Eight nights of Hanukkah

We had so much fun this Hanukkah. The girls were excited every time they saw a Menorah "Hanukiah, Hanukiah!!, Yook Mommy, yook!!". This year the kids were more excited about lighting the candles than the presents they got. Actually, that was true of the nights when their gifts were not baby dolls. On the night their gifts were babies the candles played second fiddle.
On the first night of Hanukkah, the girls got new movies which they were very happy with. The best part of that day was the Hanukkah party at school that my parents and their daddy attended with them. The kids made crafts, decorated cupcakes (Lior's favorite part!) and danced with their friends. The party was wonderful and the kids had a great time.
On the second night of Hanukkah, the girls found a baby in their box. Presents are always a hit but when you wrap up a baby doll it is even better. As Sydney was unwrapping her present she started yelling "Yor, Yor there's a baby in my box!!" and Lior started ripping her paper a little faster and started screaming "there's a baby in my box!" I think that if Jordan could really talk she would have joined the screaming, she liked her baby doll as much as the big girls did.
On the third night of Hanukkah the girls ate donuts. As many donuts as they wanted to. Lior was sick and we did not have the energy for anything else. The girls did not miss the presents, they did not ask for a present so we did not give them anything and they were content.
On the fourth night of Hanukkah Matt and I learned a very important lesson. When you have a box with multiple items in it and they all require assembly, do it before the girls can see them. We got the girls two strollers, a baby play yard, swing/high chair combo, diaper bag, and twin babies. All the items required assembly and the girls wanted to help. They also wanted their strollers faster than Matt could put them together. Needless to say there was a lot of screaming about babies in boxes. Jordan was very happy with her Wiggles board books but even happier when we popped a bottle in her mouth. The girls loved their strollers so much they brought them to the U-Pick strawberries the next day.
On the fifth night of Hanukkah the girls got books. The girls love books, I think it is safe to say that reading books is one of their favorite activities. We usually read books in the morning after daddy leaves for work and throughout the day when we are playing. we have books in the car and we must read about four books every night before bed. Jordan is finally sitting through books, looking at the pictures and pointing to things, rather than eating them. We got some really great books that the girls seem to really enjoy.
On the sixth night of Hanukkah the big girls got a gift that I was really excited about, the Fisher Price Star Station and Jordan got a farm activity center. The Star Station allowed the kids to sing along to kids music using a microphone while they watched themselves on television. Sounds great doesn't it? Well it wasn't. I don't think ours worked correctly because half the time you could not hear the voices over the television. I think part of the problem was that it ran off batteries, not electricity. It stopped working after being on for ten minutes because the batteries died. I brought it back to the store and I am pulling out the Karaoke machine I used when I was working and Matt will set up the video camera. We are making our very own music studio. Jordan's toy was a HUGE hit. I do not think the big girls have let her use it since she got it. Lior has captured the toy cow. She has decided it is the cow that jumped over the moon and will not let it got when it is in her sight. It really surprised me that she new that nursery rhyme because she recited the whole thing. I guess she is listening when I read to her!
On the seventh night of Hanukkah the big girls got Play Doh and Jordan got a talking Elmo remote control. The girls did not really know what the Play Doh was when they got it but they liked it the next day when we played with it. Once again Jordan's gift was the big hit and the girls grabbed it from her every chance they got. I think it might even replace the real remote control as one of Jordan's top ten all time favorite toys. Too bad she will never get the chance to play with it.
The last night of Hanukkah the girls got "Mommy and Daddy shirts" which Matt made for them and they LOVED! They can not wait to sleep in them but that would require me to do another load of laundry and you all know what I think about laundry!
Everyone had a great holiday, even me! Matt got me a video photo frame which I can't wait to load up with all of my favorite photos of my favorite little girls!