the launch.

we got to spend the day with my brother's family a couple weekends ago.  it was a pretty near perfect day.

we brought a rocket.

and we launched it.

four times.

and no one got their eye poked out.

"ready my son?  begin the countdown."

"4... 3... 2..."

the arguably smarter half of the group stayed a safe distance away.  my brother also reasoned it would  be much easier to claim they weren't with us should any law enforcement officer type persons arrive to haul us away. 

"1!"  ...  ...  "did you push the button?" ... "push it again." ... "huh."

[please standby.  we are experiencing technical difficulties.  thank you for your patience.]

"ok, let's give it another go.  count us down, boy."

"3... 2... 1!"

 and we have lift-off!

whoa, that's going pretty high.  everyone, take cover!

"let's do it again!"

notice how the arguably smarter half of the group has abandoned their safe-distance-away post?  heh heh.

rocket launches.  bringing joy and happiness to one and all.  (and my apologies for not getting auntie joanna entirely in the picture.  i took the one picture before my better sense to run back for cover took over).

and then the girls wanted to shoot the rocket, too.

it's no secret who this girl's favorite uncle is.  :)

then we decided not to push our luck any further and left the rocket launchpad and moved on to feeding ducks.  and seagulls.

have i mentioned how much i love living closer to family so that our kids can have the blessing of growing up with their cousins?  well, i totally do.

rare family pic.  (see?  i was there too!)  thanks, joanna for taking it!

ahh, there's just something special about daddies and daughters.

yep, just something special. 

(she just spotted a bird sitting on top of a lamppost.  she's always had a thing for birds.)

like i said, a pretty near perfect day.  :)

girls night in.

during the christmas vacation, phil, 'uncle' james, and mikey went off for a boys' night out.  i could see allie was wanting to go too, so thinking off the top of my head, i told her that the boys leaving means we get to have Girls Night In.

she wasn't quite sold.

yet.

so i continued that Girls Night In involved doing everything Girls Like To Do without any boys around to bother us.

she was listening.

[the boys slipped out].

i listed off a few of her favorite things to do and suddenly, Girls Night In sounded waaay better than boys' night out.

whew.

so while the boys went to a ucla basketball game where they saw such things as...

 

and...

oh, and some of this...

plenty of snacks + no need for inside voice = happy boy.


Girls Night In was in full swing back at the house.  after a quick dinner, it started with a...

dance party!  set to some christmas jams.  twas the season, after all...


followed by...

the painting of nails!


and ended with...

a princess movie!  actually, it ended up being a barney dvd.  the princess movie was nowhere to be found, so barney had to step in as a last-minute sub.  which was okay with the girls, but only cuz the dvd case was purple.

and at the end of the night, two little girls went to bed pretty happy with their very first Girls Night In.  and a little later in the night, a very happy boy and daddy returned home full of stories of their own adventure.  and when all was said and done, this mommy was very happy to have one and all back together under one roof again.

the tooth story.

once upon a time, exactly four weeks ago to be exact...

there was a not-so-little little boy whose tooth came loose!

and exactly four weeks and one day ago, the mom who was helping the not-so-little little boy brush his teeth before bedtime, thought to herself that the wiggly, waggly tooth was going to pop out at any minute and resolved in her mind to take a picture of the crazily angled loose tooth first thing the next morning before it popped out.

but alas, early the next morning, while the mom's sleepy head and half-closed eyes were still reposing on her pillow, the not-so-little little boy sat down on the pillow next to her and began talking to her.  in mid-sentence, the boy stops and startles in surprise.  "mommy, look!" he says.  the mom peels open her eyes and beholds in the not-so-little little hand one small pearly white tooth.  "MY TOOTH JUST CAME OUT!"  shouts the boy gleefully.  the mom is fully awake now and the first thing she yells is, "NO!!!  I DIDN'T GET A PICTURE OF YOUR LOOSE TOOTH YET!!!"  the boy, ever the appeaser, says, "it's okay mommy, i can just stick it back in my mouth so you can take a picture of it."

but the mom decided not to take the fake picture and chose to live with the small regret of a missed opportunity instead.  but was forever grateful that her not-so-little little boy was right there with her the moment his very first tooth came out so that just the two of them could share that little moment together.

because the tooth had been loose for weeks, they'd been reading books about teeth to help him know what to expect and feel prepared.  he was most excited that now he had a gap in his mouth where he could stick a straw in to drink.  he thought that was cool.

and because the mom had a few weeks to get ready for the big event, she also hopped on etsy and purchased a special tooth pillow for this special occasion.  she momentarily considered making it herself, but then her reality reasserted itself and she figured it would be best to not reinvent the wheel this time.  so she actually went ahead and purchased four special tooth pillows because from experience, when one gets something, they all must get something.

and so that night, the not-so-little little boy carefully tucked his first baby tooth into the special tooth pillow.

and then slipped the special tooth pillow under his spiderman pillow.  even though he's not really in to spiderman anymore.  but those are the only character sheets he has and hasn't made much of a fuss over sheets in general.

