Calli Goes to School!

Last week, I started having three lunches to pack because...Calli started school!!

We had been talking about putting Calli in Wee Place next year, but before Christmas, I talked to the director and asked her if there were any openings in the 2 year old class this year. Any time we walk Cooper in to her class, Calli loves being there and never wants to leave. I wasn't sure we could swing it, but I just wanted to see if it was even a possibility. She told me that the 2 year old class was full, so I told her no big deal - that we would just stick with our plan of putting her in in the fall.

Well, we came back after the Christmas break, and she told me that two kids had left that class over the break! She said they could take Calli if we wanted to put her in. Randy was in Cambodia, but we were able to talk about it some, and we talked about how it would be so good for Calli to be with other adults, with other kids, working on language more, and it would also be good for us to have time apart. We prayed about it, and God totally provided for us to be able to enroll her! We are so thankful and just so excited that she has the opportunity to be in such a wonderful environment. She goes on Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 9-1, just like Cooper. Their classrooms are right across the hall from each other.

Here she is on her first day of school! She was so excited as we talked about her going to school, just like Cooper, and Cooper was also so excited about her being there. She felt like such the big sister.

Her second day of school...this picture kills me. I told them to hug and smile and Calli quickly just slipped her little hand in Cooper's pocket. She looks a little unsure, and I love how she leans on Cooper to take care of her. :) And Cooper is just so proud.  

Calli's teachers are Ms. Jennifer and Ms. Morgan. They are so sweet to her and she already loves them so much! She never cries when I leave her and she is always happy to go. Today Ms. Jennifer told me that she is getting pretty attached to them, and that she didn't want to leave them to see Mrs. Stephanie for chapel. I told her I thought that was a good sign that she was getting attached to them!

 

When I went to pick them up, I was able to take a few more pictures. Here's Cooper in line.

And here's Cooper practicing cutting in her class.

And here's Calli! She was so sweet - she saw Randy and I there to pick her up, but she was sitting in her line so great and didn't run to us! Sweet girl!

 

And today was pajama day! The girls were so excited and looked so cute in their new robes!

We are so, so thankful we have had the opportunity for both of the girls to go to school. They are loving it...and so am I! 

While Dad's Away...

Randy left on January 2nd to lead a team from our church to Cambodia, and he wasn't home until the 14th. That's a looooong time for this mama of three! We missed him so much and were super thankful for how far technology has come and for how often we were able to talk to him. When he started making this trip in 2008, we were not able to talk very much, and when we were able to, it was expensive. Now we can face time anytime he is on wifi, which sometimes meant when he was in the van driving out to the village! Crazy! The girls looked forward to talking to him most mornings and evenings, and they commented all the time about how he was awake when we were asleep and how he was asleep when we were awake - like in China. :) I'm so thankful that they are already beginning to have a world view that includes other people and places, and that they are seeing their Daddy model how we are to love our neighbors - even those on the other side of the world. We have such sweet conversations with the girls surrounding Randy's trips: why he is going, who he is meeting where he goes, how things are different in other parts of the world, what all we have to be thankful for, and how we are required to be responsible with what we have been given. Big conversations for such little girls!

So we had a lot of time to fill just the four of us girls. We were so thankful that Mom came to spend a few days with us on the front end of the trip. She came the first three nights Randy was gone and she spoiled me! I was so thankful to have her help and her company, and none of us were happy to see her go!

Mom left on Sunday, Kendall had Monday off still, but then she started back to school on Tuesday. She was excited to go back after Christmas break, and couldn't wait to see her teacher. I'm so thankful for how she loves school! Definitely something we have prayed for! One day she asked me to come eat lunch with her, so while Cooper was at preschool on Thursday, Calli and I came and ate with her.

We played a lot in the afternoons with Sarah, Caleb, and Mary, and we had a couple of dinners with Kathy because Greg was on the trip, too. One night we went to her house, where the girls love playing, and then another night we met at Chick fil A. Great, fun ways to pass the time! Friday, I got a sitter for Cooper and Calli, and I got to go to Houston with Mary to see her sweet baby on sonogram. Such a fun day out with her! The girls had been asking to have a slumber party with me, so that night, I let them sleep in bed with me and we stayed up watching TV. They think that is so much fun and they looked forward to it all week.

Saturday, I wanted to plan something fun (Randy wasn't coming home until Tuesday), and I knew the weekend would feel long with only church planned for Sunday morning. So, I decided to use our zoo passes and take the girls to the zoo! I thought it might be a little crazy, but decided it would be nice to get out of the house, and the weather was supposed to be gorgeous, so we just went for it. I figured no one else would think to go to the zoo in January...I was wrong! It was more crowded than I've ever seen it! Other than the crowds, we had a great time. We got there about 12:30 and left at 4:30 after riding the train, and all of us were worn out. Kendall and Cooper were great and were big helpers...Calli was a little more difficult. She is still such a wanderer and would just take off, not caring if anyone was following her or not. I brought our wagon, but she was in and out of that all day, so we took our time walking through the zoo. I joked that I needed a leash for her! It was a fun day, though, and we all enjoyed riding the train before we went home.

