2010 Wrap Up

Since my last posting was the end of November, we've had a few events (and therefore, pictures) that were beckoning to be put on here in order to get everyone up to speed...

First was Logan's birthday party with his friends. I'm not one that has been blessed with the gift of patience, especially when it comes to children. Therefore, having a dozen first-graders in my home that I need to entertain isn't exactly something that brings joy to my day. So, when I heard that Yogi Bear was coming to the theaters the week before Christmas, I showed the trailer to Logan and offered to bring a few of his friends for his "birthday party." He was sold on the idea and proceeded to watch the Yogi Bear trailer on my phone almost every day for 2 weeks. So, the day came and we had 3 of his little buddies from school (and his darling brother, of course) meet us at the theater. The 3-D was very entertaining. The girls were spotted reaching out into the air on more than one occassion. I'm ashamed to admit I jumped at a scene...and I even knew what was coming. Not one of my prouder moments. All in all, it was fun, the kids were perfectly behaved and I didn't have to clean up A THING! Does it get any better than that? Here's all the kiddos sporting their 3D glasses...

Carter hamming it up for the camera before his Christmas program at preschool. Before I was a parent, it was kids like this that I would observe and think "MY kid won't _________...." Yeah, whatever. As it turns out, MY KID has ___, does ______and will do _____again. That's my Carter. He'll either cause his Momma to die young or teach her to take life a little less seriously. I'll keep you posted...

*On a side note, one of my friends gave me the book "I was a better mother before I had kids" by Lori Borgman. Absolutely the best!! Pure entertainment that any Mom can relate to. I highly recommend every Mommy pick up a copy (and perhaps refer to it the next time you are tempted to choke one of your children...).

Sadie's first (and only, thus far) sledding adventure. She seemed to like it except when she fell. With all that gear on, she couldn't stand back up by herself.

Sadie in her Christmas best. She actually has enough hair to put a barette in (though it mysteriously comes out within 10 minutes). Her hair is at the stage that it's too long to stay out of her eyes, too short to do anything with. Yet, I don't dare cut it for fear it will look like she has a mullet when I'm done. When the boys were at this stage, I broke out the clippers and I've buzzed them ever since. When their hair gets long enough that it's standing up when they get out of bed, I know they're due for a buzz. But girls??? I'm learning...

My sweet baby girl...The Christmas program at church. Obviously, Sadie was an angel. Hayley (holding her) was nervous about "What if she cries?" So I gave her a ziploc of treats and reassured her I would walk up and get her if she cried. Hayley was shoving the next treat in Sadie's mouth before she could even ask for "More?" BUT, she was a silent angel through the whole thing...

Now for the less angelic children...Logan was a sheep and Carter was a cow.

All they had to do was lie down by the manger.

All They Had To Do Was Lie Down By The Manger!

ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS LIE DOWN BY THE MANGER!!!

*sigh*

Carter proceeded to crawl under the manger to the other side and in the process, he knocked down the cardboard sheep. He tried to put it back up, but then it bumped Logan, who was on the other side of the manger. So there they were, shoving the cardboard sheep back and forth. Thankfully, no yelling ensued (though I was braced for it). By the end, Carter had kicked Joseph in the shins a few times and rolled around all over the floor. Peace on earth.

And finally, Sadie's latest thrill. She can open any drawer in our room, since they're all attached under the bed. But every time, she goes for Ryan's underwear drawer...and proceeds to put a few around her neck. And then parades around the house.

Super Sadie and her cape are off to save the world...

Ryan defendin' our home against the local coyotes.

Logan with his requested snowman cake for the family birthday party. How'd he get so big? I have to say I absolutely LOVE the age 7. Mature, rational, relatively tantrum-free...but still loves his Momma. I think I'd like to preserve all of my children at this age.

One of the few pictures I actually took Christmas morning. Sadie's opening her "baby" from Carter...with a little help, of course...but she actually opened quite a bit on her own. She LOOOOVES baby dolls...provided they do not have a hat on. She promptly removed every hat from every doll she got. If I put them back on, she cried. The latest thing has been to remove the shirts. I'm guessing the pants will be flying off by the end of the month. I have a feeling we've got a streaker on our hands, given that Sadie loves to run rampant in nothing but her diaper (and I have a feeling she'd be rid of that if she could...one more advantage of using the cloth ones with snaps; she can't get 'em off!!)