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.