Caleb Quote O' the Day

"Do some bulldogs have horns?"

Get It?

Caleb has taken to using the phrase, "Get it?" quite often. The amusing part is how he uses it out of context. For example, here's one from yesterday, "Madi, when we get home we can have recess. GET IT??? Recess." ":)

It's a similar humor to that found in Madi's knock knock jokes. Here's one of her favorites:
Madi: "Knock Knock"
Jen: "Who's there?"
Madi: "Banana"
Jen: "Banana who?"
Madi: "Orange"

Oh, aren't they hilarious?

New Toy that meets Federal Guidelines

This is hilarious and sad. Sad for all of the work at home moms that produce beautiful, quality children's products. Thanks Uncle Sam!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=19984444

Park Days

We've been enjoying this lovely January weather by frequenting area parks. Our city has an awesome museum district, so we often hit one of the museums followed by the park. The kids love to roll down the giant hill.

Zoo Trip

Our Christmas trip to the Zoo. Matt was experimenting with his nature photography. He really wanted to capture a peacock in flight. Perhaps it would help if we actually read our camera manual.

On the Sixth Day of Christmas

We managed to get everyone together from our scattered locations all across the state. We celebrated Christmas a few days after the actual holiday, and most of us stayed through New Year's as well. We all had a nice time.

FAIL

This photo session did not go so well. We had the cute outfits and the beautiful day, but the kids were uncooperative. Oh well!

Lego Paradise

Twenty years' worth of Legos makes for a really fun time.

On the Fifth Day of Christmas

Christmas with Papo Up/Down. Caleb loves playing

"jail" with Papo. Notice the little orange speck in Madi's hand...she was shovelling Cheetos into her mouth the entire time we were there. And Matt is just as excited with Caleb's Lego present as Caleb. Matt and Caleb have so much fun playing Legos together.

On the Fourth Day of Christmas

Christmas with Gan Gan Birdy, as the kids call her. Somehow Gan Gan and Papo Leubner kept their proper surname. The kids have named their other great-grandparents after animals and/or geographic location: Gan Gan Birdy, Papo Donkey, Papo Up. Well, Papo Up moved downstairs and now Caleb calls him Papo Down. Notice the devious look on Madi's face in the first picture. She is attempting to swipe candy, a favorite pastime of hers.

Christmas Day

Caleb clutches his handfull of superheroes while Madi is more interested in the chocolate. In the last photo, Caleb is delighted to find that only crumbs have been left on the Santa plate. Both kids were healthy in time for Christmas, and we all had a nice day.

Christmas Eve

Caleb was still sick on Christmas Eve, so he didn't go to church with us. But Madi went, and she made enough noise for the both of them. She decided to "sing," not only during the hymns but during the entire service. She was making a joyful noise unto the Lord.

The second picture represents the usual outcome of a photo session with Madi.

On The Second Day of Christmas

Here are the kids having fun at Chris and Christine's. The first picture shows the general physical effect that the children usually have on people.

On the First Day of Christmas

We almost had 12 days of Christmas. Seriously, I think the kids got presents on at least 7 different days due to separate visits to so many family members It was fun! We are blessed. And it was neat to spread things out so that they weren't overwhelmed with so many presents at once. This was the "First Day of Christmas," when we let the kids open their presents from us. It actually took place a few days before Christmas Day. The David Shannon book that Caleb is holding describes the condition of our house.

Three's a Crowd

Poor Jocelyn, an only child for a few more months, must be terrified by the wild monkeys attacking her car. We musn't scare our friends away, children.

Madi Quote o' the Day

"Excuse me," says Madi.
"You're excused," I reply, "Did you toot?"
"No," Madi says, "Mouth toot!"

turns out she burped :)

Caleb Quote O' the Day

"Mama, does a seal shock you?"

The Tiny Dictator

We live with a tiny dictator. She spends her days bossing the rest of us around. Some of her favorite new lines include, "Madi do" and "All by myself." The inevitable combination resulted in her longest sentence to date, "Madi do all by myself." Half the time Caleb just gives her what she wants becase her screeches are deafening...maybe she's trying to communicate at a decibel that only Richard can decipher. She lures you in with her beauty, sweetness and affection, but then she pounces with a command, "Sit right now! Walk right now! Read book right now!" Her future husband is in for a world of trouble.

Gingerbread House

It was a messy, sticky, sweet and tasty process. But we did it! We built & decorated a gingerbread house! Caleb "got it" this year and really did a great job decorating. He especially loved to build the little gumdrop fences. Madi was not the most efficient builder, seeing as how she caused a good deal of destruction to the house. First, there was the wall that was split in half. Later, the whole house was in danger of collapse after Madi chose to tweak it a bit while it was drying. Speaking of tweaking, she slowly but surely attempted to pluck and eat every piece of candy on the house. Fortunately, this effort was thwarted when I moved the house to a relatively safe resting place - the mantel. And there it still sits this very day.

Madi's Newfound Vocabulary

It seems like Madi's vocabulary has been expanding by leaps and bounds lately. Some of her recent words include: kombucha, kinderpunsch, and advent calendar. Oh, and "longhorn cow" just in time for tonight's game.

The downside of her improved verbal abilities is that her diva tendencies have increased. We were shopping together the other day (not a recommended activity when 2 year olds are involved). Madi picked up a sparkly shirt and brought it to me. Then she demanded, "Buy shirt. Money." How does she even grasp the concept of money when I usually use a debit card? We're in for a wild ride with this little girl.