Tamra's Baby Shower

Tamra, one of my best friends from high school, is having a baby!  She doesn't know if it is a boy or girl. I guessed (correctly) that Brooke would have a girl, and so I'm going to stay on Team Girl with Tamra, too.  I was so happy to celebrate with her in Columbia.  I love my friends becoming moms!  Baby is due at the end of February.

Tamra with her shower hosts

I won a shower game about baby animals.  Teaching all those 2nd graders about animals from every continent really paid off!

Tamra is going to have an alphabet wall in her nursery.  Each shower guest was assigned a letter to decorate in whatever way they chose.  My "K" was covered in pictures of the two of us from high school, college, each other's weddings, and baby showers.  It took way too long to make, but I'm pretty proud of it. :)

Tamra with the grandmas

UPDATE:  Here's the alphabet wall:

Johnson County Museum

It's been awhile since we went to JoCo Museum.  We checked out their monthly storytime.  Although it was hard to listen because of all the screaming babies.  Oy!  So glad we are over that.  I don't think I have as much noise tolerance as I did a few years ago.  Or maybe you just don't notice it when you hear it all the time?  Anyway, I would be happy if we didn't go again....but the girls want to go back next month because it is a pajama party theme.  We shall see.

After listening to screaming storytelling, we walked around the museum and played at KidScape.  The museum is neat if you are familiar with Johnson County.  There is a lot about our suburb and even our sub-division!  They have lots of '50s stuff, which I explained was when their grandparents were little.  That's about as much history as a preschooler can comprehend, so it is perfect.

Skate City- Olive's First Time Skating

We went to Skate City for an hour and a half skating lesson for kids under 6.  Snacks and skate rental included for $5.  Hannah loved it...Olive wasn't so sure.  But she did get out and try for awhile, before she decided to sit on the side and watch.  I think Olive liked the lights and music more than the skating.

There were about 10-15 kids there for the lesson.  Everyone had to introduce themselves, and there was another Olive about a year younger!  We are used to multiple "Hannah's", but I guess "Olive" is on the rise now.

Big Sister, Little Sister

 

This book was a gift from Diane and it reminds me so much of my girls.  Definitely our favorite sister book.

Olive Style

her favorite tutu and "down" skirt

Sylvester Powell Community Center

Our first time at Sylvester Powell Community Center was a big hit.  For $2 per kid we could do lots of riding toys, climbing structures, big blocks, and even two inflatables!  Hannah's favorites were riding the big wheel, playing soccer with boys, and dribbling a basketball with me. Olive liked building with blocks...until some boys came over and sat in her building (see last picture).
 

 

 

  

Old Shoes New Shoes

Pumas from Christmas 2012 and Christmas 2013.  Hannah shed some tears when she had to say goodbye to her (holey) old friends.

Olive's Room

Steve was convinced Olive would be seriously emotionally scarred if Hannah got a new bed and she didn't.  So she got a purple canopy to put over her toddler bed.  It is really cool because it can completely cover the bed.  We also rearranged her room.  It was hard for me to convert the nursery into a big girl room.  I remember way too many nights in that rocking chair and changing table.  But it's time.  And the pale pink flowers don't really fit Olive.  She wanted the owls from Hannah's room. (Nevermind that the walls look a different color of green in the after pictures.  It's just bad lighting.  The before pictures are the real life color)

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Hannah's Room

We spent a few hours of Christmas Day putting together Hannah's new bed.  She finally got too long for a toddler bed, so she moved up to a twin.  And it is literally up because it is a loft bed.  Hannah said, "I love my new bed!  It's perfect for a pink and purple girl like me."








Hannah wanted a horse theme in her room, and Olive wanted owls...so we did a little switching.  Here's Hannah's room before:
 

after

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Hannah posing in her new loft bed.  There are glow-in-the-dark butterfly stickers on her wall.
 

I gave her free rein (punny!) with the horse stickers.  It's hard (for a perfectionist) to let a four-year-old decorate...but it is her room after all.

Underneath the loft is room for a full-size bed.  We are just going to use it for a play space for now.  We put her old mattress there for possible sleep overs.  FYI the shark and dolphin are Christmas presents from Walter.  The girls love them.  They put them on the floor and pretend it is water.
 

Horse and Owl Jackets

Two of my favorite Christmas presents were these jackets that Becky (my brother's fiancee) made for the girls.  Hannah is a horse and Olive is an owl.

 

Another Christmas present: plasma car (not actually meant for two)