Thursday, December 31, 2009

Christmas Eve 2009

Push pause to the right before reading!



Here's the scene: Early Christmas Eve afternoon. Our kitchen. Snowing outside. Santa cookie baking and decorating time.

(Don't judge the mother for buying pre-made sugar cookies......she's not a good baker and the nausea from Baby R. was slowing trickling in.)

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Colored sprinkles in small bowls, frosting in the jar, Grayson on a stool, ready to reach the necessities.

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Mommy was methodical with her frosting and placement of the sprinkles......Grayson was not.

And then this happens. Did anyone see me?

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Mommy is an intense cookie artist. She has vision. But she was also aware of Grayson's shenanigans.

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And then this happens.....again. I know I'm caught, but all she did was squawk, so I'm good to go.


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The finished product.....not too shabby!


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Then, Mommy had to go to work......again. Geesh!

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The 23rd.....

I had to work.

Boo.




But, it was also my brother, Scott's, birthday!!

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Happy Birthday Scotty Potty!!!



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I love you!

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

So We Will Start With The 22nd.....

Our good friends, Liz and Justin, invited us out for some yummy mexican food.

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This made for a very happy Grayson.....I mean all we have to do is say the words,"rice and beans", and our little dude goes nuts! He especially enjoys the cheese dip and hand made burritos that his daddy is so famous for.

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Throw in some chips and red sauce and his very own mints.......he's in Food Heaven!

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So we ate and visited and then played by the outside fire....it was a beautiful evening.

Here he is asking for snow.

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"Snow? Snoooooowwwww? Snoooww??"......not yet baby, maybe tomorrow.

As we were heading back to the car, we noticed something big, red, and AMAZING!

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It was a real live choo choo train all decorated for Christmas. Grayson thought it was the coolest thing....EVER! There was even a little town to run around in...and so that's just what we did!

First, we went to the gas station for some snacks.

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Then we headed to the train station to get our tickets.

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The ticket dude was kinda scary!

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All aboard!!!


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After the train ride, we found a cool Texas shaped maze to run through.

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Got lost.

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Then stumbled upon Santa's workshop!

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No one was home! Hmmmm...he must be out back with his reindeer.

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They were gone, too!
They must be starting early this year to deliver all the presents to the good little girls and boys.

Looks like one little boy has been VERY GOOD!

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That or he's a good faker!

Tuesday, December 29, 2009

I Really Wanted......

to post the 256 pictures and the 8 video clips that made up our Christmas 2009.

I'm feeling very overwhelmed by the fact that I haven't blogged about the Christmas cookies that Grayson made for Santa or the beautiful White Christmas that we enjoyed as a family. I'm also feeling very overwhelmed by the fact that in 3 days it will be 2010 and in 5 days we will be flying to Disney World with our 2 1/2 year old.

So because of this......I will leave you with just one picture for now.






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I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!! We sure did!

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Just A Few Things You Have Taught Me.....

Construction work is not an inconvenience. It is free entertainment.


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The human hand is a miracle worthy of intense study.


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Do not underestimate the importance of regular sleep and a regular bedtime routine.

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Deep, meaningful interaction can consist of nothing but an exchange of smiles, a warm blanket, and a never ending episode of Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.

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Many hurts can be alleviated by a simple acknowledgment of the source of the pain and a hug.....sometimes a kiss and a bandaid are neccesary.



Orange cinnamon rolls equal a good time...... as well as jumping and spinning in circles.


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Sometimes, you want one cookie. Sometimes you want four. And sometimes you want to feed your cookie to the dog. That's OK. Well, if you're a toddler. (It's nice to share......just don't expect her to only take a nibble and leave some for you.....dogs don't get the whole sharing thing, Son.)


Each time you re-read a book, you will discover something new. Something new might be the richly colored strawberries in The Very Hungry Caterpillar, or it might be the steadily increasing desire to light up a book in flames so your toddler will never be able to read it again, but that's still new.



Getting dressed is a lot harder than it looks. Pants? Those suckers are tricky. Don't even get me started on the complexity of zippers on some footed sleepers during the middle of the night when you decide you don't want to be in them anymore.



The people who are most important don't care that you have boogers on your face, that your shirt doesn't match your pants, or that you haven't combed your hair. Well, they don't care if you're under three. Even so, it's a good idea to wipe your face.

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It won't happen if you don't try.



And you'll probably fall on your face the first time you try.



For some reason, when something's hard, grunting often helps.


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We all get a little cranky when we're hungry, tired, or wet. It's just natural. With a good meal, a nap, or dry pants, it will pass.



Being tiny and adorable gets you free stuff. Enjoy those boxes of raisins and restaurant crayons while you can, kid. You can't keep going back and forth to the Cinnibun samples when you're my age......people look at you funny.

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Sometimes, a little time alone can help us be civilized, nonviolent members of society, including the miniature society that is the table at dinner time.

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Meat donuts from Sonic could very well be the best tasting things on the planet.

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Being polite is very satisfying, even if all you offer is a simple "Saboo" (Bless You) when someone sneezes.



People are mostly good, most of the time. People are also a little crazy.

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