She Makes Us So Happy!

Hayden,


We love you so much! You have no idea how special you are to us!!! Happy 4th Birthday Beautiful!!!

Love,

Mommy, Daddy and Gracie

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God Loves Us All

Today Hayden went for testing at GWA, she will be in K-4 next year. I can't believe that she is turning 4 next Saturday and testing for big girl school. She is growing up so fast. She was very good today and wasn't too shy, I was very proud of her and I am sure she did an excellent job!!!

Last night Snow White performed a wonderful song for Mark and I! God loves us all!!! Hope every one enjoys!

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Trampoline

Hayden and Gracie having fun on the trampoline last week when it was nice and warm!

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The Pledge

When I went for my parent/teacher conference at the Preschool on Wednesday, Mrs. Christie asked me if I have ever heard Hayden say the Pledge of Allegiance and I told her yes but she wouldn't let me get it on tape. Mrs. Christie says that her and Mrs. Sue laugh every morning because Hayden says the pledge the loudest in the class, which still surprises me, but the one thing I will say is that she has opened up a lot since the first day of school! I also have to say that the conference was great and that Hayden is a very smart little girl, I know every one already knows that but I can't stop myself from bragging on her!!! Mark and I are truly blessed and are very proud parents.

WE HAVE TWO WONDERFUL LITTLE GIRLS!





Biggest Loser Update 2:

Mark also lost another 7lbs last week for a total of 15lbs(way to go honey). I am so proud of him, he is really sticking to his diet!

Outside

Today when Gracie and I left to pick Hayden up from school, I noticed that it was such a beautiful day and it was WARM, so I decided when we got back home we would play outside on our playground(swing set, trampoline and playhouse). I couldn't wait to see what Gracie would think about it, now that she is walking and can get around good (last year she could only swing or sit in the stroller). Hayden was very excited when we got home and I told her that we were going to play outside, she said "and Gracie too" and I told her yes and she was so happy! After I got Gracie out of her car seat I put her down and she ran right over to the swing set and pointed at her pink swing. I let her swing for a little while and then went to get her out and she let me know real fast like that she wasn't done swinging...So I let her swing a little longer and then finally got her out and put her on the trampoline. She REALLY liked the trampoline, it didn't even seem to bother her when Hayden would jump and knock her over. It worried Mommy at first, but then I realized how much fun they were having and tried not to be to over protective. We played on the trampoline for almost an hour, and I told Hayden that she needed to show Gracie her playhouse, so we got off the trampoline and they played house for a little while...Well Gracie liked opening and closing the doors and windows and Hayden actually played house, she even cleaned up her playhouse(that makes me a proud Mommy haha!) Gracie also enjoyed just walking around outside she made laps around the yard and then she pointed at her swing again, so I put her back in the swing and she was so tired that she almost fell asleep. I told Hayden that I had to take Gracie in for her afternoon nap and at first she cried and didn't want to come inside, but as soon as Gracie went down for her nap, I looked in Hayden's room and she was sound asleep in her bed too! I guess that means they played very hard!!! It was such a beautiful day, It was the perfect temperature and it was very relaxing for Mommy!

What a Smile:

Turning Flips:

Helping Gracie jump:

Static:

Gracie can do a flip too:

Tired Baby:

Biggest Loser Update 1

As you all know Mark started the Biggest Loser game with his friends last week. They all weighed in last Thursday so they weighed in again last night. I am so proud of my husband, he lost 8lbs in one week(way to go honey). He was very proud of himself too, he has really stuck to his diet and unfortunately I am not very much help because I can't afford to lose any weight. I knew he would be the Biggest Loser this week, he is a very determined person when he puts his mind to it. Good luck next week!

