Love the Hat

My kids both like to accessorize these days.

JD has long been into his cowboy hats...especially after Toy Story came onto the scene.

Meg decided she likes dressing up too! She tries to put everything over or on her head, usually in multiples. JD got a Toy Story accessory kit for Christmas and she loves to put on Woody's belt and Buzz's wings. She will also lift her arms above her head when you say "To Infinity and Beyond!"

She also found a hat of mine and adopted it.

I was such a "dress up" kid when I was younger, so it is fun to see my kids starting to get into it too!

Five Question Friday (On Saturday)

I really liked the questions this week!

1. Where did you meet your spouse and did you instantly know it was love?

We knew of each other since we went to the same church. My brother-in-law was good friends with him and my sister was CONVINCED that we would be perfect for each other. But neither of us really wanted to go out with the other. I thought it was odd that he was 1 of 12 kids ;) (was he going to expect me to have that many kids???) and he thought I was too "business-y." Then my sister wore us down and we went out on a group date. For Jon, he almost immediately knew I was the one (he says he knew I had marriage potential). It took me a few more dates before I realized it. But I'm so glad I did!

2. What is your favorite room in your house?

My favorite room is also my least favorite, depending on the day. I love our family room because that is where all the action takes place. That's where we play together, sit together, watch movies together, talk together and everything else! But all of that togetherness creates a big mess, so the messiness can drive me crazy!

3. Can you wiggle your ears?

Yep - and I can wiggle one at a time! Very talented.

4. What is your evening ritual?

7:00 - Bath/shower for the kids. 7:30 - Bottle for the Megster. Lay Meg down for sleep. Snuggle with JD for a bit on the couch while he drinks chocolate milk or a yogurt drink. 8:00 - Jon puts JD down (most nights) with teeth brushing, prayers and a bedtime story. Then the rest of the evening is ours! I cherish my evenings!

5. How many hours of sleep do you need to function?

At least 4 or 5. But 7, 8 or 9 makes me a much nicer person to be around.

The Stuck

So I was downstairs at our cabin in Colorado on our first day, pulling off furniture covers and getting things ready for us to all be there. My son decides to explore a bit and check out the upstairs loft.

I hear him yell "STUCK!"

So I ask him, "Are you stuck?" (Thinking maybe the big log stairs were scary to come down or something.)

He says, "NO!! There is a STUCK!"

I'm getting pretty curious at this point, so I stand at the foot of the stairs and ask, "Do you mean a mouse?" (Sometimes we have dead mice around the cabin during the winter)

He comes to the top of the stairs and puts his hands up like claws and bares his teeth and says, "NO! There is a STUCK! He is going to get me!"

Now he is starting to freak out a bit and I can tell he is pretty scared of whatever a Stuck is. But it is hard to tell because JD likes to pretend he is scared of imaginary objects to try and scare you.

So I head upstairs and JD says, "The stuck is under the table."

And lo and behold, there is a tiny dead chipmunk under the coffee table. It must have been trapped over the summer when we had some work done. Poor guy.

I point out to JD that he is a little chipmunk that needs to go back outside. JD said, "No, he is a stuck." Then he proceeds to hold his nose.

Ahh...I believe my kiddo meant a SKUNK.

Colorado Adventures

While we were in Colorado, we tried to get out as much as possible with the kids for some fun activities!

Since we didn't have much snow at the cabin, we took everyone to Sled Hill in Breckenridge to play in the snow.

Meg wasn't too sure about the snow at all, and it didn't help that I bundled her up within an inch of her life. She couldn't move around too much, so she hitched a ride to the hill.

She enjoyed watching everyone come down the hill too. Maybe next time, Meg can ride down the hill in the sled!

Months ago, we booked a train ride in the Royal Gorge, called the North Pole Express. For all intensive purposes, we called it the Polar Express, so as not to confuse the kids.

They did a great job on the train, complete with hot chocolate, singing elves and Santa Claus! All the kids really enjoyed it.

