Christmas

waiting to see if Santa came

Santa wrote a letter back to the kids

ah, the joy of Christmas morning

Claire getting in to trouble and she so knows it.
Can you see the little smirk on her face?

This stroller was meant for a baby doll but of course she has to try it out.

playing with Grandpa Wilkins

Tish and Bridget singing for the Christmas Eve program.

Grandpa doing his classic cowboy skit.
(see video below)

Mike doing his part of the production.

Mike is reading to all the cousins for bedtime.

Christmas Eve morning at Mike's Mom's house.
We all got our matching grandkid shirts on from Grandpa Don.

Grandma Wilkins sang a funny song for the Christmas Eve program.





We had a great Christmas. And we didn't have to travel (far)!!! yeah!!! The kids are at such a fun age. They were of course super excited. They even sprinkled "reindeer food" (oatmeal with glitter) on the lawn in a blizzard on Christmas Eve.

Andrew turns 8!!!

Andrew "looking surprised"

Our firstborn is eight years old already. Almost every year he asks me for a surprise b-day party. Which obviously defeats the purpose. But this year I was able to pull it off by giving him the party the day before his birthday. And he was suprised! It was so exciting.
(it's hard to see his face in the video but you can tell he is surprised)

wink

Claire can wink. See for yourself. :0)
One of those rare times I actually caught something on camera.

Claire's Umbilical Hernia

Before
(this was on an empty stomach-it sticks out more when she's eaten well)

After the surgery (five hours later) she was up and walking around
(Don't think I'm a bad Mom, I was trying to keep her still but she wouldn't have it.)

She was in a great mood and being silly that evening

Taking that monster band-aid off four days after surgery was the hard part. That thing was stuck on there so good. The only way to get it off was to drench it in baby oil. Claire did not like the whole process. She struggled and cried and ran away from me tugging at her tummy. It took about 1 1/2 hours to get it off because I had to chase her hold her down dab it with baby oil and tug. Then I would give her a break before she got too out of control. After the bandage was off we gave her a quick bath which she did not enjoy (she usually loves baths). I couldn't get a close up because she was afraid of me and wouldn't let me get close to her. She still has some surgical tape on that will stay on for two weeks. Needless to say, all the tugging and pulling must have mad her sore, she was cranky all evening and wouldn't sleep all night. She seems fine today but well see.

Thanksgiving

I love this photo. We all match and we didn't even plan it.

We love Uncle Skotty.

Claire and Eliza. They are almost exactly one year apart. It's hard to get a picture of Claire that's not blurry b/c she is always moving. She was actually being really sweet and giving Eliza kisses.

This is the turkey bow I made for her last year. She kept in in great all day and when I said let's get the camera take a picture she ripped it out. Oh well.

My beautiful angel Mother.

We had a wonderful time on our Thanksgiving vacation. My only complaint is that it was too short. We had a blast making movies with Scott, going to the movies, doing projects, playing games, and eating, eating, eating. I think it was one of my favorite Thanksgivings yet.

Pre-Thanksgiving

Mike's Sister had her baby the week before. She was 5 lbs. 6 oz. SO TINY!!!

Ben is teaching Claire how to play Bandu.

Claire and Libby. They are two days apart in age.

Mike and his Grandpa Don wore matching shirts. (unplanned of course)

Ann and Harry

I know it's way late but better late than never. Here is some pics of our Thanksgiving at Mike's Mom's house the Saturday before.

Bandoo in the kitchen sink

Mike and I and his brother and sister like to play Bandu when we get together. Each person has different odd shaped wooden pieces. Then they take turns adding one piece at a time trying to get as many pieces on their tower as possible. My kids like to play Bandu in the kitchen sink. When they put their dish in, they to stack it on the highest point possible in a delicate balancing act. Bring it on Ben and Heather.


day 26.

Movie Night

Claire is posing again. She was NOT coached might I add.

Andrew is trying to keep her in position for the picture.

