Year: 2014
Tooth #3…finally!
As you saw earlier today, Owen’s tooth has been dangling precariously—and it has been for days. We’ve bribed him with cash and treats to pull it out—and he’s refused.
But just now, a few minutes after Tom had put him to bed, we heard footsteps running down the hall and Tom guessed he’d finally got the tooth out. Yep! He excitedly showed us it came out!
He told us he wanted to keep it; we said he could but he wouldn’t get any money from the tooth fairy. He said he’d give it to her tomorrow night. We said that was fine and sent him back to bed. A few minutes later he was back again to tell us he had lots of money and wanted to keep his tooth. What an awesome kid. 🙂
Owen and the floppy tooth
My temporary cuddle bugÂ
Temporary because it only lasted about 18 seconds. 🙂
Making cookies for Santa!
He did about three scoops and he was done. 🙂
He said we had to put out five cookies because that’s what we did last year. I asked if he was sure. He went over and pointed to the picture (on the calendar) of Christmas Eve (which is the picture of him with Santa’s cookies last year) and yep, five cookies. 🙂 I should know not to doubt his memory.
Opening presents via Skype, part 2!
Today we opened presents from Grauntie Marge!
They got to see Katie dance around with her dolly in their new matching outfits (I didn’t get a picture of it because they were watching live and I can’t take pictures at the same time!).
And Katie loved her new Frozen sheets!
And Owen LOVED his Robot Turtles game. We watched some videos online about how to play, then we played, and after we put it away he kept running around the house playing a full-sized version. 🙂
Bouncy Birthday Party
Owen was invited to a birthday party of the twins in his class (the same family that gave Katie her black ballerina outfit a ways back). It was at a bouncy place that had glow-in-the-dark lights. Tom took him because (long story short) I was told Katie couldn’t participate. Tom said when he got there, Owen turned super shy…but quickly got into it and had a BLAST.
And here’s Owen racing up the slide! I made sure he wore a neon shirt so he’d really stand out! And action video!
Here’s the group:
And some of the boys from his class (Xander, Colton, and Manuel).
And then after the party, they stopped at Wendy’s for dinner!
Katie sleeping with her ballerina.Â
Katie loves her ballerina that she just got from Grammy and Papa.
I was waking her up gently since it was time to get up from her nap. When the flashes from the camera didn’t rouse her, I gently rubbed her arm. With her eyes still closed she grabbed her dolly and then rolled over. 🙂
Opening presents via Skype!
It’s at times like this that I love technology!
Tom’s world shattered at Home Depot.
This is what can happen if you are hurrying in the bathroom and aren’t paying attention.
He has been wanting a new phone but didn’t want to spend the money on the newest upgrade…so we headed directly to the Apple store to see about getting the glass fixed. Unfortunately the fix was almost half the price of upgrading to the newest phone so he just upgraded.
Merry Christmas to him!
Katie’s new hiding spot
Luckily we were in the room at the time so we knew she was under there…but she has hidden there on her own and caused us some panic. Now we know where to look first. 🙂
We definitely have techy kids.
Daddy throws the kids around
Stickers everywhere.
Unfortunately since we put decals on the door, she doesn’t know the difference and thinks stickers can go there, too.
I was able to finally redirect her:
But you never know where you’re going to find stickers!
Gingerbread houses in Owen’s class!
Today was Owen’s last day of school before the holiday break and we were invited to decorate gingerbread (graham cracker) houses with them! (It was also PJ Day for the whole school!)
Earlier in the week, parents had glued the crackers to a milk carton to speed things along.
The teacher offered a house for Katie to decorate, but I had my hands full helping Owen and his classmates. And she was having fun with the toys.
But then she came over to see what was going on and of course had to get involved. 🙂
Video?
Oh boy, now she’s helping with frosting.
“No! My seat!”
Happy boy!
She ran right over for story time!
Then it was time to pack up and go!
Cuddle Buddies
Katie loves pretending she’s asleep.
Especially when she’s just gotten up. 🙂
A smirk.
