Where does he learn this?

I walk into the kitchen to find Vance, sitting on top of the counter with both hands in the hot cocoa mix, eating out the mini marshmallows. I quietly take him off the counter and we wash his hands and mouth. Then I dry him off, kneel down and solemnly take both his hands in mine. 

"Vance," I say, "that was very naughty! Don't do that again. Do you understand?" 

He leans in and gives me a sloppy kiss on the mouth. 

"You're my betht buddy!" He says. 

Oh, he's good. He's really good. 

It's all over. I'm putty. Where does he learn this? 

January....

There hasn't been much going on around here so I thought I'd just post a few cute misc. pictures of the kids. Here is Vance and his newest cousin, Cohen. He just absolutely adores that baby, and every time Co came over he couldn't wait to hold and kiss him and say "Cohen's so cute!". 

We had a get together for my family while Jer and Jess were here and poor Vance was so tired he just fell asleep at the table and almost ended up in his plate. The crazy thing is that there was literally 20 people in the house at the time and the noise level was, well... noisy! And there he was, sound asleep in the midst of it all.....
And Lilah has become quite a little climber! She climbs up on everything.... the basket in the living room, my kitchen stool, Vance's bed and this tray.... and she has a lovely bruise beside her eye to show for it! 

Freeze Dance

The kids are incredibly blessed to have a Grandma who loves them so very much! So much so that she is willing-nay even ENJOYS doing  crazy things for them, like sew them all awesome bathrobes and with them, like play freeze dance.  This was the favorite game on Grandma's last trip up and I was able to catch the excitement on video. Mom would pause the music while they danced and yell "freeze" and then pick the silliest poser. When they first started playing Vance would get so excited that he would scream at the top of his lungs every time the music stopped- but thankfully he quit doing that!

We are very thankful for Gramma's and Papa's who take the time to do crazy things like playing Freeze Tag and Safari Hunt! These are things they will always remember.

 

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

I can't believe Christmas and New Years have already come and gone! We had a lovely holiday, but I was not very good at remembering to take pictures. I can't believe Jerry and Jessica are leaving soon, and I've hardly taken any pictures while they've been here!
A few days before Christmas we had Grant and Liz, Darren and Mandy and George over for some fun and snacks. We played pictionary and we girls got beaten. Badly. In one game we didn't even make it off the "START" square. Embarrassing, really. I think the boys were cheating, however. It was a fun night, the kids played so well together and we all had a great time.
Christmas Eve was spent at Shannon and Marcus' house where we had a really nice day with a delicious dinner. Then on Christmas Day mom and Bill came over for Brunch. Coast Toast, as per our tradition. I'll post the recipe some time, it's really delish. Then we just relaxed until late afternoon when Shannon and Marcus came over and we ate leftovers and watched Horton Hears a Who and of course, It's a Wonderful Life to finish off the evening.
By popular request, here are a few of the pictures I have remembered to take.
Just a hint to those with boys-You can't go wrong with Tonka. Ever. 

Lilah eating the presents.....

Have you ever seen a kid so happy about getting a pair of slippers? I am so proud of our kid's attitudes of gratefulness. They are truly "easy to please". Which comes in handy when a majority of their presents come from the Dollar Store!

Jaxson's "big" gift was a pair of inline skates. He's so excited to try them out! (Please ignore the half naked three year old in the photo.....)

And anyone who knows Ellie knows about her love of music and dancing. So her big gift was a Hello Kitty CD player for her room. She no longer has to borrow Jaxson's! Now she can listen to her music and Odyssey stories in her own room! Doesn't she look happy? 

For New Years we decided we were partied OUT. So we refused to have a party. Instead we had a Non-party. Which means that we had people over and we ate food and we had drinks and we played about 3.5 hours of Spoons after which we toasted in the New Year. But it wasn't a party. 

It was actually a really FUN Non-party- you should try it sometime!

Here's hoping you all have a great year! Cheers!