Christmas Picture 2012

Getting a picture of the boys together with both of them smiling and looking at the camera is about as likely as winning the lottery.  And forget about getting a complete family picture.  I had tried twice to get a picture of them this Dec taking well over 100 pics, once with Luke's help and bless his heart he pulled out all the stops doing everything possible to try to keep them happy and entertained.  And it's about pointless to try and do it by myself.  In the end I ended up sweating, mad and with no good pics.  How does such a joyous occasion, (the holidays, nice and clean outfits on clean boys, trying to capture happy times and there's always candy!) always end up so miserable!?!   I dread it, which is why this year I put it off so long I'm surprised I even got cards out by Christmas.   My mom had come over and I asked her to help me give it one last try.  We had taken so many and we were both almost at our wits end, nearly unable to fake our smiles and enthusiasm anymore when the stars aligned and this beauty was snapped.  Hallelujah!!  And what handsome boys they are.  Getting SO big. 

Snowy Glowy and my Elf

Snowy Glowy came back again this year.  The 2nd night he was here, apparently he forgot to fly back to the north pole.......    So I had to set an alarm on my phone to go off every darn night at 11pm to make sure Snowy Glowy was getting his job done.  The first night after "his" fail, he wrote a note to Will to try to smooth things over.  He didn't forget again.  Although we were sad to see Snowy Glowy head back to the north pole again for 11 blessed months, I was quite happy to cancel that alarm on my phone. 

 

And speaking of Elves, I had my own little elf this year.  Will was so helpful decorating the tree!  I let him do the bottom and I did the top.  And I set aside my control freak tendencies and didn't even re-arrange one ornament on the bottom.  He did an awesome job! 

BEVO

When Will was 1 or 2, Allison got him a Bevo for Christmas.  Allison lives in Austin and Bevo is the mascot of the University of Texas.  Bevo has been a staple in Will's stuffed animal collection.  He sleeps on his bed, is often the root or mastermind of pranks ("Bevo did it!"), and is a great double as a pillow when needed.  This year she sent Dane a Bevo.  He is so excited to have a Bevo too.  Thanks Allison!!

A couple of cute things that I wanted to post about.

Will - He is such a big boy and so smart.  One thing he's learning about right now is time frames.  Today he said he wasn't tired and didn't want to take a nap so he went to his room for quiet time.  When I went down to check on him he was fast asleep.  Tonight I asked him if he played for a while or just went straight to sleep.  He said "I just played for one mm...HOUR."  (beginning to say minute, changing his mind)  So funny.  He'll often say things like: "Dane! We haven't played with this toy for 3 YEARS!"  He uses all the time references: minutes, days, weeks, months, years - he's just rarely correct.  It's so cute, and makes things so entertaining.

Dane - He is loving his new hobby of chewing gum.  I remember going through this with Will.  Since they always wanted to try it, we would let every so often, reminding them constantly not to eat it, but to put it in the trash or give it to momma or daddy when they're done.  If they fail, then no gum for a few months.  Then try again.  Dane has passed the test and is now a regular gum chewer, and he's so funny.  He can chew a piece of gum for hours.  Tonight he had a piece.  I offered him a drink.  He was about to take out his gum to have a sip when he looked at me and then backed up and said no.  I said "It's ok, I'll hold your gum for you and then give it back to you after you take your drink." holding my hand out to take his gum from him.  He stepped toward me, slowly removing it from his mouth, never breaking eye contact with me.  He slooooowly began to hand it to me, eyeing me the whole time.  I smiled, assuring him it was ok.  Just as I reached for it and began to take it from him he decided against letting it go and kept a hold of it, so the gum stretched as I tried to take it from his iron grip.  I stopped, assured him again I would give it right back if he would like to have a drink.  Against his better judgment, he let go of it, took the cup and a quick sip all the while staring me down so I didn't try anything sneaky. 

I think we might need to work on some trust building exercises.

Thanksgiving MI Trip 2012

We had a great time up in Michigan this year the week of Thanksgiving and the week after.  I'm SO behind on my posts right now so I'll be brief but wanted to add these pics. 

 

Daddy helped the boys make a fort downstairs on the bunk beds.  It was very cool and great for endless play and dark napping spots :) 

There were at least 7 deer that regularly came for food including 3 babies!  They were so cute with their fluffy fur and short noses. 

