Mmm...bacon

I know I've mentioned before that Phoenix is a busy boy. He is down-right exhausting at times. The other night, we were doing a family activity before bedtime. Marcus picked that he wanted to color. So, we were all busy in the living room coloring; meanwhile, Phoenix got bored and wandered off, then my sister Lynn called, and I was talking to her. We heard some rustling going on in the kitchen, and Drew sent Davis in to see what Phoenix was doing. He came back in with the open package of raw bacon, and said "Phoenix was eating meat!!" Phoenix opened the fridge, opened the ziplock bag of bacon, and was eating it. The funniest part was that he was upset that we took away the bacon, and made him wash his hands.

A Very Special Person

I need to apologize about these pictures...they are terrible. The joys of taking pictures in a school gym. I should have tested it out first or something, but I took some cute ones, and then realized that I needed to turn off my flash.

At Davis' school they have "Special People" Assemblies. Kids get honored for all the hard work that they do in school. At the end of January Davis got picked by his teacher, Mrs. Fleming. It was also a special assembly because Mrs. Fleming and her baby got Special People Awards because this was just before she went on her Maternity leave. Davis is a very special person. I always get told by his teachers how well liked he is by all the other students. He is funny. He is a hard worker. He is smart. I love my little first-grader.

January

January is always a bit sad. Even though my tree is so crusty and such a fire-hazard, it is still sad to see all the Christmas decorations come down. It is nice to have things return to normal, but I love Christmas. Not only was the tree hard and crusty, but the gingerbread house and train were getting crusty, and honestly I was tired of having them sitting on my counter (I hate having too much stuff on my counter...it drives me crazy). So, I told the boys that they had one more day to snack on them, and then they were going in the garbage. I came into the kitchen and I saw them gnawing on them like little beavers.

We had people over one night, and so we brought the office chair upstairs. I told the boys to get ready for bed, and when I came to check on how the teeth brushing was going, this is what I found...


This winter has been horrible. Cold. Snow. The works. It has even been too cold for the boys to go play outside. On one of the actual nice days that we had, I sent them all outside to play.


We have a gigantic drift on our deck, and Drew and Davis dug a cave into it.

Winter feels like it will never end, but I really hope that we at least get some more good play outside days.

Mummies

It really is amazing how much fun you can have with a roll of toilet paper.

Christmas

CHRISTMAS EVE

It is always a bit tricky to balance out Christmas, and where we are going to be. We figured that since we are still living in the Party House, that we would host Christmas Eve again. It was filled with the usual craziness: pizza, eating lots and lots of treats, white-elephant gift exchange, eating lots of treats, opening pajamas, and eating lots of treats. Somehow this year we missed doing the Nativity. I think it is because Aunt Karen ditched out on us.

CHRISTMAS DAY

We were lucky to have Karen and Martin stay with us during Christmas again this year. It is so nice that they can drive to see us this year instead of fly to see us. Drew and I are kind of mean parents, we make our kids have breakfast before all the present opening, so we started out the morning with over-night French Toast. It was sure good. Then after we got started on the gifts, both sets of Grandparents came over to add more.

This year, Davis' favorite gift was a DS. Marcus' favorite was his Pillow Pet. Drew's favorite was his car starter, and I got too many good things to pick a favorite. Phoenix liked his Dyson the best. He spent the whole morning vacuuming the floor. He still runs and gets it whenever I vacuum the house. And, even though it was a present for all the boys, he gets upset when someone tries to use it. If he keeps this up, he is going to have one lucky wife.

I made Karen a cute apron this year. It had to be purple to match her purple LeCreuset. I guess I need to make myself a red apron...

December (excluding Christmas)

December was filled with the usual Pre-Christmas craziness. Going to Christmas party's (ask Drew about his in-appropriate, but very funny, office party white-elephant gift sometime), decorating the tree, making chocolates, baking, shopping, wrapping presents...
Also, Drew wrote his second-to-last test...Ya-Freaking-Hoo!!

Marcus had a very cute Christmas concert and party with his pre-school class.

We decorated our usual gingerbread kits. This year Marcus decorated the train, and Davis decorated the house.

And, I made my family wear matching ties for Christmas Sunday. I thought it was pretty cute.

November

In our house it is actually "Movember" not "November"

This is Drew's magnificent 'stache at the beginning of the month. Drew is always doing crazy things with his facial hair, and I think it is mostly to bug me. This year, he did it in a way that I couldn't get too annoyed. He grew his mustache to raise money for prostate cancer. His Grandpa Doug had prostate cancer, so he felt it was his duty to help raise money for the cause. He even got his brothers-in-law, and the college involved, and encouraged his students to grow them.

This is how the mustaches looked at the end of the month. Drew was able to raise $690 dollars. And, he has even bigger plans for next year. I can't wait...

Marcus got some money for his Birthday and this is what he picked out. A Darth Vader helmet that quotes Darth Vader and has a setting to change your voice into a Darth Vader voice. In the past when he wanted to be Darth Vader, he would wear Drew's motorcycle helmet.


The boys like to help do the dishes.


I found Phoenix one day hiding in the bench in our entryway where we keep all the mittens and toques. It looks like it would be pretty cozy. I might try hiding in there one day.

Phoenix turned 2!! We celebrated by having family over for Skor cake.

I often refer to Phoenix as my monster. He has such a funny little personality, and lots of it. He can be incredibly sweet, but then he seems like he is always into some sort of mischief. He is funny. He is independent. He is stubborn. He loves his brothers, especially Davis. He loves to mimic what his brothers do. He gets really excited whenever anyone comes home, and he runs to the door to greet them. He is a junk food addict. He is not allowed to use markers. When he was first born I was amazed how he seemed to fit so seamlessly into our family. He made the transition to 3 so easy. I love my little blond boy so much, and I am so grateful that he is a part of my family.