New Year, New Goals

One goal that I hope won't fly by night before the end of the month is my commitment to update our family blog more regularly. I'm going to spare myself the feeling of failure by NOT overcommitting (another resolution) that I'll update every day, or even every week. My goal is to simply get more family memories documented so that friends and family can follow along and so that I'll have an easier time with our family scrapbooks when I sit down to do those!

Kids!!! Everyone loves Kid Updates. So here are mine:

Olivia is going to Christian academy this year and she is really doing well. She's finally starting to overcome some of her shyness issues, so we are very thankful that we've been blessed witht the opportunity to attend HCA.

Olivia is also enjoying her first season competing at Level 2 Gymnastics. She has her first meet in December and brought home 5 medals, 4th Place All Around. We were very proud of her! She has her second meet on Sunday and she is beyond excited.

Zachary is growing into quite the young man! He is all boy and he teaches me something new every day. He's finishing his last year at the church preschool and will hopefully join Olivia at HCA next year. We're still praying about whether or not he'd benefit from an extra year in the young 5's program at FB.

Zachary is our little imagination man. He can think of and create anything. Just yesterday he and his Daddy made a movie and I must say it's a Blockbuster. He was so excited to share it with me when I got home last night and I was grinning ear to ear while I watched him (as Mario) defeat Bowser (aka: Rex from Toy Story). Who knows, maybe someday he'll be an actor or a director and can take care of his dear Mommy and Daddy when we're old.

Pictures to come next time. Promise!

A Choir of Snow Angels

Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!!!

We had our own Choir of Snow Angels in our driveway today. After making a snowman, snowballs, and sledding, it seems that making Snow Angels was the favorite winter pastime. When we asked Olivia who taught her how to do that....she said, "I saw it on a movie!" Geeze, they're already being influenced by TV!



I was on camcorder duty when both kids decided to nail me with snowballs! Thank goodness they had on 17 layers so their aim was off due to limited range of motion! The camcorder made it safe through all of the excitement.

We'd heard that it was bad out, but it really looked harmless. Just a little snow, right? Well, if you notice in the picture above, they've roped off the top of this hill in our subdivision and roped off the entrance at the bottom of the hill....so 10 families are stuck...with our very own SNOW MOUNTAIN!!! All of the kids in the neighborhood came to our hill and took advantage of the slippery slopes. They brough cooler tops, pool floats, and some even had real sleds - but all of them had REAL FUN!!

Daddy and Olivia took a ride down the road and had a blast. And yes, that harmless wet spot at the top of the hill is the ever so infamous black ice. Mommy knows first hand...she slipped and slid half way down on her bottom. No sled required!

The two Winter Wonders loved getting out and playing in the white mess. But they didn't dare leave the house without their sunglasses!

Poor Zachary has been sick all week. Despite waking up fever-free this morning, he wasn't up for much playtime. After about 15 minutes, he was ready to call it a day.

After soaking through 4 pairs of gloves, Olivia finally gave in to her freezing hands and decided to call it a day herself.

Only 4 neighbors had to sacrifice mailboxes to provide all of the neighborhood kids with a few hours of snowy fun! Thanks Mailboxless Neighbors!!!

Public Service Announcement

Attention All Parents

Read Carefully

Your Kids May Be in Danger

It's been reported that there is a Gruffalo on the loose. He's about 6 feet tall and meets the following description. He has:


Terrible Tusks and Terrible Claws and Terrible Teeth in his Terrible Jaws

He has Knobbly Knees and Turned out Toes and a Poisonous Wart on the End of his Nose.

His Eyes are Orange and his Tounge is Black & he has Sharp Purple Prickels that Cover his Back.


He's been known to feast on Roasted Fox, Owl Ice-cream, and Scrambled Snake, so be sure that you're Foxes are brought indoors, your Owls are secure in their cages, and be sure you're snakes don't sliver too far away!


After sighting a Gruffalo on our back deck (and he must be a good climber because there are no stairs from the ground to our deck!!) we posted a sign on the Front Yard that says "No Gruffalos". It appears that the sign doesn't work because the Gruffalo is still trying to get in; however I've been informed that he has yet to enter our actual home because he refuzes to take his shoes off! (At least he has manners.)


We know for a fact that his only fear is a small field mouse that eats Gruffalo Crumble for breakfast (and nuts as his snack). We're desperately trying to reach this field mouse for his assistance. We're willing to offer free room and board, as long as he agrees to live in a secured cage (yes, Mommy is afraid of rodants - even if they do keep Gruffalos away).


Please be on the lookout for the Gruffalo in your area. It's also speculated that he may be accompanied by a witch, yes a real one, not just a kid in a costume, but that lead has yet to be verified.


Any leads on the Field Mouse's where-abouts should be sent to:


Olivia Preston

1234 Butterfly Room

Upstairs House, First Room on Right, 67890

Little Fishie in the Sea....or the Pool

What do you get when you cross a dare devil with a copy cat?

A 3-year old who learns to swim and sends her mom into cardiac arrest!!!

Olivia took 2 weeks of swimming lessons earlier this summer and did great. She was the youngest one in her class and was by far the bravest of them all. The teachers just laughed at her b/c she'd hang on to the side and push herself under and stay there - for a REALLY long time. After I fought the urge to run over and jerk her up, she'd emerge saying, "Mommy I touched the floor!!" Good for you kid! Now swim down and get Mommy's heart and pick it up off the bottom of the pool!