We Love You and are very proud for you!
Mommy, Punkin, and Poot

Birthday Planning

Today I took Hayden to Party City to pick out the theme for her birthday party. I know every one thinks that she is going to do the Princess Theme, and she did pick one of the princesses, just not the princess that anyone is expecting. She picked Ariel (the little mermaid) which is very strange to me because she doesn't really even like The Little Mermaid movie...Oh well I guess things are changing. It is very cute and will be a very pretty, princess party(lots of pink and purple). I know all the guys are real excited! I tried to persuade her to pick Cinderella because when we first started talking about her birthday party that is what she wanted and she wanted all white and blue balloons(doesn't that just sound beautiful), but she informed me that she would do Cinderella next year, I was a little disappointed so maybe I can have Cinderella with lots of blue and white balloons for my birthday in October(hint hint). Hayden also wanted to go ahead and pick out all of Gracie's birthday stuff, but I told her that Gracie just had a birthday and we will have to wait and see what Gracie likes when it is time for her 2nd birthday! I also have found a very cute Little Mermaid cake at Publix and it actually comes in an ice cream cake, so I'm thinking I may try that this year. I have to wait and see what Hayden thinks about that! I keep asking her what she wants for her birthday, because seriously this child already has EVERYTHING. She keeps telling me that she wants fingernail polish(go figure) maybe I will take her for a manicure and pedicure(I bet she will laugh the whole time because it tickles). Oh well I am sure we will come up with the perfect gift for our perfect girl(we always do). It is so hard to believe that she is going to be 4 years old, I keep telling her that she will always be my baby and she says "no Mommy I am a Big Girl now, see how long my legs are."

Time Out for Hayden

We have had an exciting afternoon. After I picked Hayden up from school we met Mimi and Kim for lunch at Hayden's favorite place(Chinese), at least she doesn't always pick McDonald's like most kids would. Gracie will definitely be one of those kids that always wants McDonald's...She LOVES chicken nuggets and french fries and doesn't like any vegetables. Hayden has always eaten well, she will try anything at least one time and usually she likes it(she even eats cooked onions and bell peppers). Once we got done eating we came home to do our usual things. Hayden and Gracie played in Hayden's room...They played dress up and babies and had all kinds of fun! I love listening to Hayden be the Mommy and of course Gracie is always the baby. I don't think Gracie minds she just enjoys playing with Hayden. Well, Gracie always takes an afternoon nap around 4pm, so I put her down for her nap and Hayden wanted to know if she could watch her shows in Mommy's room. I told her that was fine but she needed to clean up her room a little first. At first she says okay, and I didn't think anything about it because usually she goes in there and at least cleans up half of it and I help her with the other half(I know Gracie always participates in the mess too, but she isn't quite big enough to clean, so I do her part). Well, then she says "Mommy I'm done" and I thought there is no way it has only been two minutes, so I went to see and she had her door closed and laughing. I knew she was joking so I opened the door and told her that she better get busy and she says "Okay", so I heard her close the door and then she called me again, so I went to see what she needed this time and she was completely under the cover of her bed and laughing. I told her that she was making a bigger mess instead of cleaning up the mess and she said "I know". Anyways this went on for a little while, in the meantime I was cleaning up their mess in the living room and getting every thing ready for dinner. I am steadily in the kitchen getting things together and Hayden walks in the kitchen and says "My door is locked so I can't clean my room, so I guess I can watch my shows now" and I thought yeah, right she is just kidding. No she wasn't kidding at all the door was locked and the room wasn't clean, she thought she was really good...She had figured out how to trick Mommy. She wasn't so excited about her plan when she got in big trouble and had to go sit in Time Out while I called Mark to figure out the best way to get into her room. He told me to stick a nail in the door knob and it would open, well anyone that knows me knows that when I did this the whole nail ended up in the doorknob, which made me very upset...So I went for the credit cards and got it opened! Mark thought this was all very funny, all the good stuff always happens to Mommy! Once I got her door back opened I told her she could come out of time out and I ask her why she locked her door and she says "I didn't" so I asked her how did the door get locked and closed and she says "Gracie did it". Hayden then told me she was so sorry and then she fell asleep on the couch.

Now as I am typing this, it is very funny, but it wasn't funny at all when I was trying to get the door opened!!!!

