Happy Birthday, Jack! (& more)

Today is my nephew Jack's first birthday. I don't get to see him in person, so I need to give him a blog shout-out. I am so crazy about this kid--you have no idea! Well, if you have a niece or nephew, you probably do have an idea. It's a different kind of affection than I was ready for. I'm sure it comes from the fact that I love my brother and sis-in-law so much (I know--"aaaahh!"), but really, it KILLS me that we live an hour away from Jack. I want to see him all the time. It doesn't help that he is the happiest, most fun, a-stinkin-dorable kiddo. We love you, Buddy!

And onto other adorable babies in my life, I have to tell you that I'm also in a love-fest season with my Syd. She is just becoming the sweetest, most mellow baby. I know it's risky to publicly acknowledge your out-of-control adoration for your own child, because others find it slightly annoying and begin to think you are blind to the child's faults, but she's not even 6 months, so I'm going to go ahead and tell you she's perfect. Kidding! But she's awesome.
PS: Tanner, we stole your hat last March. We'll bring it to you when we see you in January.

Here she is checking out the ads with Daddy.

When I say "Sydney girl! Look at Mommy!" this is what I get:

This was our countdown activity a couple nights ago. It was "get crazy hair." Well, Trent just got a haircut, so his was too short to do anything very wild, and he was skeptical of the "temporary" nature of the blue spray, so only Carson and I ventured. Carson thought it was a blast! He wanted more, but I started getting high from the fumes of the aerosol, so we called it good. I wish Sydney was looking at the camera. My wig from college days (holla to Kellianne!) looked fab on her bald head.

We have no pictures from the last 2 days (making cookies and looking at old Christmas pictures--thanks for the idea, Lindsey!) because I have been SO SICK! Oy. I haven't puked that much in a LONG time. I was totally out of commission from Thursday afternoon until Friday morning. Carson and Sydney both puked just once, but Carson's was in the middle of the night all over his blankets and sheets and then onto the carpet and bathroom rug. Sweet! But neither kid seems to have what I had. Trent had to take over helping with the countdown and taking care of the kids, then my mom came over--even in SNOW--to help me yesterday. We're all feeling much better thank you.

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This morning I was working on some beading--have I mentioned I have ACADD (Arts & Crafts Attention Deficit Disorder)? Carson wanted to be more involved than I was comfortable with, so I ran to Michael's before the snow came and got him some of his own beads. Hee! It was fun watching him try. He has TYOADN (Three-Year-Old Attention Deficit Normalcy) so it only lasted for a few minutes, but he's come back to the cookie sheet of beads a couple times this morning. Trent pointed out it is good for his fine motor skills. :)

Snow honeymoon is OVER.

OK, after that blissful snow post, I'm done with the white stuff. Bring me back my safe, ice-free roads so I can get the heck OUT OF MY HOUSE! What's funny is, I'm actually quite a home-body, but as my mother pointed out, as soon as you tell me I shouldn't leave the house, that's all I want to do. Plus, I have so MUCH to do--out of the house and in the house, which I can't do, because I can't drive safely (and don't want to risk it with the kids in the car) and the little people inside the house are forbiding me to do anything other than indulge their every needy whim. Yesterday was really bad because I thought, silly me, that I would be productive on this snow-bound day. As just mentioned, the children had other plans, as they traded off the "needy, sleepless, cranky and inexplicably fussy" baton back and forth to each other all day, and I ended up being exceptionally frustrated that I wasn't getting anything done. So, today: change of plans! DON'T EXPECT TO GET ANYTHING DONE. I mean at ALL. Not even a Christmas card addressed. The attitude change has worked wonders for me, and here I am at 12:30 in my PJ's and I'm working on a blog post! Pleasant surprise!

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Here's some pictures from 2 nights ago when we did handprints on canvas for our Countdown activity. There are no pics of Carson doing his prints, because it took both adults to monitor the situation so we didn't have red handprints all over the kitchen.

"You guys are crazy, but WHATEVER." (Look at those eyebrows! ha!)

