Monster Truck Rally? Check.

A month or so ago, our boy became very interested in Monster Trucks. He likes machines and things that make loud noises so Monster Trucks are kind of perfect, really. Often times when he is running down the hill, he will move his hands like he is driving a Monsuh Tuk. So when McKay heard about a local Monster Truck Rally, we knew we had to get him there and we did. Mike took him and waited the 30 minutes to park and the 20 minutes to get tickets and then found a spot on someone's truck so they could see the action since it was packed (pretty awesome people watching I'm told). They ate fried bread and cheered on the big trucks. He's been telling everyone about it. Do I want my son to drive Monster Trucks? No, not really. Do I love seeing his eyes light up with excitement? Yes, more of that please. Hey, we are giving him all sorts of well rounded world experiences. Monster Truck Rally? Check. 

Crazy cupcake eyes.

On Easter weekend we went to a little party for our friends' one year old. Our boy hovered by the cupcakes until it was dessert time and then he chowed down. I love his crazy eyes in the last picture. This week he has been saying "Check it out" and "Awesome" very clearly and he has become very into monster trucks. We found this little documentary about racing them and he's been digging it. When he runs around, he puts his head and holds his hands out and that's when he is being a "monsuh twuck". Also, he has a place mat of the world and I've showed him where New Zealand is and we talk about who lives there. He also knows that Lucy lives in Australia and then he knows we live in USA. He also knows Russia but he likes to get into a little fight saying that the USA is Russia. Funny. 

Our girl is rolling all over the place and saying lots of "mamamamamamas" and has just started sitting up by herself but she doesn't stay there long. She's been eating avocados, bananas, pears, apples, peas, and sweet potatoes. Some nights she sleeps great and then other nights, she is up a little more than I would prefer but she's getting there and she's just too cute. 

We've been a sick family the last few weeks. I can't seem to kick it and am waffling between the cold and flu. Blaaaaah. On Sunday both Mike and I were out and it was hard having two small children with two parents who could barely keep their heads up but the weather is warming, the kids are delicious, and we are getting super excited for all of our May visitors!

New accessory trend--goggles.

This is a common scene in the house these days. I don't even know the word he uses for goggles but he breaks them out to "woke" with his "toos". He watches everything very closely and mimics it later especially when Mike is working with any kind of tool. Notice they way he is holding the screw driver just right and showing such focus. Although, ;ooking back on these photos, they kind of feel like a he's a model in a product or clothing shoot.   He looks aloof, a bit nonchalant and even fake in some shots. Funny.

I have got to get a better video of him talking because he talks a lot--even in sentences. Today, he was saying "I do" or "I did" to everything. Would you like some cereal? I doooo. Do you want to go outside? I doooo. I know most of it sounds like complete babble to everyone else but he knows lots of words, he just can't say them properly.

Nothing gets to Mike quite like an out of focus picture so this post is going to bother him. I wasn't on my A-game but these shots were just too good with the goggles and the new jersey knitted by liz looks so cool on him. Plus, his hair is long and wacky and it looks so awesome over his goggles. I also love this shot of our girl and Mike from Sunday morning when he got the kids all ready for church and brought her down to the Inn where I was working (and hanging with Gordon Ramsay) to eat. I like the way she is looking into the distance almost longingly she has crazy long fingers. I need to go to bed now. 

Christmas festivities.

Sugar Cookie Decorating

Christmas Eve Talent Show (new tradition) including Ninja moves video & Lil' Bunny Foo Foo Dramatization 

Christmas Morning

Graham Cracker Houses

My favorite Christmas shot

and due to a distinct lack of shots of our girl in this post, one of Rocky

 

The above shot is my favorite from Christmas this year. It reminds me so much of my busy little boy. Within 5 minutes of the tree being up he had found all of the pom poms on the garlands he could reach and bunched them together in these little clusters. It makes me laugh finding these and  watching him busily and very seriously "woking" on the tree.

Christmas 2011 was a success and already feels like ages ago, not just a week. We had a wonderful family gathering on the Eve. We did some caroling and hopefully Rich got some fun shots to share from that. Every time we went to house, Lars wanted to take off his jacket and boots. It was fun to see the kids sing and the people at the doors light up. That is definitely a fun new tradition and then we gathered for our traditional hamburger and rootbeer floats. Mike special ordered some gingerbeer which is a fun new kiwi addition to the tradition. Then we had a little talent show which brought us some bollywood dancing, some tap, some ninja moves, a dramatization of "Little Bunny Foo Foo" and a slideshow from 2011. There were several other random talents in there and Rich was asked to narrate LBFF about 3 more times for the kids. 

