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Santa was here!

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>>> Rockin’ Rider Candy 2-in-1 Pony Ride On
>>> Mindscope Twister Tracks Neon Glow in The Dark (Though Santa got them at QVC.)

These are all taken within about a half hour. Yes, it was chaos. And normally I wouldn’t post this many pictures, but it’s Christmas! Enjoy!

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She carries her pony around like it’s a stuffed animal!

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Both kids had M&Ms from their stockings for breakfast! 🙂

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Of course Maggie got a present, too. The cats got jingle balls but they couldn’t care less. The do watch them once in awhile when Owen puts them on his track and they get pushed around by the cars…but I haven’t seen either of them even bat at one.

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The blue ninja mask that Owen asked Santa for!
>>> Power Ranger Blue Mask

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Christmas morning clutter.

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Owen really likes Lambie so I got him one…

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But Katie loved it more so he gave it to her!

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Giving the pony a drink!

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Putting a dog treat in the tunnel!

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Stealing my new Tervis “Mommy’s Sippy Cup” cup! So now I have a chewed straw already!

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Playing Owen’s new squirrel game!
>>> The Sneaky, Snacky Squirrel Game

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Maggie sat at Gramma’s feet and looked pathetic until she moved the laptop and freed up her lap.

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The second round of presents…

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We didn’t take as many pictures this time, as the kids spent more time playing with old and new toys among unwrapping gifts.

Katie liked the wood vegetables from Aunt Marie and Uncle Doug.

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And her new singing bear from Grauntie Marge:

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And Owen LOVED his Mecha-Pede from Grauntie Marge. It really is quite cool—it has pincers and a tail, it lights up, and the eyes glow! And it’s remote-controlled!

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The first round of presents…

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EDITED TO ADD A FEW OF GRAMMA JEAN’S PICTURES! BE SURE TO LOOK THROUGH THE POST AGAIN!

Since there were SOOOO many presents under the tree before Santa even got here, we decided to let the kids open some. Owen was SUPER excited and Katie quickly got into the spirit—she is actually really quite good at opening presents!

Let’s just say once the first present was opened, it was pretty much chaos. I had planned to take videos for Tom…but once things got started, it was all I could do to keep snapping pics. I feel bad because I missed a really great opening by Owen (details later) but between two kids opening presents at the same time, each of them wanting to play with each other’s things (and not their own), mini tantrums from both when they didn’t get their way, Owen just wanting to blow through all his presents without actually taking even five seconds to look at what he just opened…I was glad I got some pictures.

Katie loves opening clothes…because of course she wants to put them on right away. It might be pants on her arms or a PJ top on her legs, but she doesn’t care.

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Gramma Jean bought the kids a sandwich-making kit and both had a blast with it. Owen made GJ a lovely peanut butter and ketchup sandwich! I think they played with it for 10-15 minutes before wanting to open more presents!

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Then Owen opened the cash register from Grannie and Papa…and he was EXCITED!

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And of course Katie LOVED it, too, because it made noise! And she figured out how to get the drawer open in about three seconds.

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Helping Owen open his next present.

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Katie co-opting Owen’s gift. She got one of her own shortly thereafter. 🙂

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Playing in the cash register box!

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And then Owen grabbed (what I knew was) the Doc McStuffins kit. I had wanted to record it because I knew he would be super exited about it. But before I could tell him to wait a minute, he was ripping it open.

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And of course Katie recognized what it was and was immediately interested, too!

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He was SO damn cute. As he was opening it, he says “OH…MY…HEAVENS! This is my most favorite thing ever!” or something very close to that. (Of course I was sure I would remember it, but of course I didn’t.) He just went on and on about how great it was while I was opening it and taking everything out. And the doll! It talks! (I hadn’t realized that.) So that was exciting. And Katie wanted everything and Owen didn’t want her to touch any of it. (He eventually relented.)

Giving Grauntie Marge a check-up!

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Posing with his new doctor’s bag.

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My favorite picture of the night!

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Katie opening the hand-me-down Elmo. She loves Elmo, so I couldn’t wait for her to see him. She did like him, but the batteries were mostly shot so he wasn’t very exciting at first. A quick change and he was back up to speed…then I realized he had a broken arm. But she loved watching him and carrying him around.

