grandpa and my Auntie Amy!
See you in a couple of weeks!
XOXO
Ella