The Schwabby Express

We took the kids on the Schwabby Express over the weekend.  We did it last year and Allie has been looking forward to it ever since people began putting up their Christmas lights.  We make hot chocolate and get dressed in cozy pajamas and go out looking at the Christmas lights around the valley. 
Jason fell asleep within minutes, but the others enjoyed the ride.

At one point, we had to cross the highway and it was just one car after another zooming past us on the street.  Mike said "man...it's crazy out here.  So many cars!"
Allie said "I know.  I guess they are all going on their "last name" express."

Brothers

Jason and Nate crack me up.  It seems like they go throughout their days finding ways to torment each other.  Just as Jason was learning to walk (and even now), Nate would casually walk past him and knock him over.  If I happen to see it, he runs away laughing.  Several times a week, I also hear the grunting, muffled cries from Jason that say "help me!  Nate is standing on my stomach!"



 

As payback, Jason takes Nate's precious cars and tries to escape as fast as he can...laughing all the way.  He also pulls Nate's hair if he can get close enough.

So, Nate finds even more ways to torment Jason...and on and on.

On this day, Jason thought it was fun to be trapped in a box.

 

 But, it did get old for Jason...not Nate.

 

I can't stand the physical fighting.  I know pulling hair and sitting on bellies isn't really all that "violent" but it is violent for them because it's the worst they can do right now.  I dread the days when their "worst" really is violent. 

Anyway, I don't like the physical stuff, but I sure think it's funny when Jason torments Nate with the t.v.  He can push the buttons on the side of the t.v. and Nate is powerless to stop him.  Of all the things Nate has figured out in his life, controlling the t.v. without the remote is not one of them.  So when Jason turns it off, all he can do is yell "Mom!  Jason pushed buttons! Fix it!"  

 

He can push him away from the buttons, but often, the damage has already been done.  The t.v. is off and Nate has to just imagine what is going on in the lives of Mater and McQueen.
These guys are going to have lots of years to torment each other.  I just hope it doesn't drive me nuts in the process.  :)

Merry Christmas!

I didn't do Christmas cards this year.  It was just one of the many things I let slide.  So...here we are.  Merry Christmas!

Wiggly teeth and the crazy girl behind that crazy smile.

I have told you before that Allie is a crazy tooth girl.  When she tells me that a tooth is loose, I groan because I know we are in for a month long battle (at least) against that wiggly tooth.  She will not allow anyone near her mouth.  She'll suffer, days and weeks of bleeding gums and pain when she eats, out of fear of the second that it would take for me to pull it out.  When this particular tooth got to this stage...

 I tried to pull it out each night as she slept.  I got bitten, I got kicked, and the tooth stayed in place.

It just got more loose and awful looking.

Our neighbor, the dentist, tried using his calm persuasion to get her to let him pull it...he was shut down just as quick as me and Mike.
We talked her into letting us tie a string around it and then use Jake's remote control car to yank it out.  She backed out at the last minute.
She's just plain crazy, I tell you!
Finally, Mike yanked it while she was sleeping and our ordeal was over (until the next tooth gets loose).

There you go kid!  It won't be long until your big teeth grow in and you're just as funny looking as your older brother :)

Conversation at the changing table

Nate:  I dot (got) a serious boogie.
Me:  A serious boogie?
Nate: Yeah.  (picking his nose, he got one out before I could stop him and put it in his mouth.)
Me:  Nate.  You can't eat boogies.
Nate:  Mmmm.
Me:  Gross!
Nate:  No.  Yum.
Me: What do they taste like?
Nate:  Strawberries.

Car Ride

I just found this incredibly cute...

 

Grinch Dinner

My friend's family does a Grinch dinner each year.  I thought it was a cute idea and even though ours was extremely simplified, we had our own Grinch dinner.

 Can you tell that these are the Grinch with a Santa hat on?

Those were a big hit with the kiddos.

We also had Roast Beast, Who hash, and Grinch punch.  Things are absolutely crazy at dinner time at our house these days.  Jason is a very vocal eater (he screams a lot) and Nate is hard to keep at the table.  He wants to climb onto it, or just roam the house while we all eat, so these are all the pictures I got.  It was fun though and the kids thought it was cute.  So, win!

Snow

There doesn't have to be much snow on the ground to make these kids happy.  They get outside, no matter how cold it is and they stay as long as they can stand it.  On this day, Jake and Carson used the top of our old picnic table for a sled to be pulled behind the wheeler.  

