Creative Movement

All summer, Hadley was anxious to get back to her weekly ballet classes. She did a couple of week long camps, sure, but that just wasn't enough to satisfy her love of being in Ms. Stephanie's studio with all of those other little girl dancers. 

In September, her wish came true as she got to begin her next series of weekly classes as part of the "Creative Movement" group - a pre-ballet class. Each Thursday afternoon, Mommy toted her and her brothers to the studio so this princess could dance.

One of the best parts for her is just putting on that tu-tu, which she likes to don sometimes when we aren't even going ballet or long after we've gotten home from practice. This giant Christmas one that I ordered for her from someone local who makes them turned out to be much larger than I expected. Hadley, of course, loved it in all its fluffy glory.

Though she looked pretty cute in that big ole' thing, Mommy said we'd have to change into something else for her actual ballet class, and poor Hadley just couldn't understand why Miss Stephanie and the other dancers might not appreciate this oversized, puffy skirt at practice. It did seem a shame to only get to wear it at home, so we made a bargain. Hadley got to wear it to the studio to show her teacher, and then we'd switch to a smaller tu-tu while Mommy held the bigger one until after practice - the perfect arrangement.

Unlike in her previous "Mommy and Me" dance class, this time the parents didn't get to sit in the studio with the kids. Instead we had to try to squeeze in and get our best views of our daughters through the small window in the waiting area. For the last practice before Christmas though, we got invited in to be a part of the experience, which was nice.

Though ballet has been a wonderful and joyful experience for Hadley this fall and winter, it has been also been very difficult for me. Getting everyone ready and out the door, entertaining the boys for an hour in a cramped space right around Reid's nap time, and trying to rearrange our homeschool schedule to accommodate her extracurricular activity has stretched me (which is part of why I don't have more pics). However, I really felt like it was important for her to have the socialization, especially with other girls since she spends so much time with her brothers.

That said, usually, the dancers stay in "Creative Movement" until age four, but thankfully, since Hadley was such a good listener and did so well, Miss Stephanie said that she could be promoted to Ballet I in January, a few months shy of her fourth birthday. This has provided so much more freedom and meant we could sign up for a Saturday morning class, making it much easier on me because Dave or I can trade off with the boys. It also gives her more of a challenge in an area where is growing well. More updates on all of that to come in June once she wraps up her first session in a "real" ballet class.

Christmas 2015

Christmas morning definitely was fun this year with all of our children in that window of time when they still wake up and greet the gifts under the tree with amazement and bubbling excitement. 

Miss Hadley finally got to see what she'd peeked through the hallway spindles and spotted the night before. A little doll bed that belonged to me as a child sat under the tree, waiting many more years of good use. Though being presented to a new generation, it hadn't lost its allure. My sweet girl received it with happiness.

...yet that was just the beginning. The kids seemed to enjoy all their gifts. While we weren't extravagant, Dave and I tried to pick one or two things the older two had voiced that they'd love to have and picked up a couple surprises as well. For Reid, we weren't sure what he'd like, but in the end, he seemed pretty pleased with what we came up with too.

The one thing Caleb really wanted was a down comforter. Not the usual request for a five-year-old at Christmas time but he was thrilled with it and Mommy has been enjoying it too.

Those oranges (or in this case clementines) in the stockings always gets a smile. How silly, Mommy!

Reid was definitely the hardest to shop for and pretty much always is since he has so many fun hand-me downs. At the last minute, I was still trying to figure out ideas when Dave decided to pick up this Star Wars potato head. Not something Mommy would have thought to pick up, but Daddy has good ideas too. 

He especially loved the "sword."

Hadley had been showing some interest in Caleb's LeapPad lately, so Dave thought it would be good for her to have one of her own. He also found a sale on a few games to go along with it and purchased several as an extra surprise for both her and her older brother. Planning ahead, Dave had them downloaded and ready to go, which really made their morning. Since the kids don't get much screen time on computers, this was a pretty big treat, especially during the week off from school that followed when Mommy and Daddy relaxed the rules a little. 

Daddy, you did pretty good!

Truth be told, Hadley was excited about pretty much everything she opened. It made me happy since I felt like we really made her Christmas special.

I had hoped to get Hadley a big girl bed, but she might have to wait until her birthday. I did pick up these owl sheets she wanted in anticipation of it though.

And what a hit this was!

At one point, I heard her mention that she really wanted an Easy-Bake Oven because she'd seen it on a commercial at Granny's. Though I had planned to get her something else, Mommy decided a little change in plans wouldn't hurt. Her excitement was worth it. :)

Reid was a bit more reserved when opening gifts and I didn't feel like I got many genuine smiles. For that boy, I think just trying to figure out the whole experience took a bit of processing. He was finally getting to open those presents under the tree after Mommy been scolding him for weeks to stay away from them.

