Pretty Woman

I have to imagine walking through the mall with your dad carrying your new American Girl doll in her American Girl carrying bag (complete with her french bulldog) while you carry your newest American Girl accessories you purchased is as close to Julia Roberts strolling down Rodeo Drive in Pretty Woman as a 6 year-old gets...

Kiss the Cooks

If he's going to be lending a hand in the kitchen, we really need to get Everett his own apron....

Christmas

As always, Christmas was a big success at our house.  We were blessed by the company of family and a fruitful visit from Santa.  

 We got a new dinosaur security system...

 Amelia got a fashion design kit including real metal pins....I bought a box of band-aids.

 Everett got a host of new friends...

One More

Ev knows how to take advantage of getting one last bite of ice cream...

Getting Fit

With all this sunny weather, I decided to take the kids to the fitness trail for a little outdoor exercise. They clearly knocked out many more push ups and pull ups than I did....

Christmas Cheer

You can keep all the presents, songs, and lights. As long as I have these two smiling, I have all the Christmas cheer I could ever ask for...

Last Requests

We stopped by for a visit with 'Ol Saint Nick to make a few last requests. Amelia held strong with American Girl while Everett decided to opt for 2 whales.  I'm not sure if the type or size of the whales matter, but apparently, he has decided 2 is the perfect number...

Recovery

For any of you worried about Everett's recovery from his ambulance ride and ER visit, here is a video from the next morning....and his interpretation of his favorite song, Hello by Adele....

Rested?

When you wake up with this hair, you know you either had the best or worst night of sleep you've had in a long time....

What a Ride

Everett got to go on a very exciting ride today ... unfortunately, it was in an ambulance.  Without going into all the details, we are thankful he seems to be okay.  We are home and he is his normal, happy self. However, it did serve as a reminder of how precious every moment is. It also reminded me of the last time I was this worried about my little man....

Craftsmen

These two are becoming fine gingerbread house craftsmen.  Much like putting up the lights outside the house, Amelia contributed a bit more to the project while Everett contributed a bit more to the silliness....

Siblings

Everett is going on a sleepover tomorrow night.  I looked in his overnight bag and found this card Amelia made for him...

He won't understand it for about 20 years, but he's an extremely lucky little boy to have a sister that loves him as much as she does. 

Good Start

There are people who have nice, relaxing mornings and then there is Everett. This guy takes it to a whole new level.  This morning, he turned on the Christmas lights, leisurely dined on cinnamon rolls, and watched a little Charlie Brown Christmas before school...

Wall

While we were in Asheville, the kids took time to write a message on the Before I Die wall there. Amelia apparently wants to sky dive and know her "antsisters", aka ancestors. Everett simply wants to "Everett".  Hey, cut him some slack. It's the only thing he knows how to write and I was impressed with that....

Mastermind

This is an example of what I'm dealing with .....

Me (as we arrived home from the mountains): Man, my back is sore from those bumper cars.

Amelia: Would you like me to give you a massage?

Me: That would be great. Thank you, baby.

Amelia (once we got settled at home): Are you ready for your massage?

Me:  Sure. 

Amelia: Okay, lay down

She had me lay down comfortably to prepare for some yoga massages she's learned.  

Amelia (after massaging me for a minute or so): Does your back feel better?

Me (not getting much from the massage, but enjoying the sentiment): It's starting to. Thanks. Will you rub the top?

Amelia: Yeah, just let me take a drink first.

I then felt ice water so cold it took my breathe being dumped all over my back (and subsequently bed). I flew to my feet in shock.

Me: What happened?!? Why did you do that????!!??

By this point, she was rolling on the floor laughing. 

After I settled down and dried off, I asked her again.

Me: Hey, why did you do that??  That wasn't nice. 

Amelia: I thought of that in the cabin two days ago and thought it would be hilarious

Me: You've been planning that attack for two days?!?

Amelia: Yeah, that was so funny. It was hard to wait. 

Me: You're lucky I respect your efforts. 

So, there you have it. I'm dealing with some sort of disciplined, patient, mischievous mastermind. I respect it...and I fear it. 

Tag Team

These two have been in cahoots for a long time now...

Sundays

Sundays were made for splitting your time between dressing up in your finest for church and going barefoot to let the rain tickle your feet....

Turning the Corner

We have officially turned the corner from Thanksgiving to Christmas...

