Happy New Year!

Before packing away ALL our holiday gear, we attempted one last photoshoot.  While these might not obviously strike you as Christmas jammies, they do sport Rudolph on the front and they also say "Happy Holidays". 

We called this our "New Year's Eve Dance" right in the living room, since mom & dad had such low expectations for cooperation :)  We just appreciate it for what it is: comic relief.

Let me just say (in case it is not apparent to you) that all 3 of these little guys can boogie. 

They are particularly adept at moving around if you actually want them to be still (as evidenced by our post earlier this month re: our attempts at getting a shot fit to print).
  

Drew was sure bent on getting out of the middle of the photo. 

It was nervewracking to see him launching himself off the couch, or trying to... 

Now you understand how he comes by all these bruises.  I was almost a little fearful taking him to church on Sunday...worried our congregation might call child protective services or something...?
 

I just love Drew's look in this photo.  It is so....well, Drew. 

And no, I do not actually know how Ike came to have both shoulders wet. 

My guess is that it had something to do with getting tackled by someone emerging freshly from the bath?  I will not name names, but Drew couldn't have reached up that high....

This is a sweet shot of Drew going in to give a big wet slobbery kiss to TJ.  He is totally fond of the full frontal assault.  I'll try to coach him a little better when he gets a few more decades under his belt.  For now, it is entertaining and endearing. 

It looks like TJ is picking lice out of his hair and Drew's in this photo.

I don't know who is teaching them these dance moves. 

Todd?  

Thinking surely we'd get better cooperation with an upsidedown pose, we tried it.  Can you see me anchoring Drew's left foot?  This photo also begs the question: just when are you supposed to train your kid to sleep through the night sans pull-up?  Obviously we are not there with any of these boys.  I'm not anxious to push it either, as I already feel like I'm washing bedding more often than I care to.  And on that note: may we have enough detergent for all our loads in 2013!  ALL FREE AND CLEAR--our motto & detergent of choice.  HA!   

A little sparkle...

It was fun to bid farewell to 2012 & to give a hearty welcome to 2013.  They boys were all fired up for "fireworks".  Ahhhhh, if only sparklers would suffice for the years to come.....?

We had a nice family home evening lesson (thanks to Aunt Kammi) before the "activity" (writing our names in the sky with sparklers above).

And, treats involved a rice crispie treat train.

The whole train thing was better in concept than in actual translation to a 5, 3 & 1 year old boy (i.e. the boys' train decor did not enhance it's ability to be recognized as a locomotive...)

At any rate, it tasted good.  I think next time I'll just stick to the 9x13 pan & save myself the trouble??

Then again, maybe I just needed to go with the rocket theme?  TJ did suggest that.  A different mode of moving on into a new year?  Think they would have tried harder with a rocket?

Gotcha!

It might have simply slipped my mind when this photo was actually taken.  I do know it was this month.  But what can I say?  Things have been crazy. 

Drew pulled this same trick on me again today.  Simply this: when my back is turned, he reaches over & swipes whatever is reachable on the table.  FYI: he's got an ever-increasing wing-span.

This could be splendid if he would stick to the edible items & then 'go to town' feeding himself.  Rather, he delights in making a holy mess with the stolen goods.  The banana peel, the applesauce container...you name it.

Do YOU think he is starved for attention? 

Withdrawal strikes

We have had some friends in town from Calgary over the last week.  The boys have been in hog heaven!  But, all good things do come to an end. 

The Kearls flew back home today.  And of course, I had to field the question, "But mom, where is Anthony" one too many times!

The boys were equally enthralled with Anthony's sisters, don't get me wrong. 

It is just that....well, there was some serious male bonding going on. Anthony needs brothers!

It is "winter" for us here, but winter is all relative.  When you are used to negative celcius numbers, it is positively balmy in Arizona (hence the shorts and the sandals on our zoo outing...)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas morning was a blur.  I will confess that we let our littlest man sleep through most of the blur.  I promise you, he needed the Zzzzzzz's more than ANY presents under the tree (or in the stocking).

This first photo cracks me up because Ike has some serious bedhead! 

Our boys' hair is hardly ever long enough for bedhead, so this is a rarity.  No doubt the hair nazi will bring them under the clippers soon!

Thanks for the gorillas, Kyle & Bryce!  They are instant favs.