The last day of lessons, she got in over her head and got choked and has been really timid ever since. We'd go to the neighborhood pool and she'd stay in the baby pool the whole time, refusing to jump in, put her face in, or float on her back. Well, I agreed to take her to the pool on Wednesday on one condition....NO BABY POOL.

In her biggest Big Girl voice, she looked at me and said, "Mommy, I don't want to go in that Baby Pool. I'm going to jump in, put my face in the water and float on my back like a big girl."

Sure enough, she was swimming across the whole pool before we left. Here's a little clip.

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Before this clip, she swam the entire width of the pool, she swam under my legs to the stairs, and then she showed me how she could jump off the edge backwards! I wasn't expecting the latter, thus the reason for my cardiac arrest.

I hope all of you are making splashes this summer.

Zach's new Robot Leg

Zachary is the coolest boy in town now with his new blue robot leg!!! He got it Tuesday night, and all the other kids are so jealous!!!!

That's right, we've had our first broken bone, and Zachary's handling it like a trooper. His independent ways got him a broken tibia (the large bone in the lower leg). We actually thought that he had bumped his head after falling off the bottom step of the sitter's car, so when we headed to the ER we were expecting much worse. Three x-rays and a CAT scan later, the doc gave him this super cool robot leg which he'll be wearing for the next 4-6 weeks.

He's been such a sport about it all. He's clung to his cars and will not go anywhere without them. And since he's challenged in the mobility department, he's been watching CARS the movie about 3 times a day (on and off). He's already figured out that he can still zoom his cars around the floor just like he did before.

We go back to the Orthopedist on Tuesday. Luckily we get to see the same great Doc that treated Morgan's broken arm who Mel Mel and Morgan highly recommend...what's the odds that we'd get the same doc....

FIRST HAIRCUT

In other news, Mommy's baby doesn't look like a baby at all anymore. Just a couple of weeks ago, Zachary got his first haircut. You can see the curls somewhat in this pic, but check out the previous post for the full affect.



And now look at him. Such a big boy!!! Mommy and Daddy were both fighting back the tears when Ms. Debbie chopped off those beautiful curls!!! Oh, it still saddens me. But people were mistaking him for a girl.... Is that funny or what - Olivia was always mistaken for a boy and Zach is mistaken for a girl....don't these people look at the kid's clothes before they ask????
In other news, we have a new baby nephew. We just welcomed LP to the family. We'll post those pics soon. Mom and Dad are doing well and are basking in the joy of parenthood....between feedings of course!

UMMMMM Coookie!!

What a yucky face!!! My little man found a treat that he loves over the holidays. Gingerbread Men!! Uncle Stewart sent two containers of home made cookies, and Zach's favorite were the gingerbread men.

Well, Olivia made her very own Gingerbread Man at school. It was a present for Mommy and Daddy! Well, one night after Christmas, this delicious little Gingerbread Man was too enticing to resist and.....

Yep, Zach ate the foot off of Olivia's Gingerbread Man ornament. After taking a big ol' bite, he came running over to me wiping his tongue with his hands. I wasn't sure if it just tasted bad or if it was burning his mouth. So, I did what any concerned mother would do - I called Poison Control.

When the lady asked me why I was calling, I couldn't help but giggle when I told her that my 18 month old ate the leg off of a Gingerbread Man ornament. Luckily, she giggled too. After going over a list of possible things that the ornament could have been made of, we concluded that if it was made in a 2-year old preschool class, it couldn't contain anything harmful.

I did decided to call Olivia's teacher just to be on the safe side, and we were right. The ornament was made of only the finest ingredients: Applesauce, Cinnamon, and GLUE. Perfectly harmless, but not exactly tasty - especially compared to Uncle Stewart's cookies.

Moral of the Story - Don't put ornaments that look like yummy cookies within the reach of a hungry 18 month old!!

Me and My Bubba

I love my little brother so much. I can always make him laugh, and he loves to play with me. I teach him how to build cool stuff with legos and how to have a tea party (but he has to use the blue plates, and I use the pink.)

My baby brother is one of my best friends.

The two kiddos really are best friends. I'm so glad that we had them close together. Watching them play together is so much fun. Olivia is the best big sister. She ALWAYS watches out for her brother. She always puts her little hand on his back and gently leads him where ever she wants him to go. And he is crazy about his sister. He loves playing in her room and joining in to her make believe games. I hope that they will always be close.

I also have a story that goes along with these pics that I have to share. Zachary is sick in these photos. Aside from his rosey cheeks, he went to the doctor earlier this morning and was diagnosed with an ear infection. Luckily Daddy was home today, and he was able to get the kids ready for the appointment and I met them at the pediatrician's office.

I got out of the car to greet my prince and princess, only to find both of them dressed like homeless children. Zachary was wearing exactly what he has on in these photos and Olivia was wearing blue pants, a red velvet shirt, and purple crocs!!! As soon as I saw them, I flipped out. What was my husband thinking?

I hate to admit this, but I was so embarrassed by what they were wearing, I simply couldn't go in to the appointment with them. Yes - that's right. I abandoned my sick child to save myself from the embarrassment of taking them into the doctor's office looking like that. So, Olivia and I went to Target to buy new outfits while Daddy took his orphan-dressed child into the appointment.

Yes, Josh is color blind. I do have to help him with his work clothes almost every day. There have been times that he's come home wearing gray pants and a brown shirt. So, he really means well when he tried to dress them, but it was still a disaster. Now, I lay out their clothes BEFORE I leave for work!!!!