A New Game

Uh Oh! Where's Paige?

I see feet.

There she is!

A Megan in the Box

Our friends Maggie and Megan came over last week, and of all the new toys we have to play with, the kids favorite was the box that held all the toys.

Let's Play House

Contrary to what these pictures portray, this "house" that we made caused soooo much frustration for Paige and I, and territorialness (I know that's not a word) in Jack. At first I asked Jack to share the house with Paige, but that was a no go. Then I made them take turns: Jack got to play for 2-3 minutes in the house alone; Paige would get to play in the house alone for about a minute (her attention span is so much less). Jack decided he could share the house when it was Paige's turn, which she liked because she just wants to play with Jack, but eventually he kicked her out, and the day was filled with too much screaming. I have now hidden the foam pads in the basement...shhh. At least we got a a couple of cute pictures.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears

I guess it just took some time to heal after the passing of Bear, but now Jack has reconnected with his old friends. He does still love his Charlie dog, and sleeps with him every night (as well as one of the Teddies).

Another Ear Infection

I had mistakenly convinced myself that the children had gotten over the "hump" of their most recent colds. A couple of nights ago, Jack woke up around 3 am to go potty, which was a little out of the norm because he usually makes it through the night. Anyway, as I tucked him back in bed, he told me that he needed to go back to the doctor because his ear hurt again. He didn't seem to be too unhappy about it, but I remembered that he got an ear infection at the end of another cold. So I gave him some Tylenol just to be safe. Twenty minutes later he needed some water. Then at 5 am I woke to screaming, this time asking Rich to go and check on him. Unfortunately for both of us, Jack is going through a "Only Mama Can Fix the Problem/Comfort Me" phase. He was completely inconsolable and inarticulate, so I gave him some Motrin and brought him to bed with us. Once he finally stopped moaning and fell asleep, Paige woke up. I made an appointment first thing for him, and sure enough...both ears had a very bad infection and the doctor said his ear drums were bulging...YIKES! Needless to say, we had a pretty rough, yet movie filled day yesterday. Luckily we all got a good night's sleep (and his fever is gone) after his two doses of antibiotics yesterday, and he is back to his old tricks of pushing his sister over...and is currently in timeout.

Stretching

In effort to finally lose baby weight and just get into shape, I've started running again. (Although I could hardly classify what I am doing as running, since I am starting sooooo slow). Unfortunately, whenever I start a running routine, I get horrible shin splints. I am trying to prevent them from getting very bad, so I have new shoes, I take time off between runs, I've been icing, and I stretch throughout the day. Jack thought this was a great idea and wanted to support me by also going through a stretching regiment.

Back Twist

Hamstring Stretch
????

Back Stretch

Calf Stretch

Little Showgirl

This is what happens when I leave the kids at the neighbor's house. I for one think she looks fabulous!

Bear's Return

As we all know, Jack's favorite lovey, Bear, was "lost" last fall. Even though we had 3 other teddy bears that looked exactly like him, Jack considered them all frauds. Long before the passing of Bear, I put away the least mangled Teddy so that he could have him when he was older. A few days ago, Jack saw him and got so excited. Normally when he sees one of the fakes he refers to him as Teddy or sometimes Brian, but this one was definitely Bear! He was a little confused, but mostly happy to have him back. I also think he may be questioning his sanity because he remembers putting Bear inside of his new lovey, Charlie.

Looking for Red Ramone

During the Christmas Season, Jack couldn't stop talking about getting a Yellow Ramone from Santa. Even when asked on Christmas Eve who was coming that night, he shouted out that Yellow Ramone was coming, instead of Santa Claus. Christmas Day came, he opened his presents, and later asked where Red Ramone was. (By the way, Ramone is a Chevy Impala from the movie Cars and he comes in a variety of colors.) We told him that he didn't ask for a Red Ramone, and don't be greedy. Ever since Christmas has passed he has been telling me that Santa is bringing him a Red Ramone, and he usually tells me that he will be arriving that night. I don't know how to explain to a three year old that Santa isn't coming for another year, since I don't know how to explain a "year" to him. Anyhow, when I was working out in the basement during the kids' nap times, Jack decided to forgo the nap and play in Rich and my bedroom. Luckily no damage had occurred (see the fingernail polish and coffee incident), but things were not in their proper places. For instance half of my makeup was now on my bedside table, and Jack had opened and removed all the soap from under Rich's sink. When asked why he had gotten into these things, he told us that he was looking for Red Ramone.

Silliness

When I was pregnant with Jack, Rich ran in the Pike's Peak Assent (a half marathon going up Pike's Peak which is 14-er), and anyone who finished got a medal. For the last year, this medal has been a favorite toy of Jack's. Now, Miss Paige has gotten hold of it and won't give it up. This child loves anything "jewelery" ever since our next door neighbor, Madi, dressed her up in a gazillion beads. Anyway, I tried to get some decent pictures of her wearing it, but she wouldn't be still. I think these pictures speak for themselves.

Look at me! Look at me!

Taking Down the Christmas Decorations

It's a little known fact that Guido (from Disney Pixar's Cars) was present at the nativity.

Poor Penny hates having her muzzle on, and she hides under anything and everything in effort to pout. As you can see, the garland made a pretty good and comfy spot.

Christmas Day

Christmas day, though a blur, was a very fun day...but I am kind of glad it is over. The kids woke up to a bunch of presents from us, Santa, grandparents, and aunties. Even though neither of them got much of a nap, they were fairly well behaved, although there were a few times of mania throughout the day.

Jack's new bike from Santa

Paige's turn

After opening presents, the kids (and Rich) took a break to watch a show called Yo Gabba Gabba or as I call it, "That Totally Cracked Out Show". (It's just a strange show with monster type characters who sing and dance... not my favorite.) Anyhow, Paige must have gotten the spirit in her and broke into dance, which is shown in the next photo.

Even Rich got into the dancing moodPooped

Rich wanted to make a nice breakfast for us (after the dancing, of course), so he made some eggs. However, the only cheese we had was a specialty Cheddar cheese with red wine in it, making the cheese a reddish pink color. We decided it would be fine, but it sure gave our scrambled eggs a festive look!

Paigie and Auntie Chelle (Michelle)"I Love Christmas!"

"Oooh, What's in here?"

Paige attempting to try on Jack's new sweater

Still loves bows

New puppy: Marilyn

So, it was a great day, the kids were so cute, and I even felt a little sad taking Paige's Christmas dress off that night. I'm still glad it's over, though, and we can get back to normalcy