Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas!

Our downstairs is now a disaster of cookie cutters (you'll see why in a minute), Dada's conked out on the couch, and the kids are keeping each other entertained w/ old toys (of course). I figured I'd better get one last post in of the year and since I have fresh pictures, why not do it right now? =D I know, you're all so proud ;) Hehe!

Merry Christmas, everyone! We hope you have been blessed with peace and joy and that you got some of the things your hearts desired. Have a wonderful, restful holiday season and a very safe 2007. We love you guys!

Happy birthday, Dao! =D Hope it's a great one.

(Blogging may get even worse for a while as my BloggerBot program ends at the end of 2006. Not my subscription to it, the actual whole thingamajig is "going away" as the programmers say. So until I learn a new method, expect pictures to stack up on my camera chip! Wish me luck as I learn something new!)

The kids in their winter duds, all set for a wagon ride Posted by Picasa

Off we go to see neighborhood lights! Liam is reclining already ;) Posted by Picasa

Our Christmas tree and loot Posted by Picasa

New books for Liam. He thinks he's supposed to eat them Posted by Picasa

Liam got a new brown stuffed doggie from Kelly & Becky Posted by Picasa

The can of 100 cookie cutters was an instant hit! Posted by Picasa

Carrie playing Santa in the background as Liam displays his new bruise from bonking into a chair yesterady Posted by Picasa

Carrie setting up her Candyland dudes Posted by Picasa

Dada's all tuckered out from opening presents Posted by Picasa

Sunday, December 24, 2006

Strikeout ;)

'Twas the night before Christmas...

We loaded the kids up after their naps into all of their warm winter gear, tossed the little red wagon in the back of Pepe, and headed off to see the lights at the zoo. The brochure said the zoo's open Sundays 5:30-9 and closed Christmas. We get there (after Liam protests the entire drive), and there are orange cones in the turning lane and the zoo gates are shut. So much for lights at the zoo. They were turned on but nobody was allowed in. Sooooooo we said, "hey, lookit the lights!" and off we went down the highway. =/

As we drove, we listened to the Christmas CD that Rob & Jana had made for us two years ago. "Little Drummer Boy" by Manheim Steamroller is on it, so of course that version has no words. We're talking about it being "Little Drummer Boy" to Carrie and Dada notices that they're not real drums being played in the song.

All the while, the wagon keeps crashing from side to side in the back of Pepe because someone who shall remain nameless (who has no sense of spatial awareness) didn't think to pad it. *crash* drivedrivedrive *crash* ... (repeat)

We drove through Maumee which was all lit up. We cruised through the Bassett's parking lot that had been selling Christmas trees, just in case we decided to buy one. Yes, we know, it's rather last minute seeing as Christmas is tomorrow, hehe. There weren't any left, just like Dada discovered last year when he went last minute. We went home and popped the kids into the wagon to wander around the neighborhood and look at the lights there. We stopped and played with our friends, Nina, Rita, and Lee, and they even fed us dinner!

Dada, in the spirit of Ebenezer Scrooge, proclaims:

How many Christmas lights did we see at the zoo? NONE!
How many drums are there in "Little Drummer Boy"? NONE!
How many Christmas trees did we even see to buy? NONE!
How many times did the wagon smash into the side of the car? LOTS!

So we struck out ;) In some ways. In some ways, we scored big! We have a tiny fake tree and the presents are all under it. Our healthy (mostly) kids are tucked in their beds... not sure that they know what sugarplums are, or would care if they did. But Care Bear is excited that tomorrow is Christmas and Liam is just excited to be alive and mobile. We're drinking fun adult drinks as we finish preparing for the magic of our Savior's birth tomorrow. And happy birthday to Dao, by the way! Hope your day tomorrow is tremendous =) Safe travels and happy holidays from a very blessed We4.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

Monday, December 18, 2006

Mild weather:walk in the wagon::Macaroni and cheese:interior decoration

For those of you scratching your heads over the title, I know what you're thinking. Yes, macaroni and cheese is for eating. Macaroni is also used to make items of art such as necklaces or collages. If you are Liam the Destroyer, however, macaroni and cheese is a perfectly acceptable medium to use if you want to decorate the house at mealtime. At least, it is in his mind. I do have to confess that Carrie and I were both laughing too hard to stop him. I was a bad mom. He had a forkful of mac and cheese, and instead of eating it, he discovered he could flip his wrist and have it fly around the room to the delight of his sister. To my credit, I did at least turn my head and shake silently with laughter. I just couldn't help it. His gleeful face and Carrie's infectious laughter was just too funny. Plus, Triskal was more than happy to come in and clean up once lunch was over. Oh well.

The weather is really nice, so we did take a wagon ride this morning around the new street they've made in our neighborhood. I'm looking forward to spring and summer so that we can actually do many laps around it and get some miles in ;) I know, I know. It'll be a long wait. Gives me something to look forward to. The kids are actually quiet in the wagon! Bliss!

