New Years

I just love the Rose Parade. I love the floats, the bands, the fly over of the stealth bomber, the family, the food, and the fun. And there are very few places around where you can enjoy 80 degree weather in January... perfect! My kids love the donuts, the poppers, the silly string, the cousins, the second cousins, having Nana and Papa in town, saving seats, the walk to Great Nana house afterwards, the rice krispy treats and hot chocolate, the horses, the bands and the floats as well. It is something they look forward to every year!

Jingle Bells, Jingle Bells, Jingle..... Until January?

Yes, this Christmas post is very late. But then, at least I'm not blogging about Christmas in February, even if it is only a few days away.

Christmas morning is always a lot of fun with kids. This was a year of trains and Toy Story for Steven, so it was appropriate that Santa brought him a train tent and a Buzz Lightyear. And for Elise this year was all about princesses and starting school, so she was thrilled that Santa brought her a desk to do her homework at and a princess art set. Cameron was mostly just interested in the wrapping paper and package trimmings and could care less about presents, which was good since he didn't get very many. What does a six month old really need anyway? A few new toys to chew on and he was happy as a clam.

The afternoon was spent with family, and the cousins even did a Christmas nativity scene - or at least that is what I hear - I spent the afternoon sick in bed. I did find a few pictures of it on the camera though so Chris must have snapped a few shots, and from the looks of it a good time was had by all.

A few photos, in random order because I am too dumb to figure out how to get them in the order I wanted:

I'm Bracing Myself

Today we are going to the store and Steven gets to pick out a new toy. He says he wants Bullseye for his Jesse and Woody toys. The deal is that he has to pay for it with his binkies. Uggghhh! I think I have been dreading this day more than he has. I am expecting weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. It is sure to be a long day followed by a longer night. But then, he is THREE now, so I guess it's time. Next week we will be starting with potty training 101. Wish me luck. Sometimes I think it would be easier if they just stayed babies forever.

Ballet Holiday Program

Elise's ballet class put on a holiday dance program which was really fun to watch. They were all so cute in their little leotards and tutus. Here are a few fun pictures. Chris took a video on his phone... if I can figure out how I may try to post it later.

Uggghhhh!

December looked something like this:
Mono, cough, cough, really high temperature and chills, flu, common cold, sore throat, stomach flu, sore throat, flu, high temperature, cough again, common cold, stomach flu, stomach flu again, cough, cough, cough. All of those were spread out over our whole family, but it was still miserable.

So far January has looked like this:
Mono still (and how does a 3 year old get mono, by the way?), cough, cough, cough, cough, throw ups all over the classroom, icky cold and cough for a baby, and lots of headaches and sore throats. January isn't over yet, but I am hoping not to add to this list. We need to have some healthy days around here!

All of these goings on in part account for my lack of posting (and sleeping) through December. I guess I have some catch up to do if and when I can ever get a decent nights sleep around here.

A Package for Nana?

This year I did pretty much all of my Christmas shopping online because hitting stores with my three kiddos is not exactly my idea of a good time. I saved a few boxes to wrap stuff up in, and Steven kept climbing inside of them and trying to seal them up. It looked to me as if he was asking to be mailed. And he better be careful because after the month we've had of nonstop sickness and sleepless nights I am tempted to do just that. I'm thinking maybe I'll mail him to his Nana... she'd probably be nicer than I am at 3am anyway so he might not mind it so much.

Gingerbread Party

Every year my kids get to have a very fun party to make Gingerbread Houses with their Miller cousins. They absolutely love it! What could be more fun than cousins, candy, and decorating? As you can see, the houses turned out really cute too.

Santa Bwing Buzz Wightyear

Steven and Elise were so excited to go see Santa this year, and Steven kept saying "Santa bwing you Buzz Wightyear." He was so excited about it that I didn't worry too much about him being scared of Santa, but I was a little worried about Cameron. When it came down to it though, Steven was not too sure if he and Santa could be friends. He refused to look him in the eye. When I walked over and set him down next to him he didn't cry, but he looked the complete opposite direction of Santa and refused to smile. He just kept a very serious look on his face. It was as if in his mind if he didn't look at him he wasn't really there. Santa asked him what he wanted for Christmas and without looking at him or smiling he said, "Santa bwing you Buzz Wightyear." Luckily one of the elves was able to catch his attention and make him laugh at something for one picture, but notice he is still looking away from Santa a bit. Elise told Santa she wanted a rocking horse, but his elves must have been busy because he couldn't quite get that one done. She was happy that he brought her a new butterfly desk and princess art set instead though. Cameron was a champ and smiled away at Santa. He thought he was pretty funny.

An Eventful Month for a Little One

It has been an eventful month for Cameron. There was the obvious excitement of his first Christmas, his first visit with Santa, his first Rose Parade, and all the other fun holiday festivities. However, on top of that he got his first tooth, he started sitting on his own, he started saying da da and ba ba, he began holding his own bottle, and he has become fairly mobile. And on top of that I'm pretty sure that he is the cutest little 7 month old around. Just so you don't think that I am too biased I might also mention that he has started thinking that the best place to sleep at night is right on top of his mom. I am definitely NOT a fan of that first, but sometimes when you need sleep you just gotta do what you gotta do. Here are some pictures of the cute little guy that I took a few weeks ago.