1st Progress Report

I posted last week about getting back to normal at the Stancil house. Well today was actually the first week of back to normal. Hayden didn't have school last week so I assumed she didn't have ballet, well I found out today that she did have ballet last week(oh well), but I figure it was way to cold to go last week anyway. When I woke Hayden up this morning she told me that she was going to just stay at home today and I asked her why and she says "I'm just too tired" which was very strange because she went to bed before 8pm last night. I started to tell her that was fine with me because when Mark got up this morning and went to take a shower we found out really quick that our water was FROZEN, not a great start to a Monday morning. Hayden kept turning on all the faucets in the house and I kept telling her that none of them were going to start working. I can only imagine what she told Mrs. Christie and Mrs. Sue this morning. Then to make it worse when we got to the Preschool the red flag was waving, which means there is no carpool and you have to take the kids inside....They had sent an email out last week that it was too cold for the teachers to be outside for carpool in the mornings. At first I thought that they were crazy because every Mommy would to have to park and get out infants and toddlers and walk them into the Preschool, however today they really did have ice right where the carpool line starts.... so Stephanie and I decided to meet in the parking lot and one of us would sit outside with Gracie and Mark Brantley and the other would take Kierstin and Hayden inside. It worked out very well, so I took them into school this morning and Stephanie went in to get them this afternoon. Stephanie said Hayden wasn't to sure about leaving with her but finally decided it was okay. Then it was time to go to ballet, which for some reason I wasn't very excited about today and Nana couldn't keep Gracie today so I also had to take her to ballet. We always get there very early so we were sitting in the car and Hayden told me that I needed to look in her book bag. She is always so proud of her work, but today there was a progress report in there too. I must say my little girl is doing EXCELLENT, but I already had a pretty good idea that she was. The ratings are always, sometimes, and never. She got ALWAYS on everything except for some motor skills...for example putting puzzles together, building with blocks(which obviously whatever day they did this, she must not have been interested because we all know how well she can stack and build with blocks...right Kim), and last throwing, kicking and catching a ball, I think she just isn't interested in some of these, however the broken picture frame on my TV stand says that she kicks a ball just fine. Mark says she is obviously not going to be very athletic like her Mommy(I didn't think that was very nice of him but it is very true). The most impressive part to me is that she knows all the days of the week, colors, shapes, how to recite the pledge of allegiance(which is really cute), and that she recognizes her name. I mean I knew she had learned a lot in the last couple but I guess I didn't realize just how much she really does know. Mrs. Christie also wrote in the comment section that Hayden is always sweet, cooperative and delightful and that she is the Peace Maker in the class(I can just see her telling every one "it's okay" and patting them on the back) she also says that Hayden is able to accomplish all the tasks given to her(she is such a smart little girl). I am truly so proud of my little girl, she always makes Mark and I a proud Mommy and Daddy.

Well I have officially decided that Gracie will not be attending ballet anymore. Nana was busy today so I guess I am going to have to start calling Aunt Sherry when Nana is busy. The ballet teacher got a little aggravated with Gracie today, I don't know why she was just trying to learn ballet too, she kept getting in the middle of the room and showing off her dance moves. Hayden thought it was pretty funny, but when I picked Gracie up and took her out of the dance studio the last time Ms. Jordan shut all the doors so she couldn't come back in, but that didn't stop Gracie she stood at the door knocking on it and screaming HEY! I thought it was cute, but I can understand why Ms. Jordan wasn't impressed!

First Snow 2010

Yesterday afternoon when it started snowing Hayden was so excited she kept saying that she wanted lots of snow. Well unfortunately in Good Hope we did not get hardly any, not even enough to really play in. She was very disappointed this morning, but I took her and Gracie outside to play anyway. We were out there for about 5 minutes, it was way to cold! I wanted to see Gracie's reaction, but she really didn't even notice that the ground was a little white, but she did notice it was really cold outside...She refused to wear her mittens she screamed until I took them back off. I don't know if it was because she couldn't suck her thumb or what the deal was. Hayden thinks it will snow again tonight...I didn't have the heart to tell her probably not, so I guess I will deal with that in the morning.

Hayden had so much fun last year when we got lots of snow and now she thinks it is supposed to be like that every year. She had it all planned out, she was going to get up and Mommy and Gracie were going to go outside and help her build a snowman and then Mimi, Pop, and Kim were going to come over and play too!  Hopefully we will get a little more snow later in the year, it usually snows in March around Mimi's birthday!

Even though there wasn't a whole lot of snow, I did take a few pictures since it is the first snow of the year!

 Hayden playing in the snow:

 Hey:

Gracie thinks Hayden is silly

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star

I tried to upload this video to go with my post last night but I couldn't get it to work. I think it is one of the most beautiful songs ever. I must say she may have a promising future in the music business(haha)!

See what I mean...It is an excellent version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star!!!

Kicked Out

Last night was the first time Gracie has officially been kicked out of Hayden's room.  They were in Hayden's room playing very sweet or at least I thought they were.  I was sitting in the living room and the next thing I hear is GET OUT OF MY ROOM and then the door slammed with Gracie on the other side crying and wondering what in the world was going on.  The good news is that they made up and were playing sweet in a matter of minutes.  I guess this is the start of many of those fights.  I couldn't help but laugh, even though I had to explain to Hayden that it wasn't very nice.  Although Gracie isn't always innocent either, so I will probably never know what really happened.  The only thing I am worried about is when Gracie starts fighting back or being able to talk enough to tell her side of the story, instead of just crying...It could get real interesting at the Stancil house in the next couple of years. 

