Sea World in December

We love being close to Sea World and especially like to use our passes in the middle of December when the weather is nice and the crowds are small. Each time we go, the kids get more brave with their experience. This visit included petting flamingos, the boys' first roller coaster ride without a parent and a Sesame Street live show (E only cried a little bit as she hates "live" characters or anything dressed up for that matter).

First Lost Tooth

After months of wiggling, M finally lost his first tooth. That thing was hanging by a thread. We tried to pull it a couple of times but it is so hard to get a hold on such a tiny thing...and, to be honest, I don't think I can do it. I make Marc try. The thought of the possible sounds and sensations that may accompany pulling a tooth do not appeal to me at all. M wasn't too into it either...so it fell out in his sleep and he woke up with it just hanging out in his mouth.


As an aside...M's second tooth came out the same way, and was actually swallowed in the process. Oh well, he wrote a note to the Tooth Fairy so he wouldn't miss out on any cold hard cash!

Give Thanks

SO FUN to have guests for Thanksgiving. Julie, Jimmy and MA came along with Adam and one of his Air Force buddies. It was so fun to have a full house although it was a challenge to keep enough food on the table for two HUGE men (plus Jimmy and Marc). No joke, Adam and his ex-NFL friend could have eaten my table and still been hungry.
E loved having her boyfriend (aka Jimmy) and the boys used Uncle Adam as their interactive human jungle gym. I kept waiting for the blood to flow...but we made it out with only a few tears.
The kiddos were thrilled to have MA and they all wanted to hold her. E was in her face all the time trying to help with her binky and give her loves. Ah, a girl after my own heart!

Ode to the Trampoline

We sure love to jump on the trampoline around here. The grandparents got together and purchased it for the kids for a birthday gift this year. It has been nothing but wonderful and a great way to get our some of the plenitude of energy we seem to have in excess. The best times are when an adult feels like getting "their jump on" or when they are convinced that they will love it. Thanks grandma...you know all the fun things to do!

Hallow's Eve

I guess it should make sense to me that my children are becoming much more opinionated about what they want to be for Halloween. This year, they started "deciding" what they wanted to be about July. About two weeks out, I made them commit. They are into Star Wars (as usual) and all other super heroes. So, M finally decided on Darth Vader; a decision I am sure was assisted by the fact that I purchased the D.V. mask last year and he wants to wear it every day. B took a little bit longer, but settled on Batman. E didn't have much choice. I have been looking forward to having her be a little witch. My mom made this costume for me when I was her age and she gave it to me after E was born. So, that made her an even cuter witch for me.
Since Halloween was on Sunday this year, we just did the trunk or treat at church and then had dinner with a few friends on Sunday. I let the kids give out some candy to the neighbor kids and they seemed really happy to have that important job.

Baby MA and Grandma H

We got to take a quick trip to Houston to see the newest cousin...sweet little MA. Julie and Jimmy had their first daughter this week and she is such a doll. I just love the tiny babies, fresh from above. How darling is she...and of course she has to have a bow right away.
The other bonus to the trip was getting to see Adam and my mom (who got to come home from her mission for a couple weeks to help out).
We had a wonderful couple days there and can't wait until we will all be on the same continent again.

Biker Momma

E definitely loves bikes...but not and of those "baby bikes", no...it has to be the hot wheels of course. Our driveway has a little slope to it and she squeals with delight as she zooms down onto the street.
The first time she did it she climbed onto the bike and went down on her own. I turned around in time to see her halfway down the driveway. So, I bolted after her and was sure she would either crash and fall off or cry from surprise. Nope, neither...she was so excited and happy with herself. So we spent the next hour dragging her back up the drive for more.
Now if we could just teach herself to get back up the drive...I'd have it made in the shade!