things that are making me smile

how is it december already?

i can't believe christmas is right around the corner.

i'm not even remotely ready....i'm still trying to figure out what activities we are going to do.

and don't get me started on christmas shopping- 'cause i haven't!

but there are lots of things bringing smiles to my heart right now.

want to see a few of them?

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charlotte has discovered the little mermaid.

(i'm guessing from the 82,368 times we've ridden the ride at california adventures)

and she LOVES her.

her doll goes with her pretty much everywhere and she sleep with it.

when she sees a mermaid anywhere she shouts "MERMAID!"

cutest.thing.ever.

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we got to celebrate jeff's birthday at disneyland.

i heart our passes.

and i heart my husband.

we had a special dinner at ariel's grotto

which gave us passes to see world of color.

(but kinda rip-off... no princesses at night)

it was a really fun night.

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the kids are SO loving everything christmas.

they were crazy excited to put our tree up.

(and jackson was insistent on putting 'tree lights outside')

we let them decorate for about 37 seconds, and then put them to bed and finished.

christmas lights at night- the perfect amount of lighting.  

i love christmas decorations.  a lot.

january is always a very sad month.

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the big kids have bookshelves next to their beds with little night lights.

it makes nighttime a little easier (most of the time) as they read in their beds and then go to sleep when they are ready.

here is bella's shelf. pretty typical.  lots of girl/disney books & her big god story book.

here is what makes me smile.

this is jackson's shelf.

there are a few things he has to have up there.

1. his action bible- it is a super-cool bible all illustrated like a comic book.  he loves it.  and i love hearing him read the bible.

2.  anthologies-  jackson loves to read, but he REALLY loves a book with lots of stories in it. 

3. maps- he is really into maps right now.  he collects the disneyland ones and will just sit on his bed and read through the descriptions and plot his next trip.  and he will have a definite opinion about which map he wants (they change with the season.  we always grab a big handful every time we go!)

4. cd inserts- he loves reading the lyrics to songs.  he will read the lyrics and sing the songs to himself.  pretty much the cutest.

(ps... something that does NOT make me smile: can i just say making a top bunk may be my LEAST favorite chore?  and that is saying a lot, cause i have a list of un-favorite chores.  it is like some kind of mommy torture trying to get that top comforter smooth and tucked in.  every day.)

my little reader

he is working so hard at school.

i'm not sure he loves it,

but he is really trying.

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we recently did a little project at home to work on his cutting & writing 

(both are areas of difficulty for him.  his fine motor skills have always been slow to develop)

i let him pick out a picture from a magazine to cut out, and then write a sentence.

no surprise... he found a CARS picture.

he loves everything CARS.

we put it up on one of his little bulletin boards.

here is a family picture he drew this summer.

it makes my heart happy as this was the first one he ever did.

CARS+a map = one of his favorite toys.

working so hard on his homework.

i'm so proud of this little boy.

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last saturday night we headed over to balboa to walk around the island and look at all the beautiful christmas lights on the houses.

jackson wasn't too sure about riding the ferry.

but he loved seeing all the lights.

and i loved holding his hand as we walked.

bella insisted on wearing her santa hat.

we got her a hot chocolate.

she was in heaven.

after a walk around the island.. this is a pretty good depiction of how the end of the night went:

jackson- happy

charlotte- cranky, kinda sick, and pushing/kicking anyone who got close

bella- tired and crashing from the sugar

it was a great night.

i needed that.

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we took family pictures on friday.

a friend from my nurture table and i are doing a picture-swap.

this is the only one i've seen, but i already love it.

i'd be happy if this was the only pic i got from the whole thing.

every other pic will just be icing on the cake!

that's what we have going on here.

what's making you smile right now?