Countdown to Christmas 2011: Day #19 & #20

Day #19: Read about Mary & Joseph & make paper dolls for nativity scene

Day #20: Read about baby Jesus & make paper doll for nativity scene

Countdown to Christmas 2011: Day #16, #17, & #18

Day #17 Call grandparents and sing Christmas Carols

(No picture, sorry ;)

Day #18 Watch Polar Express....Eli loved it!!

Day #18 Got to Union Station to see Holiday Express!

This is our 2nd year attending this event and we love it! We tour a real train that is decorated for Christmas. Then we walked around beautiful Union Station, walked to Crown Center, ate at Fritz's Train Restaurant, and played in the outdoor holiday play area! Fun!

Countdown to Christmas 2011: Day #14 & #15

Day #14: Spend an afternoon with good friends. I didn't get pictures with our friends (sadly) but I did of some of the generous gifts Eli & Anna received.

Day #15: Make Ms Lisa's (Eli's teacher) Christmas gift....Brown Sugar & Vanilla Body Scrub!!

Countdown to Christmas 2011: Day #12 & #13

Day #12: Make cookies for our neighbors

Day #13: Deliver cookies to our neighbors

Countdown to Christmas 2011: Day #11

Day #11: Visit Santa!!

As I expected, Anna did not want to sit on Santa's lap. So Eli was a kind brother and told Santa what Anna wanted for her ;)

Countdown to Christmas 2011: Day #9 & #10

Day #9: Drive around and see Christmas lights

Sooo....Day #9 didn't go as planned...but we did see SOME lights. Just not the planned ones....oh well, Eli still enjoyed them!!

Day #10: Write a letter to Santa

Countdown to Christmas 2011: Day #8

Gingerbread Play Dough

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
1 tbsp. ground ginger
1 tbsp. ground cinnamon
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 cup water
Mix together and knead until smooth.

Read more: http://prekinders.com/play-dough-recipes/#ixzz1g0AIrlaH

Day #8: Make Gingerbread Playdough

Countdown to Christmas 2011: Day #7

Day #7: Craft at Bass Pro

Countdown to Christmas 2011: Day #6

Day #6: Donate toy to Children's Mercy Hospital

Above is a picture of Eli & his buddy, Jenna, who both picked out a toy to donate to Children's Mercy. Eli, (not surprisingly) chose a pack of Hotwheel cars for a boy to play with during his hospital stay. Eli & Jenna delivered their toys to the Volunteer Services department who collects donated toys that the Child Life Therapy department divides & delivers (with Santa's help) to the children. Eli & Jenna will receive a "thank you" in the mail, addressed to them, in the coming weeks. They got to speak with a Children's Mercy employee in the Volunteer Services department and were personally thanked for their kind gift.

Originally we were going to donate the toy to Salvation Army. As I tried to explain the concept of giving to those with less money and to children who do not have toys, Eli kept asking why children could not just buy toys at the store. Obviously the concept of money is not quite there yet for him. But then I talked about helping those who are sick or hurt. Eli immediately began talking about his stay at CMH when he broke his arm this summer. This made me think that a more personal choice for Eli would be to deliver his toy to CMH so another boy staying there could play. He vividly remembers the Child Life Therapist bringing him a fire truck to play with after surgery and was excited at the idea of some boy playing with Hotwheel cars. This definitely was understood more by him and made sense in his world!

Countdown to Christmas 2011: Day #4 & #5

Day #4: Decorate the Christmas Tree

Day #5: Make Gingerbread cookies!

Countdown to Christmas 2011: Day #3

Day #3: Attend "Treasures from Toyland" puppet show at Puppetry Arts Institute

Countdown to Christmas 2011: Day #2

Day #2: Make a Handprint Christmas Tree

Countdown to Christmas 2011

This year we are doing an Advent-style "Countdown to Christmas". I made the below jar that contains numbered papers. On these papers, are activities for us to do for the next 24 days until Christmas. For this month, our "Picture of the Day" will be our advent activity so stay tuned!

Day #1: Buy a new toy to donate to charity

Picture A Day 11/30/11

I will enjoy carrying on the tradition of cookie making as your great-grandmother did with me. Today we made Christmas Tree cookies with M & M's as ornaments....yummy!!

Picture A Day 11/22/11-11/28/11

11/22/11:
Look what we made for Thanksgiving!

11/23/11: Today we had fun at Kid Zone....a bouncy house place!


11/24/11: Thanksgiving Day....you both loved being with your cousin Sammie!


The Thanksgiving feast table!

11/25/11: The day after Thanksgiving on a walk, you befriended our neighbor's grandkids.... we played there for over an hour!

11/26/11: Anna, you have a new found love for Mr. Potato Head. You hand me the pieces to put together and even can bring me the body parts I ask for!

11/26/11: And YOU, Eli, sorted out your toys by color...all on your own!

11/27/11: We had an afternoon at Paradise Park with daddy....he hasn't come with us in a long time!

11/28/11: After a couple weeks of being scared of baths....you decided they weren't so bad again!

Picture A Day 11/21/11

Thanksgiving Feast at preschool today!

Dancing to "If Your Happy & You Know It" Anna style!

Picture A Day 11/18/11

Spider-boy Eli!

Just the beginning of this last summer I was spotting you on this playset....what a big girl!!

Picture A Day 11/17/11

You were fond of this little guy a few weeks ago, too, Eli. I see a dog in our future....but not until you and Anna are older. Anna will be content with any animal, I think :)

Picture A Day 11/16/11

Creating Christmas crafts together at Bass Pro....Let the holidays begin!

Picture A Day 11/15/11

What a BEAUTIFUL November we are having!! Enjoying our outside time!

Picture A Day 11/14/11

You understand so much now, Anna! You may not have a big vocabulary yet, but you certainly know what is going on! Eli asked to be pushed and you ran over and did just that! Always so kind & helpful....and forgiving of your brother's rough nature ;)

Eli, you finally met our neighbor boy today and you were so excited! You both invented "throw the ball over the fence" game so you could play together but stay in your own yards. You then invited him over to our yard and his dad said once they returned from picking up his sister. Sadly, they didn't get home in time but you handled it well. You'll play with him soon, I'm sure ;)

Picture A Day 11/13/11

The Clarksons 2011

Picture A Day 11/11/11

Enjoying our first afternoon at the zoo with our new pass! I see many fun times in the months to come :)