but then the not-so-little little boy decided that maybe he'd better keep the special tooth pillow next to his spiderman pillow instead of under it.  so that it would be easier for any special visitors to spot it in the dark.  then he proceeded to pretend to be asleep with a hand on the special tooth pillow just to keep it close.

many hours later, the mom slipped back in to his room to find him really asleep, but with the hand still protectively close to the special tooth pillow.

bright and early the next morning, the not-so-little little boy came in to the mom's room and stood before her while her sleepy head and fully closed eyes were reposing on her pillow.  which was not an easy task as her side of the bed was next to a wall, so the not-so-little little boy had to scramble over the sleeping dad and jump across the sleeping mom in order to slip down beside her head and announce, "LOOK WHAT I FOUND IN MY TOOTH PILLOW!!!"

it so happened that the not-so-little little boy got a 2-er instead of a 1-er because late the previous night, the mom and dad discovered that neither one had a one-dollar bill in their wallets.  in fact, the mom had NO bills of any denomination in her wallet, as is often the case with her.  but the dad remembered that a crisp, new 2-er had been hanging out in their mail holder for a couple of years and so they decided to use that instead.  it is uncertain what the disappointment level will be when it's discovered that the pay scale drops for the next tooth.

and when asked what happened to his tooth, the not-so-little little boy discovered this!

the end.

christmas favorites.

the kids had two weeks off for christmas vacation.  two whole weeks.  we stayed home.  we (i) slept in.  we ate a lot.  we napped.  we had a verrrry loose structure to our days.  and these are the pictures of little moments in those two weeks that i kinda want to have back.  especially the sleeping in part.

allie's school christmas program.  allie's class were all angels.  she's in the front row.

(mikey had his school program the following evening, but since phil had to work late, it was just me and the girls in a packed auditorium and not really any chance of taking any pictures.  boo.)

getting photo cards from dear friends and loved ones- definitely one of my favorite things of this time of year.  doubles as a good way of covering up the wood paneled walls.

getting a handwritten card from mikey...

and the little surprise notes hung up on the walls.  both were special favorites from this christmas.

the three small kiddos also spent some quality time together.  with the ipad.  see the one in the middle?  she's the most tech savvy of em all.

this small girl has gotten in to accessorizing lately.  matching earrings need not apply.  her pink reindeer pjs are another favorite of hers (mine, too).

counting down the advent with the kiddos.  didn't matter that we started twelve or so days late.  actually kinda worked in my favor since each kid was then able to stick something up each day instead of having to take turns.

(ps- i wasn't kidding about the wood paneling madness in the kitchen.  and now you will get to behold our lovely blue carpet that contrasts so nicely with our red carpeted living room.  we like living on the edge.)

getting to snuggle in and read special christmas books together before naptime.

having daddy read about the first christmas at bedtime all through december.

the kids now know the story of Jesus' birth enough to have done a couple reenactments.  another favorite memory that i managed to catch on video.

seeing phil's complete surprise and utter elation at his christmas present this year.  he like totally had no idea what i got for him and was blown away by such a thoughtful gift.  [insert appropriate level of sarcasm here].

opening presents on christmas eve morning (since we were going to grandpa's house later that day).

seeing mikey's happiness upon opening a gift from one of his classmates.

ok, so the suprise and elation actually did occur once i opened my surprise gift from phil.  he tends to outdo me in gift-giving.

but the declaration that this is mommy's computer only was rather short-lived.  (but i love how mikey's holding lauren's hand in this picture.  not sure who initiated it, but i love it).

SUPER short-lived.

new year's day.

phil was home this past weekend which was, in and of itself, a special treat.  and being that saturday was the first day of the new year and all, i decided to start us off with homemade cinnamon rolls.

and it would've been all the more awesome if i had remembered to let the rolls rise long enough, too.  but i was too hungry to wait.  maybe next time.

after leisurely taking our time getting ready in the morning, the afternoon found us at the zoo.  we had been debating whether or not to get the yearlong zoo membership, until the zoo sent us an offer we couldn't refuse.  a reduced rate AND a plush elephant thrown in the sweeten the deal.  whenever a free plush animal is on the table, phil physically cannot say no.  and here we be.

lauren and mikey were having issues with the sharing of the one plush elephant.  and that's all i have to say about that.

this girl on the other hand, had no interest in the plush elephant whatsoever.  why?

because she was far too occupied with the eating of kettle corn.  we had bought one large bag.  ONE.  and then realized there were three small people who were having issues with sharing that day.  and then phil and i struck upon our best idea of the day- forming makeshift popcorn cones out of zoo maps.  one for each.  and then peace and harmony reigned supreme in our little kingdom once again.  the end.

btw, let's just go ahead and ignore the obvious need for a diaper change in the picture above, shall we?

anyway, what was i saying?  oh yes, peace and harmony.  and popcorn cones.  it was a a defining moment.  a triumph, really.

i rather like triumphant, defining moments.  and quiet, non-squabbling kids.  especially when i'm trying to enjoy a day at the zoo with my family.

the REAL the end.  :)

2011.

happy new year, friends!  :)