Happy New Year!

As I was looking for a possible photo to put on here to wish everyone a Happy New Year, I realized it had been a while since I took a New Year's photo. Oh well, the sentiment remains...

Ride

Down on the farm, there is no telling what Grandpa will have your kids riding...


They were riding around like cargo...

They were seen "mowing" the lawn...

They were even seen cruising on the tractor...

Heading Home

We have been lucky enough to get to go see both sides of our extended family during the last few Christmas breaks. We all have a great time while we're there and we're all sad to leave. That said, Amelia takes leaving so badly that it almost negates a great trip. She just can't help it. She loves her grandparents, aunts, and uncles so much that Meggan and I got to see the sad little face below throughout the rides home from both Atlanta and south Georgia in the last week or so.....

Not Long Ago

I was looking through some photos today and I came across a few of Amelia on the farm when she was Everett's age. It is almost inconceivable to me that these were taken almost 3 years ago. Where did my little baby girl go???

Gone Again

We are on the road again for Christmas part 3. While making any long drive with little ones isn't fun, you can see (well, where the lighting isn't blinding you) we try to have a pretty good time when we stop...and Everett was doing a great job of it...

Christmas

Here is our video from Christmas morning. As expected, Amelia was very excited. Not as expected, Everett wouldn't come down the last few stairs. Totally unexpected, once he saw his new dinosaur slippers, he got so excited he literally fell down the stairs.

Disclaimer: No Everetts were harmed during the filming of this video.

Glass Slipper

After we finally wrestled Everett's new boots off his feet, did he?

a) Thoroughly disagree with this shoe thievery

b) Commit shoe thievery of his own from his sister's doll

c) Attempt to wedge a doll shoe onto his own foot

d) All of the above

If you guessed D, you fully comprehend Everett's weird obsession with shoes...

Chat

Amelia has been cracking me up again with her constant chatter. This time, it was her over the top dramatic tone that got me...

After visiting with family and opening a few presents, I asked her which gift was her favorite. Her response was (after naming basically everything she got) "ohhh, I just love all the presents sooo much I don't know how I'll ever be able to thank everyone enough"

Later, as she and I were snuggling on the couch, she said "I'm about to start crying". I asked her what in the world was wrong and she replied..." I just can't stop thinking about how cute I was as a baby"

Sharp

While he can usually be found sporting Superman pajamas or monkey cop t-shirts, occasionally Everett pulls together a sharp looking outfit..

Walking through the halls of church ...

Handling a little business on his IPad...

Parrot

As I've said on here before, when it comes to remembering words to songs, I am completely and utterly inept. In fact, I might literally be the worst person in the world at it. However, Amelia has a great ability to pick up song lyrics.  The other day, she was singing Katy Perry's "Roar" like she wrote it. She can also do a mean a capella version of "What does the fox say". I like those, but I figure she's heard them a lot since they are two of her favorites. However, tonight, she broke out with a song that she's only heard in passing.  Sure, she still has a little work to do to perfect the lyrics, but at 4 years old, she could easily destroy me at Name That Tune...

Daaat Elmooo Dorrrld

It might not be the most clearly enunciated version of "Thaaat's Elmoooo's Wooorrrrld" I've ever heard, but my man is singing it with love...

Ahh, Now It Makes Sense

I've been wondering how Everett keeps finding himself in TimeOut for "wrestling with friends". Well, last night, he showed me...it was like a scene from a National Geographic documentary -


Amelia, the unsuspecting prey, was enjoying a lollipop when her predator come from the darkness to pounce on her...

Once she was in his grasp, she couldn't shake the wild animal loose....

Luckily, I was able to intervene before anyone was eaten. 

S is for ...

Amelia had her Christmas show with her school the other night. Very, very much like her most recent ballet recital, I didn't bring my video camera. I'm not sure how I'm slipping so badly lately, but I'll do better next time. Until then, here is the best I could grab on my phone. Amelia has the first letter 's'...which apparently stands for sugarplums dancing while we sleep.

Stacked

As I've said on here before, the little man loves to stack things. I looked down in the shopping cart today and this is what I saw...

...he's either going to be a great architect or at least a busboy who can clear an entire table of glasses in one trip.

Learning the Hard Way

Selling your house is hard.

Buying a house is hard.

Selling your house while trying to buy another house and closing on them nearly simultaneously so you aren't homeless is borderline crazy.

Nature or Nurture?