Part of the rest of our morning had a small superhero theme going.  Yep, down to new underwear, even!  I always appreciate a little depth to the undies collection.  Thanks again, Santa. 

The boys all went shopping for one another earlier in the month.  TJ's gift to Ike were these hulk fists. 

They are a big hit with everyone but Drew.  Drew is a little freaked out with the superhero gear, to be frank. 

I have to admit, I myself prefer that the masks collect a little dust. 

I mean, it is quite unnerving to round the corner in the hall to the site of this:

Seriously, it is creepy to see the hulk of the Toddster donning the Hulk paraphrenalia. 

This is great nightmare fodder, don't you know!

DO NOT CROSS YOUR PAPA!

It is no wonder that Drew wanted to go back to bed almost as soon as he stirred and filled his tank. 

Let's all just keep our fingers crossed that the nightmares remain at bay! (for Drew as well as for all of the rest of us...)

Santa Baby...

Drew was hamming it up tonight for our little Christmas Eve gathering.  We had Santa-opposite night.  Instead of sitting on Santa's lap to relay what you wanted.....?  So old school.

No, we went opposite.  You got to hold Santa on YOUR lap. 

I highly recommend this angle if you find a Santa the right size. 

BEWARE THOUGH: You might have to put up with drooling, and little Santas this size can be stinkier than the whole team of reindeer....!!

But he is so darn cute, we overlook those little details. 

All three boys are sacked.  Actually their papa is too.  It is only me that is so excited for Christmas morning that I am having a hard time shutting it down :) 

Nativity

As always, it was great fun to act out our own nativity story on Christmas Eve. 

Now that we have a few hooligans old enough to participate, I find myself wondering how exactly I am supposed to inspire a more reverent tone for my young aspiring actors. 

TJ seemed to spend his entire stage time either trying to strangle himself with his "shepherd's hook" or his little stuffed sheep or worse yet....trying to trip up the wise men.  When the cane got swiped, he took to stripping....? 

Oh well.  It was entertaining.  Hopefully they didn't miss the main point altogether?


 

What do Mt Saint Helen's & my fridge have in common?

So, it is Christmas Eve day.  I grew up having potato soup & scones for dinner on Christmas eve....a simple "shepherds' meal". 

The scone dough has to chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Imagine what a good omen it was for the day when I opened my fridge this morning to this scene!  HA!

"I...I will survive...." (think Gloria Gaynor).

50 years!

We had a good time at the 50th Anniversary celebration for Todd's parents: Bob & Val. 

The house was in decent shape for the festivities (thanks to my sis owning three tasmanian devils all afternoon!)

It is good to have my inlaws' example of perserverance and love.

May we all do a better job of accentuating the positive & enjoying each day!

My kitchen help

TJ has been inspired by Drew.  Drew is going for the tupperware every chance he gets.  He loves to dump all the options out and cart them to various recesses all over the house.  TJ is a big fan of collanders.  Can you see the "strain" I'm under trying to get my house in order to host a 50th anniversary party for my in-laws? 

People tell me all the time that I will miss these days when my boys are small.  But, sometimes when my little people undo everything I do, I have a hard time visualizing nostalgia :) 

I do not know my birds

After we got home from taking Ike to school this morning, TJ saw this bird perched on the top of the wall around our backyard.

He was so excited!  And I quote: "Mommy, mommy, look!  There is a run-roader in our yard!"

Maybe you had to be there, but it was adorable.  Roadrunner, run-roader....easy mistake.

You know that song, "Run run Rudolph...."  I've been whistling this every time I see a roadrunner now.  "Run run roader...." 

The whole gang in front of the tree

I tried (unsuccessfully, I'm sure that much is obvious) to remove the red-eye from TJ.  Alas, this is the best full fam Christmas image we've got this season, so I'm posting it anyway.

Grandma Nicholls

We took a weekend excursion up to see Todd's grandma (Alice) and the boys LOVED all the Christmas decor at the home she resides in.  They also found and LOVED grandma's stash of Christmas candies!  MMMmmmmm

Ike & TJ were hilarious about wanting to pose by all the Santa statues on the premises. 

It made it all the cuter that they were both sporting their "Santa's Little Helper" shirts.  It is probably apparent in the photo that Ike thinks he is the best helper ever :) 

It took a lot of convincing for both boys to finally buy into the fact that none of the wrapped gifts under the trees on-site were addressed to them.  Yeah, no, please do NOT cart those home with you.