 

Caught a nice sunset on a walk one evening. 

We were driving home one afternoon and came across this gorgeous view.  The sun was beaming through the clouds.  It was magnificent!

Someone didn't want to get their picture taken.  I love that little pouty face!!!

When it was time to go we all took part in cleaning.  Will is getting to be so helpful and is more than happy to help me do things around the house.  He was literally running around helping us take things from one place to another, picking up, being an excellent little helper!  Dane was in charge of vacuuming the rug downstairs by the kitty litter.  That child must have vacuumed for 20 or more minutes.  He worked so hard and did a great job! 

Yesterday I was talking something over with Will.  Don't remember what it was, probably behavior related. 
When I was finished I said "Word?"
He smiled at me. 
I said "say: Word!" 
He said "how about I'll say AWK-word!" 

haha!!  I laughed so hard.  He is such a little cutie. 

Thanksgiving 2012

We are in Michigan for Thanksgiving again this year, as has become our tradition.  Luke hasn't taken any vacation this year yet so he took all of next week off, so we are up for about 10 days!   And we are due for some family QT after a long and very busy summer and fall.  With us only seeing each other on weekends it really takes a toll when we're so busy.  We've really been looking forward to this trip up.  We have a lot of plans to relax and do a whole lot of nothing.  This was the first year, ever I think, that I've been in charge of preparing a "Thanksgiving Dinner."  I use quotations because I didn't cook a turkey, but hey - this is what my fam wanted!  (rather, what they would be most likely to eat)  So we had ham, asparagus, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy and rolls.  Luke even did the ham - it was delicious! It was a nice little meal and so good to be with my boys.

 

We were just sitting down to enjoy this meal and I put Dane up in his booster seat.  He says, in exasperation, "Where are my pancakes?!?" 

A Lap...Any Lap

This must be a first! Kramer curled up on ....Dane?

 

Who Loves Diego!?

The other day I was getting dinner ready and this was going on.  And on and on.  He must have done this for 5+ minutes.  The most hilarious part is that Will was acting like nothing at all was out of the ordinary.  Please excuse the news blaring in the background but I didn't want to draw any attention by turning it down.

Pre-K Pictures

I always thought it was silly when I heard people coaching their kids on how to smile for their school pictures.....UNTIL NOW!  This is what I have to choose from for Will's Pre-K year. Really?  Photographer Assistant, you couldn't have made a joke or done something silly to help this poor boy? 

Dane ish

The other day Will spent the night with Aunt Terri so Dane and I had some QT together.  I was realizing how quickly he's changing into a little boy.  He says some things that I think are absolutely precious, and I know before long they will stop.  One of them is his "ch" sound, which he emphasizes when he says words that end with ch.  Like he'll say we are going to the "beaCH"  And he was asking for his Cinnamon Toast CrunCH. I prompted him to keep going - to say some of the things that I love so I have them on video.  Like how he calls Will "Bru-er" It is adorable.   I also had him say his "Mu More".  They both do it and they'll say it over and over.  It's so bizarre it's funny.  I have no idea where they picked that one up.  

Again, sorry they aren't rotated correctly. 

 

Dane also is very good at saying his "L" sound.  In fact he was just asking for his LashLight with both L's  emphasized.  And he also often uses P for F.  So he'll say "I'll get it por you" which makes him sound like he has some type of cute little European accent. 

Lately..

Serious Play-Dough Construction Zone going on. 

This looks like a good place to take a break with the Etch-A-Sketch.

My Fur Baby

Fall Harvest Party

Last Friday I went to Will's school to help with their Fall Harvest Party.   t's always such a treat to go and be with Will at his school and see him interact in that setting.  Dane went along and had so much fun hanging out with the big kids. 

Happy Halloween!

Our pumpkins this year..  Left is Mommy and Dane; right is Daddy and Will.  :)

'

 Happy Halloween!  

Love,  Spiderman and Luke Skywalker

For any moms, please read this article....

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/allison-tate/mom-pictures-with-kids_b_1926073.html

It's so true, and just reading it brought tears to my eyes because it's the same things I do for my boys. Breathing in their smell, wanting to hold them just a bit longer, I would do anything for my boys.  Anything.  They are my world.  And I love it when I have a picture of myself with them.  I don't always love how I look in it, but remembering the joy in that moment or in doing those things with them....is priceless.

