After Thanksgiving the weather in Arizona got really, really cold! Mom was excited since she got to pull out all of our winter coats and accessories. Mom wasn't the only one excited- check out Macie as she "hams it up" in front of the camera in her new coat sent from Miss Elizabeth!!!
I wasn't nearly as excited since I DO NOT like the cold, but that didn't stop me from posing for the camera.
Since Macie has been maturing quickly, and my preschool teacher has been persistent in her encouragement, Mom decided she would let Macie join me at school a couple days a week.
On her first day, Mom made sure to pack Macie a special lunch in her new pink lunch box (which matched her outfit, of course)!
Macie was SO excited to be a big girl that she pranced through the parking lot, eager to get to class.
After dropping us off, Mom lingered in the hallway for a while and watched as the two of us went about our business.
Macie did an exceptional job at her first day of school, and Mom, Dad, and I were all proud of her!
I had so much fun at school that I got to go back two days later! I could hardly wait to leave the house!
At school I got to play around with Macie and my friends, and we all had a blast!
After the first week of wearing Jackets, Mom was fed up- apparently getting them on and off was getting to be a pain, and strapping us in our car seats was proving to be far too time consuming- it was then that Mom got a bright idea...
She took to the sewing machine and began creating new winter wardrobe masterpieces. Her favorite peices were the arm warmers and leg warmers. Here we are in some of her new creations:
As the weather heated up a bit (still in the 50's and cold), Mom made sure we had ones to match all of our outfits- believe it or not, they really do make a difference in keeping us warm!!!
Mom wasn't the only one working hard to keep us warm this month- home from work on the weekend, Dad dressed in his Woodland Camo Hoodie and went out in the wilderness (downtown Phoenix) to gather some wood.
In less than 2 hours Dad returned home with a trunk full of chopped wood- both Macie and I were incredibly impressed with his outdoors skills.
The whole family worked together to unload the wood from the car,
and we all stacked it a nice pile inside the yard.
Macie got bored after two trips from the car, and decided to play ball with Jax instead. Both Mom and dad couldn't get over what a great overhand throw she has...
Since Christmas was rapidly approaching, we decided that it was time to get a Christmas Tree!
Uncle Will came over, and the whole family drove around town to check out the tree selection. Our first stop was Home Depot, where Macie was super excited to see all the Christmas decor. She ran around in circles in the parking lot, laughing out loud, in anticipation of all the great things she was about to see...
It took Dad a while to corral her, but once he did we walked across the parking lot to survey their lot.
The tree selection was poor, but Home Depot had a large selection of inflatable decor that we couldn't wait to see.
After dozens of vetoes from Mom, we left empty handed and headed for the next spot on our list.
This one was an actual tree farm, and there were TONS of trees to choose from. Macie and I ran up and down the aisles looking for the perfect tree.
It was Macie that spotted our "keeper",
after inspecting it thoroughly, I agreed!
While they were packaging up our tree and loading it on our car, we searched for the perfect mini-tress for our bedrooms.
While they were packaging up our tree and loading it on our car, we searched for the perfect mini-tress for our bedrooms.
We found a bunch of little tree scraps, but were unable to find mini-sized trees that would fit in our windows.
Lucky for us, the guys at the tree farm were quite crafty and were able to make make us trees using an old stump and branches!
At home we all worked together to decorate the tree.
Because Mom is a little too OCD about the placement of ornaments on the tree, Macie and I ate some snacks in the kitchen while singing and dancing to holiday music.
Before long, the tree was complete- I was SO glad it was up early in the month so that we would have a long time to admire it!
Once we were all done decorating for the holidays, Mom had to turn her focus back to the sewing machine. Our arm and leg warmers had become quite a hit at the gym, and lots of people were asking about purchasing some. Mom was super excited at the possibility of creating and selling more items, but needed to sit down and sew, sew, sew. As you can imagine, it is rather difficult for her to get much done with Macie and I tugging at her feet, so she tried to take advantage of Dad being home on the weekends...
That was good news to us, since Dad = FUN!!!
With Dad, we pose for silly pictures;
Eat McDonalds for breakfast;
Run around like silly geese:
Get insider sports tips from the master (who can throw a football over the mountains);
Play musical instruments, rock out, and dance;
Check out my super sweet moves:
Macie is coming up with some pretty great moves too:
Go Shopping for cool toys;
and always have a smile on our face because we have the BEST Dad in the WHOLE WORLD:
When Mom hasn't been busy, we have enjoyed some fun times as a family- here we are playing outside on the trampoline:
I absolutely LOVE Eddie and can't get enough of him-
and neither can Macie, she is always trying to snuggle with him.
Eddie is a very tolerant cat, and doesn't seem to mind when we tug, pick, pull, or hit...
Dad and Mom both think that Eddie is a little slow- I don't know how they could come to that conclusion...
Mom, Dad, and I love hearing Macie call to Eddie Van Halen- her little voice is SO cute, and the way she pronounces his name is hilarious:
He loves it when we harass him:
and spent lots of time playing with friends!
I always enjoy my time with Bella and her family- sometimes we even get to go out to dinner with them!!!
December flew by, and before we knew it, it was time to head to California to see all of our family and friends! This trip was more special than the others, because DAD got to come with us!!!!!!!!!! Everything is more fun with Dad- especially car rides...
While Dad was being silly, I entertained myself with a movie and Macie tried to catch up on some sleep.
Poor Mom sat in the front seat with an incredibly happy look on her face- Dad was driving fast over the bumpy road and she was getting car sick...
When we made it to Gila Bend the whole family got out to visit the Dinosaur. Mom used to love seeing the dinosaur when her family would drive through the town when she was little, so Dad had us take a picture- Mom was super excited!!!
It took FOREVER to drive to Grandma Judy's house; probably because Dad had to stop the car about 100 times for 100 different things (bathroom, food, gas, etc.). Macie and I spent our morning with Grandma while Mom and Dad slept in. I was SO glad to be with Grandma, because she is LOTS of fun- can you believe we got to eat left over pizza and chocolate milk for breakfast...we even got to eat in front of the TV!!!!
It was a beautiful winter day in San Diego, so Macie and I dressed in warm clothes and took off to the Ocean with Grandma. We were so excited to be back in the sand!!!
At the ocean we jumped the waves and practiced making sand castles for the princesses!
Macie thinks jumping the waves is super fun,
and she is finally getting big enough to help out with castle construction!
After nap time, we drove out to the Umbarger's to visit with our family and celebrate Uncle Randy's birthday!!! Mom stopped at the store to grab some birthday balloons, and while we were waiting in the car, Macie and I rocked out with Dad.
Inside we played around while the food was cooking- Dad was so excited at the pile of meat that was being grilled that he could hardly speak...
With full bellies we sat at the counter and sang happy birthday to our Uncle Randy!
Way too full from all the food, the family sat together in the living room and I decided to play "beauty shop" with Pa.
Pa was a great client, he sat still while I worked my magic. Mom informed me that she used to play beauty shop with Pa when she was a little girl, but she used to charge him money for her services. I was so excited that I could earn money while doing something I really enjoy!!!
When Pa was done he looked super handsome with his ponytail, and I walked away one dollar richer- everyone was a winner!!
When Macie saw how much fun I was having, she decided to try her hand at beauty shop with Uncle Randy...
I moved on to Aunt Connie, but she was a little apprehensive...apparently Mom had played beauty shop with Aunt Connie about 25 years ago, and it didn't end well- Connie had to cut a comb out of her hair right at the front of her scalp, I guess she had some really, really, really short bangs for a while...
We spent the following morning playing in the sand at the bay,
and enjoyed strolling up and down the shoreline.
