I'm NOT a slacker

I swear it. I'm not. I have tried many times to post a Christmas video, and it just won't work. Our computer is slowly circling the drain, so I'm just waiting for it to die. In the mean time, let's recap the latest with photos.



SNOW!





Christmas Eve jammies



Merry Christmas!!



OCD Mom's worst nightmare.




Love on Christmas night




Donuts at John's Space Age-mmmmmmmmmm



Park trip in January



Bath time fun



Super Cousins




Super Bowl Sunday Rotel dip. Couldn't.Get.Enough.



Beyonce booty shake at half time.




Preston's super model kiss face.





Late night comic reading...just like his dad.



Sunday morning books together. This lasted 3 whole minutes and was a pure miracle. They BOTH sat still. For 3 whole minutes!!!



She loves loves loves loves her big bro.



Seriously cute.



My happy little Valentines.

Super sub love.

Park fun with Daddy.



My three kids.

I promise to get a recent video up soon. Callie is a talking fool, and Preston's as spunky as ever. 

Good-bye, Eddie...

We said good-bye to our Scout Elf, Eddie, on Christmas Eve. He left us a letter that morning with instructions to open it after bath time.  Both kids got some new Christmas pajamas and books, we took baths, and then came back downstairs to read the letter.  Preston and Callie were both VERY excited to get to touch Eddie and tell him good-bye. Classic stuff.

I have tried unsuccessfully to load the Christmas day video 5 times now. Will keep trying!

Pre-Christmas Fun



Lighting the tree

 Preston went to visit Santa at Westwood City Hall last year, and Callie joined in the fun this year. Well, she really just ran around like a mad woman and screamed a lot. BUT you can't say we didn't try to get her to have fun!  They started things off with the lighting of the Christmas tree and some carols sung by the local high school choir. Then Santa made his BIG entrance (police escort and all), and everyone went inside for some cookies, stories, and lap time with the big man.  Preston was ALL about it, and was actually the very first person to sit on his lap! I missed most of his time with Santa on video. And Callie was off running around (quite possibly sitting in the mayor's chair), so she isn't in much of the video. We did get a few pics with Santa and both kids at the very end of his time there.  Then all of the kids followed him outside to use their bells to help his sled fly. The sled is AWESOME. It shoots fire, plays music, and is every child's dream. Good stuff.



"I swear I've been good!!'

Next up is the video message Santa sent Preston. The little dude doesn't sit still very often, but you can see how mesmerized he is by this. The end of the video is footage of opening presents at my mom's house. Callie figured it out fast and was trying to open my presents by the end of the night. She's a quick learner!

Hope you enjoy your Christmas!

Halloween (just a little late)

Both kids loved Halloween, and Callie now asks for "CAN-Y" about 30 times a day. I always knew she was smart.

 

They both came to my school costume parade and got to hang out for a bit with my class. Candy for breakfast? Why not! After school, I took them to Prairie Village to trick-or-treat at the shops. PERFECT for small children. NOT SO PERFECT for one parent trying to keep both of her children from running off. (Strangers with candy everywhere- a parent's worst nightmare!) We'll definitely do that again next year, but hopefully Daddy can come help. That night we took Callie to a few houses in the neighborhood, and the Peter Parker and I went out to collect as much candy as possible.



Clark Kent found SUPERDOG!!!



 Video footage below. I believe it starts at the Pumpkin Patch we went to in Tulsa with the Stanford clan.  The really dark part of the video was a SUPER scary house down the street. These people are insane, and I can NOT believe Preston was courageous enough to go up on their porch.  For example, they had someone in a mask with a chainsaw in the garage, a recording of people screaming playing, fog machines, tombstones, and two guys on TOP of the house with giant knives and scream masks. Honestly, I was a little scared.  Peter Parker was brave, though. Anything for candy!!

Hope you all got your candy fill! Hard to believe Thanksgiving is this week...