In the past month or so, I've heard a minimum of five different comments about how much I talk. I don’t think I talk that much. Do I? I don’t know. Maybe I do talk a lot. But, I mean, what is a lot? For instance, do I talk a lot for guy? Do I talk a lot for any human? Is my talking on the high end of an appropriate amount? Is my talking on the low end of an annoying amount?  Wait, is my talking on the high end of an annoying amount? I suppose it could be. But, you know, it isn't like I talk to everybody. I mostly only talk to people I know really well. Oh, and additionally I talk to people I just met. Well, and I do also talk to people I met a while ago, but I don’t know really well yet.  I can’t help it. I like people. Hmmm, or is it that I hate silence? Can it be both? Yep. That’s it. I like people and I hate silence.  I wonder if I like people more than I hate silence or vice versa? Surely, they can’t be equal.  What’s so bad about talking anyway? Talking means communicating. Communicating means sharing ideas.  Ideas mean making things happen.  Making things happen means changing the world! Sure, 99% of all things I say are neither ideas nor do they really need to be communicated, but that’s beside the point. Actually, it probably is the point. Maybe I should go an entire day without talking just to prove I can do it. Can I do it? Does it count if I isolate myself so there is nobody to talk to? What if I talk, but nobody is around to listen? Does that still count as talking or is that just thinking out loud? Is that why I like writing? It’s basically talking in black and white and doesn't require an audience. Is my wordiness why all feedback on my screenplays include the terms “lengthy dialogue” and yet, I’m thinking “what the fuzz?!? I cut out over half the words!”  Can I parlay this love of talking into a career option? That’s going to be hard since I go radio silent when there is a crowd. Is there any way to get paid to talk a lot to just a person or two at a time? Maybe I should have been a therapist? Wait, isn't that really more about listening than talking? Maybe I need a therapist? I don’t know. Oh well, if I’m ever talking to you and it’s too much, just tell me.  That’s what my mom does. That’s what Meggan does. That’s pretty much what everyone who knows me well does.

On a completely, totally,and utterly unrelated note…during the meeting with Amelia’s prospective school, one of the critiques was that she tends to be a bit too chatty. I’m looking into how to help correct it. I just can’t tell where she gets it from. 

It Goes Fast

Everything went great today in regards to Amelia's future school endeavors. However, I still can't believe she is old enough to be having this discussion. That said, sometimes I see pictures of Everett like the one below and can't believe how old he looks either. Hmmmm, maybe I am just not willing to admit that I, too, by default must be getting older.

School Days

Meggan and I get to go meet with school officials tomorrow to discuss how all of Amelia's testing went and her readiness to enroll in Kindergarten next fall. I think she is awesome and any school would be lucky to have her. I can't imagine anything negative they could have to say. Then again, that is probably why schools hire admissions professionals rather than just let parents vouch for their children.

Sharing

IMPORTANT message for anyone considering sharing a milkshake with Everett - do NOT get involved.

He simply can't be trusted. The man will not, I repeat, will not give the shake back when his turn is over. He also clearly does not understand the cardinal rule of sharing - you each get your own straw. Sure, in the picture below he's got the one straw thing down, but trust me, that was mere coincidence. He double barreled that thing every chance he got. Additionally, with his weak straw skills, he may have ended up slobbering more shake back into the cup than he actually drank. And lastly, the biggest problem with all of it is he's so damn cute doing it that you feel bad for making him stop. Save yourself the trouble and spring for two shakes. It is the only option.

Evolved

Everett's stacking joy has evolved a bit. Tonight, he randomly decided he should align all the horses he could find from shortest to tallest. If nothing else, the boy really likes order...

My Mistake

Well, I guess I was wrong about Amelia's gingerbread house....or at least Naybe seems to think it is delicious....

Speaking of Naybe, he also seemed to think Everett's idea of putting horses in the tree was brilliant...

Yum

According to Amelia, this is how you make a quality gingerbread house...to me, it looks more like a gingerbread shanty....

Luckily, when I asked her if she had eaten any of it, she said "No....only M&Ms, marshmallows, Fruit Loops, and a candy cane."

Neigh

I'm not entirely sure Everett understands the Christmas tree.  At this point, I think he just thinks it is a place where we keep all our shiny toys.



Perhaps the best example of this are these My Little Pony dolls he keeps randomly hiding in the tree...

Time to Work

Much like Sylvester Stallone in Over the Top, once Amelia grabs a hat and flips it backwards, that means it's time to do work....

He's Back

We were surprised to open the mailbox yesterday and find out the Naybe had made his triumphant return....

 Today, we found him hiding in our apples...

 And when we returned from shopping, he had apparently helped himself to a snack....