Christmas Eve..

I like traditions... I hope that they create fond memories and excitement for my kids.  This year I was so excited to start a new Christmas tradition for my family... making cookies for Santa.

Notice the tight grip he has on the one cookie.  Every once in a while he will try to sneak in a bite and we have to stop him and remind him it is for Santa.

Then we decorated them with mini M&M's...

He did a good job for a while and was really getting into to it.

Then the brilliant idea struck him that he should eat one...
Mmmmm... mini M&M's are pretty tasty!  Thus began the UNdecorating of the cookies for Santa... so we had to stop there.
If you look really closely you can see the voids in the icing where some M&M's used to be.
And when we got up in the morning the cookies were all gobbled up!  Santa must have been pretty hungry.  
We forgot about the reindeer this year... but hopefully they will realize we are new to this as parents and forgive us this once.  Next year we will be sure to leave some carrots or something out for them!  Sorry reindeer!!

Christmas at Pawpaw & Mawmaw's...

For some reason I didn't really take too many pictures of the gift opening... it gets a little crazy sometimes... but his favorite thing to do was play the piano.

He was having some trouble with his hair on this particular day... so we call this one the "Mad Composer."

Christmas at Grandma and Pawcaw's...

It all began with the unfortunate incident where he got a bag stuck on his head.  If you will notice, he has his arms through the handles... it was quite funny! 

Then, there was the unfortunate toe-popping incident.  Though, I guess it isn't too unfortunate if it is asked for.

Again with the sitting on the gift before he can open it.
The big boys... and boy are they getting big.
The reindeer impersonator... he's pretty cute... and makes a good reindeer.

Before the Christmas festivities...

Before I had a chance to wrap it, Caden discovered one of his toys in our bedroom.  He was very curious, but he never tried to take it out of the bag and eventually left it alone out of boredom.  But he sure did study it for a long time.

Later he got to open a gift from Papa Bumb.  He was less concerned with what was in the box, and much more interested in whether or not it made a good chair.

People, this has the potential to be the most obnoxious toy ever.  He loves it, but man it gets old after hours of hearing the "road noise".  

I tried to tell him not to talk and drive, but he wouldn't listen.  We are working on explaining exactly where his ear is... and that it isn't on his forehead.

So much to do, so little time...

From our family to yours,

Merry Christmas

&

Happy New Year!

There are Goldfish crumbs in my wallet...

And there was a tractor in my laundry hamper this morning.  

Most mornings there is some sort of vehicle in my shower.

The other day there was a dinosaur in my muffin pan.

I tripped on a car in the entry yesterday.

There are rubber balls in my Tupperware cabinets.

Often times you can find a stuffed monkey in my bed.

In my car there are enough rogue snack fragments to feed a third world country.

I make a picnic lunch to eat in the playroom every Tuesday and Friday so we can watch the garbage truck, of all things.

I get excited about things like Geo-Trax.

There was a sippy cup on my Christmas tree tonight.

There are trains in my dishwasher.

There is a Corvette next to one of my nativity sets.

Every time I turn around there is a reindeer at my feet singing and dancing to a horrible rendition of Deck the Halls.

And all I can think is... man, I love that boy.

A Little Before and After...

Every night before bed, the boy gets a sippy of milk.  We have noticed there seems to be a little bit of bloating after the milk.

Here he is signing that he wants to eat...

So we give him some milk to drink. He's drinking... and drinking... 

The after.  Notice the belly that has formed.  Oh and this is his "strong man" pose.  He's flexing the muscles he gets from the scrumptious milk.

Then...Matilda & Madox came to play

Caden mostly just did his own thing, stopping occasionally to see what the big kids were doing.

Matilda drew her mom and dad (dad on right). Looks like mom has some curves!

This is Madox just being cute. Don't zoom in too close, we were having a snot issue.

We had a fun day!

What Happened....

I am tired of people complaining that they are sick of seeing Halloween pics, so I thought I had better update the old blog. We have been busy, as usually happens with the onset of the holiday season... though I couldn't really tell you what all we have been doing. So I'll just show you the pictures.
First we went to Grandma and Pawcaw's house. This is him helping me pack...This is him cleaning Grandma's windows...

Please note that there is an outline of the underside of a Lego on his forehead.  He fell off the couch and skillfully landed right on it, leaving a cute little imprint all day long.

More to come...

Happy Halloween

Today he said...

Pawcaw!

For those who don't know, that is my dad's name (grandpa). Somewhere down the line a grandkid couldn't say grandpa so it came out Pawcaw (it was also coleslaw at one time). Can't remember if that was D or G or maybe H. Anyhoo, he knows his Pawcaw!

Be an advocate...

When I was in college I remember watching an episode of Oprah about child advocacy. It was such a powerful story that I decided right then and there I wanted to be a child advocate. I knew in my heart that I could be that person to someone out there, the person to stand up for the innocent, abused, unloved, etc. The reality of that job has not been easy to achieve. It involves a lot of volunteer hours, and I had to get a paying job. I know that someday I will do more in this field, but I have decided that I will start small...

I love my boy. I never - in a million years - would have imagined this intense love I have for my baby. I love him so much that I worry about his future. Everything from an upset tummy to being bullied in school. If I could I think I would wrap him in bubble wrap for the rest of his life, not just his little body, but his little heart as well. I don't want him to experience pain or grief, just happiness and joy.

