FUNNY story!

The day of Parker's 6-month appointment:

Michael: Did the doctor check Parker's penis?

Me: Yes. And she told me to be really careful when pulling the skin back to clean because you can actually pull it over the head where it gets stuck and then the head swells up and it's an emergency.

Michael: Yeah, I've heard about that. That's really bad.

Evan: Wait a minute! Wait a minute! You can't pull your penis over your head. That's impossible!

And, finally, Christmas!

First things first...the tree! We love going to the tree farm to pick out the perfect tree.

The Christmas Eve picture...one mediocre picture out of about 20. Good grief...is it really possible to get a decent picture of all of your kids when you have more than one?

Parker enjoyed opening his gifts. Well, no, he enjoyed eating the wrapping paper.

And then he enjoyed playing with them. At 5 1/2 months old I finally got a picture of him smiling, though it's not very good. Michael and I really have to tag team on this to get a good one before, like, his birthday or something!!

Maren really enjoyed her princesses and Evan loved his dart guns.

And then that evening at my sister's house, the cousins enjoyed some DDR. Evan was serious about it and played for probably 45 minutes in those hot jammies with flush cheeks. All in all, it was our best Christmas ever. The kids were really fabulous, we had a great day together as a family, we were able to play together. Just a great time!

First Food

We started Parker on solid food and so far so good. Of course, we have to share the token first bite pictures. He had a funny face for the first 5 days or so but now he's really getting into it. And he always wants water and is getting rather good at holding his sippy cup. Yahoo for early independence. Ha!

Our Generous Boy

I just wanted to jot down some experiences we've had with generous Evan lately. He really amazes me sometimes. It seems like when I tell him about the kids who have few if any toys that he might think about donating his old toys to, he doesn't really care. I'm sure he cares, but it just doesn't seem real to him. However, if there's someone who needs help and he sees that need, he will just jump in to help. Here are a few examples:

1. Our friend wanted to go hike a really tall mountain with his brothers but didn't really have the money to get or rent the gear and pay for the training you need to get before you can safely make the climb. His wife was telling me this in our family room and Evan overheard. He ran out and came back a minute later with all of the money from his piggy bank...about $1.17 or something like that. He put it in a sandwich bag and handed it to my friend and said it was for her husband to pay for his climbing gear.

2. Evan and Maren had a sleepover at my mom's house one Friday night. The tradition is that on Saturday morning, after breakfast, they hit the local toy store and my mom gives them a couple of dollars to buy something. After the toy store Evan said, "Grammy, can we go out to lunch?" My mom said, "Not today, I'm all out of money." Well, was she really all out of money? Probably not. But that's what we tell our kids sometimes when we're not willing to pay to go out to eat. Well, when she dropped him off at home, he ran straight to his money and started a collection in another baggie. I think he got 62 cents for her. You've really got to be careful what you say around this sweet boy.

3. Our friend Steve's dog died. Evan had met this dog a couple of times and enjoyed having him do tricks for treats. A couple days after the dog died, Steve came over to help Michael with something. Evan walked up to Steve and said, "I'm sorry your dog died." I thought that was really thoughtful of him to remember. Then he ran away. A couple minutes later he came out with Patch...his absolute most favorite stuffed animal in the whole world. The one he made at Build-A-Bear that he sleeps with, takes to preschool when they're allowed to take things like that, just loves like crazy. Yeah, Patch. He comes out with Patch and hands him to Steve and explains that Steve can keep Patch because his dog died. Steve tried to tell Evan that he couldn't take him but, with tears in my eyes, I told Steve he'd better just accept it and be really grateful.

This is definitely something we want to cultivate in our children...this spirit of giving to those who are in need. Evan may end up giving the shirt off his back to someone one of these days but I couldn't be more proud of him and the choices he's making.

Recital Videos

I forgot the live action proof of the recital! One day when Maren is older and watches these, she's going to just roll her eyes (if she's anything like me).

In this one, they sang a verse, whistled in between verses, and then sang the second verse. When the video starts, you can hear Maren "whistling" and she whistles through part of the second verse. It just cracks me up. Maybe I'm the only one who could listen to this 2-year-old "whistle" all day. Cute, cute.

Here they are singing about popping popcorn to string for the Christmas tree. An d they talk about tasting a little bite. Of course they're not really supposed to take a bite of it, but, as I mentioned, she was spazzing out. I bust up laughing when she took a bite, realized it was gross and started spitting it out. Classic. By the way, she totally knew all the songs and sang then all day every day at home. But then when it comes time for the show, she'd just goof off during them. Figures.

And at her most spastic ever! Seriously, you'd think we'd given her speed for breakfast. And yet, I can't help but laugh.

Here's those five seconds of her solo. She really was so sweet...and that was my favorite costume. She just looked like, well, an angel in it. I believe she even through in an arabesque. What a dancer! I just adore this girl. She is ridiculously funny, kinda and loving, and has empathy just gushing out of her. Way to go, sweet Maren!

Let It Snow!

We got a surprise snow this week...according to Evan, because he prayed for it. Boy, that guy does get whatever he prays for, doesn't he? It just kept coming and coming. The kids had a great time playing in it while Michael was at home (Parker and I stayed nice and toasty inside) and when Michael got home, they wanted to go build something with him outside. 15 minutes before bedtime they finally talked him into it. I let him know that they had about 10 minutes and then they needed to come in. Well, an hour and a half later, I got pictures of one OCD husband, two sleepy but happy kids and one amazing "Wonder Bear", as the kids called it...

About another hour and a half after the kids were in bed, said OCD husband called me out to show me the new and improved Wonder Bear. Uh, honey, the dishes were waiting to be done, too!! :-) Heehee.

Dance Recital

Maren had her first recital this month (December). They had about three months to work on this recital and they did 13 numbers. It was WAY fun to watch. Maren was hysterical, to say the least. She was a complete spazz sometimes (you'll see the proof), but when she wasn't being a spazz she was posing for pictures in the middle of her dancing and doing whatever she could to get attention (I think not even all that much on purpose!). I just couldn't stop laughing at her. She really wasn't shy at all...she worked the whole floor when it was free dance time. I loved every minute of it (except for when Evan was trying to take the camera from me in the middle of her solo so I only got about 5 seconds of it!). Here are a few hundred highlights...

Their first number...

My kids have something with playing with their ears in the cold months. I don't know what it is.

She was supposed to stand by the fireplace in this pose, with her fifth position arm. She did a GREAT job of holding it while the other girls danced. I think that little arm is just too, too cute.

I love this full-action shot. She just took up the whole room when she started to dance.

I included this one because, well, I just think it's a sweet picture.

Michael was really excited to bring her flowers. He even took the day off work just to come to her recital. She loved having her family there and her roses. For the rest of the week she asked when her flowers were going to die. At first I thought she wanted them to. Then she told me she didn't want them to die so she just kept checking. Ha!