Christmas Lists

Anderson's List (from Ainsley)
- Toy Shark
- A little teddy bear
- A toy house [we have one] That's okay.
- A balloon
- A toy yoyo waterballoon ball
- 3 cats, i know how to spell cat and i know how to make them
- A toy jump rope

Anderson's List (from Lexi)
- Some lovies
- A toy Rocket Ship
- A toy Bulldozer
- A toy frog that can actually hop
- You know that Kangaroo pen that can actually punch (gesture included), he'd like some more of those.

Anisley's List
- A toy frog that can actually hop
- A toy horsie. [Ainsley, you have many of these! ] NO, I have ponies!
- A wind-up car
- A kid jump rope that is not too long.
- A digit. [what is that?] A number that can move.
- A toy Matt, he's in Cyberchase
- A toy Cuckoo Clock
- A toy Vaccum Cleaner
- A ship
- A toy Rump Rope [a jump rope?] No! A RUMP rope, it doesn't move. Just the kids move. And the kids use it to make a trick.
- A toy airplane
- That's it!

Alexandra's List
- I don't know, I'm going to let him decide.

THANK GOODNESS the girls don't remember everything. By the time we get down to writing this down in The Letter, surely they will have forgotten about some of their original ideas....

*Ainsley's* Piano Lesson

Ainsley [after she woke up one morning]: So, do Larry and Jay (our neighbors) know I'm taking piano?
Ainsley [on the way home from school]: Does Dr. Clifford (pediatrician) know I'm taking piano?
Ainsley [at home]: Do Ms. Bolano & Ms. Akin (school teachers) know I'm going to take piano?
Ainsley[driving to violin lessons]: Does Ms. Kathy (violin teacher) know I'm taking piano?

For two weeks, she didn't think about anything else. Finally, our piano teacher arrives.

Mom: Hi Mr. Billy, come in. This is Ainsley.... I turn and look and she is hiding under the table. I go and pick her up and everything came out, she cried and cried and cried. I sat on the bench with her, she would not look at Mr. Billy or touch the piano, but she listened to every word he said and watched EVERYTHING while her head was nuzzled in my neck.

When he left, she looked at me right away and said, "Mommy, I really want to take piano, I was just scared." Ugh, I love her so much.

For the next week everyday after school (or in the car on the way home) she'd remind me we have to practice. She worked every day at her 4 songs and would play long after I got up.

Well, today Mr. Billy came again and we tried to prepare, mentally. He arrived and she asked me to hold her, I did but then I sat her on the bench and walked away. He kept looking at me with big eyes (I was hiding behind the bookcase thingy). "Wow, Ainsley, I can tell you've been practicing!"

Later he told me during the lesson she read every note and was very very focused.

Sweet girl, she is so excited to have something just for herself. She informed Lexi if she wanted to borrow her piano book, she'd have to wait until she was done!

Halloween

Munger Place had 1,500 trick-or-treaters this year (yup, you read that correctly). We only give out 1 piece of candy per kid as they line up around the sidewalk. We wondered if we'd get as many at our new house and sure enough, we did.

The girls had fun. Alexandra was a 1/2 Devil 1/2 Angel. Ainsley was a Purple Witch. Anderson was a hot Monkey. We took the girls around and their bags got so heavy, they had me carry them. I insisted if your candy bag is too heavy to carry, it's time to go home! That's what we did...

Here they are at our neighborhood Pumpkin Carving. It was a lot of fun, it was cold and we carved 5 pumpkins, saved the seeds and roasted them.