More from funny Jordan

Tonight I took Jordan to the museum to see an Andy Warhol exhibit. It was pretty fun to hear her thoughts about it. Outside, there is a fountain, so I gave her a couple pennies to throw in and make wishes.

I asked her what she wished for... "Well, the first one, I wished that I can be in ONE place at ONE time--and the second one, I wished that when I go to Michigan, we'll take family pictures!"

I think she has a pretty good chance that both of those wishes will come true. It's an absolute sure thing on the second, at least. ;)

Christmas

While we typically travel for Christmas, we decided to stick close this year in hopes that Baby Brother might make his grand entrance. We enjoyed a Charlotte Christmas for the first time ever.

Here is Jordan on Christmas Eve.

She was very excited to read "The Night Before Christmas" with Daddy

The girls received some Lincoln Logs from Grandma & Papa Goose. They LOVED them!

Here is the finished project. Jordan was very proud.

Stella has pneumonia and isn't much in the holiday spirit.
Here's what a lot of the day looked like for her. Poor baby.

She did manage to play with a few toys...
that Jordan unwrapped for her.

Whenever anyone asked Jordan what she wanted for Christmas, she kept saying "tie shoes."

Our friend Brian got Jordan a Hello Kitty toaster, knowing her love of Hello Kitty AND toast. She insisted on Hello Kitty toast and a candy cane for lunch. And why not--it was Christmas!

At dinner time, we all took turns trying to get Stella to smile or laugh.
Here she is trying not to smile.

We hope all you blog readers had a very merry day, full of love and reflection.

Merry Christmas!

Yes, Stella still lives here, too

It seems like most of my blogging lately has been about Jordan, but Stella is also a huge joy for us! Lately, she moves so fast that it is hard to get a picture of her! :) She turned 18 months old on Dec. 7th, which seems like a big deal. We can hardly believe that she is so big. Here are some things about Stella to know: She loves to sing. She actually carries a tune pretty well and we can make out pieces of Twinkle, Twinkle, Happy Birthday, and Row, Row, Row Your Boat. She loves to climb on stuff and has acquired the nickname "monkey" for this. Getting up on the dining table is a favorite pastime. She has a lot of words (lots of orders--especially to the dogs) and is beginning to put two words together. She uses prepositions to indicate what she wants--up, down, on, off. Like her sister, she's fascinated by shoes and gets quite irritated if you do not have some shoes on your feet. She loves to look at books, especially if they have pictures of ducks in them. She feeds herself really well with a spoon and fork. Favorite foods are bread, oatmeal, goldfish, prunes, and cookies. She has cute words for all of them. She loves going to preschool and has several little friends there that she enjoys playing with. The teachers tell me that she loves the babies--good thing, as she's about to get a new one at home! She also loves to play with dolls and feeds them bottles and "hushes" them. Very cute. Puzzles are other favorite toys. We're still working on animal noises and she's getting better, but if she doesn't know sure, her answer will be "roar." Coloring is something she wants to do a lot--on paper, on the walls, on her toys. We're learning "on paper," and teaching Jordan that she really has to pick up her markers and paint pens when she is done with them. Speaking of Jordan, Stella really enjoys playing with her sister and they do well together. Stella had her 18 month check up lat week and she was 28 lbs. 5 oz. (90th percentile) and 32 3/4 inches (80th percentile). She's a big baby and we love her a lot!

Funny Stories

Two funny exchanges between Jordan & Jamie

Jordan: Daddy, is dancing art?
Jamie: Yes, dancing is art.
Jordan: Why?
Jamie: Well, because it is very creative.
Jordan: So, when I name all my stuffed animals, I'm very creative. Is that art?


Jordan: Daddy, do you know about everything?
Jamie: No, I only know about some things.
Jordan: Well, can you tell me about all of them?

Jordan's Nativity Scene

Jordan had been begging for us to get this giant, white, fake Christmas tree at Target. She took it pretty well, though, when Mom & Dad said we'd get a real tree instead.

Yesterday, I found a tiny white one and gave it to her as an early Christmas gift for her room. She was thrilled. She asked to have it on as her night light last night.

Here is what I found this morning.

Jordan explained to me that the bunny in the box was Baby Jesus, Pooh was Joseph, the baby doll was Mary, Hello Kitty & the Panda were the angels, and the tree was the star for Jesus. The rest of her room was the town of Bethlehem. She said she's going to leave it this way until Christmas day.

