Back To Reality....And More!

Alright it's almost the end of the January and I am trying to get all caught up on here! Nothing too crazy has been going on normal everyday stuff. Alyssa is back at school after vacation and all the activities have started back up.

The kids went down to Longview for a weekend and had a great time. Alyssa was a little concerned about only going for such a short time and that next time it needs to be at least five days. She is a riot!

Knox has started gymnastics at our gym once a week. He is liking that and the teacher is amazing and he knows her from the gym. There are also some of his friends in the class as well. I think the highlight for him is not the class itself but running over to the side and watching the guys play basketball in the other half of the gym. It cracks me up!
He is doing amazing potty training and has been staying dry at night but I just can't bring myself to not put a pull up on him because if he did have an accident he would wake up. Since my kids have always been good sleepers pretty much since birth I'm not ready to get woke up in the middle of the night!

In the next month I plan on getting him signed up for swim and possibly soccer or t-ball in the spring. This child has a lot of energy to burn off and since he hasn't napped for the last year and a half I need something else for him to do to burn some of that off!

Next weekend kicks off what I call Birthday Season. We will have at least one birthday party to go to until the end of March and one weekend we have two! I will also be getting Alyssa signed up for Kindergarten. She is so stinking excited about this. She will tell me everyday after school how much she loves school and to learn. Hopefully this will never change!

l have to say 2013 is going to be a busy and exciting year for The Simmons Family with the kids growing up and starting new adventures, Cory and work, and Me.

New Years Eve

I enjoy celebrating New Years but don't feel I have to stay up until midnight or get totally smashed as well. Since having kids my idea of fun has definitly changed. My good friend and I decided to get together and celebrate with the kids since both of our husbands were working.

All the kids get along so well its really fun when we get together. We decided just to do finger foods for dinner since the kids always pick and play. Knox and Mason had fun playing the drums, cars, and hunting wolves. The girls had a blast dressing up and playing with all of Alyssa's jewelry. Alyssa has finally found someone who is as girly as her!

The kids started to get somewhat antsy and the flashlights came out. They played and hunted for a good hour or so. We had fun watching them play and use their imagination.

Everyone left around 9, midnight eastern time, and the kids and I were in bed not soon after. It was a perfect way to ring in the new year

Nutcracker and Tea

We have started a fun tradition with us ladies that at Christmas we attend the Nutcracker and then go out for tea.  Alyssa just loves every part of it.  I hope this is something that continues for years to come.

This year was Alyssa, Grandma Gail, Great Grammy, and I.  There weren't too many dates this year for us to attend due to schedules etc. and they started a little later than normal.  We were able to go to the matinee on the last day of performance.  Not that it even mattered when we went because it was still very magical.

Alyssa starts talking about it oh I would say either after she sees the first commercial for it, Christmas stuff starts being out, or when we received the tickets which was in August!  This little girl sure has a passion for the arts and I love it!  She wanted to dance up on that stage so bad with all the ballerinas.

After the performance we went out to tea at the Queen Mary Tea Room.  It's not a very big place so you are somewhat cramped all in.  It's a pretty cool place to go if you ever get the chance.  My only complaint is the price, it can be a little spendy.  The main thing is my little girl loves everything about it and this day is always about her.

She was so very excited to get her hot chocolate, which she got her very own pot full of it.  When her food came boy was she thrilled.  I have to say she did great eating and even went for her fruit first.  Although I really don't have too much of a problem with my kids eating nutritious foods so that is nice.

We were there for a few hours before heading back up to Magnolia and then making the long drive home.  It was a very long day but fun.  We had a blast hanging out with Grammy and Grandma Gail and all the conversation.  Of course looking forward to next year as well.

Christmas Part Two

On Saturday Cory's parents came up and we went to the Christmas lights at Warm Beach that has become a family tradition.  We all love going there and they have a lot of fun stuff for the kids to see and do.
The weather really cooperated for us that night and didn't rain but was stinking cold!  I will take that anytime.  We were there for almost two hours and were able to do everything we wanted except for get the face painting that we passed and didn't go back by and the warm doughnuts.  That was OK.

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The kids were really excited for Sunday because it was Christmas number 2!  Grandma and Grandpa Simmons came over early that morning and we spent some time opening up presents.  The kids loved all their gifts.  They are funny how they go about it.  Alyssa wants to open every single one of them while Knox wants to open one play with it and come back for the others later. While they loved all their gifts they received that day I would say the highlight for Knox was his monster school bus and the ballet shoes for Alyssa. She also received a ballet necklace that I don't think has come off since. This girl has a passion for dance!