We played w/ play dough too, and read books, and used the Magna Doodle (which Liam has discovered. I think we've got another artist on our hands!), and a bunch of other toys this morning. Carrie closed herself in the bathroom to play her Elmo guitar in the dark. (It lights up.) Liam enjoyed sticking toys under our elevated dog dish holder and then tried to get them out the other side. We've been busy today! Now they're both down for naps and I need to go finish my list of all the things that need to happen before Christmas. Thank goodness Grandmama is coming tomorrow to help for a few days! Going to kidnap miss Rita before she heads off on her vacation and we'll get some shopping done and some playdates in with little miss Nina. Have a great day, everyone!

Flash caught her, but I wanted a picture of her two pigtails. This was on the way home from church Sunday while we were waiting on a red light. Hehe! Posted by Picasa

The kids love these crayon pillows. Every time I toss them on the floor, they beeline right for them and start flipping around on them. Posted by Picasa

Tackle! Posted by Picasa

Extreme close up! Posted by Picasa

Cheerio time Posted by Picasa

Kim Hultz would be proud of that grin on Care Bear ;) Posted by Picasa

Look at this big boy =( Wish he'd quit growing! Posted by Picasa

Birds' eye view of the macaroni destruction. Sorry it's so dark =/ Posted by Picasa

More macaroni Posted by Picasa

Had to call Triskal in for cleanup on Aisle 3... Posted by Picasa

His range was amazing! Posted by Picasa

Liam and Lisa's Gram got along famously. He was enchanted with her, and vice versa, I think! Posted by Picasa

Beautiful aunt Lisa at her baby shower =) Posted by Picasa

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Yippie!

Yippie! Little miss Ivy Elizabeth was born on Tuesday night at 9:38 PM to Lisa and Bob =D She was 20" and 7 lbs, 1 oz. She has long eyelashes, Bob's mouth, Lisa's hair, and "her feet are huge!" Welcome, miss Ivy, and be good to your sweet parents. Everyone is home and doing well. Yay! I have a niece! =D =D =D

Tuesday, December 12, 2006

For the record

Hello everyone! This post will be me trying to sum up recent events:

Liam's one year appointment (*cough cough* Yes, never mind that he's now 13.5 months old. Some of us moms get a little behind sometimes!) went really well. Dr. Jon said, "he is long and lean and I love to see that!" *beam* He weighs 31 inches long (75th percentile), 20 pounds, 6 ounces (10th percentile), and his head circumference is 18 inches (25th percentile). He's doing super, was brave through his shots, and even had to get bloodwork done for lead checks since we're in a high risk city (because it has older homes). The results are in for that and he is in good shape there too. My poor, brave boy! He had bandaids all over him when we got home =( Dr. Jon said he'll see him again for his 18 month appt. Yippie!

Liam has decided he likes Jimmy Buffett's version of "Jingle Bells". He was eating dinner tonight, jamming away in his high chair the entire song. It was so funny. Carrie was even cracking up at him. Her favorite is the /mel-ay-kah-lee-kee-mah-kah/ one. I can't spell that! She likes the end where it goes, "merry Christmas. Merry, merry Christmas. MerrymerrymerrymerryChristmas to you!" =) Big surprise. Can't believe I'm raising such small Jimmy Buffett fans!

The Christmas Extravaganza 2006 party was exceptional. Thanks to all of you who worked your tail ends off helping us get ready, get set, and go, and then cleaned up! Folks contributed food, drinks, more food, more drinks, more drinks, and lots and lots of fun and fellowship! Thanks to everyone who came through last weekend. Counting us, there were 55 people in and out of here! Whoohooo! Thanks for making the trips, and for making our holidays bright. Our only complaint is that Y'ALL DIDN'T EAT ENOUGH!!!!! =/ We're going to do our next Christmas Extravaganza (2007) in July. Christmas in July. That way we can camp out in the yard if we want to, we can kick the kids out while we cook, and the holidays will have one fewer stressful weekend of traveling for our regulars. And the weather will probably be better. It was CHILLY last weekend! So keep an ear out for notices about a late July party ;) Thanks again, everyone, and happy, blessed holidays to you and yours. Or as Lisa remembers, "Have a very merry holly jolly!" Hehe =D

And last but not least, today was Carrie's last day of gymnastics. Not signing her up for any Y stuff this winter session. They did parachute and trampoline today and got certificates at the end. We'll miss Miss Lisa, but I'm sure we'll catch her again in 2007 sometime. Care Bear really had a ball with her and has learned a lot. Still shy about some of the equipment, but I'm very proud how far she's come.

Christmas shopping still to do and haven't even started cards yet. Behind, as usual. Have a great week, everyone! Ho ho ho and a bottle of rum... *whistles innocently* If you want some, come visit. We still have lots! =D

Liam loves to share his Cheerios! Posted by Picasa

For Grandmama. She has a shot just like this of Care Bear from two years ago. Probably the same towel... Posted by Picasa

Hinrew & Muggin, caught loitering in the kitchen. Hehe! Just kidding. They worked really hard! Posted by Picasa