And of course, we had a ski day! We took JD in for his very first lesson, which I think he really enjoyed! Meg stayed home with Grandma, so Jon and I could ski on our own for the first time in almost 2 years.

We were able to watch JD skiing in the afternoon during his lesson. He did pretty well, although he had a weird obsession with reaching down to scoop up snow and eat it. I was impressed with how well he paid attention to the instructor though and followed directions.

When we picked him up, he started crying though and said his hands were cold. Even then, he still said he liked skiing and wanted to do it again. Whew! This boy has a bunch more ski vacations coming up in his future, so it is a good thing he likes it!

Turning One is Tons of Fun!

We interrupt the post about Christmas (coming soon, promise) to talk about what a great first birthday Miss Meg had! Yay for December 18th birthdays (hopefully they won't always get lost in the Christmas chaos)!

This was how she greeted us on her birthday morning! Meg is always all smiles in the morning

We took her down to her birthday chair, complete with banner and balloon. She loved it!

Meg also got her first birthday present of the day - a Build A Bear Misfit Toy elephant that JD picked out for her. We attached a birthday cupcake that conveniently had 1 candle!

Then we packed up and headed to IHOP for a birthday breakfast. They were doing balloon animals for Christmas, so they made Meg a birthday flower (which she loved).

She also had her very first chocolate chip pancake face, which she also loved! (Mommy needed to help her out with that one)

After a yummy breakfast, we headed over to Willowbend Mall to play in the kids' play area. This was her very first indoor play area experience and she really got into it after the first 10-15 minutes.

While we were at the mall, we got to have a personal heart to heart with Santa as he passed us on the way to the photo area. JD was pretty impressed with that! Meg was still a little scared of Santa.

We picked up a yummy cupcake at the mall for Meg's dinner that night also...

And we finished up the day playing in new birthday cake pajamas.

Meg was pretty tuckered out by bedtime!! We watched a little Wiggles (her absolute favorite) while we did the nighttime bottle and chill out for bed.

Today, we went in for our 1 year checkup! All's good with this one year old.

Height- 29 inches (40th percentile)
Weight - 20.5 pounds (30th percentile)

Head - 17 inches (30th percentile)

Meg was NOT impressed with the doctor examination or the FOUR shots that she received. She was actually hiccup-trilling, which was a whole new level of crying for us! Good thing that you only turn one once!!

Christmas in Colorado

This year, my family decided to celebrate Christmas at our cabin in Colorado. There was a minor time delay (we celebrated on Dec. 27th), but it didn't make it any less jolly!

After a fairly uneventful roadtrip (I have to brag and say that my kids are so good in the car, thanks to technology)...

...we set about decorating the Christmas tree with homemade ornaments and candy on "Christmas Eve" (Dec. 26th).

Then we feasted on a yummy dinner for Christmas!

We also baked cookies for Santa and decorated them. We picked the cream of the crop to set out by the fireplaces.

Then we nestled our kids all snug in their beds (too bad Meg never really got used to her pack n play bed on this trip). And Santa Claus arrived...

The kids checked out Santa's handiwork first thing in the morning.

JD opened up Santa's present for him - the set of Toy Story action figures that he has asked for since July (and that Santa's helper froze standing in line for at 2:30 in the morning on Black Friday).

And he set about playing with them right away- happiest kid you ever saw.

Until Grandma gave him this present...

I guess Big Woody, Buzz and Slinky Dog trump the little guys. He is pretty much in love with these toys.

On the other side of the tree, Meg loved her "Black Friday" present!!

JD also got a big present from Santa Claus, one that he didn't even ask for! A child-sized ATV! It is actually a present for the Colorado Cabin because we aren't bringing it back home.

Santa Claus (with Dara's help) brought all the kids pillow pets too. SC gave me a heads up so I picked out matching pajamas for each kid to go with their pillow pets. It made for a cute pic the next day!

Celebrating Christmas in Colorado was just amazing and brought a whole new experience to Christmas morning. I loved seeing all the cousins stumble into the living room at the same time and discover what Santa brought. We haven't ever experienced this before with all the kids, so I will treasure this memory!