On The Fence

 Hair is annoying.

Especially mine.

Just ask my mom.

She HATED dealing with it when

I was a kid.

She didn't understand how to care

for this thick, wavy mess.

If I recall correctly,

many times she described it as...

HORSE HAIR.

Lovely.

And now that the "pony-tail"

has become my go-to hair style,

something HAD to be done.

 So we chopped it.

And when I say "we"...

 Larry and I.

Collectively we made up this...

l

l

v

 Don't ask me if I like it.

I'm still on the fence.

Lowes Really Is Low

 Normally we head out to the Christmas Tree Farm

and go for a hayride to pick out the best tree.

But this year there were too many

obstacles to get us out there.

So we hit up a local store.

We were headed to Walmart at first,

but then Larry noticed Lowes had some trees

inside their garden area.

And thankfully he spotted them,

because they were beautiful trees

CHEAPER then Walmart!!!

 Larry checks out the prices of

the different variety of trees.

 You can always count on Emma

to be excited about any event!

 Ben looks shocked I'm taking pictures

to capture the moment.

You'd think he would be used to

it by now!

And the lucky tree to come home

with us has been found!!

SLR

 It used to be just the 3 of us!

 But that was OH so many years ago.

And now,

looks who's 8!!

 It's SUPER SYDNEY!!

You've been invited to

Sydney's Cinemas!!

 Sydney had a great idea of having

a movie night pajama party

to celebrate her 8th birthday.

So we made extra LARGE

"movie ticket" invitations.

 And gave each girl her own

bag of "tickets" to purchase

food from the "concession stand'!!

 We had everything!
Popcorn, Pretzels, Nachos,

Hot Dogs (or meatballs), Soda,

M&M's, Mike & Ike's, Peach Rings,

Gummy Worms and Tootsie Rolls!!

Then instead of cake we built our own

ice cream sundaes with all the fixin's.

 Ice Cream, Bananas, Sprinkles, Caramel,

Chocolate Syrup, Marshmallows,
Chocolate Chips, White Chocolate Chips,
Nuts, Cherries, Whipped Topping, 

Oreos and Pixie Sticks!!

 We also handed out glow in the dark

necklaces and bracelets!

 I was surprised that the kids were

really into our movie,

Shrek Forever.

All the kids had a blast

and Sydney received some awesome

presents!

I guess this little girl of ours

is growing up FAST!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SYDNEY!!!!

Picasso Problems

Guess who got caught RED handed?

I guess I should say GREEN & BLUE handed!!

And when there is one mess,

you're guaranteed there are 10

more you have found yet.

Proof:  As seen here,

another "drawing" found later.

Besides the marker found on the

couch, tablecloth, floor, etc...

I was hoping the artistic tool

was a "washable" marker,

but alas this little stinker found

the dry erase markers.

*sigh*

At this point Keira is hoping Grandma

will swoop in and save her from

punishment!!

Instead Keira got to help me scrub with

cleaning wipes the table,

then bleach spray on the floor,

borax on the couch,

and strong soapy water on her skin.

Although the trouble of cleaning was

very annoying,

I did have a laugh when I found

her sketch board tummy.

Too bad I can't frame it!!

It's A Hit

 Why does Dan have "stuff" coming out

of his mouth?

 Well he's 4 1/2 months old,

time to try,

RICE CEREAL!!

 Dr's recommend starting solids during

4-6 months.

Usually the key to knowing when they are ready,

are signs like following your hand while

you eat your own food and

grabbing for your hand to put it into

their own mouth.

 Although most cereals recommend mixing the

cereal with formula, I chose to be lazy and

stick with good ol' water.

Much more convenient!!

 But after you put that first spoonful

into their mouth, believe me,

it will slowly drool right back out.

Usually you have to put it back in

3-4 times before they swallow it all down.

It will be like that for a few feedings

until they get used to using their tongue

to push the food back into their throat

instead of the sucking motion they have

already perfected for the first months

of their life.

Dan gives rice cereal 2 thumbs up!!

(In case you're wondering, we start with plain
rice cereal for a month.  Only dinner for 2 weeks, 
then adding lunch for 2 weeks. When breakfast is 
added to the mix, it's time to add a few spoonfuls of

veggies to dinner.  We save fruit for
6 months old, since it's sweet!!)

Fashion Statement

 Is this a blog about Dan eating solids?

Nope.

 Is it about how attractive and handsome

Dan can make a simple bib look?

Maybe.

Or is this blog about how much

this little Man loves his Mom?

Wrong, again.

(but it should be!)

 This is about, how if you don't 

put that bib on and pay attention to

the warning sounds,

your shirt will look like this...

...100 times a day.

(what you don't see in the picture

is the back splash of the regurgitated

milk that has slided down my back,

across the chair and on to

the desk behind me.)

NICE!!

Red, Green And Everything Inbetween

 This long quiet weekend was just too tempting

to ignore the pestering desire to put up

all of the Christmas decorations.

And as Larry brought down

 6 Tupperware boxes, 1 tree stand 

and 1 prelighted outdoor tree

from the attic,

I was appalled at all the decorations

we've acquired over the years.

Although I do want a few more

lighted decorations for outside!!

It was at this point in the trimming

that I had epiphany and a quiet confirmation.

I brought Larry in front of the fireplace

and said...
"See!  We definitely can NOT

have any more kids because

they won't fit on the mantel."

Although we both agreed on this point,

Larry was quick to remind me there

are many more other reasons

considerations

why we won't be adding any

more cute, cuddly babies to our family.

Then I felt the warmth of the Holy Ghost

fill my heart.

No matter how hard it will be to snuff

out that desire to snuggle squishy soft babies,

it must be done.

Not just for my sanity, but for the kids we have

already been blessed with.

They deserve our attention and love,

and parents that have patience

for them all.

So here it is in writing.

We're done.

Keira, The Cherry On Top

 She's our little honey bee.

Keira is sweet and yummy

just like honey.

But on the other hand

she can be as painful as a bee

with that darn stinger.

Hopefully the "bee" part

is just one of those toddler phases!

Because we sure love

this sugar pie!!

 

Meet A Boy Named Ben

 He is a walking contradiction.

If I could describe this boy of mine,

it would be like this...

Loud, but quiet

Silly, but emotional

Talkative, but shy

Messy, but organized chaos

 Ben

in a nutshell