2,000

It's hard to believe, but this is the 2000th post.  That is enough posts to make 1 per day for 5 and a half years.  The blog started off with a few musings of what it would be like to have child, transitioned into a place where I could write fictional conversations between Sophie and Amelia, and then turned into a simple chronicle of the kids' lives.  I'm not sure if I'll stop one day after 2,001 posts or 10,000 posts (Meggan stopped after 3).  I just hope one day when the kids are old enough, they'll be thankful to have the opportunity to come here and relive their childhood.

Sleepwalking

I found these two in my bed in the middle of the night. A part of me wanted to either carry them back to their beds or at least roll them onto the floor. However, a bigger part of me realized how incredibly sweet it is to see your kids feeling completely safe and comfortable snuggling each other....

Pictures

We spent some time this weekend trying to get some pictures of the kids. Despite our efforts to get a great photo of both of them, most of the afternoon went like this...

Some Days

Some people need their morning cup of coffee to get started. Sometimes Everett needs a cup of donut holes to get his day started....today was a 6 donut hole day.

Orange is the New Black

Amelia earned her orange belt in karate today.  I am so proud of her...as long as she doesn't use her newly acquired skills to take out her little brother...

A sample of her skills (she's in the middle)

Piano Man

We've only had our piano a few days, but so far, Everett is really enjoying it....and why yes, those are dress socks on the legs of the bench....and no, Meggan did not agree they were a suitable replacement for small furniture pads.

Saavy

As proud as I am of Amelia, sometimes I worry that she's going to outsmart her parents sooner than I had expected...

Me: Is Billy* invited to Timmy's* birthday party?

Amelia: Of course, they're best friends!

Me: Oh, really? I didn't know that. 

Amelia: Yeah, Billy said "Timmy's my best friend" and that was really dumb. 

Me: Dumb? That sounds really sweet. 

Amelia: No, it was really dumb because now Mrs. Smith* knows they are best friends. So, now there's no way she'll let them sit together. 

Me: Wow. I see. 

Amelia: You have to say he's not your friend so then she'll sit you together so you can learn to be friends with everyone. 

Me: I'm in trouble. 

(*names have been changed to protect the innocent)

She looks sweet, but trust me, there's a lot going in that brain...

Music To My Ears

We bought this piano today in preparation for Amelia starting lessons next week.  I'm not sure if she'll be the next Mozart, but she did write this "song" tonight....who cares if it isn't actual music and she just thought the piano needed it for decoration?

Wise?

While I'm proud Everett chose to wear his Gator hat for Hat Day at school, it did make me think...is it really wise to brainwash your children into loving your alma mater when you're the one who is going to have to shell out the out-of-state tuition if they grow up and want to go there? Yeeeeah, I'll worry about that later. For now, Go Gators!

Little Big Man

My little guy is all grown up....well, almost....

Cracking Up

When your 3 year-old goes to the bathroom and says "Hey, there's a crack in my front booty!", you know you're in for an interesting conversation.

Rested Up

Meggan and I managed to pull ourselves away from Asheville to come back to reality.  Luckily, we enjoyed ourselves enough that I didn't manage to get any pictures other than this of the view from our room...

And judging from the way Everett spent Sunday afternoon recovering, I'd say the kids had a pretty good time while we were gone....

Recruiting

He's only been here an hour and Everett already has Grandpa skiing downhill on the Xbox with him....

Time Away

Meggan and I are 1 day away from taking a trip for our 9th anniversary.  While we will naturally miss our children terribly, there's something about eating at nice restaurants, sleeping in, and generally doing what you want when you want that helps ease the pain. That said, having Grandma and Grandpa letting you stay up late, eat candy, and drink "coca loca" probably ease the kids' pain quite a bit as well.

A Treat

This is who I get to spend time with every day...what a treat...

Deja Vu

After years of being the best sleeper in the house, Everett came to our bed tonight at 10 o'clock because apparently his big boy bed is "juust a litttttle bit too small", told us to turn off his monitor, wanted to know why there was no pillow in the middle of the bed for him, and then asked us to pause our TV show so he could go potty and not miss it. Now, that he's established his presence, I am certain Amelia's jealousy buzzer will go off and shoot her down the stairs in no time.

Moving Up

Amelia was moved up to "level M" in reading today. According to a few websites, that is mid-to-late 2nd grade level.  She is the only child in her class to reach that level at this point. I know it is only first grade, but I couldn't be more proud of how well she's doing in school.

Hiking

We took Everett on his first hike this weekend. Amelia, having gone once before, was clearly a seasoned veteran. ....


Hanging with Uncle Butch

How a 3 year-old starts a hike...

How a 3 year-old ends a hike...