 

Red panda from China! We actually saw these at the Panda World in Fuzhou, but they call them "lesser pandas" there, because they are smaller than the black and white pandas. The ones we saw were trained and put on a show for us. The girls were excited to see this Red Panda from China at the Houston zoo!

Sunday, I took the girls' picture before church because they were wearing some new dresses I bought them. I found a website with great clothing called the Tea Collection. Each season, they pattern their clothes after a particular country, and last season was China! So all of their China clothes were on sale, and I got each of the girls one dress. They look so cute all together!

Randy's flight got in Tuesday afternoon, and I got to go to the airport in Houston to pick him up! The girls were beyond excited to see him, and those hugs that he got when they first got to him were amazing! They love their Daddy and they missed him so much. When we got home, they asked if he would jump on the trampoline with them, and then they jumped around him saying, "Daddy is here! Daddy is here!" So sweet.

 

 

We're ALL so glad he is home! Another big thing happened while he was gone...Calli started school! More on that to come!

 

Christmas With Gigi and Peeps

After we celebrated Christmas with Kiki and Pops, we went to Gigi and Peeps' on the afternoon of the 25th to have Christmas with them! Gracie, Evy, Val, Jeff, and Oliver were there, and everyone was excited to open presents! The girls have so much fun watching each other open gifts, and opening their stockings together. So exciting! 

Cooper fell asleep on the way to Gigi and Peeps' house, so she was a little slow to get started, but she finally woke up and was ready to party!

Matching jammies! Also, Kendall and Cooper made Gracie and Evy cousins frames and they were so excited to give them to them!

Cooper's new bike!

And Calli got a trampoline for inside the house! She loves it so much and just jumped and jumped so much while we were there. We weren't able to bring it home with us because the van was so full, but Gigi and Peeps are coming down soon and will bring it with them. She will be so excited!

Oliver's first Christmas! And Calli's, too!!

Opening stockings.

The girls got some shrinky dinks in their stockings, so they were excited to work on those with Aunt Val!

 And look at these sweet cousins! The four big girls slept together each of the four nights we were there. They loved having a slumber party every night!

Evy and Cooper - so sweet!

 We stayed at Gigi and Peeps' for the next few days and had a lot of fun just being together and relaxing. As much relaxing as 6 kids can be. :) The cousins all loved playing outside together, playing with all their new presents, and just hanging out. On our last day there, Gigi took Gracie, Kendall, Val and I to get our nails done! She had told Gracie and Kendall awhile back that she would take them for pedicures, so they were excited to go. Kendall got a little nervous when we got there, but she was brave and tried it and loved it!

And they all loved playing on the new swing set!

We had so much fun celebrating Christmas with all our family in Ft. Worth! We're so thankful for all the wonderful gifts we all were given, and the girls have had a lot of fun the past few weeks playing with all their new things. We came home on the 31st so Randy could get ready to go to Cambodia. He left on the 2nd and just got home Tuesday the 14th. We missed him and have been enjoying being together at home again.

 

Christmas With Pops and Kiki

Mid-morning on the 25th, we headed to Pops and Kiki's house! Maegan, Donna, and Great-Granny came over and we had a wonderful lunch and opened more presents. I love their tree in the living room!

Holding their stockings  and trying not to peek!

 

Opening presents! We were so proud of the girls slowing down more this year and telling everyone thank you for everything they received. They get so much for Christmas that it is very important to us that they are appreciative and don't rush through all the opening.

This was the year of the Barbie. The girls have really started enjoying dressing them up and playing with Barbies, so each of them got their own Barbie from Aunt Megg. So fun!

I don't know what Cooper and Great Granny were talking about here, but it looks like fun!

 

 And a great lunch! 

Notice - no kids. Best idea ever. I put Calli down for a nap, and Cooper and Kendall were in the study watching a movie. I was actually able to taste my food and enjoy conversation!

We went to Gigi and Peeps' for the next few nights, but then came back to Pops and Kiki's house for a few nights on the end of our trip. Sunday we had lunch at Great Granny's house and the girls loved seeing her tree and all her Christmas decorations. They just love playing at her house and that makes me so happy!  

She had a tea set all ready for them to have a little tea party. They were so excited about this and kept coming back again and again for more refills of water in their tea pitcher!

After we ate lunch, Great Granny had an ice cream sundae bar for them to make their own sundaes. Such a hit! Kiki helped them make their sundaes.

Cheers!

We're always so thankful for all the time we get to spend with all our family. Living out of town and traveling for Christmas is a new and different experience than what either Randy or I grew up doing, but we love the excitement the girls have when we travel to Ft. Worth to see all their family. Such an adventure!