2011 According to Marc

1. My wife is so smart.

2. Some people have a lap dog. I'm blessed to have a lap 4-yr-old. Anytime I sit down, she wants to sit in my lap.

3. 2011 was a healthcare success with only 1 trip to the ER, and that was for my nosebleed. Yes, it was a bad nosebleed. No, they didn't do anything to help me other than threatening to put an "absorbent expanding cylindrical device" up my nose.

4. When pursuing a PhD, it really isn't about the journey. It's all about the destination.

5. If you set ridiculous deadlines for yourself, sometimes you actually meet them. Especially with a really understanding wife.

6. Our first grader read (way) more books than me this year.

7. Living in a townhome is great. It's like our neighbors are in our bedroom upstairs, right now!

8. My weedwacker and lawnmower are buried in our storage room. Maybe townhome living isn't all bad.

9. I still don't have a smartphone, and I'm mostly able to function normally in society. I think 2012 will bring a smartphone. No iAnything though!

10. Writing 217 pages doesn't really take any longer than it does to write one page at a time, 217 times.

11. We are blessed to have three awesome little girls who also love each other a whole lot.

12. I might need to stop joking with the kids all the time. The 6-yr-old and 4-yr-old recently didn't believe me when I said that the water in the toilet really will stay blue for 2000 flushes.

13. Sometimes the most fun is had when I'm supposed to be the adult putting the kids to sleep.

14. Raising kids is really all about teaching them while making time to have real experiences with them.

15. I'm really okay with wearing a pink cinderella bandaid on my thumb out in public. Having 3 girls has given me that confidence (plus we have no regular bandaids in the house).

16. I have to be the defender of my house, even when a slithering poisonous thing makes me want to scream like a girl. Fortunately, the African spear and shovel have long handles.

17. Being able to communicate with a former baby now toddler is great. Especially when she argues with you for pronouncing words the way that she does.

18. Surprising kids by throwing water balloons at them is really more fun if they actually bust. Otherwise they pick up the balloons and throw them back! Don't buy cheap water balloons next time.

19. I have forgotten what the news people do when it's not an election year or even the year before an election year.

20. Renting a porto-potty only costs $15/week. That is chump change compared to the cost of building bathrooms with indoor plumbing! Maybe my wife will go for the craftsman-style outhouse look? (more to be learned on this topic in 2012)

Some Random Pictures

Most of the pictures I took this month revolved around Christmas celebrations.  I did have a few pictures that I wanted to post, so I am grouping them into a random post.

My grandmother made this dress for me when I was little, and Kayla absolutely loves to wear it.  She thinks it's so neat that she has a dress that her mother wore and that her great-grandmother made.

 

Brooke fell asleep sitting up one afternoon.  Of course when I went in to take the picture it woke her up, but it was worth it to me.

We have had a few trains since Kayla was little.  While Kayla and Macy would occasionally enjoy playing with them, Brooke really loves playing with them. For Christmas we bought her more tracks and a motorized engine. All three girls have enjoyed setting up this little town and having a train that is electronic.

Mom came over to hang out one day and brought Molly with her.  Brooke has taken such a liking to Molly.  It's a real life baby doll to her.  She really wanted to feed her the bottle, and she is always bringing toys to her or taking the pacifier in and out of Molly's mouth.  In fact, Brooke was actually a big help keeping Molly entertained so that her parents could both eat meals at the same time this past week.

Brooke's "stink face". 

Brooke is a very picky eater.  Last year she loved my chicken and dumplings, but since I really only make them in the winter I assumed she would want nothing to do with them.  I was able to convince her that the dumplings were noodles so she actually let me put one in her mouth.  I think it's safe to say she enjoyed her bowlful.

And she even made sure she had cleaned up her mess on the table.

Christmas Part 2

Yesterday we celebrated Christmas with Marc's side of the family.  As always, the cousins enjoy playing together and we enjoy catching up with those we aren't able to see very often.

This year the cousins did a book exchange.

Chris and Amanda gave Macy a cool puzzle ball.  I had never seen anything like it, but I can't wait to get my hands on it again and see if I can get it figured out.

And they thought we were kidding when we said she likes to change the baby's diapers over, and over, and over again. 

We have continued our Christmas celebrations with lots of yummy food and laughter.  Now it's time for the tree to come down, for toys to find homes, and schedules to begin again. While I'm sad to see this time of celebration ending, I am looking forward to getting back into our usual routines.

Christmas Day

We have had a wonderful week celebrating with family and friends.  While coordinating schedules can sometimes be difficult, we are thankful that we are able to visit with so many people at this time of the year. 

We always begin our morning reading the Christmas story from Luke.

Christmas pajamas.

  

She finally has her own backpack.  We decided that it would be her new diaper bag, but she would rather fill it with toys and sometimes gets annoyed when we take the toys out to fill it with diapers. Guess we will stick to the old diaper bag and let her have her fun.

Homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Yum!

After opening some presents and eating a yummy breakfast we got ready for church.  We wanted to take the girls pictures in front of the trees at church and it just so happens that my mom was the one who decorated them.

After church and lunch at Grammie and Grampies, it was off to Nini's house for Christmas celebration.  The girls were blessed with many fun things, but this cupcake set is one of their favorites.  Macy had seen it in the store several weeks ago and said she wanted it.  We were done shopping for her so I didn't really think much about it. I guess Nini knows her pretty well because she picked it out for her. 

This is another well loved toy.  I remember having one of these when I was little and Kayla absolutely loves drawing with it.

My uncle is a photographer so it's always nice to have him snapping pictures when he is in town.

We ended the evening with a yummy dinner of prime rib. My mom always out does herself with the food.  We enjoy seafood gumbo on Christmas Eve, and she has started cooking prime rib for Christmas dinner. And of course there is always a plethora of yummy desserts as well. 

Christmas Eve

Christmas Preparations

Every year I say I want to take time to enjoy the season and to let it pass as slowly as possible, and every year I look back and wonder where in the world the month of December went.  

Even though we don't do the Santa thing, we still get the girls pictures taken with him every year.  I almost didn't do it this year, but Marc nagged encouraged me to get them done. I'm glad he did because the kids enjoy it and it gives me an excuse to get them all dressed up and listen to strangers talk about how precious my girls are.  I tend to agree.

The girls helped with some holiday baking.  

Brooke unwrapped a lot of these peanut butter cups and not one went into her mouth. She was so excited to help with her sisters.

Fall Pictures

Our dear friend Rebekah took some pictures of us several weeks ago.  Since they were part of our Christmas cards and Christmas presents I held off on posting them here on the blog.  It's picture overload, but I'm posting most of them because I want them included in the blog book I make every year.