Also, funny story for last night. Our activity was for Carson and Mommy to wrap Daddy's gift. I figured we'd wrap some PJ's that we always exchange on Christmas Eve, so I if Carson spilled the beans it wouldn't be a big deal. He (Carson) was excited and while I was washing dishes at the sink, he started asking Trent who was at the table: "Dad! What do you want for Christmas?!" Trent says, "Oh, I don't know, maybe some shoes or some clothes..." Carson, without missing a beat, says--slightly confused--"But we already got you some new shoes. The other day." (I'm at the sink rolling my eyes, slighty exasperated, but not able to stifle a smile.) "Yeah, we just got some at...what store was that, Mom? Oh yeah. Nike. We already got you some new shoes at Nike." Trent just started cracking up. So, lesson learned. Don't take a 3 year old Christmas shopping with you. And if you do, don't tell him who the gifts are for. He WILL remember. Trent, try to act surprised on Christmas morning!

LONG Snow Post

Fun times around here! And a play-by-play for the rest of you. Yesterday we watched Wall-E and had popcorn after naptime. There had been a little bit of snow, but nothing serious. Then around 4pm, the flakes starting coming down harder, so we ventured outside to check it out.

By 6pm we had a really good layer of snow, the first of this year, so we had to go and play a bit, even though it was dark.

Then, this morning, the sun came up and the snow was still there! Nothing makes you feel like a kid again the same way a snow day does...except when you still have to try to go to work. But it was really icy out. Fortunately, Trent's boss told him not to try to come to work in our wimpy little cars. (Pretty much every single patient cancelled anyway.) Yeah! Last night Trent got to play, so this morning I wanted to play with Carson.

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This may be my favorite pic from the snowday. Here we are sporting our snow bibs. My good snow clothes are still loaned out to a friend, but these are hand-me-downs from Eric, and Carson's are from last year--thus the capri-pant-style! I think his expression is priceless!

Much cold fun ensued...

Showing Carson how to throw a snowball at Daddy.

Then he tried...

Who doesn't like snow angels?!

The answer is: Carson doesn't like snow angels.

There were some tears.

But he got over it and tried the snow slide.

I love rosey cheeked kids!

And Mr. GQ posing on the deck in his sweat pants!

Don't worry. It was a clean patch.

Me trying to be artsy fartsy with my photos. After I tried a few of these, I noticed the owners of the house next door watching me skeptically through the kitchen window, which is about five feet from the lense. I swear! I'm just shooting the fence! I'm not a peeping tom!

Snow brings out the attention span like nothing else.

Here he's singing "I'm dreaming.....of a whiiiiiiiiiite Christmas...."

Cutie patootie in Daddy's hat and a coat I bought on eBay for 99 cents. I KID YOU NOT! The shipping was $10, but totally worth it.

There. Now those of you who don't like in the Portland/Salem area can live vicariously through our winter wonderland!

Slacking a bit...

We've had a few funky days on our Christmas countdown. Thursday Trent worked late, so we didn't do a big fanfare as usual. I just played some of Carson's board games with him as an activity. Then on Friday, Carson got to go to Aunt Michelle's work party with Michelle, Mimi, Sydney and Tara (I think?), where he got to bowl, have pizza and play free video games. That was not technically a countdown activity, but quite fun and I'll post pics when I get them from Michelle. THEN on Saturday he got to go to the light parade in Salem with Daddy and Mimi and Bapa Phil. Whew! Lots of fun, just not that many pictures.

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However, while he was bowling and having fun on Fri/Sat, Trent and I got to sneak away with our friends Seth and Christi. We just went for about 24 hours to a cabin that belongs to a friend of theirs about 45 minutes away. It was so fun to have an entire afternoon and evening to just relax, hang out, eat, play games, watch movies...so fun! This is blurry, but it is a pic of the view out the living room window where we stayed. It was along the North Fork of the Santiam river for those of you who would know what I'm talking about. We borrowed Rock Band and played it a lot. :) Look at the concentration on our faces!

Switching drummers.
Here's some pics of Sydney, who got ahold of the instructions for Chutes and Ladders while Carson and I were playing. She helped us follow the rules.

Chop-chop, Dilly Bars, Jesus and Poop

So, I cut my hair the other day! Well, that's not true. My favorite hair girl, Sara N, recommended by Steph, cut my hair. I have basically had the same hair cut for the last 12 years, so it's nice to switch things up every once in a while. Last night our countdown activity was to have Dilly Bars from Dairy Queen! Yummy! Once again, poor Sydney gets the shaft on the countdown photo. Sorry, baby!

