Meet Fillmore

Or, as the girls are always saying, "Carson, here's your friend...Mommy, what's his name again?"

I've been searching for a lovey for Carson for a few months.  First, I couldn't decide on an animal (all the fun ones are taken by cousins--hippo, lion, giraffe, monkey...).  Then, I didn't know what I would name said animal, once I decided.  So, I kept searching.

I happened upon a frog named Fillmore, and thought it was a very fitting name, but I didn't like that Fillmore.  So, I continued to search.  I found a different frog, named Ponds (original, huh?), and I just decided that his name would be Fillmore.

He came in the mail last week.  Carson loves to chew on his face and grab his hands (legs??).  It was love at first gnaw.  And, the rest will become a fun family journey, just as Rae and Lulu have.

Sadie's Latest...

I knew from the day she was born that Sadie would always have to do things on her schedule.  That being said, I haven't pushed her to learn her letters, numbers, etc.  I knew that eventually, she would take an interest, and, at that point, she'd dive in full speed ahead!  

She's been counting for a while, and about 4 months ago, she started wanting to recognize letters and numbers, but still no writing.  So, I started doing workbooks with her, but at a very casual pace.  

Two weeks ago, she said to me, "Mommy. I want to write my name.  What are the letters?"  And, after only tracing my dot letters three times, here's what she did all on her own!  (And, of course, to document her first name writing, it had to be on a piece of scratch paper.  Oh, well!)

(side note:  right at her 2nd birthday, I remember talking to her babysitter about my concern that she might be colorblind--she was that aloof to learning!  But, I now know that's what happens when you compare siblings!  Morgan was eager to learn at an early age.)

Twinners

Carson and his cousin, Jack, must have received the same church shirt for Christmas from Grammy.  Both times that the Jones family has been up for Sunday dinner since then, Jack and Carson have both sported their new attire.  And, for those of you that think taking a picture of all your kids is hard, try taking a picture with a toddler who is intrigued by his bald cousin's head.  Yeah.  Here's proof that it's really interesting (to Jack, at least).

And, here's the best we could get.  At least Alie and I look good!

Only in California...

 ...can you play in the sprinklers on Christmas Eve.

100% Boy

 Look at this kid.  We love every last bit of him.  Even if he does make a huge mess while eating!

Christmas 2011

Here's a quick recap of our Christmas:

Christmas Eve:

Fondue at Grammy and Grandpa's

New Christmas PJs

Christmas Morning:

Sadie

Carson

Morgan

Christmas Adventures

We had lots of fun participating in a couple of Christmas activities this past weekend.

We started off the weekend decorating gingerbread cookies with our great friends, the Whettens.  The activity definitely didn't go as planned, when we looked over and saw Andrew frosting his hand, not the cookies!  Yummy!  But, the kids had lots of fun and the Whettens have the perfect BIG kitchen to make a mess like that!

Then, on Saturday night, we went to visit Santa.  Our closest Bass Pro Shop is pretty far, so we found a house that my mom remembers taking us to as children (www.christmasonknobhill.com).  This cute couple decorates their yard each Christmas and every night (except Wednesdays, Santa bowls) Santa sits on a chair in the driveway to greet the children.

Here's our little bunch on Santa's lap:

Carson's first visit to Santa!

We met Grammy and Grandpa, who brought Baby Jack (he's no longer a baby, but he's not just "Jack"--what do we call him now??).  Jack was super tired, so he just went along with sitting on a stranger's lap.  He did give his classic, "I see you're trying to give me something, but I won't touch it" look when Santa tried to give him a candy cane.  He didn't even reach out his hand, so Santa gave up.  Oh well, maybe next year.

And, just for Alie, here are a few pictures of Christmas puke joy, complete with a flying pig.  There were so many lights and so many moving decorations, I couldn't get a clear picture!

Merry Christmas from California!

A Little Bit of Everything

On occasion, Morgan still takes "sleeping naps."  Oh, those are fabulous days!  This day, in particular, she was determined to not fall asleep (hence, no blanket or pillow).  

We've been learning about Pilgrims and Indians (Native Americans, to be correct) in Morgan's history packet for school this month.  One of the activities we did was to make a edible tepee.  We cut a tortilla in half, "glued" it with peanut butter, and stuck pretzels out of the top to resemble the real sticks used.

Oops!  Forgot to rotate this one.  This little guy fell asleep on our bed yesterday morning and slept for 3 hours!  There's something about sleeping in mommy's bed (even if I'm not in it) that helps him sleep better.

Sorry for the bad lighting.  Here's Sadie Bug, complete with disheveled hair.

Morgan opted out of a trip to the aquarium yesterday, just so she could stay in her footsie pajamas all day long!  She still wasn't dressed when Grammy Tammy came home at 3:00!

Imagination

Maybe you won't enjoy (i.e. laugh at) these as much as Brian and I did, but here are some of Morgan's latest writing "gems".  

Free Cake Tub Bath Ladybug Pie:

The Letter T (Morgan is convinced that Sadie will only learn her letters if she teaches them.  So, on random days, she decides to teach Sadie a letter.)

We Finally Made It!

So, my Dad has been BBQing for a few years now (I think at least 3 or 4), and we've been the only kids/grandkids that haven't participated.  I mean at all.  We've been the recipients of many fabulous meals, but never experienced the whole competition/catering thing until last weekend.  And, lucky for us, it was just around the corner from our house, so we didn't even have to "travel" to get there!  We all had lots of fun, but it sure is a lot of work!

Brian took the kids for a ride in the wagon:

Carson took a LONG nap on Grandma's bed in the trailer. I kept checking on him, since we didn't have a baby monitor, but he just slept and slept!  I think he was out for close to 3 hours!

Here's the whole setup, complete with flying pigs and awards from previous competitions.  Their team name is When Pigs Fly  (www.whenpigsflycatering.com)

Even though the judges didn't agree, we (the family) all thought Dad's ribs were AMAZING!  I mean, like, we all wanted to eat several! Here's Brian, snacking on another rib!

Grandpa got a turn to take all the kids for a ride in the wagon, too.  When we put Jack in, he was screaming/crying, but just a quick ride in the wagon and he was happy as can be!

Here's Alie and Tyler with Jack and Carson.  I think it's so funny how when I got the camera out, Jack immediately turned and smiled.  Like he knew what to do or something?

What a fun day!