Ponytail

Grandma, don't look!

Last year on the really cold rainy days we did this:


But this year, I decided a less destructive/dangerous approach might be in order. Especially since the next 2 days the high will be below freezing, and the next 4 or so will be under 50 degrees F (10 C for my foreign friends). My boys are true Texans and freeze like hot house flowers in those temps, with the exception of Red, who is wearing shorts as we speak. Sam's had this on clearance:

It does take up the entire living area and we had to move the couch, but home decor is over rated anyway.

I'm way behind on blogging since Halloween but I plan on doing a back in time thing to catch everyone up.

Way back in November...

Back in November my 5 yo turned 6! My gorgeous volatile little man gained a year and lost several teeth. He wanted a very laid back party, requested a store bought cake with green gooey icing and Star Wars guys on top, and friends over to eat pizza and play Nerf war. That's good because we always have to squeeze is party in in between Halloween and Thanksgiving.
My funny little man had a great time and is growing fast. He enjoys Legos, any type of pretend play, is always hungry, but rarely eats an entire meal, never walks if he can walk or run and is extremely passionate about EVERYTHING. You never have to wonder where you stand with him or what he is feeling, he will let you know, loud and clear. He is learning to read but prefers math. Must be his daddy's influence. A1, buddy, you add so much to our family, we're really glad you're ours.

Red's Christmas Videos

This one has some Lego violence and may disturb some of our more sensitive viewers.


Merry Christmas all!!

Halloween Fun 2009

We had an all day party on Halloween this year! Our old church had a Fall Festival, so we went and hung out with many of our friends and then got to play with our cousins at my dad's house for trick or treating. Everyone was exhausted and had a major sugar crash by the time we got home, but the little guys wanted to know why we couldn't do it all again the next day. It was also a little sad for me as I was informed that this would be Red's last year to dress up and trick or treat. Sigh.....I remember him dressed as a little farmer, barely able to toddle good, sitting on all our neighbor's front porches eating his candy. I think I would have cried if my little one hadn't kept me laughing all night. Here's all the photographic proof you need that they really are all very different:
J1 again chose a character from a video game, it's what he does. No one ever recognizes him, but he likes how he looks. And yes that's blue hair.

E had no depth perception with his eye patch on, especially as it got dark. I finally convinced him to take it off before he killed himself.
I got this Vader costume at a thrift store 2 years ago for $5. Best money I ever spent.

A1 is a ninja, not a terrorist. This is what we repeatedly told him after he put on the mask and immediately said 'Hey, I look like a terrorist!" Ugh.

"I want to be a dark green speckled frog" is what T said in September and he never wavered. At least he knows what he wants.


"I want to be a pink bunny." "A pink bunny?" "yes, a pink bunny, with pink ears" Ok.....
It was a sweet year watching my 8th little one go through the Halloween initiation. She had no idea why her brothers and cousins were dressed so strangely, why we kept going to different houses, and why she couldn't just sit on the front porch and eat the candy this wonderful person had just given her. She never really got the hang of it, I had to lure her off of everyone's porch, especially if they had a dog. Cute as she could be, she ended up charming everyone on our route :-).

I went a little nuts taking her picture in her costume. I just loved her in that bonnet! I had bought it for her when we made our trip to San Antonio this summer, just cause I like to play Little House On The Prairie when I was young. If I had know how fabulous she was going to look in it, I'd have bought two!

Pumpkin Patch 2009

It took three trips, and some creative Photoshoping for the group shots, but we did it. Fortunately they have all kinds of fun stuff for the kids to do and root beer for sale to bribe them with.

We all got the swine flu. But they all got it one week, so although it wasn't fun, it was actually pretty quick and now we're probably done for the season. We were a little worried about baby girl getting it with her epilepsy but it turns out that she won't necessarily have any more seizures with fever than without. Speaking of which, we have been seizure free for almost 2 months and the adjustment to the medication went well. Very big answer to prayers there. Homeschooling is moving right along. E and Z are conquering reading, A1 loves math but hates everything else, S actually said he enjoyed math (I almost cried) but remains a history guy, J1 still just doesn't like to do anything that's not drawing or Legos and the rest just play along with us.

That's all from us.

Red is 13

Wow. He was just 3 feet tall, rapt with wonder at the power and variety of stinkamotives (steam locomotives), carrying a duck and a penguin. Now he's taller than I am, sometimes smarter, and much more self disciplined. He's always been a little man, like that line from It's A Wonderful Life , "you were born older". He's into history, reading, movie making (stop motion with Legos). He is a born shepherd, loves being in charge and making sure everyone is in line and doing what they're supposed to. It gets a bit wearing on his younger brothers, but he is usually a pretty gentle guy and they also know they can turn to him for safety. He has always asked the hard questions, from "momma how can you be happy on earth when we've got babies in Heaven" to " how come you're going faster than the speed limit". He combines his dad's love of facts with my over confident "I'm right because I am" personality, which has made homeschooling him..... oh, let's call it interesting. Talking him into anything he didn't think of, or out of anything he did, is more than I'm am capable of most times, which leads us to believe he will either be the President or the guy leading the coup. I do love his strong personality though. He is my Samwise Gamgee(Lord Of The Rings reference). Steady, loyal, loving, gentle, my right hand man. I hope he always stays strong in what he believes but has a teachable heart. I hope he learns that failing a few times doesn't mean failure. I hope he's gentle with himself, like he is with his little sister. I hope he grows up to be much like his dad, but always his own man. I hope he learns long division, and the difference between an island and a peninsula. But most of all, I hope he always knows how glad I am to be his mom and how much having him has changed me closer to who I want to be.