It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

It's cold and snowy outside making it semi difficult to get outdoors to take my weekly shots. (I'm a wimp when it comes to the cold, so sue me.) So, this week I've challenged myself to stay indoors and see what I can find. I decided to take pictures of some of the things we love about the holidays. We love decorating the tree, I adore my Christmas Village and, of course, a few of the kiddos. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think.

May Santa fill your stockings and may love fill your house!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Jaci



Pepper pops up in the oddest places.



Nothing like a headlock from your brother for the holidays! LOL!



The stables from my Christmas village.



Pepper likes to chew on the tree.



Every year we get a new ornament for the tree. Got this Santa a few years ago.



This scrumptious strawberry came a few weeks ago from my mother-in-law.



Siblings by the tree.



Funny faces in the bulb. Reminds me of MC Escher's 'Self-Portrait'



Ridley picked this Hello Kitty one a couple of years ago.



Just for Daddy who is a HUGE monopoly fan.



Mesmerized by the lights. (Or all the dangly, sparkly things)



More Christmas love.



The ice skaters from my Christmas village.

The Rebellion Begins

Today is Tuesday, December 11th. Do you know how, or more importantly, why I know this? Because today is the day Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is released on video. Call us Harry Potter geeks if you must but we have anxiously anticipated the release of this movie since we finished the book about two weeks ago.

I checked the hours of the video store yesterday and arrived 3 minutes before they opened, waiting patiently and scanning the new releases for any sign of it. People started filing in behind me. Although I felt like a complete goober, waiting outside a locked video store to get first dibs on a movie, I was glad to be there before anyone else. The doors opened and the first thing out of my mouth was "Harry Potter?" Not "Hello" or "Morning", just "Harry Potter?" I've definitely got a bad case of Harry Potter fever. I can't help it! These books are amazing. This is a bit of a surprise to me as I've never been fond of reading and always preferred the movies but these books are different somehow than anything I've ever read. For the first time in my 39 years on this planet I have found myself saying, "The books are much better than the movie!"

In any case, we most definitely have the "Harry Potter bug" around our house. We read the books as a family every day and are now on the last book. What will we replace these wonderful stories with when we're finished? Any ideas? Have you read something that's as exciting (and kid-friendly) as Harry Potter? If so, please share it with us so we can minimize our H.P. withdrawal.

Tooth one and tooth two.

Today was a milestone in the life of a little, six-year-old boy as he lost his first front tooth. This thing had been wobbly for weeks! So wobbly, in fact, that I was pretty sure it was going to fall out at dinner one night. But alas, it did not so we took to getting it out the old-fashioned way and yanked it. It was pretty traumatic compared to other teeth mostly because I couldn't find any floss so we pulled it out with a washcloth and my fingers. Not having a secure grip on such a tiny tooth, it came out slower than normal and he cried. It was the first time he's ever cried over loosing a tooth.

Once it was out he was happy and couldn't stop looking at the space. The second front tooth became even wobblier once the first was gone but the urge to pull that was quelled by the pain that still lingered (and by the fact that daddy was out-of-town and Boston wanted him to witness the next "loss") So off to bed he went, tooth under his pillow and fell fast asleep.

The tooth fairy brought a one dollar bill and apparently erased all memory of the pain as he woke up that morning ready to get the next one out. First, and most importantly, we drove up to the drug store and bought some floss. Then we waited until daddy was finished with work so he could be a part of the action. Boston was afraid it would hurt again so he asked daddy to "do the honors" and pull it out. The second tooth came out much quicker than any of the others and Boston has a gap in the front of his mouth, well...the size of Boston.

Although "F's" and "S's" are a bit more difficult, he's been having great fun seeing all the things he can do without any front teeth. He can whistle (kind of), slurp yogurt into his mouth without unclenching his teeth and blow on the sleeping cat without opening his mouth, all of which he is very proud of.

Here are the some pictures of the toothless-wonder:


Before


A super wobbly tooth number 1.


The missing tooth!


A loving hug from little sister.



Ready to pull tooth number 2. (I know it looks like the same day 'cuz he's in the same pajamas but it's not. The jammies are new and since he lives and breathes Transformers, he's in them almost every day.)


No front teeth! Just in time for Christmas.



I hope you all find something today as exciting as a lost tooth is to a little, six-year-old boy!

Cheers,
Jaci

Winter wonderland

This is what we woke up to this morning! Snow on the ground and even more falling from the sky. Sticky, snowball-fight snow. The kind that's also good for making snowmen. The kids couldn't wait to get outside to play so right after breakfast, we suited up.


He's the little guy we ended up with. We each chipped in and made a different part then searched the yard for body parts and facial features. I'm glad I got a pic of him because about a half an hour after he was complete, our dogs had smashed him to bits. We all had a good laugh looking out the window at the pieces of him all over the yard.


Ridley, very happy with our snowman.


Snow dogs!


"Don't you dare throw that snowball at me while I'm holding my camera," says mom.


OK, then I'll throw it at Ridley!


A couple of shots of Miss Ridley in her stripy hat.


Looking cute on the tree swing.


My favorite shot of the day!



I hope where ever you are, you are keeping warm!

Cheers,
Jaci