Drew has an obsession lately with my glasses.

Boy, did I feel bad that I did not give Alice (great-grandma) a better warning.

If I'm ever holding him, he does the same thing...reaching for the most accessible "toy". 

I guess I feel even worse that when he DID make his move for the specs, my first impulse was to grab the camera rather than coming to her rescue? 

DO NOT WORRY, though: no glasses were harmed in the process of posting to this blog.

Why we might not post Christmas cards in 2012

We should get props for trying to capture a great Christmas greeting photo.   

It really has not been for lack of effort on our part!

But, we have 3 busy boys who do NOT like to sit still. 

Ike & TJ are at the point where they will respond to bribing.  But, the little guy?  Yeah, good luck with that...

In this shot, I feel like Drew is shouting, "Wait, mom, which way am I supposed to face?" 

Nevermind that you cannot miss that lens...

He is just messing with me, I know.  You'd think he was a teen?

It is amazing how our little fat man can be such a jolly good natured fellow--in character for the suit--just so long as he is not wearing the suit.  That seems to be the kiss of death!

Note to self: DO NOT push character on him with a costume.  He bucks.  He is a non-conformist at heart.   
In this image, doesn't it look like Santa is trying to fly up out of the middle of the older boys without the aid of his sleigh and eight tiny reindeer?

Who needs Rudolph with you have pure will-power to escape the Nikon....

"Dash away, dash away, dash away, dash away all."

It is more like my hopes of a photo card for 2012 are getting dashed away. 

This one might be my favorite flop.  I mean, can you tell even TJ has given up.  Ike is like, "Mom, come on, when are YOU going to give up?  Seriously, put the camera down!"  The sad thing is that all 4 of these images above are from 4 different days of photoshoot attempts.  And, Ike gave me this look on day 1?  Yep, these shots are not all from one "bad funk, bad mojo" moment.  All I can say is, thank heaven for the digital age! 

Thinking optimistically that it might seriously be just the attire that had our little man up in arms, we tried donning last years' jammies for the big guys and a hand-me-down alternative for the babe.

I'm getting the distinct impression it isn't the red suit at all.  Maybe we need a new photographer?  Mom, dad, you are fired!  Or maybe we just need to get out of the red hues altogether....?
So, seriously, I'm SO deluded that I did actually go buy new jammies. 

Mock me all you want, but what IF emerging out of the red spectrum of the color wheel does the trick?? 

That is not a question I want haunting me until holiday season 2013.  But, 'going green' is overrated, it turns out.  Green grinches is all I get for it.

And, what is with horizontal stripes...?  I know they are vogue & all, but they really don't do anyone any favors in the 'looking slim & trim' department.

So, we've ruled out some possible problems.  Maybe after all is said & done it is just the sitting that is at the root of what ails us? 

Let's pull out all the stops & try a standing pose.  Nevermind that we'll have to select a different photocard altogether if we go this route. 

Alas, going vertical is not doing wonders for cooperation on the ground.  HELP!

A light bulb turns on in the deep recesses of my mind.  Photoshop.  I need to either take a class or dial in a lifeline favor from a friend.  Hope is not lost...? 

Reindeer, coyote....same difference....?

OK, you know your kids are way way too deep into the spirit of the season when you spy a coyote in your driveway upon arrival home from elementary school drop-off and TJ hollers, "LOOK!  Rudolph is in our driveway!"  OK, if the Grinch's dog can pass for a sleigh hauler, I guess I can let this slide?  (Yep, we only got imagery of his back side, as I did not even have my phone on me to capture him atop the drive.  And yes, we WERE in so much of a hurry to get Ike to school on time that I left my phone even...  That is when you know it is Monday.  Monday Monday...)

Who is the best storyteller on planet earth??

My boys answer without any hesitation: GRAMMIE!

Tonight the boys asked for my mom to read them bedtime stories, though she left on a plane 2 days ago.  It was as though they expected me to pull this woman from my back pocket. 

Everything does seem magical when Grammie is here sprinkling her magic fairy dust all over the dulldrum aspects of our lives.  So, I suppose it is only natural to think that the flick of an enchanted wand could make her appear in the blink of an eye.  If only.....

Alas, even my superhuman mom is bound by some of the same restrictions that inhibit the rest of us mortals.   

Still, she does seem to surpass most of humanity in her capacity to grip a reader. 