Chatty Callie

It has been a verbal explosion over here recently with our Callie Buttons. She never seems to stop learning new words these days. I would say she has hundreds of words in her vocabulary now, and she has started stringing two and three together.  My favorite is when I ask her to do something and she says, "OKAY, MOMMY." I'm sure that won't last forever.  I also love when she walks into a room and says "WHA YOU DO-ING?"  Despite the tremendous increase in her word power, she still refuses to call Preston by his name. I'm pretty sure she'll always call him Bobby. Truth be told, I'VE started calling him Bobby, too.

The beginning of the video is just a typical evening here. The fun never stops!

Just what you want to see...

Some cuteness in general from Callie. She cracks herself up when walking on her tippy toes now, and is talking up a storm.  Sometimes it makes sense, sometimes it doesn't.  She still says NO or UH-UH when she means YES, but we're working on it. She has become quite the comedian and loves to make people laugh.  The second part of the video was shot with the intent of showing her talking, NOT taking a number two. But, alas, she had other plans. (She HAS used the potty on numerous occasions, but no consistency. I bet if I had stopped filming and taken her upstairs, she could have taken care of this business on the pot. But then you wouldn't get to see it!)

In Honor of the Olympics...

I have decided that there should be something called the Parent Olympics. Some of the events could be as follows:

1. Trim Time- Trim fingernails and toenails of small children- fastest time with no bleeding wins.
2. Bath Battles- Bathe two small children at the same time- fastest time, cleanest booties, and no bleeding wins.
3. Distance Driving- Arrive safely at your destination. Smallest amount of tears (from parents and children both) and no bleeding wins.
4. Diaper Duty- Cleanest bum in the fastest time wins- keeping baby's hands out of the poop is a bonus point.
5.  Meal Mania- Get kids to consume at least one piece of fruit or veggie AND try to have more food end up in their bellies than on the floor. Bonus points for parents who actually get to take a few bites of their own food while it's at least lukewarm.
6. Pool Party- Only one parent may participate in this event. Take both kids to the pool by yourself. No drowning wins. Bleeding and/or barfing are ok.
7. Restaurant Rowdiness- Take kids to a restaurant to eat. Making it through the meal without being asked to leave wins.
8. Too Much TV- Leave your TV off for an entire day. Survival wins.
9. Photo Op- Get a good photo of both kids at once. No photoshop allowed. Happiest photo wins.
10. Hairy Mess- Cut your child's hair yourself. Decent look and no bleeding wins.
11. Bedtime Battles- Convince both children to nap AND go to bed at the same time. Least number of go-back-ins (aka- I NEED A DRINK! I NEED TO GO POTTY! THE FAN IS POINTING THE WRONG WAY! I NEED MY AIRPLANE! I NEED ANOTHER HUG! I'M HOT! I'M COLD! TURN OFF THE SUN! I WANT ONE MORE BOOK!) and quickest time to fall asleep wins. Longevity of sleep gets bonus points.

Anyone want to participate in these games?? We are lucky enough to live it every day! And love (almost) every second.

Here is Callie's idea for an Olympic event for 16-month-olds. And a little talking at the end. Don't mind the mess- that could be another event. Keeping the house clean. HA!

Enjoy!

WHERE did summer go???

Hard to believe I go back to work next week. (sob) My grand plans to write many blog posts documenting our adventures didn't seem to pan out very well.  I swear we did lots of fun stuff this summer...pool time, spray park, dino exhibit at Crown Center, lots of park trips, fireworks, and melting in the 100+ degree weather.  I just didn't post about any of it! Maybe next year...

For now, here's some cuteness from Callie to tide you over. Instead of saying "NO" it always sounds more like "NOW", which makes me giggle. And what's cuter than a baby in a diaper chasing you while giggling?? Not much.

Curtains

Who knew they could be so fun?

Side note- kids had their check-ups a few weeks ago. Healthy and happy! Stats as follows:

Preston-4 years

Weight- 39 lbs- 80%ile

Height- 42 in- 90%ile

BMI- 35%ile

Callie- 15 months

Weight- 22 lbs- 45%ile

Height- 32 in- 85%ile

Head Circumference- 18.25in- 60%ile