Science Fair!

So sweet Emily had to participate in the school wide science fair this year. Must admit I was just a tiny bit totally dreading this project. The school didn't exactly send home a wealth of information about what they expected. Just the basics: research, question, hypothesis, conclusions, etc. Every first grader should understand those, right? All my worry was in vain though. She did great! She came up with the idea on her own: what weighs more? A penny or a dime? She even had a hypothesis without realizing it. "I think a dime weighs more because it is worth more." Turns out her hypothesis was different the the conclusion she reached through her research, a penny weighs slightly more because the materials are different. 100% - well done!

Abigail's Big Girl Bed

Abi finally moved into a big girl bed. It was a truly bittersweet day, for both of us. She loved her crib. I honestly think she would have slept in it til she was 13, but we all know that would have surpassed "cute" somewhere around age 9. She has adapted to her big girl bed with great ease though. I think this girl just likes her own bed period. For example; the kids favorite weekend treat is movie (or moosie, if you speak Abi) night in the gameroom. They make little campout beds and eat popcorn and fall asleep in there. Usually before the end of the movie, but not Abi. Oh no, this little one will collect ALL of her blankies, lovies and other "things" create just the perfect space, settle in with her very own bowl of popcorn, eat said bowl of popcorn and then come all the way downstairs, in the dark, and ask us to take her to her "own bed" rather than walk the 10 feet or so from the gameroom to her own bed. Somewhere along the way she will also demand to be carried "like a baby." ...this girl.
Some before photos:

I am aware it is wrong to covet...but I coveted this room. It was a sanctuary in our home. Besides it being the perfect girl room ever created (in my mind), it was also never touched. The only room in the whole house that was always clean. No one dared mess up Squishy's space. Squish doesn't even have an interest in messing up her room when Emi's room is right next door... I loved that about her room. The calm colors, the decadent silk drapes, the white chenille chair. It's all over now. Even though she still really only sleeps in there, with the exception of her dollhouse she does not really care to play in her room. However that will all change. Now that there isn't a baby crib in there to scare all the other kids off it's just another room with toys in it.

Here it is, the after photos:

She is so proud of her big girl bed! It is usually the first thing she says when she greets people. It has also become the marker of maturity. If you sleep in a big girl bed, well then you must be a big girl. In her mind that means she pretty much can do everything including driving. It probably hasn't helped that she started preschool at the same time. She is all big girl all the time now, except for when she wants to be carried like a baby to her own bed...

New Year's Fun!

Happy New Year!

After all the Christmas craziness we were planning a trip to Prescott with the Newmans. We got really lucky and got more than a little snow!

These kids were so gung-ho to sled they were out there braving the blizzard conditions. It was COLD and the snow was so dry that the powder wouldn't even compact enough for them to get moving down the drive, but they certainly tried. Eventually they gave up and had the greatest snowball fight I have seen...epic.

My precious blue-eyed boy.

And Abigail's true city girl nature comes out. She tried to cover it up, but it always ends up bubbling to the surface. Since birth this child has had a clear preference for the pampered city life. She has made progress, don't get me wrong. We are leaps and bounds away from the pine cone drama, but this is inevitably how every outdoor scene ends up for her. Thank goodness for the Prescott house...

off to watch cartoons in the safe indoor environment, again.

Really, who can blame her? Look at this picture! trying to load the car up to go home was chilly. I couldn't resist the picture op from the warm threshold of the front door, or the back door...

...or window.

We had to brave the elements and leave though, we had a rockin' New Years party to get to dressed as a slightly older version of the Flinstones. ...

- 2004 -

- 2011 -

Oh the shame...

Christmas Eve-ning!

Well, here it is! Did you think we were ever going to get here? The last and final Christmas 2010 post! Let's take a moment to absorb.... Okay, I am ready...(so is Billy).

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Well here it finally is, just a couple months behind schedule. Story of my life lately, but we will get to that later. Just a quick side note in that very picture above I have captured two very elusive things. From first glance you might not think anything of it, but let me tell you it is something to write about. First off, it is a picture my mom was not able to evasively maneuver away from and second, well that's the big one she has a glass of wine! So that's it. Just a no big deal picture, but it is huge to us Walker's. Sorry, mom! I know how painful that whole paragraph was for you.

Papa Claus.

Sweet, sweet Emi...actually being sweet.

Look at how adorable these mugs Auntie M and Zoe made for us are. They handmade a custom hot chocolate mug for each one of us with our initials then stuffed them full of goodies. So cute, we of course had to bust into them right away for hot chocolate after dinner.

Emily has been bouncing around the house for a week or two on what is actually a light-saber that she fashioned into a pogo-stick. Grandma and Grandpa got her an actual pogo-stick. Wait till the pictures appear. It's a lot harder to pogo on an actual pogo-stick than one might remember...

Squishy was so happy she finally got her very own cooster (that is scooter in Squish speak). A Barbie cooster to be exact with sparkly wheels. Her garage is complete now.

Ahh, here we go...

You have to have some serious balance to even get up on an actual pogo-stick, as Emily is learning.

There it is! After many, several, quite a few tries here is a picture of the very first bounce. It's hard to tell, but she is air born in this picture (notice the shoes?).

And back to terra firma.

After we opened gifts, while dinner or did we decide it was supper? was cooking we went out front to let the kids pogo and such. Abi serenaded us with a beautiful rendition of the ABC's/Pop-Goes-Weasel.... hmmm. The things that must go on in her head...

When all is said and done, we had a truly perfect holiday this year. I wouldn't have changed a minute. It's a rare thing anymore when even after all the craziness has died down that you have a minute to reminisce... and not wish you would have done something different. So God Bless and Merry Christmas on to a new year!