This seems particularly manifest in the reading of picture books to the grandkids. 

She has a gift of making any story come to life!  Such fun fun fun memories.  I'm having to dig a little deeper to recapture some theatrical skills from my youth so I don't put the boys to sleep trying to fill in for Grammie-the-greatest at bedtime. 

Take a Hike!

We went on a hike at the Colossal Cave State Park today.  It was perfect weather.  I made me long to join a hiking group to get out & about, logging time with Mother Nature on a more regular basis.  The only problem?  Well, I don't know when I would squeeeze that in.... 

I forget what they call it when saguaro cacti get this weird billowing growth at the top. 

I think it is called cresting, but that seems too boring a term.  So, hopefully I am wrong.

It looks like a weird alien head growing from the top of a saguaro. 

It also looks kind of like a two dimentional head of broccoli.

So, perhaps it ought to be termed "alien broccoli head" rather than cresting...?  Hee hee.  Then again, I guess there is a good reason that I do not rule nature. 

We are catching granddaddy here relieving Cherece of some dead weight in the form of Megan.  Good ol' dad.  He makes a decent pack mule, to be sure!  Thank heaven for such easy means of carting those among us who are not up for putting one foot in front of the other along a nature loop.

Ike did exceptionally well walking independently along the entire route. 

He, TJ, Brayden, Stephanie & Kate became obsessed with finding the perfect walking stick.  And then, because he is a kid at heart too, dad got on board. 

I don't have a great image of it, but the walking stick dad ended up carting along looked more like the trunk of a large tree one might have picked to use as a telephone pole rather than a walking stick. 

Seriously, he ought to have his head examined for carting that trunk along with him.  But, it did have some entertainment value for the grandkids, to be sure.

As you can see here, TJ was not as committed as Ike to self-sufficiency. 

Thankfully, all I had to do was provide about 20 steps of relief here and there for brief stints. 

When he discovered that Brayden was getting ahead and having fun with the Ikester without TJ in tow, my little monkey wanted down again.  And, he was off (Phew!)

Otherwise, it could have gotten ugly on the trail :) 

Gingerbread Men

One of the traditions I grew up with during the holiday season was this very thing: baking gingerbread men, decorating gingerbread men, and delivering the little edible guys to friends and family (along with off-tune carols just to really drive home the spirit of Christmas :)  So fun!  Christmas just isn't Christmas without them.

We knew we were going to be a little bit chaoticly busy during my parents' brief one week stay, so get this: my mom baked them IN KANSAS. 

Then, these little exotic dudes become world travelers.  They hopped a plane to the desert southwest, Tupperware sealed for freshness! 

I wish I could report that these men will have opportunities to see the wonders of other states & countries.  But, alas... Arizona is to be their eternal resting place.  Yep, we ate every last crumb. 

The boys really enjoyed trying their hand at "dressing" the men in this army.  Check out the ones TJ's frosted.  Anything for a little bit more of a sugar high, eh?  'tis the season!
TJ and Ike both love eating these molasses packed wonders as much as their mama. 

Even Drew ate several bites and was smiling from ear to ear!

It is so fun to pass the traditions of my past on to the the rising generation.  

I do not know if I will get to bake my own men this year. 

I have so many good intentions these days that never seem to materialize!  Ah well....at least my mom came through for the benefit of my taste buds!

The neighbors?  Well, they may suffer for want of such high class company. 

You can probably tell in this last photo that Ike is full of remorse about eating what perhaps should be delivered to the public at large...?  ha ha (He obviously isn't feeling the slightest twinge of guilt.  Frankly, neither do I! :)  THANKS, MOM!

AZ Grandkids

It was fun to go to church all together with Grammie & Granddaddy and all the Arizona grandkids!  Drew is sure at a bad stage for sitting still!  It was nice to have extra hands corralling him!   

How do I look with facial hair?

Since Drew is walking now, he totally thinks he ought to be hitting other milestones.  For instance, he is dying for the feel of a close shave.

So, we gave him a jolly ol' Saint Nick mustache with icing & then helped him lick it off.  He was loving it! 

Every year my sister Cherece makes gingerbread houses from scratch!  She gifts us one, and we have a ball decorating togehter.  They smell divine, to be sure. 

We didn't really get a shot of the Johnson's gingerbread home, but here is the Hancock Homestead. So fun!