Christmas morning was short and sweet. I tried to make the room feel fun with balloons and streamers and candles. Lars was genuinely thrilled by it all. There were lots of excited "oohs" and "ahhs" as he ripped through the gifts thanks to his adoring grandparents in New Zealand and New Mexico and the free chain saw Grammy Lyall found for free at the local dump. Our little girl slept through the whole thing and I wasn't about to wake her up to take a family picture of us looking exhausted.  Next year, we have decided to not put the candy out because we couldn't keep Lars out of it. He had handfuls before I had cut of his supply.. He was jazzed. Hey, it's Christmas. We are still enjoying our NZ supply of goodies that was sent over by liz and in the post-Christmas letdown where you can't quite get the energy to get back to work after gearing up for the holiday. I am giving myself through New Year's and then it is back to it! And because there was a distinct lack of pictures of Rocky in this post...

Here's to a positive, less stressful, exciting (but the good kind of exciting- not the broken pipe, broken bone, broken car kind of exciting) 2012.

happy (almost) birthday grandma lizzie!

Last night we got 8 inches of snow so a white Thanksgiving it will be! I took our boy out in it but he was less than thrilled by how cold it is--especially when you aren't wearing your gloves. Like I say in the video, we have a little bit of work to do with his snow attitude-- since this is it for the next 4+ months. 

I also wanted to make sure to get some new shots up especially for Liz on her birthday in New Zealand. I know it's not today but we will be away and Thanksgiving-ing tomorrow. Liz made these gorgeous hats the kids are wearing. I keep thinking of her as small but this hat was waaaaaay too big for her when she was born and now it is just fitting but when I see her all the time, I don't have any perspective on it I guess. 

We miss you Liz--like a lot.

moc-lit milk

Whenever we pass the diner Lars says, "I want pancakes"but it sounds more like " Ah wahn pan-cah". He talks all the time but I am sure it is just me and Mike that can understand him and all of his little words. Last night, Mike was working at the Inn late so I was juggling the two little people for bedtime and got them both in jammies on my bed. Our boy did something that I was telling him not to do and he said, "Mommy, shhhhhh" in reference to keeping my voice down for his seesta's sake. Oh, so that's how he takes discipline. Very cunning little fellow.

So this morning we treated ourselves to some pan-cahs. It was really cold outside on our walk down to the diner; the wind was bitter. Lars ordered his pancakes straight away and Mike got a chocolate milk to share. He chugged it down so fast. I tried to get a video of the whole thing but by the time I got the camera out, he was nearly done. I love the way he says chocolate milk. We had a lot of it while Liz was here (Mike took him to get some more today actually)--so this video is for you Liz because I know you miss the little chocolate milk boy.

After breakfast, we passed the local Barber shop and the boys got trims from Cassie. Our girl fell asleep during the walk to the Barbers (about a block) so she rested on the couch. Pretty cute. She was wearing her  wools from Liz. Everyone comments on how beautiful they are.

Our little girl is sleeping really well. We now know she can sleep 5,6,7, even 8 hours straight which is really great. I can see her trending a very positive direction and she is actually getting a bit of a consistent rhythm to her day. She really only has freak out crying spells when she is tired and just can't get herself to sleep and she cries so hard it doesn't even sound like crying but maybe some kind of tortured small animal. Sometimes all I have to do is say her name and tell her to come back to us and she chills out. Funny little girl. When our boy was her age, he was just barely starting to nurse well and was still so scrawny looking in comparison. Some things are just much much easier the second time around.

Painting

Two kids can be a bit more complicated-- a newborn and toddler especially. I will say, there was A LOT of show watching the last few weeks while I have tried to contain a fiercely independent toddler and a constantly be there for a little feeding baby monster but things are slowly evening out around these parts. 

Now, I know why my mom had segmented parts to the day because the day goes by so much more smoothly. It is getting colder and soon there will be a lot of snow and it will be below freezing outside for months so we get out as much as we can. But when we can't, we have playing in the sink time and making pillow fort time and standing on top of the laundry basket time and when I am feeling extra energetic, a craft. I have noticed that I really have zero craft supplies but I mustered up some paints and he loved it. He's been asking to "Peant" ever since but unfortunately we used all the paper up. I would also like to get some more colors since these were the 3 colors I bought last Valentines day but he doesn't really care but I would selfishly like more color in the art we hang ;)

And we can't forget little Rocky red. She'll be 7 weeks tomorrow. Thanks to Leilani for this ensemble she's wearing. Those newborn jeggings have been a fashion staple but I think their days are numbered. Our little girl is getting big.