Critters

What you don't see in this picture are the two baby raccoons just hanging out at our front door.

They scattered as the kids came thankfully.

We also have an armadillo that resides nightly in our backyard. He digs holes. Lots of holes.

Patric doesn't believe my tale of the rabbit as big as a donkey that I saw back there one day. But I swear I saw him.

You have seen the alligator; he turned out to be at least three alligators.

And the duck that acts like a domesticated house cat.

And, squirrels, squirrels everywhere that no one can catch.

I wasn't prepared for such manner of wildlife.

And Patric thinks we need to get a dog.

I'm starting to believe him, if for nothing more than to defend our yard.

Randomness

This is the least likely thing to see in our house these days: feet up, remote control, and no children climbing.

Making the ghosts was far less messy than eating the ghosts.

You LOVE getting under the covers with me and hiding from everyone else for a few minutes. In turn, I love suffocating under there with you.




It is part of life. The cars will eventually fade from your silverware. I will not buy new because you say so. Let's move on.





You were very sweet to push your sister on the swing. We know that when she toppled out and got hung up and you were struggling to help her, you were still being sweet in a very stressful situation. Way to go.

You may one day have hair girl.

That morning that you refused to put on a shirt--that was frustrating not sweet.

Mom--we do have Italian Chicken Soup for Patric sometimes, don't feel bad for him.

When you enthusiastically handed out buckets of candy after trick-or-treating, you had nearly as much fun.

This was sweet.

Nicholas. We've avoided this option for a couple of years because, well, it seems gross to me. We opted for expensive lotion, prescription lotion, Neosporin, petrolium based, balms, hydrocortisone. The morning after we tried this, your thumb was nearly healed. So that is why you will now smell like you are ready for the fryer, morning and night from here on out.

Elaine. Dad has been put on notice. When he comes home with tanks, he better come home with FOUR tanks from here on out.

We're still tired. But Operation Bottle Drop is working. Girls, you no longer get bottles--ever. You fuss (cry, scream, act as if you are being stabbed) yourselves to sleep for over half an hour every night now. We no longer use a monitor. We no longer rush to help you in the night in some attempt to let the boys sleep. In fact, we no longer get out of bed at night as a rule. Six nights in, we've not heard a peep from you in the last two.

Alida. When we ask you to perform for the doctor: Where is your nose? We're not just trying to entertain her, we are trying to proove we are not liars. When you stare blankly, we look like liars.

Halloween--A Scary Day

The day began with our best Frankenstein's Monster impression.
Thank you for the masks Jenny!
Nicholas was not pleased with his vampire cupcake until he could dissect it and figure out the mystery.Benjamin just didn't want to be a mess from foolin' around with the cupcake.Thank you Jenny for dealing with the mess that came anyway.Art Project time! Spiders from hand prints and ghosts from foot prints.Jenny! You had a mess of a day, thank you!In the background, dad left work early to get the boys to take them for flu shots, ran home to relieve the nanny, got dinner ready and fed boys, fed the babies and got the movie ready for the evening. Mom ran to the grocery store to load up on a week's worth of groceries on her way home from work, unloaded, laid out clothes for the following day and bedtime, cleaned up dishes, and dressed babies for the festivities. Whew.The mandatory sit everyone down and attempt a photo shot. Yes, they are all watching the tv.Wait for trick-or-treaters. Poor Nicholas got his hand slammed in the door after one customer. It was a little spooky having screaming Nicholas, feeding babies for bedtime, and passing out candy all at once. His fingers still bend though, so we think he's good.

Welcome Home Ladies

Elaine
Alida
"gentle"
The yucker introduction

Cabin Fever

We've been couped up for a while now. Bubble wrap is only interesting until the bubbles are no longer bubbles and are merely small broken blisters.
The trike doesn't work very well in the living room.
It seems all we have to do is eat anymore, and mom says that needs to come to a halt.But we're hopeful. This morning we didn't wear our jackets to daycare. The trees in the yard are starting to bud and the Hyacinthe are in full bloom here. Next week is the first day of Spring, and we're headed on a road trip to Texas to see bluebells and a wedding. We can't wait!

Hello 2007

And good-bye 2006. She was full of doctor's appointments, visits with family, learning the ropes at daycare, and firsts for most everything including: holding our heads up, sleeping through the night, smiling, crawling, walking, and eating real food. We hear that 2007 will be a pretty big one too. Hold on to your hats.

We learned that chocolate pudding is good and so is rice pudding. Although raisins aren't too forgiving in baby's immature system... Dad is a bit upset with our love of puddings, but mom is thrilled to have someone to share with. We learned how to open gifts. Once for our birthday and again two weeks later for Christmas. Mom says she now lives in a plastic prison. Everyone said it would be so, and it was. Wrapping paper is awesome. So is bubble wrap, but we'll tell you about that another time.

2006 was also the year for both of us to get our first teeth, but they're small enough still that mom gets to see our toothless grins from time-to-time.
And, she did it. Mother went and bought us hats for Christmas. Doesn't she know that is about the most cruel gift imaginable for a boy? We tried to smile about it anyway. If you use your imagination, hats can be turned into all sorts of play things. Or maybe this is the hat I'm supposed to hold on to in the coming year?