A New Year

Every year, I set a series of New Year's resolutions.  In general, I probably keep about a third of them.  I probably give about a third of them a decent effort. The last third are probably broken by January 2nd.  Rather than go over all my successes and failures, I figured I just hit one of each....after all, in a year in which your son is born, all the little crap you do on a daily basis is really insignificant.

Biggest Miss -
I set out to take a little time each day to stretch. I'm horribly inflexible and I'm not getting any younger. So, how did I do on this resolution? Well, I can remember stretching roughly 3 times last year...once when the remote was juuuuust out of reach, once when the Oreos were on the top shelf, and once when I dropped my cell phone and it bounced under my car. As evidenced by my torn ACL, I apparently needed to stretch at least one more time. Oh well, I'm guessing this year will be better.


Biggest Hit -
I set a goal of reading 12 books last year. Now, for some of you, 12 books is a good summer reading list. For others (and you know who you are) this blog is the closest thing to a book you've read since high school. While I don't fall into either of those extremes, a book per month while having an infant in the house was not a given. So, how did I do? I just finished book #17 tonight...and no, none of them were 50 Shades of Grey.

I haven't finished my list of resolutions for this year. Considering it is after 9pm. on New Year's Eve, maybe I should consider putting "stop procrastinating" at the top of the list.

Surprise Concert

I happened to stumble upon Amelia performing in her room today. I tried to sneak up on her...and the lack of video and audio quality shows. ..

The Great Outdoors

There's nothing like a little time spent in the great outdoors...even if it is only 100 feet from the house.

Change of Plans

Well, we were supposed to be driving home tonight...and then we thought about how little we enjoyed the two extra hours on the way down when we had car trouble in the middle of our trip...and then Grandpa sweetened the stay-one-more-night deal by offering up roasting marshmallows and spending time in a tent in the back yard. There was little hope Amelia was going to let us leave after that.

Good Day

Amelia and Everett celebrated their third Christmas of the year today.  We're down at Grandma and Grandpa's, so this included opening gifts, shooting bb guns, climbing treehouses, and looking for deer tracks. Everett even took his first step in honor of the day (and promptly fell). I'm not sure what's on the agenda for tomorrow, but it has quite a bit to live up to.

Christmas Pictures

For the most part, I think the kids enjoyed their Christmas presents. If nothing else, they enjoyed making a mess.

The aftermath

Ev enjoyed his train...

...and then he tried to ride it standing up 

Amelia making "ice cream"

Easy Bake Oven cupcakes...that look like uncooked hamburger patties

Merry Christmas

In case you are really bored, or are a part of my family, here are a few videos of how our Christmas morning went.

Christmas Eve

If you didn't wait outside to watch Santa ride by on a fire truck, get dressed up and go to Christmas Eve service at Church, and then sprinkle reindeer food in your yard to attract Santa's sleigh,  our Christmas Eve was better than yours.

Welcome Home

Thanks to Amelia helping him hide, my nephew Robert was able to pull of a nice surprise today after spending months in the Persian Gulf serving in the Navy....I wish everyone in the Armed Forces were lucky enough to come home for Christmas.

Nice View

If you ever get bored, you can always hook up your new surround sound system and watch old Youtube clips of yourself. Tonight, Amelia danced to her recital while Everett watched on in amiration.

Mayans

Okay, I'm not going to lie....when the power at our house went out at 11:59 last night, Meggan and I shared a brief fear of "Damn, maybe the Mayans were right". Luckily, it came back on around 1am.

Early Christmas

Everett officially opened his first presents today (We wanted Miss Tonya to be able to see the joy her presents brought) . I think he did a pretty good job for a rookie. Sure, he was more interested in the paper than anything else, but Amelia didn't even like to bother with that when she was a baby.  In case you are thrown by her very natural looking, long, blond locks, that isn't a new kid in the house, it's just Amelia wearing her new Rapunzel hair. It looks like it's going to be a fun Christmas...

(The bonus footage at the end is just because I wanted to see if Sophie would finally eat Everett)

A Picture is Worth 1000 Words

As some of you know, the new blog header is the picture we used on our Christmas card wishing you a Merry Christmas whether you had been naughty or nice. Well, while I find the picture hilarious, I feel like it has given my man, Everett, a bad rap. He's actually a really happy baby and he doesn't sit around crying all the time. He's also not the child in the picture who had their Elf on the Shelf leave them a note saying he returned to the North Pole because they had a bad attitude. That would be the sweet looking little girl to his right.  So, don't let the picture fool you,  she's no angel, he's no devil, and there is no truth in advertising.

Sickness As Usual

Amelia is only 3 years old, but somehow I feel like this is the 7th Christmas in a row that she's been sick.  I'm not sure if that's because she's thrown in a few sick birthdays and a sick Thanksgiving or two or what. All I know is it feels like we have not had a single celebration in this house without the sound of coughing and sneezing...or the need to Photoshop snot out of our holiday pictures. Who knows, there are still a few days before Christmas, so I'm hopeful she'll clear up by then. If not, Rudolph won't have the only red nose in town.