Silly kids and a loose tooth!
Owen’s front tooth is SOOOO loose that we keep telling him to just pull it out. At dinner we talked about how the Tooth Fairy doesn’t pay for teeth that fall out and can’t be found (like if he accidentally swallowed it). I told him I would match what the Tooth Fairy gave him last time if he pulled it out tonight. Uncle Rob promised him FIVE dollars if it came out tonight. Owen REALLY wanted the $5, but as it turns out, he didn’t want it bad enough to pull put his tooth.
Roughhousing with Uncle Rob
Reading with Grandma
Sneaky Sitting Pretty
I was at my computer and I heard Katie busy behind me but I wasn’t paying attention. When I finally turned around, this is what I saw:
Watching Frozen with Grandma
I had a few errands to run so Katie stayed home with Grandma and she wanted to watch Frozen. It was Grandma’s first time and probably Katie’s 25th time.
Hair Brushing
Grandma got Katie some ponies that come with their own brushes to brush their huge manes and tails. Well, Katie immediately took to brushing her own hair with it…as well as anyone else who would let her. Tonight, she wanted HER hair brushed and I was busy reading with Owen, so Uncle Rob took over. 🙂
And then she wanted to brush his hair which was a bit more difficult. 🙂
Taking turns flying Uncle Rob’s Christmas present.
They tried it in the house first—and it worked a little, but really needed more space. 🙂
Owen’s first shopping spree
Owen’s school offered a Penguin Shop for the kids to shop for inexpensive gifts for their families. I volunteered one afternoon and it was…a little crazy. 🙂 Owen had $10 to spend on gifts for me, dad, and Katie. He came home with something for each of us (plus about $3 left over) and he was SO excited for us to open them…so we finally did tonight.
I got a cupcake pencil sharpener, Tom got a purple high-heeled shoe pencil sharpener, and Katie got a barrette with a feather on it! Our very first gifts from Owen with no parental input whatsoever! I told Tom I would switch him sharpeners, but he said no way—he was keeping the very first gift his boy bought him! 🙂
Katie LOVED her feather…
Christmas with Grandma Marsha and Uncle Rob!
We celebrated Christmas this morning because Owen was home from school…due to ongoing constipation issues (he had been heavily medicated but NOTHING was happening and I hadn’t wanted to send him to school just in case).
She LOVED her princess tutu, crown, and wand! After about 10 minutes, we were all tired of the wand because it lit up AND made noise! (The crown lights up, too, but thankfully doesn’t make noise!)
Uncle Rob helped Owen with the Legos after Owen got stuck and I tried and gave up. 🙂
Stockings from Grandma!
The kids were itching to open all the presents they saw Grandma and Uncle Rob bring in, but it was a little late in the evening…so we just let them open the stocking stuff.
Katie LOVES Yoda!
My ornament hanger!
Katie LOVES hanging ornaments on the tree! As it happens, we’ve actually received a few ornaments since we initially decorated the tree, so she’s gotten to hang a few. This one today came from Grannie Lin and Papa and she had to run right to the tree to hang it! She does a pretty good job, too!
And a closeup of the Michigan ornament. I think the UP has grown since we’ve last been there. 🙂
Love a Grandma!
She LOVES the new tank!
Long story short, we have a new saltwater tank!
Long story long, we haven’t had a saltwater tank since before we were married and lived in Lansing! We’ve wanted one, of course—and Tom even bought a few tanks along the way—but with moving every few years it just isn’t practical. He had an 80-gallon (I think it was) tank specially made…that we eventually sold after moving a few times. Then he found a used system that we were planning on setting up here…but it got trashed in the move. We were reimbursed for it and Tom wanted to buy the same tank right away, but I told him to wait because we were in no hurry. Fast forward five months and he was perusing Craigslist and saw a really great tank for a really great price—and snapped it up!
It won’t have fish in it for a few months (we have to wait for the water to cycle and get healthy so it doesn’t kill the fish) but in the meantime, the kids LOVE it. Especially Katie. She will just go sit in front of it.
