So, to give you an idea of just how petite this girl is...this is an American Girl Doll chair!! It is just the right size for our little Claire! Just reminds me of the chair for baby bear, just right... since she is affectionately referred to as 'Claire Bear' by her family!
Oh the care-free life of a toddler! That is actually a shirt she decided to put on as tights...and all the cushions are off the couch! The constant request was, "Watch, Nana!!"
Yes, Rylee and Jordan discovered the dress-up box!! They had so much fun and I had such a good time watching them come up with new and lovlier combinations!! A dress-up box (we have two actually) it a bottomless hole of fun...I highly recommend them!
Creative Kelsey decided that a princess skirt for Rylee's upcoming 2nd birthday party couldn't be that hard to make, so she purchased some purple and white tulle and borrowed a chunk of elastic from my stash and created this tutu! We have been the lucky recipients of several visits from Kelsey and Rylee in the past few months. Kelsey says of course Rylee loves going to Nana's, Nana lets her do whatever she wants!! (Not exactly true, but pretty close!) Did you ever think I would just let my house go and be a mess??? Well, check me out these days when the grandkids come to play...I just let it go!!! Even more amazing, I am okay with it!!! I think that is real progess on my part! :)
Courtney and Lauren took an after-school art class from a lovely older woman in Burlington for a few weeks. This castle was one of their creations. Since I could not figure out how to store it, I have preserved it in this way!
Christmas gift from Paul and Missy was a round pancake-maker that creates little balls! They are fabulous and with a dusting of powered sugar, they slide right down! I plan on using it for a Seminary Breakfast!
Courtney and I have enjoyed together the High School Musical movies and CD's. She made sure that I received the DVDs and CDs of both movies for my birthday/Christmas this year! Kind of reminds me of when she was 4 and she chose, as my gift, a lovely baby doll that she proceeded to offer to take care of for me! Too cute! She and I love to belt out the tunes in the car as we sing along with the CDs. We are quite a pair. She is my movie, play, opera, symphony companion. We recently attended a performance of La Boehme together - a true Italian opera. Luckily, there were subtitles on a screen above the actors and actresses to translate. It was magnificent! One of my seminary students had a part in it, so we attended the family and friends dress rehearsal performance. What a treat! Right here in Mount Vernon, and a mile from our house in McIntyre Hall right at the good ole Skagit Valley College.
We 'ran away' to Seattle for two days right after Christmas...it is such a let down once the big event passes that we needed some diversion to fill the 'Winter Break'. Ryan met us with the kids and we spent the day at the Science Center watching the IMAX movie, playing in the science center, ice skating, riding downtown on the monorail, and just having a fun time. It was a great day! And there is nothing like a hotel room where you can watch cartoons to your heart's desire and a pool and hot tub just down the hall. It just doesn't get much better than that for Courtney!
Yes, I still require that my piano-playing offspring participate in the program. In this case, Courtney played a lovely arrangement of Silent Night she had prepared for a Christmas Recital. We had the extra bonus treat of tending to Jacob and Grace while Ryan and Ruth Ann and Jeffery settled in at home from the hospital. What fun it was to spend a couple of days with Jacob and Grace! They were so great! Nana is a little out of practice when it comes to getting everyone dressed and out the door for church on Sunday morning!! That was interesting! Took me back a few years for sure! 