Nate goes out often, but he doesn't stay very long.  It's actually been quite nice.  Now, when I take a shower, I can be pretty sure that he'll stick around home instead of wandering off to a neighbor's house.
He likes to take his cars, trucks, and motorcycles outside to watch the tracks that they make in the snow.  He's always so frustrated that his cold fingers don't last very long out there.

He's always up for clearing the driveway of snow.  He makes me smile.

All the kids long for tons of snow.  I do too.  I love to see the yard covered in snow.  And the more snow we get, the more likely it will be that we'll have water in the river bed this summer.  That gives the kids something to do in the hot months of summer.  So, let's pray for more snow!

Jason vs. the Christmas tree

The boy heads for the Christmas tree several times a day.  He has gotten all the ones off the bottom branches and sometimes, he pulls them so hard that they knock others down too.  It's a good thing we don't have anything glass on there this year. 

Mike and I spent a tense half hour trying to get the tree to stay upright after he pulled particularly hard one day.  We have to keep an eye on him for sure.

 He still does his stink eye "cheese" face when I get the camera out.

 I find it so cute watching him figure out what to do with the other hand when he is concentrating on getting one to do his bidding.  (Getting a spoon loaded with food is one of my favorites.  The free hand is twisting and turning just as much as the one with the spoon.)  Cute boy.

Sleeping Under the Tree

We made a list of the things we wanted to do this December.  One of the things that I put on there was to let the kids sleep under the Christmas tree.  Allie latched onto that idea and got really excited.  The first Friday after we put it up, I finally agreed to let her sleep there.  I imagined them making a little nest on the carpet near the tree so they could look up and see the lights shining.  I was downstairs getting Nate to bed and this is what I came up to.  I guess Allie took things literal.

Rock the Halls!

Allie has become a good little reader and earned the opportunity to rock the halls at school!

Allie:  Today was the best day I've ever had.
Me:  Oh really?
Allie:  Yeah, because I got to rock the halls.  That's the best feeling ever when you run down those halls.  It's the only time you can run in the halls at school.  Did you know that?  I'm glad I wore my running shoes and not my boots, because I could run fast.
Me:  That's pretty cool babe!
Allie:  I know.  I could totally hear everyone screaming and cheering for me.  It was the best day.

 

 

 

Helper

I've been busy lately.  I'm sorry I haven't posted in a little while.  Luckily, today, Jason volunteered to help me unload the dishwasher.  So, I have a bit of extra time.  I'm so lucky to have such a great helper!

 

 

Party On

 A few days before Jake's birthday, he asked me if he could have a birthday party.  I haven't been very good at throwing birthday parties.  It's just not one of my things.  So when he said he just wanted to go bowling, I decided that would be an easy party.  He invited a few boys over and they had brownies and then went bowling.  Mike took them and he wouldn't be caught dead with my camera on him, so there aren't any pictures of that.  I hear that it was a fun event and everyone left happy.  Jake's got some fun friends.

Conversation at the dinner table...

The scene:
Wreck It Ralph was on tv a little while ago and we recorded it.  Since then, the kids have watched it a few times.  When Ralph first shows up in the game Sugar Rush, Vanellope asks him "are you a hobo?" 
Allie has been saying that around the house, or saying things like "why are your hands so freakishly large?"  to Mike.  And Jake will ask why Allie is so "freakishly annoying." Nate has even said "that's adorable" a few times and I think it can be traced back to the movie. 
The other day at dinner, Allie asked me what a hobo was.  I was a hobo for Halloween in 6th grade, so I could picture my costume with a bandana tied on a stick and I tried to explain it to her.  Here's the conversation...

Me: I guess a hobo just goes from place to place all the time.  They used to go along railroad tracks and take trains to new towns.  They don't ever stay in one place for very long. 

Allie:  Ooohhh, like grandma?

Me:  (Laughing....)  What?

Allie:  Well, Grandma is always traveling places.  She's even going to Antartica.

Me:  Grandma isn't a hobo.  She just likes to travel.

Jason

My friend Heidi made me a set of numbers to put on Jason's onsies to document his growth.  I took pictures each month and then forgot to compile them all together in one post.  Here's Jason and all that changed with him in a year!

Poor acne baby with cold mottled skin...

Jake, Allie, and Nate lost all their baby hair by this age too.

The hair makes a come back!

There he is!  It's amazing what can happen in a month, and then how fast each month flows together to make a year.  We've had Jason in our home for over a year now and he has made things a few notches crazier for sure, but I am so in love with this boy.  Even looking at these pictures makes me want to go give the real Jason hugs and kisses.  He's got the softest little neck to kiss. 
I know I take a lot of pictures, but when I see these all lined up, it makes me so glad that I did. 
I love this Jason boy of mine!