Rascalling

Those cookie dough scoops sure get a workout around here.  Henry is constantly pulling them out of the drawer and walking around with them.

 

This time he made a deposit, adding a book to the utensil drawer, how helpful.

We were recording some home movies the other Sunday night and I saw Stella with a short haircut and convinced Jer to let me cut her hair the next morning.  What I did not anticipate was her reaction.

She looked at herself and did not like it.  She asked when Stella's hair was coming back and said she had boy hair.  Oh my!  I felt just awful.  She looks super cute though and has gotten used to it.

Here are four of the kids snuggled up reading books.

Henry loves to play with laundry baskets.  Climbing in them, pushing them, putting things into them.  When something is lost, it is likely that he has put it into a basket.

Riding in them is also fun!

Henry got himself stuck in the bath ring I took out of the tub.

He is obsessed with the vacuum.  If it is going in another room, he has to go over there and check it out.

And get as close as he can.

And touch it if possible.

We have gotten TONS of snow lately!  The drift on our deck is almost as tall as Stella!

Henry is thinking about being a musician.

We made some play doh for Leila's class - February's color is pink.  The girls loved making it and playing with it.
The other night we were playing with the kids in the family room and started playing catch with a ball.  Leila was throwing to Jer and I was trying to steal it or knock it away so that he couldn't get it.  We were having fun with it and started wrestling the ball away from one another.  Leila told us to stop "rascalling."  I couldn't stop laughing!

It is hard to see, but I was trying to do some dishes and had Henry and Stella pulling on my legs and Leila came over to ask questions too, so I had Jer take a picture, but it was hard to get one with everyone in it.  That is just the stage of life we are in right now...it seems like the kids always need us for something.  I am sure we will miss it someday, but at times it can be overwhelming.

Stella is a great eater, she will eat pretty much anything we give her without complaint.  She will help to finish Henry's food sometimes too!

Stuck again.

Henry's Birthday

You never know what is going on when the kids are being "too quiet" - that eerie feeling you have when you don't hear any fighting or trouble going on, but you know something must be up.  This particular time, Leila accessorized the snowman they got from Nana for Christmas while Stella was running water, probably washing her hands. 

Today I made lunch for Henry and the girls - separate meals, pancakes for Henry, then grilled cheese for the girls - which was kind of labor intensive, so I was happy that the girls didn't need me (Henry was getting started in the high chair) but was a bit suspicious of what they were doing so quietly.  I decided that the quiet was worth it, and I would check on them after lunch was almost ready.  When I went to their room, I found that they had been snuggled under the covers in Stella's bed, and Leila was reading books to her sister.  How sweet! 

After bath, snuggled into their jammies, I got an obligatory lined up on the couch photo.  I love that the girls wear their slippers over the footed pajamas.

 Henry loves things that make noise.  He tried to ride the vacuum.

 Stella has been accessorizing her outfits lately with her new hello kitty necklace and backpack and star headband (and of course bunny!)

The camera did not want to cooperate with me to get a picture of Henry high in the air, but he seems to love being thrown as much as the girls do.

We celebrated Henry's birthday with Jer's side the other night during the Rose Bowl.

He impressed everyone with his walking skills.

And enjoyed a few rounds of "horsey ride"

Henry loves looking out the windows in the living room now that the tree is down and he can walk back there.

The kids love to play with Grandma and Grandpa when they come to watch them on Friday mornings.

Leila wants to push Henry around in his dump truck every chance she gets.  He enjoys it too!

The girls got matching sequined shirts with tutus built in from Nana & Papa for Christmas and wear them as soon as they are back from being washed.

Some of the settings on my camera were funny, but I couldn't bear to delete this picture even though it is blurry.  I love how close the girls are!

 HENRY IS ONE!!  The birthday boy walks everywhere now!  We are getting less and less of these Frankenstein arms and more and more he just goes where he wants.

The girls decided that we needed to wear crowns to celebrate Henry's birthday, but he refused to keep his on.

I made this picture too close, but he is just walking around with his bottle of almond milk.  He was in need of a hair cut, since Jer thought his style was starting to look a bit Amish :)

We strapped him into a booster seat on the kitchen floor and Jer tried to keep his attention while I buzzed off his long hair.

He did ok sitting still but really wanted to hold the clipper - anything noisy is very interesting to this little guy!

This morning after his bath I spiked it up a little, I am happy with how it turned out, he just looks so different!  Probably it is that he is walking too, but he looks so much older to me today!

A Beautiful Night, We're Happy Tonight

Papa came with us to the Santa Claus parade, and Henry went to Grandma & Grandpa's because there was a freezing drizzle coming down.

We did ok with our umbrellas, we took the stroller in case one of the girls got sick of standing, but all it got used for was holding candy - I couldn't believe how much was handed out to the girls!

The day before our 12th wedding anniversary we went downtown for Up on the Rooftops with Misti, Dan, and Bill - no kids!  It was wonderful, we had dinner, then walked together downtown and checked out some of the upstairs homes and businesses.

Then we went to JP's and felt pretty hip until a kid who worked there commented that the guys looked like they were sleeping.  I suppose they do look a bit tired.

With the super cold temperatures outside we have been spending even more time in the basement playing with all of the toys!

It doesn't matter what the temperature is outside, the girls are ALWAYS taking off their socks!

Henry loves working at the toolbench with Elmo.

Leila has been doing more picture taking, she thinks it is the best.

She is getting better, but does tend to cut off heads most of the time.

The girls love to play on the ipad whenever I will let them.  There are tons of educational games that make me feel like they are learning.

They sometimes even work together on projects, like stacking like colors.

Henry looks pretty happy with the mess he just made all over his face.  

And just about as happy helping to clean it up!

For an early Christmas present we got Henry two CAT trucks that he can ride or walk behind and both work with building blocks so he can really grow into them.

Here is another Leila shot, but Henry is not in the mood for another picture.

Getting ready for the Christmas card, I took a bunch of close pictures of each of the girls,

Stella was harder to get a good one of.

This was as good as it got.

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!  May God bless you and keep you in the coming year.