Dane

My sweet, precious Dane. I wish I could bottle him up.
Tonight he came to me, so excited.  He said "I pound it on the poor. I put it in my mouf and I EEEAT IT!!"
Still not sure WHAT exactly he found on the floor and ate...

Dane's Big Boy Room

Dane' room.  I took the plunge.  We donated the boys' crib to Desert Rose, a women's shelter.  Dane has been sleeping in his big boy bed for months now.  Maybe a year.  And still the crib was set up.  I was clearly at a crossroads, not sure what to do with it.  Save it, get rid of it.  Which translates to another baby or no more baby?  Ahhh, so hard.   Obviously if another baby is in our future....we'll just get another crib!   :)  And it felt good to give the crib to Desert Rose - who said they have a few women about to "transition" which I'm only guessing means that she will be starting a life that is safer for herself and her children.

Our Tree

A gorgeous sunrise behind our tree.  We are so fortunate to get to see the place where we were married every day.  It's amazing how special this tree is to us. 

Brinkley Bite Me

Still haven't figured out how to rotate videos, but at least it's here!

Will looks at me this morning and says "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"  I laughed and said probably not, love. 

Autumn

Gorgeous leaves on the way to my mom and Chuck's.  Love fall!!!!

Will

My big boy. 

BFFs

How cute are they!!?
(this is Fisher's current picture pose.  I think it's his "ready to fight."  He's currently in Karate so it's probably something to do with that.)

My Little Chucky

Dane does this face that I refer to as his "Chucky face."  We've all seen Chucky, right? (click on link for a non-horrifying image)  He will not do it on command and usually makes it when he's exerting physical strength, confused about something, or very unhappy and arguing his point.  I finally captured it on my phone, by accident!

Rec X

Our good friends the Dunscombes have started a side business (that will hopefully one day grow into their full time jobs) called The Recreation Experience.  They hope to offer programs similar to what a Parks & Rec Dept would, since Martinsville doesn't have one.  They will offer programs including summer camps, workshops, fitness programs, outdoor events and kids activities.  Basically encouraging people to get off their hinies, get outside and live a healthy lifestyle, especially kids.  They had a float in the Fall Foliage Parade this past weekend so we went along to help and Luke drove the Ranger, Chad drove their 4-wheeler and had their trailer decorated with fall things.  The kids had a blast throwing out candy and Pamala and I walked along handing out bubbles, crayons, candy and fliers.   

Lego Tower

Will said he was going to build a Lego tower as tall as his fort.  He, along with some "help" from Dane, did just that! 

So at dinner tonight the boys and I ate at the bar. During the meal Dane climbed off the back and was hanging on the barstool.  I said "Dane, climb up on your seat and sit down the right way. You're not allowed to hang on your chair like a monkey during mealtime.".  Dane replied: "oo oo aah aah"

Missy

Will and his kitty Missy.  She's been a fun addition to our family.  She seems like she's going to be smaller than Kramer, her eyes are more brown, his more yellow.  But we have been putting a collar on her so we can easily tell the difference between them.  She's always starving - begging for food and then scarfing it up.  And she continues to have snake-like behavior.  She will be so sweet one minute and turn on you the next, striking out.  She'll strike me and bite and then retreat back, just like a snake.  It's quite entertaining, and fortunately doesn't hurt - usually.  Although I had major doubts when we first had her de-clawed, it was definitely the right decision.  Oh, and Will has changed her name.  She now goes by "Pretty Soft Paws".  

Hair Business

The boys and their new favorite - their Mohawks.  For the hog roast this year they went with green and red. 

Benza Booz

Benny has it made.  He has free roam of the back deck and can often be found lying near the edge, relaxing and enjoying the view.  And the reason he has free roam of the back deck is that he does his business in his cage.  What a good bunny.   :)

An early Halloween celebration at Grandma Becca's with Aunt Terri and Uncle Mike (the photographer).  Dane refused to wear his hat and I got him to stop trying to knock off mine too for about 10 seconds while we snapped this pic.  The boys had a blast - making peppermint ice cream, baking brownies, drinking Goblin Juice and enjoying an enchanting meal. 