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Owen playing with Katie’s school bus. Funny story. I actually got it for Owen A LONG time ago and put it in his closet and forgot about it. Then he didn’t really need it so I thought I’d save it for Katie but left it in his closet. Fast forward to about four days ago when I happened to have his closet open and he said “Mom! I want that school bus!” So on the spot I decided it would be for Katie, and explained how we give gifts to people we love and that we know they’d like, so why don’t we give this to Katie? He accepted that, so then we wrapped it together—our first wrapping attempt. It didn’t go too badly, though I apparently didn’t stress enough that we keep gifts SECRET because he told Katie it was a school bus when she saw it under the tree. 🙂

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Opening a big squishy package from Grannie and Papa!

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He had no idea what it was, other than he was excited it was Sparty. So I reminded him that he liked to curl up/hide in the pillowcases that Grannie had made him, so she had told him she was going to make him an Owen-sized bag! Oh my, yes, he remembered, then he was SUPER EXCITED!

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Someone else liked it, too!

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Owen wanted us all to fit in the sack but we didn’t quite fit so just the kids were in it! (This is the only family picture we ended up getting!)

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Someone wasn’t happy that we told her she couldn’t play with Owen’s Doc McStuffins doll. She was also TIRED as it was past her bedtime.

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A cookie alphabet matching/spelling game from Grandma Marsha!

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Serious Katie opening a present. You can tell she’s concentrating because her tongue is out.

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Not a great pic, but I left it in so you can see how long her bangs are! This is why she wears pig tails all the time (but tonight was bath night).

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Minion PJs from Gramma Jean!

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And of course Katie co-opted them to put on!

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A Christmas flap book from Grandma Marsha!

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Magformers from Grandma Marsha!

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A thank you hug!

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Finally! Bedtime milk with Gramma…wearing a tote bag of Grauntie Marge’s!

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Both kids went to bed about 30-45 minutes later than normal, and both were TIRED even though neither claimed to be. But it was super fun and I’m glad we did it. The kids loved most everything and I did a pretty good job shopping for the grandparents! There are still more pre-Santa presents to open, but that will come tomorrow…

Gramma’s Little Lobsters

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Gramma Jean brought back lobster t-shirts from Maine for the kids! It was warm enough this morning that they could wear them! Katie wasn’t being terribly cooperative so she’s looking away in all the pics where Owen was looking at me…and vice versa…or the pic turned out blurry. Oh well. I can’t always get a perfect shot!

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Birthday Bowling + A Toe Tragedy

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Today we had a birthday party at a bowling alley for one of Owen’s classmates.

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He had great fun using up his allotted tokens:

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And I played one game for him and won over 100 tickets! He liked feeding them into the counting machine! (I thought we were done at this point which is why I turned them in so early. By the time the day was done, I had three redemption slips!)

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Then it was time for pizza, cake, and opening presents. Overall it wasn’t too bad, but the party room was SUPER tiny for all the kids and let me just ask: If you were having a birthday party at a bowling alley on a limited time schedule with little kids with a short attention span, why on earth would you bring ALL your personal presents (at least 10-12)? Bring maybe 2-3 from mom and dad (if any at all) and open the rest at home. But anyway.

Owen was really very patient, and finally it was time for bowling. He wasn’t thrilled with the shoes but I told him he had to wear them. The first few frames went pretty well (they had the bumpers up) but honestly, trying to corral ten or so ~5-year-olds into bowling is like trying to herd cats. Kids running here, running there, between lanes, down the lanes while others are bowling, not waiting their turns, wanting to punch all the buttons on the display… And the noise level? Eeesh. Owen started complaining that the shoes hurt his feet and even though they felt fine, I let him take them off. I bowled in socks as a kid and so could he.

Here was his first go at it!

Then they brought out the helper stands—which made a HUGE difference in the success of each turn.

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So it was only Owen and another kid on the last lane. This kid seemed to be a little older and a little bit of a brat—and I have NO idea who his mother was/parents were because no one was ever once close to him the whole time I was there. Well, in about frame six, this kid grabs a ball off the ball return and I guess was trying to be nice and bring Owen a ball for his turn… And just as I’m realizing this could go horribly wrong…yep, bowling ball to the toe. Screaming, wailing, tears, and a little boy sobbing in my lap.

