Christmas is coming......

Last week, the excitement of Christmas finally being near came to life. Doug and I took the kids to see Santa at Kierland. The line wasn't too long, and good thing, because the kids were TOOOOOOO excited. Logan's list was 9 items long, but I think she only told Santa few of them, a Barbie house was the main one. (She had previously emailed him her list!) Jake's list was 2 items long: a garbage truck and a school bus (?) So Santa listened intently to them, gave them a little story book, and he was done. Jakie sat right up on his lap, which was pretty cool. On the way to see him that day, Logan said, "I'm so excited for baby Nolan's first Christmas". I asked her why and she said, "because he's going to get SO MUCH stuff!" I asked her how she knew that, and she said, "because he's such a little baby and he's done nothing bad, so Santa will bring him LOTS of things!"

In the courtyard was a beautiful tree where we took a couple of pics.....

Then Logan got to pick where she wanted to go for dinner.......Five Guys, of all places. She cracks me up. After we ate dinner, there was a pretty poinsettia tree where they posed for these pics.....

(I can't believe how big they are getting!) A couple of days later was Christmas...so much going on, so many cameras clicking, but mine wasn't one of them! Darn. Until the end of the night when I went to the living room, and this is who I found....just cuddling so quietly. I think Baby Nolan did have a fun first Christmas, even though he won't remember it!

What a day! Lots of GREAT food, lots of gifts, and blessed to all be together!

Get Ready for It!

Ok.....shocker! I am actually posting. So many things have gone on in the past few months....things i really should have posted. I may or may not try to recap.... after the fact. But the most recent thing is a pic of this {little} cutie....growing up by leaps and bounds. Stop for a minute, would you, Logan?

She was all ready for soccer practice.... the kids all looked so cute! I can only imagine when they get their game day jerseys on how 'official' they will all look. And I'm absolutely sure her Mama will be posting a recap of their first soccer game....

Quick Change Artist...

So last week when i was babysitting the kids, it involved me in stepping back in time and getting the kids ready for preschool by 8:15 a.m. No problem, I thought. I did this a hundred times, tho a LONG time ago. I can do it! But little did I know I wouldn't wake up till 7:35! Logan had been awake for over an hour, but didn't bother to wake me up. So needless to say, the pancakes and syrup and braids and getting dressed and locking dogs up and turning on the alarm and car seats....whew! so much to do in record time! But because Logan had on my favorite skirt in the world (Lynne and Sarah's handiwork) I wanted to get a quick pic before school, while their clothes were clean.....(posing starts early for one of them) ;)

When I went back to preschool to pick Logan up in just 2 short hours, I almost gasped! Logan's shirt had paint all over it....and then I noticed something different.....she had reversed her skirt while in school! She said she wanted her friend to see the other side, so she flipped it (I only hoped it wasn't out on the playground). Dirty or not, LOVE how stylin' this girl is! Oh....and Jake, too :)

oh....and I'm glad I took the picture before school, after all!

Last Weekend....

While Julie and Ryan were off to Vegas, I got to babysit these little kiddos. We had some fun times, where the camera wasn't always available, like when we came back to my house to visit Papa, who was couch-bound with a backache. I went outside to water the plants, and Jake decided to join me. The pool proved to be too much of a lure, and eventually he took off his shorts, shirt, and diaper and was standing on the step.....laughing and splashing, of course. Soon Logan joined him, also with her birthday suit on. (Oh...by this time, I was also on the top step, too...brrrr). Their little pale bums were soooo cute. But....my camera was in the house....and i certainly couldn't leave them alone. So.....no picture.

We did then go back in, reluctantly on their parts, and out came the Barbie's and Lego's. Then, the next thing I knew, Logan grabbed my (fake) flowers and had one in her hair. She requested some pics be taken (surprised?)

And the still shots eventually became a performance. Sorry....you'll need to tilt your head. (Can't rotate movies...oops!)
(kinda dark....sorry)

Soon it was time to go back home. Both kids fell asleep before we were to the corner and so I took a leisurely drive home, and look what they ended up with because they had been such good little ones....

I'm such a pushover! :)

WHO KNEW?

It all started very innocently......last night we went for my birthday dinner at a mexican restaurant with Julie, Ryan, Logan and Jake. We had appetizers and then the main course was served.....fajitas for a few, which meant there were warm tortillas on the table. The next thing we knew, Logan was putting her face on it, saying it felt like a nice warm pillow....

Then we looked over and she had it around her wrist.....a new cuff!

That's about all of the prompting that was needed for little Miss Imagination to get the ball rolling....

a fan....

a warm compress for her forehead (by now a few bites had been taken)...

a telescope....

a hat...

a microphone (now there's a surprise!)

a fat straw...

a piccolo...

a dinner plate

a pen...

and last, but not least..... a drumstick!

Who knew all the possibilities for a warm tortilla? (at least it was warm when she started out!)

David Letterman and his top ten have NOTHIN' on this girl!

Tax time is such a busy time for Julie, so....

I picked up Logan from pre-school on Friday, and headed to her FAVORITE place (Wendy's) for her FAVORITE thing (chocolate frosty, 5 chicken nuggets, and 10 french fries with NO ranch, grammy, oh...and an orange drink). Instead of eating at Wendy's, we went to a park nearby, and met Julie for a little lunch break. Here they are, in all their pretty spring colors on such a pretty day. It was fun for Logan to see her Mommy during the day.....she'll be home soon, Logan.....just 2 more days!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELLEY!

So here she is, the birthday girl! Such memories of your actual "birth" day come racing back to me on this day, every year! And the joy to find out you were another baby girl to fill our lives with....a surprise to the end....until Dad delivered you to this world. That was back in the days when ultrasounds were almost never done....when you just got to hear from everyone who voiced their opinion, on what sex you would be, based on the way I was carrying you. And I think with both you and Julie, I was in shock! Oh how I wanted to have another baby girl! And you would understand if you were sandwiched between 2 brothers. :)

So I just wanted to tell you that life with you has been such a blessing and now you get to look forward to the time when you will have so many memories welling up inside of you. Oh what a special year lies ahead of you! But this is YOUR day, Kels, and I hope you have a fabulous one.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KELLEY!

love, mom xoxoxoxoxoxoxo

My Little Blooming Artist!

(Let me just preface this post to say that I, by no means, am posting this for MY artistic prowess....it all just "happened"!) ( Dbl-click on the pic to see the detail!)

So I was going to post this before Christmas, but didn't have time. Today, as I was taking down Christmas decorations, I walked by the frig and started chuckling to myself. While watching Logan one afternoon, she wanted to color with her new crayons....we have many animal pics in our house from her artistic little hands, but this day she wanted to color a pic of the stable where Jesus was born. Well, she asked me to "help" her. So I first drew the stable and then she started coloring the rest. So let me begin with the green mass to the left of the stable...."that's the innkeeper, Grammy". Then came the shepherds.....there "had" to be 4, so says the artist, but I could only fit 3 in. Those black-dressed people are the 3 wisemen carrying their gifts. Don't you love it? Which brings us to the angel..... Well, I drew the outlines to her and then she colored her in, also. At first, she didn't have legs....then after awhile the legs were there....with shoes. But the best part is....the orange in the middle of the dress....."those are the undies, Grammy. Everybody wears undies!" :)

(More Christmas festivities to come.....and maybe even some from Thanksgiving....I never got a chance to post.)