After a long Saturday of chores we decided to have a movie night. The boys chose a Mario movie-which totally makes me think of Reagan and Roman. (our boys best friends in Indiana) I miss you guys.
Also notice how they are all matching in their "Grandpa Don tee-shirts." Andrew got Claire out of bed this morning and undressed her and dressed her (with only minimal help from me). So he picked this shirt and then went and put on his matching one. Ethan followed suit. It's so cute that they like matching.



day 29. one more down.

Tag?

So I have never done a tag before, but I am going to try this one. My friend Lindsay tagged me with doing a post everyday for 30 days. That seems like alot now that I am committing to it. I'll try my best but I'm not promising anything. I think after 30 days you will definitely know me a little better.
I think I have a hard time getting personal. It's easy for me to post about the kids, and fun things that happen but it's hard for me to divulge my innermost thoughts. And put them out there on the world wide web none the less. But I'm sure there will be personal things that are bound to come out in the next 30 days. So here it goes.

Why not start this tag with a tag. (For Lindsay D. who tagged me months ago. Here is that tag. )

TEN YEARS AGO -
1. I was a freshman at the Y.
2. I wore platform shoes.
3. I was obsessed with Superman and the Beatles.
4. Listened to Celine Dion.
5. usually stayed up til 2 in the morning (those crazy college days)


5 THINGS ON MY TO DO LIST TODAY
1. Blog
2. complete lesson 3 in my sport psych. class
3. take the boys to a b-day party.
4. keep the house clean.
5. make chocolate popcorn for a game night with old friends


THINGS I WOULD DO IF I WERE SUDDENLY MADE A BILLIONAIRE
1. pay off school debt
2. buy land and houses for us and our parents.
3. buy a new van with "stow and go"
4. buy a badly needed new wardrobe!!!
5. decorate my new house.

BAD HABITS
1. I bite my fingernails
2. I bite my cuticles.
3. I clench my teeth when I have a song in my head.
4. I wear my emotions on my face. It's hard to hide them for me.
5. I like to sleep in. (is that a bad habit?)

5 PLACES I HAVE LIVED.
1. Colorado
2. Utah
3. Indiana
that's it but I've visited more.

5 Jobs I have now or have had
1. Mom
2. I worked at a take and bake pizza place
3. CSR at Contempo/Wet Seal
4. Temp (data entry) at Meryl Lynch
5. Creative Memories Consultant


5 things most people don't know about me
1. I am a potter. I own my own wheel and kiln.
2. I am finishing my degree through Independent Study
3. My house has to be picked up before I go to bed.
4. I can't watch the same movie twice, unless it is super good or a mind twister.
5. I hate confrontation and usually avoid it, but I think about doing it often.

5 things that make my life Super fabulous right now
1. of course my darling family
2. the sunshine
3. a sleeping baby
4. boys at school
5. plans for a fun night


There you have it folks.

day 30.



and I tag Lindsay D., Hannah, and Risa :0)

Banana Baby

Claire is definitely becoming more independent. She will not eat banans if they are cut up on hre tray. She will only eat them if they are in the peel, whole and she gets to hold it. And then, she will eat the whole thing. It's funny to me to see her with this huge whole banana. And to explain the funky hair- I had it in a looped pony tail and it came out.
Also, this is the first time she really posed for a shot. CHEESE!!!!

Crazy Hair Day

Andrew did his own crazy hair and it fell out by the time school was out, and I forgot to take a picture. Sorry Andrew. But here is Ethan's crazy hair. I think they wish everyday was crazy hair day.

Bath Night

The other night we were doing baths. I had done Claire first and dressed her ready for bed. Then it was Andrew's turn. He left the door open when he went to go find his goggles (yes they like to use goggles in the bath, maybe it's because they could only take showers for three years and they're just excited about a real bath). Claire wandered in and decided she wasn't done with her bath yet. So she climbed in fulled dressed! Andrew walked in, "Claire's in the bath!" She had the cutest "what did I do wrong?" look on her face. It could have been dangerous, and Andrew got a talking to, but mostly we just laughed. Needless to say Claire was not happy when we took her out for the second time that night.

First Fish

Andrew has joined them. He caught his first fish in the river in front of our house. He did it all by himself and it's a good size too, eh? As you can see, he did not want to touch it though.