Reid can be a little dancing machine, so this step on keyboard caught my eye months ago. 

Caleb approached Christmas in a funny way this year. At first, he kept telling me that he wanted everything he saw each time a commercial came on the TV at Granny's. Then one day he told he didn't want anything but quality time with me. No toys? - I questioned him. He said "no," just time with me. Later though, he brought up how much he'd really love to have a down comforter like mine and, honestly, it was the only gift he kept mentioning, so we definitely made sure to pick up one of those - even if it was a unique idea for a kid his age.

My engineer husband mentioned a while back that he'd also love to purchase a circuit set for Caleb so they could try it out together, and spotting one at Target while browsing one day, I picked it up. Not long after that Caleb saw some kids at the soccer field with a car built out of circuits and was very excited about it, so I was sure he'd love the gift. While he was a little disappointed that he couldn't build a car out of his, Caleb was still thrilled with what he was able to create with the set he received.

Every future engineer needs a circuit building set, right?

Oh and the grown-ups got a few things too... :)

We weren't feeling rushed like some Christmas mornings have been, which I definitely appreciated. I am so grateful that we get to wake up in our own home and let our kids leisurely open their gifts and play with them. Each kid had four gifts to open and their stockings, which may not sound like a ton, but takes quite a bit of time as we go one by one so we can savor the joy on each of their faces. 

Mommy had to make sure to get a few good pictures before we got started too!

After learning my lesson from years past, I didn't put a lot of time or money into planning out the kids outfits, and it was a good thing because the weather wasn't the typical frigid December temps that we are used to. No Christmas sweaters needed here - unless you wanted to sweat like crazy! We aren't complaining though; it was so nice to be able to get outside during the day for a bit.

Granny's was our first stop that morning for family time and breakfast!

The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins while the grow-ups visited, and then we all piled into Granny's living room for gifts. However, present opening was chaos this year. There were so many people that it was hard to find a spot and the gifts were getting all mixed together. I was disappointed that I missed the kids opening a few of their items, but that is just the nature of having so many in the house at one time and we're just grateful that we can all still do it together.

Granny knows what little boys like.

Reid wasn't too worried about presents. What he really liked was this camouflaged gun he found in the toy room. Over and over he asked people to pull it back so he could shoot it again and giggle wildly. This is how he spent a good portion of his time at Granny's, and I don't know what was funnier, how long that entertained him or how long my family members were entertained watching him laugh like crazy every time. 

My favorite part was visiting with everyone.

Hadley was, of course thrilled to see Anabella. All the kids played so well, and after the fact I wished I'd have gotten picture of them together vs. spending so much time gabbing.

Caleb was excited to finally be able to give Dan the gift he'd picked out for him - rocks. Yep, a bag of rocks from the Dollar Tree. What a little boy gift from one five-year-old to another. And Dan was thrilled with it!

Reid eventually got tired of shooting the gun (or maybe someone took it away from him). Anyway, he went back to opening gifts once the crowd had cleared. He may have had the right idea though, because by that point he got Granny all to himself for a little play time.

After Granny's, we went to my mom's to let the kids take a nap before we opened gifts there. We also got another delicious meal thanks to Mom's hard work.

Who got you all those Disney Princesses, Hadley?

"Poe-doe head" Reid calls it.

This was one of the top gifts Caleb wanted - "Hulk Smasher Van" as he calls it. He spotted it in Toys R Us when looking for Reid's birthday present back in October and told Dave all about how he'd seen it on TV and would love to have one. (Mommy might have let it slip to NaNa.)

NaNa loves to buy them classic toys.

The kids have been so interested in Courtney's gift, which was the largest under our tree. When we opened the box and a smaller one fell out we were all surprised. 

As always guys are hard to shop for. Knowing Brandon loves his truck though, I asked Courtney for this engagement photo of them so I could have it blown up on a throw. 

Grandma and Granddaddy made it down too.

Reid is so active that I thought he would love a trampoline, so Mommy hinted to NaNa once again. Sure enough he loved it!

The only problem was that he jumped so hard it kept tipping!

Dave went through the Christmas story with the kids before we left, and it was so fun to watch Hadley acting out the story with our Little People Nativity set. It was a nice closure to the day to refocus what our celebrating was all about.

All in all, it was such a nice day filled with lots of joyous smiles, and we really got a good amount quality time with those we loved. Even trying to get around to see everyone and take everything in didn't feel as pressured as it has in past years, which really helped us to savor it more. 

They're only this little for one season... and I'm soakin' it in...