Snow Day

We woke up to snow today. The only complaint from the kids is that there wasn't any school today because it was a holiday and otherwise they would have canceled or delayed school. It wasn't even a 1/2 inch of snow, but the kids loved it. 

The little ones got cold and came into warm up. 

They sat by the window and yelled out to the others outside. 

Basketball Star

Leo has started basketball. He plays on a YMCA team and is doing a great job. Leo is a great player he has got amazing instincts, dribbles really well and is usually one of the first players down the court. All of his athleticism fascinates me because I don't have an ounce of athletic ability, but I think this is proof that there is some recessed genes embedded within me. One of his team members is in a wheel chair and Leo has been really impressed with how well he plays despite the challenges that he faces. 

 Leo volunteered to read the introduction speech. It basically says that they are trying 

to play their best and they ask that all of the spectators respect the players, coaches, 

and refs. I was proud of him reading it in front of everyone.

 My beautiful girl. Huck wanted so badly to get out there with his brother. 

 My parents were able to come down and support him for his first game. They got to see his first 2 baskets scored in a game. 

The video has Leo reading the introduction speech and then shows Leo making the first basket of the game and his first basket in a game. 

Our Wild Child

Our youngest is a ball of energy. From the moment he wakes up (and lately that can be anywhere from 2 AM to 8:30 AM) he is in to everything. Half the time we are laughing hysterically at his humor and the other half of the time we are crying in disbelief at his antics. He has the ability to destroy a room within seconds. It is like having your home continually burglarized on a daily basis. There isn't a cupboard that he can't reach or a spot that he hasn't gotten into. He loves pulling books off shelves, dumping the contents of entire drawers on to the floor, and is thrilled when he gets into his sibling's things. He hates wearing clothes. We literally have to tackle him to get him to wear anything. He hasn't figured out how to take off shirts yet, but he knows how to take of pants and his diaper. He refuses to take a nap and doesn't really like to sleep in general. Even as a baby he hated to take naps. If you held him he would sleep for hours, but as soon as you put him down he was awake within 15 minutes. Ken and I have to be careful that we don't rush him growing up. This stage can be frustrating, but there is also a lot of humor. We also try to put into perspective that this time will go quickly. We learned that with our other 3. Within a few short years he will be in preschool and then kindergarten. But for now he is our goofy, destructive, lovable, wild child. 

 He has an absolute obsession with his googles and swim cap. He so desperately wants to be like his older siblings in every way. The weird thing is that he just loves to wear them around the house. When my parents were over he ran into the bathroom, put them on and then sat at the dinner table wearing them while we talked. 

 He loves to be naked and I snapped this picture during mid-undress. 

 The big news is that he is in a big boy bed. All 3 older kids had to be moved out of their cribs because another baby was coming. I was looking forward to keeping him in his crib until he was 3. Wouldn't you know he moved out when he was still 1. It simply was getting ridiculous with how he was jumping/vaulting out of his crib every night. My parents brought down a bunk bed that they had and weren't using. To say he loves it is an understatement. It is like he is one of the big kids now. 

Because he isn't taking naps we are trying to find something that will keep him occupied for a few minutes so we can get things done. He loves cars and trucks so we tried showing him Bob the Builder. He loves the music and loves to dance to it (Ken captured this video) but as soon as the theme songs ends he is done watching it and is back to destroying things. 

The Climber Part 3

When we got back from Christmas break we were all busy unpacking our car. We walked into the kitchen and found this. Baby Huck had moved over a stool, climbed up on to the counter, opened the cupboard, and gotten out a bag of chocolate. The funny thing is we had put this bag in the cupboard before we left on the trip the week before, yet it was the first thing he remembered when we got back. My mom is predicting that he could be our first kid to get a broken bone. 

Where is the wood to knock on?

Christmas Day

For Christmas we traveled to spend time with Mimi and Papa (Kirsten's parents). When we arrived Papa had us go out in the yard and cut down a Christmas tree.

 The tree was 16 1/2 feet tall and was a bit of a challenge to get in through the door.

 The tree in its stand. Now it just needed some decorations. We joked that the tree was shouting 

TA DAH here I am. 

 The next day we woke up early and headed over to the coast to do some crabbing. 

 It was chilly so the kids would share the plastic stroller covering and sit under it to stay warm.

 We got to see the sun rise. It was a beautiful clear day.

 The following picture has quite the story. Baby Huck apparently wanted to get my attention. He picked up the camel in the nativity set and chucked it at my face. I didn't even see it coming, and suddenly felt this horrible pain. It immediately swelled up and despite putting ice on it the next morning I woke up to this. Baby Huck was so shocked at my reaction after he hit me he cried the entire time he was in time out and then gave me a big hug. 

 On Christmas Eve night we got ready for our nativity play that Midge wrote last year. We were missing my sister's family so everyone was called in to fill the parts. 

 Everyone was getting ready, learning lines, getting their costumes, 

and learning their places for the play.

 Leo found a great place to store his staff.

 The play had frightened shepherds...

 Several angels...

 a reluctant innkeeper...

 Joseph, Mary and a donkey...

 wise men/man who saw a star...

 and of course the baby Jesus.

 During the play some people had to be helped to remember to bring their props on stage.

 As I said everyone had to be cast. Notice the furry sheep.

 The whole cast.

 After the play we had a music performance from our little violin player.

 Midge also sang a solo for us. She sang the song The Gift by Aselin Debison. 

She has an amazing voice and did a great job. 

 We decided to go to church and then have the kids open their presents. I didn't want to rush through opening their presents and we wanted to focus on Christ rather than the gifts they got. It ended up working really well the kids opened their stockings and secret santa gifts (each kid chose a name of one of their siblings and got them a gift). Midge got Huck a toy train, Leo got Midge an itunes card and ceramic animals to paint, Little Miss got Leo a webkinz, and Huck got Little Miss a music box. Then we had homemade cinnamon, orange and peacan rolls. Yumm! When we got back from church we couldn't hold the kids back any more. They were so excited and ready.

 This gift has a special story. This train was made for me by my father 34 years ago when I was 1. A few years ago my dad did some needed repairs and painted it. This year it was Huck's turn to receive the train as a gift. He loves it. My father even made hand painted little people to go with the train.

 For months Little Miss has begged Midge to let her play with her Little Pet Shop Toys. All she has been asking for on her wish list was pet shops. She was so excited when she opened them up. 

  Leo was our little cleaner everytime someone opened a gift he was there to pick up the wrappings. Every one of his gifts immediately went into a big box to keep it organized and keep his younger siblings from playing with his toys.

 For the gifts I made name tags and paper flowers to decorate the gifts.

 Midge really wanted clothes this year and she got some amazing pieces. Whenever we were out shopping and she said she loved something I would purchase it behind her back and store it away.

 She chose this gorgeous purple dress (if only it was a larger size I would be stealing it). I decided I wanted to make her hair flowers to match the dress. They were so much fun. All you do is cut circles of satin and burn them and then sew them together. I thought this picture my brother took was amazing and made her look so vintage. 

 We then decided to take a family photo of the entire gang. This is a lot of work. 

 But we got the shot.