The night before our activity was to set up the Little People nativity and read the Christmas story from Carson's Bible. He was uncharacteristically attentive, which was great!

This is a great kid's Bible, by the way, if you are in the market.

And just because she needs some face time too, here's our sweet little bird. I know I have lots of pictures of her in her crib, but to be honest, sometimes that is the safest place for her while I'm trying to get something done in the house. All her other hang out places are a little vulnerable for a busy big brother whose is not as cautious as he is affectionate. We have a fab mobile that she watches and squawks away, kicking legs like crazy--it would make Sarah K. proud. :)

Her happiest time is first thing in the morning. She's all smiles!

Although, I do need to inform the regular readers that Syd had a blow-out the other day at the Nike Employee store that made the Pumpkin Patch Blowout look like a mild cutting of the cheese. I smelled it first as we were checking out, then thought I'd do a quick change in the parking lot. As soon as I lifted the blanket, I realized this was not a parking-lot-kind-of-job. PEOPLE! It was down both legs, onto her stomach, back and sides, and the carseat itself was covered. How does feces overflow a diaper like a bubbling pot? DISGUSTING. I hated doing it, but I had to just put her back in and drive to my friend Sarah's house. It was a good thing, too, because the change took about 15 minutes, a four-foot radius of working space, an entire box of wipes, plastic bags and a hazmat suit. Sweet Sarah not only watched all 4 of our kids (including 2 crazy boys who had no naps) while I went to get my hair cut, but she laundered all of Sydney's clothes AND the carseat cover. SUPERFRIEND!

Fun One

Sunday was "gingerbread house" on the countdown, and it was fun! We've kind of been taking advantage of the fact that Carson can't read. You see, I planned these days way in advance, and so far, at least 3 times the circumstances of the day make me feel like doing something different than planned, so Trent or I just look at the strip of paper, ignore what is written, and "read" what the new plan is for that night. When he learns to read, I'm screwed!

Yesterday was one of the switcheroo days. Our dinner time was a delayed and a little hectic, so we changed the evenings event to: Carson gets a new Christmas book to read. (I got If You Take a Mouse to the Movies for $1!) We read it 5 times in a row. That's 20 cents per read, but does not require me to prepare decorations or put much thought into it. I'm not exactly sure what we're going to do tonight...stay tuned!

For Chad and Tara

OK, yeah, the "post a picture every day thing"? That's not gonna happen. Sorry, Diane. :) I'll keep you very informed, though. Before I tell you about our last 2 countdown days, I need to make a shout-out.

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To my wonderful husband, Trent. As I have mentioned before on this blog...numerous times...I love my sleep. I mean I LOVE sleep. I need it. I do not function well without it. And our precious birdy girl (who, seriously? is the sweetest thing EVER! all day long I kiss her about 300 times) slept like a champ for 4 months, and now is waking up 2-3 times a night and we're trying everything to fix it. But meanwhile, I'm exhausted. The third time she wakes up is usually around 5am, but then Carson usually wakes up around 6:30am. Although Trent really likes leaving around 6:30 to work out before he goes to the hospital, most days lately Trent has been waking up and spending his time with Carson so I can get an extra hour of sleep. This generous gesture was doubled this weekend, when both mornings he was up with BOTH kids and let me sleep. Today, he even gave Sydney a bottle and took the kids to McDonalds (we went to church last night people, we aren't heathens), and I slept until 9am. Heaven! THANK YOU, BABE!

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So, Friday on the countdown was "Have a Pizza Picnic in front of the Christmas tree." I adore pizza, so this one was great for me too. We finally did something early enough for Sydney to participate, and then when I set up the self-timer, somehow I let Carson's head block her from the picture. Oh well.