A few moms and kids came over to see if he was okay (he was, he just had to cry a bit and settle down) and one offered to get some ice (oh, yeah, that would be good—I was so concerned with calming him down I had completely zoned on getting ice). Anyway, that was the end of the fun and he just kept saying he wanted to go home. I said we could but we had to leave the ice on for a bit first. The other kid never apologized (I’m sure he didn’t think anything of it) and whoever was there with him never came over (I recognized the few moms that did come over) so that was kind of annoying.

We did have to stop and redeem his tickets on the way out. He had picked out what he wanted earlier and of course they were out of that item. But the guy said we could pick ANYTHING in the case! (I mean it’s all cheap crap, but Owen was excited!) So he picked handcuffs! 🙂 Then it was a slow hobble to the car (I obviously can’t carry him) and he really was a trooper for as painful as I know it was. On the way home I tried to get his mind off it it and had him smiling and laughing. And since he can take pills now, I stopped at Walgreens to get some children’s Advil.

Of course he couldn’t wait to get home to tell Gramma and Grandpa about it and show them. We asked him if he knew the kid and he said no, but he always drops the bowling ball on his foot. 🙂

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Surprise mystery trip to the beach!

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Gramma Jean wanted to go to the ocean and take the kids, so we picked Owen up from school and headed out! I knew Owen hadn’t eaten much lunch (the menu for the day was mostly stuff he wouldn’t eat) so he ate turkey rolls and cheese on the way. We were going to the beach on base since we were already part of the way there from picking Owen up. So, it occurred to me to call the commissary and find out if they had fresh lobsters (the last time mom was here and we wanted them, no place had them). And they did! So we stopped off there first—and what should have been a 10 minute or less stop turned into at least a half hour since no one was in the meat department to help me, no one was answering the buzzer, the sushi guy went off to find him, and then it still took a good 10 minutes for him to come back, then he had to catch the wily critters. Then the traffic was pretty bad (even though we were going the opposite direction)…so we finally got to the beach about 4:00 (we picked Owen up at 2:30!). GRRR.

But all was well because Owen was very excited:

Owen: Where’s my suit? Can I get my suit on?!
Me: I didn’t bring your suit. It’s too cold to swim—but you can get wet because I brought a change of clothes.
Owen: OKAY!

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Off and running! No looking back!

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Okay, maybe a little looking back. 🙂

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The weather and water were actually pretty nice for it being November—both were warmer than we had in Myrtle Beach in March!

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Katie had NO fear of the water and went right for it. Unfortunately…the ocean got the better of her…a few times. She just lost her footing and was rolling around in the water and then would get up and fall over again. The water wasn’t deep and she wasn’t in any danger and never once made a peep! Mom and I were both recording her, but mom’s video is better:

So, we weren’t at the beach for more than five minutes before she was completely soaked. 🙂

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She loved grabbing handsful of sand and carrying them around and giving them to grandma!

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We were only there about a half hour before we needed to call it quits—damn time change has it getting dark at 4:30 plus the kids were both wet and sandy.

Unfortunately, we then had a looooooooong ride home in after-work base traffic so we all got to experience what Tom goes through every day. One hour and 15 minutes to drive 26 miles (but really one hour to drive 15 miles because the last 15 minutes was smooth sailing).

But both kids had a great time and before we even got home Owen was asking to go back!

First Sibling Bath

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A week or so ago, Owen asked to take a bath with Katie. She’s old enough now to sit up herself without me having to constantly monitor her, so I agreed…but I did want to wait until Gramma Jean was around to help just in case. 🙂

“Katie! It’s time for your bath!” Just like Owen, she heads right up the stairs!

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Cute jams!

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Mama is it okay?

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Owen: Mama, is it okay to go outside and play?
Me: Yes.
Owen: Cool. Is it okay to wear my Crocs?
Me: Yes.
Owen: Cool. Mama, is it okay to take Gramma Jean outside?
Me: Laughing. Well I think you need to ask her.
Grandpa: Just wait until we get her harness. 🙂

Playing guns with Gramma:

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Gramma put a pair of Katie’s old socks on her hands—and she loved it!

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Sibling love.

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