I know the reality of things, though. If I was this protective of him he would never be able to thrive as an individual. It would do more harm to him than good. And he would never grow to be compassionate and loving if he never experienced pain. But I can be one thing to him, I can be his champion. I can stand up for him and protect him when needed. I can cheer him on through victory and defeat... be a shoulder to cry on... and love him forever... I am his mother.

I find myself in a world of "social justice". All my peers seem to go on and on about the children in Africa, the children in India, the children in Ethiopia. Save the children, drill wells for their water, feed them...etc. Let me make myself clear, I care about all of these children. I think that God gave us the ability to support them in many ways and as a Christian... a mother... and a person, I want to do that for them.

But let me also make clear that there are children right here in America that may very well have fewer rights than any of those children in other countries... they need our help too.

There are children right here in America that have no rights at all. Not the right to live, not the right to medical care when they do survive, not the right to have a voice, not the right to be held or loved or nurtured, not the right to grow up and make a difference in this world, not the right to experience any victories or defeats. Why? Because their mothers have the right to end their lives.

In this political season we have a choice to make. The most important choice we have had to make in a long time. And I am afraid of the outcome. I am afraid for all of those little voices out there that will never be heard because of the possible outcome of this election. I am not a political person... but I have to be an advocate this year.

Did you know that Sen. Obama supports abortion? Not only does he support abortion, but he supports partial birth abortion. And not only does he support partial birth abortion, but he has voted 4 times to deny the right to medical care to those babies who survive abortion... yes, that is right, some babies actually survive abortion.

Did you know that only 1% of women abort an unborn child because of rape or incest?* Did you know that only 6% of women abort a baby because of health reasons?* So that means that 93% of women abort an unborn child because of "social issues".

Did you know that Sen. Obama would face the possibility of electing up to 3 Supreme Court Justices during his term if he were elected to office? Do you realize that each SCJ he would pick will most likely support abortion rights for women? Who supports the rights of those babies?

My brother recently commented on this article by Randy Alcorn. I want to share this quote from the article.

"The blood of weak and needy unborn children is precious in God’s sight. Please don't tell me abortion isn't the only issue. Of course it isn't. Treatment of the Jews wasn’t the only issue in 1940 Germany. Buying, selling and owning black people wasn’t the only issue in the United States of 1850. Nonetheless, both were the dominant moral issues of their day. Make no mistake about it. In our own day if we support a candidate who defends abortion, who is dedicated to that cause, we are supporting the killing of children. Yes, even if he’s the coolest candidate to come along in decades."

I can't get it out of my mind... I had to say something. Please consider your decision to vote very carefully this year. Please don't just vote for the "cool guy," look carefully at where these candidates stand. Look at the things they might really make a difference in. If you want a candidate who supports social justice, I think that is great. Pick the one who supports justice for the children in America. Stand up for children's rights... be an advocate... be their champion.

Check out these stories:
Boy survives abortion
Gianna Jessen - abortion survivor
The Audacity of Death - About Gianna Jessen

For more information about Gianna Jessen, check out www.bornalivetruth.org.
*The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform

Did I mention...

You know you're the mom of a boy when...

Your entire day revolves around the trash man. Let me explain...

The day starts with helping dad take out the trash...

(is that not the cutest trash-taking-out outfit you have ever seen?!?!)

We never know when the trash man will arrive, but the boy can hear him coming from a mile away. That loud engine and squealing brakes can't hide from him... no sir! So, I had gotten the signal from the boy that he was coming and we sat eagerly in front of the playroom windows waiting... and waiting... and waiting. After 10 minutes of waiting we both lost interest. I assumed I had somehow missed the truck earlier in the morning. So we went to have lunch.

Then it happened... I heard the squealing brakes... I knew he was close, but where? I ran to the back door and flung it open to listen... he was coming. So I yanked the boy out of his highchair and sprinted into the playroom. Then we waited... and waited... and waited. ARGH!!!

Here we sat watching nothing while lunch was getting cold. But being the clever mom that I am, I had an idea. Lunch... in the playroom! Perfect!

Here he comes...

Front row seat to the action!

Bye Mr. Trash Man!
See you Friday!

(Yes, that's right. We get to do this again on Friday!)

Happy Fall!

I was shooting some new pics of the boy the other day with my new lens. Once I really looked at them I realized that they looked very fallish... thus the title.

The baby squat

(made especially captivating by the addition of the thumb)

Not sure what this look is about...

This look... well this little head bob to the side is for when you have said something he doesn't want to hear... like... "come back this way, stay away from the street."

Meet Rusty...

Rusty came to the Adventure's home several years ago, I think we won him at Dave & Buster's. Anyway, he was put into the toy basket and various kids that came to our house found him rather amusing.

We have since gotten rid of the old toy basket... we replaced it with a toy room... anyway, so Rusty ended up amongst the boy's many toys. One day, the boy discovered Rusty... and they have been buddies since.

WHAT THE HECK?????

I would just like to say that I do not find myself to be a very political person, but this got my blood pressure up this morning. A correspondent on a national broadcast insinuating that some people are less than intelligent because they may not be voting for Obama... excuse me?? There should be an apology for this. Regardless of which way you vote, it is your right to choose... and hopefully every voter makes an informed decision. An informed decision - either way - would negate your "stupidity"... usually.

Monkey Love

A broom of his own...

I'm no dummy... I am taking advantage of the enjoyment he gets from sweeping!! Five less crumbs I have to sweep up.



I would have taken more pictures but he was seriously on the move.