Christmas Traditions

This year we hosted Christmas at our house.  Grandma and Grandpa Walczynski joined us for Christmas Eve mass, dinner and present opening.  Our final gift this Christmas was for baby Jesus.  Everyone had to put a slip of paper in a wrapped box that said something they were going to do to be more like Jesus this coming year.  This tradition started because the girls were fighting days before Christmas Eve and Mommy decided to take away one of their presents.  In replacement, she put out the gift to Jesus box.  We plan to keep this box and have everyone add a thought each year.  No slips will ever be taken out of the box.  We also started the tradition of making omelets for Christmas breakfast and letting Daddy sleep in.  Of course board games and pjs will always make the tradition list.

On Christmas day, the Maas family visited our house.  Grandma Jan, Grandpa Bruce, Aunt Becky and Uncle Michael all stayed with us until Tuesday morning.  The girls loved doing puzzles, playing make-believe, playing board games and visiting the Children's Museum with family members.  The girls also got to go on some rides at the Mall of America.

We definitely have "girly" girls in the Maas household.  There aren't many four-year-olds and two-year-olds that Mommy knows who place clothes above toys, but these two love their dresses.  In the past few days, Mommy thinks the girls may have changed at least 30 times.  Pictures were almost impossible to get with multiple family members because the girls were always on the move.

Dance Recital and Winter Program

This year Emma danced to "The Little Mermaid" and "Turtle Rock" for her winter recital.  Analise proudly watched from the audience and even learned the words to some of the dance songs.  Both girls were extremely excited when Santa brought more dance lessons and new leotards for both Emma and Analise.  Now that Analise will be three in February, she can be in the same class as Emma.

The holiday concert with the girls Montessori school got canceled and rescheduled due to snow that never actually showed up.  The girls did enjoy learning lots of new holiday songs that Mom and Dad heard for the entire month of December.

A Visit to Duluth

Prior to the Christmas holiday, the girls went on a trip with their Grandma and Grandpa Walczynski up to Duluth.  They saw the Bentleyville light show and spent some quality time with other Walczynski family members.  The first photos show the girls visiting their Great Aunt Marchie at the Benedictine Health Center.  Emma and Analise have taken to dressing up these days and many  outfits are put on multiple times a day.  I am sure when Emma found a second or two to spare, she was "glizting up" the statute of Mary. Aunt Deb and Cousin Annie joined the girls during the light show and prepared a nice meal for them when they arrived. Besides the lights, there was smore making and tons of winter animal friends to greet. 

Rudolph the Red Rosed Reindeer

Last Sunday we went to see Rudolph at Stages Theater.  The girls loved the show, especially the "Bumble."  Both girls were originally afraid of the large monster that frequently appeared on the stage, but by the end of the performance, he was a favorite.  We are going to watch the TV claymation version of Rudolph this weekend to compare the movie with what we saw on the stage.  Mommy is sure that scenes will be reenacted by the girls throughout the Christmas season.  

Halloween Comes Early to the Maas House

Emma and Ani have taken to using their Halloween costumes every day for the past two weeks.  With princesses visiting daily, Mommy becomes frazzled and tries her hardest to keep the house in good order for their arrival.  While Grandma Jan and Grandpa Bruce visited, they also had a chance to meet the demanding princesses. The picture Grandma Jan took that has Mommy laughing so hard is displayed below.   It appears that Emma has decided to put a magic spell on herself so she can disappear, while Grandpa Bruce sneaks up from behind for a good tickle.

Grandpa playing the part of the prince with magical powers.  Of course all good princes listen to the full instructions provided by their princesses. 

Hoedown and Science Museum

The girls have been enjoying the outdoors this fall.  Last weekend we went out to collect fossils near Cherokee Heights.  We even found some volcanic rock and a small cave.  Most of the fossils in the rock were crinoids or corrals.  We also enjoyed a nice picnic lunch by the river.

The previous weekend we had our school Hoedown.  The girls loved the live music, face painting and hunting for their snack of a clementine decorated as a pumpkin.  We also visited the Science Museum when it was raining.  The museum has a new exhibit put on by 3M where kids get to work with wind and water.  They have a car wash as well as tons of tubes where kids can manipulate wind speeds.  The girls loved the ping pong ball part of the exhibit.

Big Trucks and Wild Rice Festival

What a busy day we had today.  I am not sure if we spent more than a few hours at home.  The day started with tumbling and dance lessons followed by a "Big Trucks" activity.  Then we were off to the wild rice festival in Roseville, came home for a quick nap.  Next we were off to church followed by a birthday party for our next door neighbor, Prince. 

As for gymnastics, Ani worked on hanging from the uneven bars.  Last year she was unable to hang but now she has much more upper body strength and loves the challenge of holding on for as long as her arms will let her.  Emma is happily learning her new dance moves for her "Under the Sea" performance in December.  I think being Ariel is a dream come true for Emma.  Disney music will definitely be heard in our house this fall.

After we finished up morning lessons, we headed to the "Big Truck" show.  When we first arrived, Analise was afriad to board some of the "Big Trucks."  However, after she saw Emma climb on a few, she was ready to give it a try.  Our first stop was the garbage truck.  This was followed by the tractor, snow plow, fire truck, ambulance, Bobcat and school bus.  Mommy wanted Emma and Ani to get in the really large digger but it was a bit intimidating and there was a long line.  Emma decided that her favorite truck was the ambulance which she visited multiple times.  Ani seemed to really like the snow plow and its walkie-talkie system.

The Wild Rice Festival proved to be an interesting event as well.  Here we saw Native American dancing, created gigantic bubbles with pvc pipes and string, saw how they press apple cider, watched a demonstration of how to extract honey from the honey comb, saw the different stages wild rice goes through as it is processed, checked out some buffalo skulls and learned about some special horses that work with police officers.

Perhaps the best part of the day was Prince's birthday equipped with a personal jump castle, gigantic slide and lots of outdoor lights.  The girls loved meeting new friends and running all over the backyard for his party.  By the time the day was wrapping up, both girls were exhausted.  Tomorrow will probably be less eventful with our new dryer coming in and perhaps some apple picking at the orchard.