pics?

And an Autobot in a Fir Tree

We decorated our tree before Thanksgiving (yes, I know, anarchy and chaos!) but one of our favorite traditions is buying a new ornament each year for each family member. Tonight our Christmas Stocking activity (we do one each day in December) was to give the kids their ornaments and hang them on the tree. Here are this year's picks:

For Dave: Santa and the Showgirl!

Though we've lived in Vegas before, we didn't have an ornament to commemorate it.

And here's mine:

For Gavin - of course:

And London's, which required a little DIY for the cast.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Pictures

The malls were scoured, the perfect Christmas clothing found. The darlings were up early, dressed and pressed, combed, gelled, with new shoes and the first zipper tie. Then came the photo shoot. We got this:

Constructicon Devestator!!!!

Suzie Sweetheart and Cheezy McGee

Cheezy McGee and The Crier

The Crier, Take Two

Sillies

Hey Look! Ducks!

But, with much begging and bribing we also got this:

and this:

Merry Christmas!

Tiny Little Fractures on Tiny Little Girls

Oh my big 200th post was about London breaking her leg! How sad! I need to post a picture of the new cast, but in the meantime, here's the super-lame story:

Sunday night we were playing on the floor. London jumped up from my lap to run away, tripped over my foot, and landed with a scream. A long, long, awful scream that came back every time we touched her leg or tried to get her to stand on it. Luckily my father- and brother-in law were in town, so we left Gavin with them and took her to the hospital. Four hours later we were home with a little pink splint, inconclusive x-rays, and an appointment with a pediatric orthopedic surgeon. The next day we saw the surgeon and she traded the splint in for a candy-cane striped cast all the way up her thigh. It's an occipital fracture, which means it's tiny, but will get worse if it's not in a cast. We're hoping the cast will come off at her appointment in two weeks. She's hobbling around like a peg-legged pirate on it, and thinks it's an awesome new cowgirl boot!

I was just looking through old posts looking for my Christmas stocking list, and I was laughing at some of the silly things Gavin used to say. I'm so glad I've recorded those! London is talking a lot now, too, and every word just cracks me up. A few days ago she was in her high chair begging for lunch. When I set down the peanut butter sandwich, she got so excited. "Oh, wow! Thanks, mom! That's amazing!" And people say motherhood is thankless! I made a peanut butter sandwich. And I'm amazing.

Things That Need Blogged About...

Halloween Costumes...

Merry Christmas To Me!

First Broken Bone :(

Some Funny Stuff

"Hey, Gavin, how was nursery today?" "It was great! I just kissed this girl the whole time." "Really?" "Yeah. And hugged her. Just gently. Because I love her." "Oh yeah?" "Yeah. But I don't know what color shirt she was wearing."...?

Recently Gavin informed me that "We are having a baby." "No, we're not." "Yes, we are! Your belly is getting bigger and bigger!" "No, it's getting smaller and smaller!" "Nope, sorry mom. It's bigger. It's a baby."

I think Gavin has been spending too much time with my mom lately. When I told him Daddy was on his way home from work, he said, "Mom, maybe you should go put on some makeup so you'll look pretty." When I told him I already put a little makeup on this morning, he said, "Maybe you need a little more."

Also, London has a new game she plays. If she asks for something and I say no, she'll ask again a few times, then switch to something else she knows I'll say no to. It usually goes something like this, "Cookie?" "No cookie." "Cookie?" "No cookie" "Gum?" "No gum." "Gum?" "No gum." "Shower?" "No shower." "Binky?" "No binky." "Ice cream?" "No ice cream."...and on and on, until she is laughing too hard to keep it up. Pudding? Well, OK then.

If You Go To The Zoo...

If you ever go to the San Diego Zoo, don't ever, ever kiss a gorilla.

It might bite off your hand.

Fourth of July, Part II

So Mudgy the Moose was the highlight of our Coeur d'Alene trip, but he had a lot of competition. I mentioned the parade- here's a bit more of it. There were also a LOT of horses and giant trucks and Shriners guys and prom queens in convertibles. The only thing missing was candy. When I was a kid there were buckets and buckets full of candy thrown at every parade! What happened to that???

I mentioned the park last post, too. Here's a peek:

It's all wooden, has slides (not wood), swings (also not wood), and all the usual climbing things, balance beams, etc., but also some cute houses, this boat, and a hog for mom. Oh yeah. Gonna bust out my leather chaps next time!

We were excited to see all our old favorites in Coeur d'Alene, but there was something new this time, too! We finally convinced Terry to let us meet his "friend" Cheryl, and she was a big hit. Gavin wants her to "live with Grandpa so we can see her all the time". He also said "I just really love Cheryl." And she helped Terry watch the kids one night so we could go on a date, so we just really love Cheryl, too!

And then there's the fireworks on the beach. It just doesn't get any better than that - especially when Dad digs a custom-fit lounger for you.

Can I eat this dirt? Mmm...gritty!

Mudgy the Moose

Every year we try to visit Dave's dad in Coeur d'Alene for the Fourth of July. Coeur d'Alene is gorgeous this time of year, and Vegas can't compete with a small-town Independence Day. As far as I know, Vegas occasionally does fireworks on the Fourth, but that's about it. In Coeur d'Alene the Fourth begins at dawn, staking out your spot for the hours-long parade. They have food and fun booths in the park, and the best fireworks show ever over the lake. The highlight of the parade this year was Coeur d'Alene's newest celebrity, Mudgy the Moose. Author and Wee Sing creator Susan Nipp and illustrator Chuck Reasoner teamed up to write this adorable book about a moose and a mouse who play hide-and-seek all over Coeur d'Alene. The book is super-cute, but the best part of all is that Terry, aka Grandpa Beardo, was commissioned to create five huge Mudgy and Millie sculptures to go along with the book, so you can read the book and follow the trail all around Coeur d'Alene's greatest spots! London was really enthusiastic about finding "Muggee Moose" everywhere we went.

Here's Mudgy in the parade:

At the lake

the playground

on Sherman street (a great little downtown street with shops and galleries and Mudgy Moose Ice Cream)

at the library (which has the cutest, cutest children's library ever!)

and on Tubbs Hill, where the story begins.

We also happened to be there for a special Mudgy book signing. We're hoping Grandpa Beardo will hook us up with one of these little Mugdgy sculptures!