Brotherly Love

Why do I feel like Everett wasn't very concerned with whether or not his sister got the appropriate efficiency in this morning inhaler treatment? This is the baby equivalent of the guy who accidentally unplugs someone's respirator in a terrible hospital comedy...

It Won't Be Long

This is the look of a man that wants to take a step, he just doesn't quite know how to do it yet. Soon, he'll take his first step, then his second, and then we'd better be ready to chase him...

A Child's Mind

The older Amelia gets and the more we get to experience the things she says, the more we realize there really is no accounting for a child's mind.  Today, we made a special breakfast for her. Now, keeping in mind she has watched Frosty the Snowman no less than 50 times and owns her own singing Frosty the Snowman doll, we sort of expected her to lose her mind when she saw her snowman pancakes (complete with bacon scarf). Instead, she looked at them for a second, at no point realized it was a snowman, and then said "Oooh, chocolate chips!" and plucked out Frosty's eyes.

Sad and Thankful

On a day like today with the tragedy in Connecticut, there really isn't much to say on a silly blog. As a parent, this touched me more than similar tragedies in the past. When I imagined how I would feel if it were Meggan's school or if my kids were there, the whole thing made me very emotional. With that said, I can't express how grateful I am to be safely at home with both of my kids tonight. I am also thankful my oldest child can go to bed tonight with only Santa on her mind because she is too young to be exposed to the news of the day.

I'm the Dad ...of a Future Man

A weird thing happened tonight when I was thinking about the crappy news I got today about tearing my ACL. I was contemplating the surgery and rehab options when I took a peek at Everett on his baby monitor. Naturally, the wild man was still rolling around his bed checking for escape hatches. That's when I was reminded that I am the dad of a little boy who will grow up to be a man one day. As simple as that sounds, the older he gets, the more I realize my actions will dictate how he views the proper way for a man to act.  (Now, there is an argument that says the way I act will impact what Amelia thinks she needs to find in a man later in life. This is probably true, but I figure I'm going to bury any boyfriend of hers that I don't approve of in the backyard anyway, so I'm not worried about that so much.) So, if Everett were old enough to understand my "boo boo", I'd have to do all I could to act tough and as though I'm not scared and it doesn't hurt.  I hope I'll stand up the the task when that day comes. That said, luckily he's just a baby, so this time I'll probably just cry like a girl.

Tough Questions

Last night, I complained a bit on here about Amelia calling out in-store farters and women who look like Mickey Rourke. While I stand behind my discomfort with her lack of volume control, I now consider myself very lucky to avoid the questions I heard a father get asked tonight. As Meggan and I were doing a little Christmas shopping, I overheard a tiny voice (probably no older than 4) and her dad have the following conversation...

Girl: When big kids grow up, how do they know their mommy and daddy go to Heaven?
Dad: You just have to believe, honey.
Girl: Because where they died is where Heaven is?
Dad: No. Heaven is up in the sky.
Girl: Because we don't have to breathe in the sky and we don't breathe when we're died?
Dad: No, Sweetie... Because Heaven is a special place.

At that point, I walked away appreciative for the fact I have not had to cross that bridge yet. I'm sure at some point all parents are forced to answer this type of question. I wasn't much older than that little girl when my dad died, so I'm sure my mom had to go through it. I guess all we can do is hope when the time comes to  discuss illness, pain, or even death, we are somehow able to find the right words. I truly commend that dad tonight. I know if I were in his shoes, I probably would have knocked over a display or claimed I just saw Dora walk past in hopes Amelia would have forgotten what she asked.

Shhhhhh

Oh, how I love the honesty and innocence of a 3 year-old.  Tonight, while she and I were standing on the greeting card aisle trying to find the perfect card for Meggan, another cart carrying another child came by.  Just before they passed us, a sound came from their cart that sounded...and I'm not accusing anyone of anything here...like a fart. Being the grown man that I am, I ignored this. However, being the small child Amelia is, she promptly stood up in our cart, pointed at the little girl, and laughingly yelled "Ewwww, Nassssty".  The poor little girl looked stunned. I stood silently mortified. Luckily, the tension was broken when the girl's mom began laughing as they turned the corner. Then, roughly a minute later as I was trying to explain to Amelia why we don't do that, a rather manly looking woman turned the corner.  Before my brain had time to register any thoughts, Amelia loudly asked me "Daddy, is that a boy dressed up like a girl?". The woman, who I can only assume is in a biker gang, shot me a look like I peed on the carpet. At this point, I said the only thing I could muster..."Baby, no more words...please."

Dress Up

I mentioned on here the other day that Sophie and Everett were becoming fast friends. If Sophie restraining herself around her food wasn't enough, perhaps her sharing her Christmas outfit will convince you...