I loved it & was so glad she thought this up all herself. I think it is the best nativity scene I've ever seen. :)

Bragging on Grandma

You have to click on the photo to get the full effect, but Grandma Jan made this quilt for baby boy. It is really amazing & Jamie & I LOVE it! His room will be blue and green, and this fits perfectly. Isn't Grandma talented?! Thanks so much, Jan.

Jordan & Chloe

Again, thanks to my sister-in-law for taking pics over Thanksgiving!
Here is a great one of Jordan & Chloe!

Thanksgiving

We just spent the holiday weekend at Jamie's parents' home in Michigan. I realized yesterday morning that I had not taken a single picture. However, there are some shutterbugs in the family, so I am borrowing from my sister-in-law. :) Below is our group shot. Believe it or not, all these people but four were staying in the same house!


Here is a link to some pictures of the kids building a snowman on Janna's blog. http://jcoates.blogspot.com/2008/11/michigan.html

Silly Girls

We got our camera fixed recently (thanks, Darn Toothy Sam!) They were able to repair it for a fraction of the cost everyone else quoted us, and now our well-loved camera is not sitting in a landfill somewhere--yeah!

So, I've been taking a lot of pictures of the girls. I've missed being able to do so easily. Here are a few where they were being silly. It's one of their favorite ways to be. :)

We got a book from the Library about a little boy who thinks he got a box for his birthday. He plays with it in all kinds of fun ways, including making himself into a robot. Jordan had to do the same.

Stella tells us "done" when she is finished eating. If we don't remove her dishes quickly enough, she puts her dish on her head upside down, for some reason. The other night her leftover cheese sauce made a perfect river down her head, right off the tip of her nose.

I always admire my sister-in-law Rachel's talent for grabbing her camera & taking pics first, cleaning up the messes her kids have made second. I decided this moment was a perfect opportunity to imitate her. :)

A Little Confused

We are working with Stella to learn her animals & sounds. She doesn't quite have it yet. :)

Birthday Dinner

On Tuesday, Jordan turned four. Jamie and I are having a little bit of a hard time with the idea that our baby is four...it seems so old! She is lots of fun and keeps us on our toes. For her birthday dinner, she wanted to have homemade pizza and some of her "adult friends" over.

Jordan liked her pizza a lot

Jordan & Mommy

Jordan & Daddy

Jordan & Tamara

With Uncle Timmy

With Aunt Amy

She had a really fun time with her special people. :)

Halloween Stuff

We've kind of given up on the "no Halloween" thing around here... preschool made it tough for us to stick to our guns. I'm sure this makes my parents snicker a little, knowing how idealistic I can be. :) Anyway, we mean it when we say nothing scary!!

Jordan designed and helped carve her first jack-o-lantern. The pupils on the pumplin--her idea!!

Isn't this the cutest cow you've ever seen?

The girls getting ready to go to the neighborhood party.

Two cute pix

4th Birthday Party

On Saturday, we celebrated Jordan & Thomas' 4th birthdays a bit early at Ray's Splash Planet with a few little friends. They had a lot of fun!

Thomas & Jordan

Jordan & Morgan playing in the pool

Motorcycle Cupcakes

Jordan & Morgan

Jordan & Stella waiting to go inside before the party

Word Play Festival

Saturday was the Word Play Festival, an annual event put on by the local library system. We went as a whole family & had a good time enjoying the activities.

Jordan did a puppet show for us

She practiced the violin (which she is fascinated with, even before this!)

And they dressed up & played in the giant story book. Lots of fun!

(Here is last year)

Puzzles

Sorry we have not posted lately; we're still using the old camera that doesn't take very good pics. But here were a few good ones of Stella playing with a puzzle...a favorite activity these days! She's really good at knowing where the shapes go.

Festival in the Park

Last weekend was Festival in the Park. We went with some friends & enjoyed the cool weather. Here are some shots of the girls..

Jordan got a bunny painted on her arm

Jordan & Morgan looking at the Raptor Center exhibit

Stella had to sit in the stroller a lot...

Jordan's second pony ride

She loved it!

hair disaster

Last night, we had another hair adventure. I left the bathroom for about (seriously) 30 seconds while Jordan was getting ready for bed. I came back to her crying, with this comb wound so tightly in her hair, it took Jamie & me 30 minutes to pry it out. It was crazy. We have no idea how she got it in there like she did. Forgive the low quality pic...the beach killed our camera, so all we have is the one on Jamie's blackberry.

Beach Fun

We're in Holden Beach this week with many good friends--Ken, Laura & Baby Lylah, Julie, Matt, Morgan & Ava, and Cyndi, Pat, Jack & Clara. We are having a great time so far (& are crossing our fingers about this hurricane deal!) The girls are loving the ocean & being with their friends. So are we. :)