the tenth!

WOWWIE WOW WOW! How did he turn 10! Unbelievable! Somewhere along the line, he must be getting older, but it's crazy, I don't remember this happening!

K celebrated his birthday. We did the typical presents in the morning. We had plans to take him and the older kids and one friend to a bounce place, but we woke up to our first blanket of whiteness, so plans changed!

He blew out candles and celebrated with one of his favorite people (on Friday night, the day before his birthday)

This is what we woke up to the morning of his birthday, he said, 'it's the best birthday treat ever!'

He opened presents.

He got a Wii game, a DS game, some pokemon cards, a pocket knife and a few other things

Because of the snow, we decided to postpone the bounce place, so C took the kids sledding at a friends house. They had a great time!

Saturday night we had planned to take him out to dinner. Then a VERY kind friend and offered her two teenagers to come and as service babysit our kids for K's birthday and C and I could go on a date. I asked K what he would rather do and without hesitation he wanted his friends to come babysit. So guiltily, but happily C and I went out and got some Hibachi Chicken and yes, it was DELICIOUS! The kids had so much fun! They ADORE the kids who came over. They even stayed a little longer to 'entertain' my kids. K says it was his best birthday ever!

I think J might agree, this is where I found her most of the morning.

Playing in the snow, with a gigantic grin!

BEST BIRTHDAY EVER!

Some things about K;

He loves to play the Wii and other video games (time is limited....)

He loves scouting! ( maybe it's because dad is his leader)

He has a couple great friends

He Loves rollercoasters! He is a daredevil in this area alone.

Sports aren't his favorites.

He is an amazing help with the kids!

He LOVES B and C SO MUCH!

Favorite foods, party pizzas, chicken noodle soup, pork chops w/mashed potatoes

He likes playing with pokemon cards.

He is very honest and can't keep things from us.

He loves to talk and share his ideas.

He is a great example of goodness

We love having him in our family!

Welcome to double digits!

this boy

This sweet blue eyed boy of mine.

he's a joy.

What a dirty face and completely unphased.

He seems quite pleased with himself.

Maybe he was trying to see if he could get the oatmeal on his forehead.

a funny thing about this 18 month old-he is obsessed with toothbrushes and toothpaste.

if it is ever 'too quiet' and i can't find him, i usually find him hidden in the upstairs bathroom, hoarding toothbrushes, sucking on toothpaste bottles, and oh yes, dare i say this on such a public venue?dipping toothbrushes into the toilet bowl and sucking the water out, and then ending with a nice long 'aaahhhhhh'

if anyone has ever heard of hand sanitizer for the mouth, please let me know

dont let his little innocent face and big blue eyes fool you.

he can be trouble with a capitol T.

i usually give into his little innocent face and blue eyes, i mean really, wouldn't you?

little snugly 18 month old!

This sweet little boy of ours turned 18 months!

He is a mover and a goer!

He weighs 22 lbs.

HE LOVES to be snuggled. He adores it when daddy lets him listen to his music with him, and just snuggle him up. He also LOVES to wear sun glasses!

He is in heaven in this picture!

He loves to lay on the couch with his blanket over him and just hang out (never lasts more than about 5 minutes, but i'll take it!)

Some things about B at 18 months!

LOVES dad

Recognizes and can point to each member in our family

He never wants to miss out on what the big kids are doing, and is constantly mimicking their behavior

Loves pasta

Hates most other foods

Will eat banana and yogurt

Loves milk

Is a WILD MAN! He is constantly climbing or de-assembling something!

He eats paint, and crayons, and anything else he can find

He LOVES cars

He loves to 'fly' airplanes around the house

He doesnt go to sleep without his 'blank'

He loves to sit on our laps while we are on the computer

He gives little C kisses and hugs

He loves to imitate funny faces!

He likes to yell to show his frustration. he likes to yell REALLY loud. really loud.

He can say;

dad, mom, all-done, no, and love-you

and he imitates a lot other words that most would deem 'unrecognizable' ;)

The kids refer to him as 'the destroyer' and bubs!

He is a perfect fit into our family and is adored by EVERYONE!

harrisburg fair

We took a trip to the farm show.

B got to pet his first alpaca.

He was a little nervous about it, but the kids encouraged him!

Little C was just hanging out

This was a giant butter sculpture. i think it's a little gross, thats all i have to say about it

the kids got to practice milking a cow. they were a little surprised when the plastic cow was filled with water instead of milk

They also got to see how much energy saving lightbulbs are easy to power. They got to try to power them up by pedaling a bike. They all got to try, but J's legs were a little short

These were my fav! Cute tiny little baby chicks!

yes, i was totally grossed out that he was doing this! Every part of my body wanted to slather his face in hand-sanitizer

The kids loved watching the tiny horse pull again

Highlight of the fair for me! DELICIOUS potato doughnuts and milk shake. i have never found their equal! SO SO SO SO tasty! This is why i drive over an hour to come to the farm show

Party like it's 1980!

A friend of ours celebrated a birthday. It was a big one! ( We went rollerskating/blading and then out for appetizers the day of ) , but a surprise party was planned for her, in 80's theme!

She was completely surprised! It was great!

I visited goodwill to find some awesome costumes! I think C's was the best *bright blue turquoise shirt and an equally bright pink v-necked sweater!

I think little c is jealous of my friends hair!

You know you miss the 80's!

icicles with no snow

We live in the east.

Last year at this time, some people had shoveled 6 feet of snow.

This year, nil.

Not even a flake (well, i think i remember some in early october, but none since then). I'm not complaining. I'm actually quite happy. I know it's just around the corner, I'll enjoy the 55 degrees we have until the snow comes.

J was quite pleased when we were out running errands the other day and she came home to find this dripping from our outside spout. She was pretty thrilled.

candy-a-holic!

this cute little blue eyed boy of mine is a candy-a-holic.

now, you might be asking yourself, he's 18 months, WHY do you give him candy.

uh hum, i don't, he scavengers it. he finds it everywhere. the kids leave it lying around, seemingly out of reach of an 18 months old, but NOT SO! his bounds are limitless, nothing is out of reach if he wants it.

he found these right after christmas.

he was a happy little man....until mom found him.... mean mom

i can hear him now saying, 'mmmmmmmmm'

how we rang in the new year

i never have intentions of staying awake until midnight for new years. i hate staying up late. i feel like crap, i treat my kids worse, it's all around no good for anyone.

this year, we had some friends over, NONE of whom wanted to be up that late either. we figured we would do a little celebration around 10:30ish or so.

UNTIL the festivities began!

Little B started his morning off with a delicious discovery of a chocolate coin! i believe it was J's.

we rang in the new year by eating delicious food and drinking amazing hot chocolate!

busting out some tunes on wii's sing it!

showing our finest break dance moves

after singing and a couple rounds of dominion (a board game), it was 11:35. friends started packing up cars, then realized it was 11:50, so we all stayed and brought in the new year together!

what fun!

our poor neighbors, there was also an air horn involved.

Goodbye to 2011

Top 5 WORST things of the year

1- watching the FLOOD waters rise

2- cleaning up the sludge from the FLOOD

3- smelling the nastiest smell of the FLOOD

4- still finding gross sludge residue from the FLOOD

5- replacing what was lost in the FLOOD

Top 5 BEST things of the year

1- When the flood waters receded!

2- Family trip to Outer Banks

3- Family trip to DC

4- C's birth in June!

5- Visiting Family in Utah, Blessing C, and having a great time!

We feel blessed for our health and safety, for great family and friends.

We look forward to many great adventures in 2012.

boredom

i have no witty remarks for this pic, it just makes me laugh

how kids entertain themselves!