One, Two, Three Strkes.....You're Out

As you've probably seen on here, we have more than our fair share of illness in this household. I'm not sure why as we try to be very clean. I'm guessing it has something to do with my daughter licking the walls at daycare and my son eating every toy he can reach regardless of whose mouth it was just inhabiting. That said, we've never had anything like what we have right now. Currently, everyone except Amelia has a stomach bug. That's right...I'm sick...Meggan is sick...and Everett is sick. The only positive for Amelia is since we are all basically incapacitated, she is running the house like Kevin in Home Alone. I just made my way downstairs to find her watching Looney Tunes and eating a heaping bowl of Fruit Loops.  Oh well ,as long as she's quiet and doesn't burn down the house, I'll be happy.

Clarification

In you are like me and couldn't hear anything they were singing at the Christmas concert, here are solos (through a slight cold) of two of the songs...



Twinkle, Twinkle Hannukah Lights...
 


This is the way we look for a tree...

Concert

Amelia's Christmas Concert was a hit. Well, at least she had a good time. I couldn't really hear much of what was happening. I'm just glad she didn't pick her nose this time.

Soft Spot

Any of you who have had the pleasure of meeting Sophie know that she can be a teeny tiny bit of a barker.  For instance, she may bark at a car passing by....or a fly buzzing by the window.  She also has the tendency to overreact to anyone walking through the front door and tries to eat anything that threatens her food supply.  However, when it comes to the kids, there is no limit to her patience. She protects them any time we get in a tickle fight.  She doesn't make a peep when they try to remove her ears using only brute strength.  She doesn't even jump on them when they get home from school.  While I was pretty impressed with those behaviors, I would never have guessed how far her patience would go for Everett.  For some reason that defies all the laws of being a Jack Russell, when Everett goes for Sophie's food bowl, she doesn't attempt to end him, she simply eats everything as fast as she can before he can touch it..  To test whether it was him or if she had just turned over a kinder, gentler leaf, I went near her food bowl after he left....considering she pulled a switchblade on me, I guess it was just him.

No Chance

Once this wild animal got his hands on them, those poor little moles never stood a chance...

Santa Bieber?

I'm all for teen stars and pop idols....but, at some point haven't we gone too far? I'm not looking forward to the day where Amelia wants a Justin Bieber stocking or Santa hat. I'm not positive, but this may be a sign that the Mayans are right...

Mullet?

When Amelia was little, she had a little bit of a mullet.  I had hoped he would avoid a similar fate. Well, if Amelia was considered a hairy, little monkey...Everett is more like that weird fuzz that grows on a baby bird...

You Win Some, You Lose Some

When it comes time to say our prayers every night, you never know what you're going to get. Some nights she dives straight in and starts while other nights she holds them for ransom.  And when she says them, some nights she thanks Jesus for smoked sausage and other nights she says the sweetest things. Tonight, she made me exceptionally proud. She not only prayed for her little brother to learn how to chew (Everett still throws up every time he eats), but she also prayed that God would help all the kids who weren't lucky get presents and clothes and food. When she says things that make you so proud, you can't help but think you're doing a pretty good job as a parent.  Of course, when you have two kids, if one is making you proud...chances are the other one is doing something like licking the sliding glass door...

Grinch

So, Amelia has a history of really, really hating everything that scares her in any way. This sounds natural, but she employs it on an unnatural level.  It doesn't matter that we never use the terms scared, nervous, or afraid. It doesn't matter that we try to make her face her fears whenever possible. She was just born naturally worried. For instance, we saw a large Grinch painting in Home Depot yesterday and she literally spent the rest of the time in the store telling me she wanted to leave and she never wants to shop there again. So, tonight I tried to get her to watch The Grinch on tv. Meggan and I prefaced it with how silly and funny he is and how he learns his lesson and is a good guy, etc. After about 10 seconds, she made me turn it off and DELETE it from the DVR. At least that was the end of it... until 2 hours later when she broke a dead silence by saying "God just didn't make me to like the Grinch. That's all."

Recital

Here are a few pics from the day... you know...without anyone picking their nose in them.


Amelia getting ready for the big day...

Everett was pleased to see the theater offered refreshments...

 Waiting for the star to emerge so he can hand her her much deserved flowers...

 Apparently, you can buy overpriced flowers if you want, but a lollipop is the real prize...

Boogerina Princess

My little ballerina princess had her second recital today. Personally, I feel her dancing has really improved since the last one...especially the part around the 1:43 mark where at center stage, she stops dancing in the middle of her recital to go gold digging for a booger in her nose. This, and the subsequent second attempt at said booger, are the only reasons I am happy I forgot to bring my video camera that zooms in tight.




Considering the embarrassment, I nearly decided to leave her on the stage after the recital and just pretend we didn't know her. As for Meggan, that is her you hear laughing through the entire incident.