Then yesterday we went to WalMart & Target to buy toys and clothes for a boy whose family is being "blessed" at our church. We hooked up with my parents' community group to help a family in need. I decided not to post pictures of the gifts, so as to keep things as anonymous as possible, since the family does attend our church. We talked with Carson about how this boy (we made up a name, even though we knew his real name) didn't have many toys because his daddy doesn't have a job. Then, to really drive the point home, we gave him a dollar to put in the red S.A. bucket on the way out. "Oh, he is REALLY getting this!" I thought to myself. I said, "That bucket is for people who don't have a place to sleep or things to eat, Carson." His response, as he looked lovingly at what he had just been given by the bell-ringer: "Yeah but I got a CANDY CANE!" Good. OK. Message received, then? Excellent.

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And lastly, to the title of this post, after his bath last night I decided to try for the umpteenth time to interview Caron on video. He always freaks out in some way, either by grabbing the camera, becoming uncharacteristically shy, outrageously silly or just walking away. This is as close as I got to his normal self. Just a few notes for those who don't know: Tara and Chad are Trent's brother and sister. Riley is Tara's dog. And yesterday he told me that a dinasour toy would cost "forty-eleven dollars."

Day 3

Oh great. Di has issued a challenge of posting our daily Christmas countdown activities. I make NO PROMISES! But I will try. :) Now you all have to make comments.

First, I have to record some new Carsonisms before I forget. I remember before I had a talking child, and people would tell me the things their children said at a young age. My head would nod and I would giggle appropriately, but inside I was thinking "Yeah, sure your kid said that. Give me a break." But I'm telling you...I'm living it now. These things really came out of his little mouth.
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Tonight in the bathtub, he did something and I absentmindedly said:
Me: Good job, Carson! You are so smart.
Carson: Actually, Mom, I'm a jean-luss.
Me: What?
C: I'm a jean-luss.
Me with a smirk: Do you mean a "genius"?
C: Yep! I'm always a "jean-luss"!
Hmm...must have heard that one from one of his grandmas.
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In the car the other day, Carson was talking, partly to himself, partly to me, partly just to hear the hum of his own voice....about something he wants for Christmas. I couldn't understand what it was he said, so instead I said:
Me: That sounds fun. Where did you see that?
C: On the Christmas internet.
Me: The what?
C: The Christmas internet!
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This morning I made Carson sit still on the couch so I could cut his toenails. He does not like this activity. I have NEVER cut him, but he thinks I'm going to. I think it just feels strange to him. We were just getting started and I had to clip a toe/hangnail. Carson pulls his foot away and looks at me with dagger-eyes.
Carson: MOM. I have to tell you Every. Time. [long dramatic pause] BE! CAREFUL!

Now, onto the Countdown. Tonight was wrapping the little presents for his 3 buddies and making gift tags. Coloring the tags lasted about 10 seconds. Crayons are OLD NEWS, people. Please. Why play with something he's had access to for 2 years when there are SCISSORS and TAPE, normally the forbidden fruit, within reach? Infinitely more fun.

Day 2

Today's Christmas countdown activity was to have hot chocolate with whip cream and sprinkles. It was a hit! We only had 2 Christmas mugs, so I had the ol' George Fox University mug--not festive, but did the job.

Some people have asked for the list of things we are going to be doing. I'd be glad to share! I figure doing it even a little would be fun for kids. One requirement for my calendar was that I be able to switch things around, depending on what I was up for any given day, so these are in no particular order:
Set up the Little People nativity and read the Christmas story from C's Bible
Give everyone crazy hairstyles and have a dance party
Have breakfast for dinner
Make decorations for the tree
Have a camp out around the christmas tree (weekend?)
Fancy dress for dinner time
Go buy a toy and take it to the toy drive drop off
Make handmade gift tags for Carson's friends' gifts
Watch WALL E and have popcorn
Go out for ice cream
Go see the Christmas lights
Baking cookies together
Going food shopping and bring that food to the food bank
Going bowling
Have a pizza picnic on a blanket in front of the Christmas tree
Wrap Daddy’s present with Mommy, then wrap Mommy’s present with Daddy
Going Christmas shopping together for stocking stuffers
Having a fondue night (hey, girls, can I borrow one of the pots?)
Getting one of those unfinished wood trays from a craft store and put everyone's handprint on it
Decorate sugar cookies
Make a gingerbread house
Make Jesus’ birthday cake (Dec 23rd)

SO--anyone have any other ideas! I'd love to brainstorm some more! Do share...