Big Dog

Ok, one more.  Tonight I was putting away the boys' clothes.  Rosco, as he often does sat down against me, facing away, and guarded me while I was sorting.  Love him so much.  Then, later on tonight I slipped in a quick bath.  I heard a weird noise and then realized it was Rosco walking toward the bedroom.  He was having another seizure. He started to lay down in the bedroom but I called him into the bathroom.  I hopped out of the tub and got him to lay down and then comforted him until it was over.  It probably lasted a minute while I was with him - and some time before that while he was getting to me.  He's had a number of these over the years.  I can't seem to figure out what brings them on.  They sure are upsetting though.   

My goodness my (kind of) new phone takes some getting used to.  I'll spare you the details but it seems like every time I sit down and try to upload something on here I have to jump through 10 hoops and figure out a different way to get it done.  Usually it's our internet connection which we've been having trouble with.  But now I think I've figured out the best way.  So I shouldn't have any more excuses.

...so tonight this picture of my sweet baby will probably have to be sufficient.  He was actually not feeling well here.  :( 

My sweet little angel.

Will Tonight

So tonight was one of those nights where we had so much to do.  I have my last nut show of the year this weekend and I'm leaving tomorrow.  Unfortunately these evenings often lead to frustration. For example the downstairs was a mess so I had the boys clean up toys. It was one excuse after a tattle after a distraction and took forever.  So frustrating.  After that I went upstairs to sift the cat litter which is also super fun. I'm right in the middle when Will starts calling for me.  I knew it was going to be "Dane ...fill in the blank...". (We are working on tattling right now.)  But instead he said "after you're finished doing that do you want to go out on the back deck and look at the beautiful stars?"  Oh talk about changing the tone. What a sweet boy. So we all went out and were looking at the moon- the stars were mostly covered by clouds. At one point we saw a few stars and then this boy says: "God's just starting to get out the stars."  No words I could write would do this sweetness justice. Love him so much!!

Choo Choo

My cousin Carol had a wooden train made for me by Glen Gadrim when I was a baby.  My mom kept it and handed it down to my boys.  I have it on the plant shelf, but recently took it down for them to play with.  Talk about good craftsmanship!  It's still in great condition and the boys had a great time playing with it.  All the cars come apart, "logs" come off, etc. 

Toenail

My poor toenail.  Just when I thought it had healed (about a week and a half after the first injury), I kicked it back up again and the whole toenail lifted up.  I had to go to a podiatrist who removed it completely.  My goodness that was a sickening injury.  This has been my latest in my toe fashions.  Thank goodness flip flop season is almost over!  Turns out it takes a year for it to grow all the way back in.  That was about a month ago and no sign of one yet...

Zoo Trip

We took a trip to the zoo late this summer with my friend Paula and her daughter Avah and their new baby Macy.  Will and Avah have been going to the same babysitter 2 days a week since Will was 9 months old.  And for a couple of years it was just the two of them.  So he and Avah are pretty tight.   

They have a new display, a bird "room", where you can go in, purchase bird food and feed the birds.  It's really neat - they are sticks with bird food stuck to the end so the birds sit on the stick to eat the food.  People had birds landing on them, looking for food, nibbling on their ears, etc.  Fortunately we made it out with no poop and nobody scarred for life by the possibilities of what could have happened in there.  It was really fun!  

 Avah switched to a full time preschool, so she doesn't go to Chas' anymore, but they're still great friends. Now it's just Will, Dane and Macy (Avah's little sister) at Chas'.

I received some thoughtful and great gifts for my birthday but I think my favorite is this card from Will. He wrote this himself- with a little help from my mom. Its hard to beat your child learning to write... especially writing "mommy" and "love Will".  Plus the fact that he apparently carried it for hours, so excited to give it to me.  And he's told me 5 times that octopus is me, because it's carrying a present.  
Oh. Sweet boy.

 

The other day we were in the car and I looked back and saw this. 

My sweet baby.. having a picnic. 

 Before Luke's and my wedding my mom and I talked with Luke and his dad about the possibility of a branch in this massive tree falling during the ceremony.  There was a very large dead branch stuck up in the top of it.  Haha they had said, it's been there for years! No worries.  Well, there were no worries that day, thank goodness.  But a branch in our beloved tree has fallen.  It must have happened since we've had some rain after the long drought this summer.  It just snapped and is still connected to the tree, but also lying on the ground now.  Not sure what's going to happen with it.  :(