Nutcracker 2013: Snowflake

This year’s Nutcracker’s theme was Alice in Wonderland, and Helen Grace’s class was a snowflake. She has been so excited about their costume and that she got to wear gloves. We have had a bit of an ice storm (and FREEZING temps) this weekend, so her costume/theme was quite appropriate! She wasn’t nervous at all and did a great job. She liked watching the big girls on stage with her, and she was confident in her moves and happy to be there.

I, on the other hand, was a nervous wreck about doing her bun. It was a first for me, and HG was an angel to let me practice a few times the week before (we also watched a couple of videos- she was fascinated). This from the girl that usually cries when I brush her hair! On performance night, she sat somewhat patiently while I pushed through it, and I was pleased with the final results. She did NOT like the hairspray, and surprisingly, the blush. The lip gloss was her favorite, of course!

Despite the freezing rain, we celebrated with a milkshake at Sonic and then a cuddle in our pjs in front of the fireplace and Christmas tree. A perfect day!

“Don’t come near me with that stuff!” Ready to go! A quick pic before the show Ann Maxwell, Riley, Katelynn, HG When I picked her up backstage after the show, she asked me, “Did you forget my flowers?!?!” Little diva! Her grandmamas had them out in the auditorium, waiting on her. FREEDOM!!!!! The only way we got her off the stage was Ms. Emily catching her and making a run for it!

A little craziness after the show from these two monkeys…

A perfect end to the day!

Beauty & the Beast

For our Toohig-Mattice girls’ holiday date this year, we met for a pizza dinner at Three Guys and then went to see Beauty & the Beast at DeSoto Family Theatre. We were blown away with the performance because they had a ton of Broadway people on their team for the show- the costumes and acting talent were wonderful! Almost as soon as the show started and the beast appeared, HG started freaking out. He was quite realistic looking, and she kept saying, “I wanna go home! I wanna go home!” I finally calmed her down by reminding her that he was just an actor in a costume, but whew, I thought our night was going to be short-lived! Once she calmed down, she really enjoyed it and was enthralled. The actors were in the lobby afterward, and while she did not want to stop and meet any of them, she was really excited when we passed Gaston and Belle’s father. Another fun and magical girls’ night with our little princesses!

Decorating the Tree- Finally!

This girl was begging to decorate for Christmas for days before Thanksgiving, so when the day was finally past and her daddy gave the ok, she immediately wanted to get out the Christmas tree.

I really enjoyed her help decorating this year. She unpacked all of them and directed me where to hang them. We made a big mess but had a lot of fun! We decided to put both the tree and our Snow Village in the den instead of living and dining rooms so that we can enjoy it every day. It’s been a big hit, and she’ll play with the Snow Village people and houses for forever.

Her Elf on the Shelf has returned too. She literally changes his name every day, so I am unsure of what to report his name is today. But as soon as she wakes up, she wants to go find him to see where he has landed from the previous night’s trip to the North Pole. At least he makes it easy to get her out of bed on school mornings!

P.S. I’m trying to start a tradition of getting her an ornament each year that is special for something she’s done or accomplished that year. I guess the long-term goal would be for her to take these with her for her own ‘first tree’ when she grows up, but I can’t think about that without crying- so moving on! Last year, we added an ornament for her Wild West Nutcracker, and this year, we added a soccer player. She’s been really proud of her soccer girl and carries it around constantly.

“Take a picture of me, Mama!” Love those tippy toes What she spent most of the time doing Ta da!!!

SAA JK Thanksgiving Program

Helen Grace is the first on the left of the bottom row. We are so proud of these kiddos for knowing all the words and hand motions. Mrs. Marques is a saint!

Thankful Turkeys

We had a very happy Thanksgiving this year- complete with a morning in our pjs in front of the fireplace watching the parade and then a feast over at Jeanne’s. We are so, so blessed.

Toohig Tidbits

“Isn’t that something?!” or “It’s crazy, isn’t it?!”

One morning, it was raining on the way to school. “I bet GG is getting wet up there!”

I asked her what she liked best about her new school, and she said, “I like making new friends. I like to try to find people that need a friend and be their friend. Kind of like your job, Mama, where you find things for people.”

She’s a lovebug when she wants to be. When I lay down with her, she immediately sticks her feet between my legs, and when we were in Arkansas, I woke up one morning to her scratching my back.

One cold morning, we were both getting dressed. I had on a dress but hadn’t put on my tights yet. She said, “Girl, you are going to FREEZE!”

She really wants to grow, and in the car recently, she asked, “Am I going to be big til I know it?” It took me a second, but I apparently often tell her ‘you’ll be big BEFORE you know it.’

“That’s what a piggy bank is for. You save it all up, and then you give it all away to poor people.”

She explained blu ray technology to me. “If it’s not blu ray, it’s just regular. Like on tv.”

At dinner the other night, we were referring to someone acting rudely and made mention to them behaving as a ‘five letter B word.’ HG didn’t seem to be paying attention, but within seconds, she piped up with ‘rich bitch.’ So now we cannot spell, rhyme, or give the number of letters in words. Can’t wait to get the note home from school about that one!

We met the Baldersons for an after school yogurt date recently (Nov 25), on which Jessica pointed out was HG’s half-birthday. OMG!! Little ducks in a row OUT. COLD. Mrs. Blaizel sent me this pic from naptime recently. I’ve figured out the way to guarantee she takes a good nap at school- bribing her with quarters! Jan 2012 / Nov 2013:  My favorite little Newk’s dateCan’t get enough of this sweet pic. A great start to the Thanksgiving weekend- Frozen with Mama and Daddy! Family dinner night with Bubba It’s 50 degrees outside, but my girl insisted on riding to school with her window down. I think she just wanted an excuse to cuddle up in her new princess blanket from the Mattice girls.Late night hot chocolate We went to visit Darby, Ryves, and Mary Chris over the holiday and to let John take some newborn pics of her. I always love watching Ryves charm and play with HG. Darby will be her age before we know it!