Hair Cut

Military Man

My little guy is obsessed with all things military.

Veteran's Day started it off really. In school they talked about the freedoms that our soldiers have given us, and his teacher was passionate and proud to talk about the selfless act of serving.

Since then, there are almost daily questions to dad wondering what the military was like.

What are the guns like?

Where do you live when you are fighting in the war?

How do you know when the war starts?

How do you know who won?

And my favorite- do you get points when you shoot someone?

Not sure if this obsession will ever turn into a reality, especially since the last time he was asked what he wanted to be when he grew up he said either a basketball player...or a mall cop.

Until then, he'll have fun playing *army* on his days off.

I was told this music stand makes the PERFECT machine gun

Cooking Girl

Maddi wanted a play kitchen for Christmas but since #1) She has already had one in the past, #2) I don't know where to put one, and #3) I just didn't really want to get her one, we decided to get her some cooking sets. They are for *real* cooking, baking, and decorating, but the utensils are kid sized and more user friendly. I knew that after opening this gift, she would want to bake right away, so I made sure we had a brownie mix on hand for just such an occasion. Here are the results:

Christmas 2010

Another beautiful Christmas was had this year...snow on Christmas Eve, a quaint but meaningful service at church, making mini pizzas for Christmas Eve dinner and then opening pj's, Christmas morning gift opening, Christmas dinner at my house with family (and I didn't even have to cook!), and then the day after Christmas spent with more family. It sure goes fast, but all the preparation and last minute craziness sure make it all worth it! Lars' shirt reads, "I am pretty much one of the best people I know." Seems fitting...
Boston Celtics warm-up

Even Dakota got a treat!
Drew and his PS3
Lars and his iPod Touch and Maddi and her new AG Doll.

*Snow*boarding

The initial thoughts my kids had when they heard the first snowfall of the season was supposed to bring 1-3" were all about snowboarding. They couldn't wait to wake up Saturday morning to a fresh heap of powder to bust through.

However, Saturday morning did not show up with much more than a trace of snow, as the storm stayed north.

*Sigh*

What to do? Be creative! Lars dutifully spent hours outside playing and devising a way to work the system all in the name of snowboarding. Doesn't sound like Lars, right? (insert dripping sarcasm here)

This morning before school, they were ready to get out and do some riding before the bus came, and you can see the fruits of his labor, as he loaded up boxes of snow and dumped them in a path for the snowboard to ride down.

Oh, and don't forget the ramps either...

Nutcracker

This year, Maddi got to take part in her dance studio's first ever production of the Nutcracker!

There were two shows, each about an hour long, with a silent auction in between.

Each show had the girls perform excerpts of the original ballet, and needed to be of small enough stature that it could be held at the dance studio. The owner of the studio put it on as a fundraiser for a place called *The Spot* in Iowa City, which is a place where high risk youth can come and hang out in a Christ centered atmosphere. It serves kids in grades K-12, most of whom are economically challenged. All proceeds went to buy Christmas gifts for these kids. It raised several thousand dollars which is amazing!

Maddi debuted as a mouse, and thoroughly enjoyed her role. Her favorite part was dragging the Mouse Queen off the stage at the end of the Battle Scene. Not sure if they are going to be doing this every year or not, but what a great way to start off the holiday season!

trying to show off the tail

Christmas Photos-Take 231

Ok, so I get that my kids (ok, boys) don't love having their photos taken, but don't you think they could cut me some slack for the Christmas card at least?

I had grand visions of a family photo this year, but the weekend I wanted to do it, Drew was not feeling well.

Moving on to option 2 had me just snapping photos of the kids myself and creating my online photo sans parents. Fine. No one wants to really see Jamie and I anyway, right?

And how hard could it be to convince my boys that for a mere 3 minutes they needed to wear a collared shirt and t.r.y. to act normal.

Apparently, I ask too much...

I Can See Clearly Now...

Well folks, it was just a matter of time.

I was in third grade, Jamie was in fourth.

Drew is in fifth.

And here he is...

and here is Drew's sophisticated look...

Happy *Belated* Halloween

OOPS! Forgot to post Halloween pics for this year...

sight words

Those pesky sight words!

My daughter is learning to read and I can say that it is not coming quite as easily for her as it did her brothers. I have to remind myself that she is really young in her class, but she is starting to become frustrated.

And I don't want to go there.

She desperately wants to read *chapter* books.

She excels at motivation, so we've got that going for us.

My friend Vicki brought us over some magnetic sight word cards today, and ever since she got home from school, that's all she's done. Yep, play with those pesky sight words.

And she loves it!

I snuck in a pic of her arranging and rearranging them on her board.

You'll get it sweet girl, you'll get it...

Football Fun

Crazy kids playing football on a *brisk* 45 degree afternoon! Yikes! They don't care, it's all about having fun. Hot chocolate after doesn't hurt either ;)

Happy Fall!

Every year about this time, the unmistakable sound of the combine is heard in my backyard. A telltale sign of another summer almost over, a growing season ended.

And dust. EVERYWHERE.

Despite all the dust, I do look forward to seeing the farmer gather his crops, letting me know that another season is just around the corner. Must be the Iowa girl in me.

Happy Fall Everyone!

Happy 8th Birthday Lars

French Silk Pie for his birthday *cake*
a secret book with a lock to keep those pesky siblings away...
look out Dempster Dr, he's got his own pads!!!

Happy Birthday Lars!

Who knew that 8 years ago I would go into labor 7 weeks early and give birth to a 6+ pound baby boy, only to have him decide to quit breathing, subjecting him to 9 days of NG tubes and CPAP machines.

Little stinker.

I can call him that now because I am convinced that Lars did NOT stop breathing because of health issues or being born preterm. I believe that he became ticked off when he came out into this world because it was freezing cold or something.

You see, when Lars was maybe 6-7 months old(???) he pulled a little stunt where he held his breath until he passed out. He had gotten hurt which of course made him mad.

He inhaled and held his breath, mouth wide open, body rigid, and then passed out because he wouldn't breathe. His eyes rolled back into his head and he suddenly went limp in my arms. He was still, and silent, for what seemed an eternity. All of a sudden he took a giant GASP and started breathing again. Then he began to wimper. He was so exhausted after this production that he slept for 2 hours.

I personally about died the first time this happened, as it was one of the scariest things I had ever experienced. EVER. And believe me when I say that this was not the LAST time that he performed this stunt.

Which brings me back to his birth. I think that Lars entered this world and became agitated that his surroundings had changed. He got mad, and threw a royal hissy fit. Plain and simple. Of course I can't prove this, but knowing my boy, it seems like something he would do just for the fun of it.

Ironically, his daddy used to do the same exact thing when he was little. Would have been nice to have that *heads up* when I saw it for the first time...

Anyway, Lars, you have grown up into a wonderful little boy who loves life, always finds the good in things (except chores), and will still snuggle with his mama. I love you forever.