I thought every one could enjoy a good little laugh:

The other day I went into my bathroom and noticed the shower door was opened and that Gracie's new little snoopy puppy dog was in there(one of her favorite Christmas presents).  I asked Hayden why Snoopy was in the shower and she says "I don't know, I didn't do it".  So I asked her "who did it then" and she says "Gracie did it".  I told her that was funny because Gracie isn't even tall enough to open the shower door and she says "yes she is too" so I called Mark into the bathroom and told him the story and  he told her the same thing I did and anyway she still will not admit that she hid Gracie's snoopy from her.  Gracie was very pleased to get her Snoopy back.  Hayden has caught on that she can blame Gracie for every thing right now.  You would be amazed at some of the things Gracie does around this house!

In fact as I am updating blog they are being hiliarious.  I could post a story every minute for every one to enjoy.  The best one this afternoon is that Hayden is playing school in the living room.  She brough her princess stool in here and set up places for all the kids to sit and she is reading to all the students.  Gracie must have felt a little left out, so she went into the bathroom and came back in the living room carrying her a stool too!  She is sitting right beside Hayden just watching and learning!  Hayden is singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Gracie is just watching!  It is seriously one of the cutest things ever...I know I think everything they do is cute!

Look at that little stinker:

Playing School:

Returning Back to Normal

Today was back to normal for the Stancil family.  The girls and I have been able to sleep in for the past two weeks, but today Hayden had to go back to school.  I must say she was very excited, she has missed it lots...Hopefully she will always love school, but somehow I think that may change later.  I wasn't as excited about having to get up and get dressed so early, but I did get a lot accomplished today.  After I dropped Hayden off at school, Gracie and I went to the grocery store...I didn't want to have to get her out in the cold, but unfortunately it is going to be COLD everyday this week!  I sure do hope it SNOWS, Hayden is wanting to play in it so bad.  Gracie usually takes a morning nap, but for some reason today she decided not to, and I knew that she was going to try to go to sleep in the car when we went to pick up Hayden.  She stayed awake all the way there, so instead of sitting in car pool, Gracie and I went in to get Hayden.  I was going to do every thing possible to keep her awake until we got back home, so she would take a nice long nap.  Hayden was very pleased to see us, but informed me very quickly that it wasn't walk in day!  It always makes my day to hear her say "Hey, that's my Mommy", and then she runs straight to me and gives me a hug.  Hayden managed to keep Gracie awake all the way back home and believe it or not they played together until about 3:00 and BOTH of them took a nice LONG nap.  Gracie slept in her bed and Hayden enjoyed a peaceful nap with Ms. Sue(the dog)she wanted to make sure every one knew it her dog and not her teacher(she is helping me write the blog today).  Ms. Sue should feel very special, Hayden even shared TIRED with her.  I cleaned and got every thing ready for tomorrow while they were napping, and then I watched a little TV(figured I deserved to enjoy some down time).  Gracie woke up first and she joined Hayden and Ms. Sue on the couch, they are all so sweet!  The good news is that tomorrow is the last day this week Hayden has to go to school, so if it snows Thursday we are going to have lots of fun!  I bet Gracie will be a sight, she was too little last year!

Hayden napping with Ms. Sue:

Gracie loves Ms. Sue too:

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Gracie striking a pose:

Happy New Year 2010

Happy New Year every one!  Mimi and Pop came to our house last night to watch the girls while Mark and I went to a wedding for one of our friends.  The wedding was at 5pm and it was outside, so needless to say I was frozen by the time it was over.  We didn't stay long, it was a small wedding and we decided since we didn't have the girls, we would go somewhere good to eat dinner.  Well, everything was packed, so we ended up eating Mexican, which was very good.  Then we came home to bring in the new year with our girls.  Well, they went to sleep before the new year, so Mark and I watched the peach drop while sitting by the fire!  Yeah, I know we are getting old, but that is exactly what I wanted to do last night! As far as new year resolutions...I am going to try not to be so obsessive about cleaning the house(I know it will never work, but I am going to try a little) and Mark is going to lose weight.  He is going to do the Biggest Loser with his friends, they are actually going to weigh in each week to see who is winning.  Good luck to all the players. 

Happy New Year!