Brian, payback comes when you least expect it

Brian and Jenny (who have become an overnight sensation and #1 favorite uncle and aunt since this present arrived) were kind enough to send the girls some type of Barbie house for Christmas. I don't know exactly what it is, because everytime I go near it I faint. I'm also not sure about the number of pieces, but I think the box said 5000.
Remember this: You guys have a child. A baby girl, who will probably loooove Barbies. I am waiting for that day to come. And I will be ready. As God is my witness....I WILL BE READY!

Santa has come!

On Christmas morning everyone was very excited because Santa made a stop at our house (even though it had been somewhat of a questionable year behavior-wise). I only have a few pictures because after the first few were opened Scott and I became a small assembly line. Here are a few highlights.

Look out kitty!

The cats were having a slow day today or something and Owen was able to catch both of them. They can really be a pain sometimes, but I have to give them credit for being good sports!

Hook 'em Horns!

Owen got this hat from Papaw for Christmas. We are pulling for Texas in the Rose Bowl. Sorry this picture is blurry, but Owen would not stand still. I will try to put a better one on here later.

Owen's new ride

This is Owen's big Christmas present from Meena and Papaw. It's a Ford F150 Powerwheels. He can't steer it yet, but he is quite good at pushing the pedal and roaring off in whichever direction the wheels are pointing. He mostly does it when you are standing in front of him and least expect it. Then you have to jump out of the way like a crazy person while he is laughing and clapping.

Raking the yard

Today while Owen took a nap Scott decided to rake the yard. Ashlyn and Haley went out to "help".














































Ashlyn and Haley even managed to get Meena to jump in the leaf pile too.

Ashlyn's art

Ashlyn has brought home Christmas art all week. This was among the most impressive. Hey...it's only first grade, what do you expect?

Haley's lunch

Haley fixed her own lunch Friday. Haley feels that variety is the spice of life.

So much to carry, so little arms...

Owen thinks the vacuum is funny and he tries to push it. He does not think it's funny when I get the vacuum anywhere close to his stuff. So this morning when I got the vacuum out he said "Oh no!" and ran and picked up his most prized possessions. They are -left to right, not in order of importance- his bat (bat!), his blanket (bankie!), his drink (juice!) and his stuffed dog (bark bark!) He seemed to get a little anxious as he realized he couldn't hold all of them at the same time, so I helped him get them organized and he held them until I was finished and put the vacuum away. Then he dropped them right where he was standing and ran off to play.















Patiently waiting for me to finish.















Relieved because I am starting to put the cord up and all his stuff is still safe.

Having a Tigger-ific Day

This is just about all Tigger does while Ashlyn is at school. What a lazy cat!

Ashlyn, New and Improved

Today Ashlyn and I took a trip to Dr. Holle at Sunset Eye Care. A couple of hours (and a lot of money) later, this is what we have. The color of the frames didn't show up well in the picture, but they are a rose/pink color and are flexible. Ashlyn needs glasses because she has an astigmatism. She does not have bad eyes. She has nearsightedness in one medium...instead of her eye being shaped like an egg, it is more like a football, making it only shaped wrong on one side, or one medium, and that is causing her vision problems. So technically she is not nearsighted or farsighted. I guess some people are nearsighted/farsighted and also have an astigmatism (myself included), but Ashlyn is not one of these people, she merely has an astigmatism. And now that I've typed all this and you still don't have a clue because this made no sense, I'll just let you research it all on your own, or ask about it on your yearly visit to the eye doctor. And those of you with perfect eyesight still need to go because they had a huge poster up and there are lots of reasons why you should go to the eye doctor besides just having bad eyes. There's glaucoma, cataracts...well like I said, there's a whole poster full. So go to the eye doctor already! And send money, because I desperately need lasik.

Love from Owen

Coming out of my bedroom this morning, I saw that Owen and Frosty were behind the curtain on the sliding glass door. Thinking it would be a cute picture, I grabbed my camera.
















When I came back out I saw that Owen was in fact hitting the cat with his small bat. "Kitty!" Smack! "Kitty!" Smack! The cat was just laying there, so even though it was making a small thudding noise it must not have hurt too badly. However, Max, who was on the outside of the door and who has a "special" relationship with Frosty, was going nuts.
















I admonished Owen for hitting the cat with the bat and told him we do not hit the kitty, we love the kitty. So Owen gave the cat a kiss.

Brrrrr!

I think it's supposed to be in the low 60s this time of year here in San Angelo. Intead, yesterday it stayed right around 22 with a wind chill of 9. Right now it's 13 before the wind chill. Hopefully this kind of weather will pass, but until it does, Owen needs some kind of hat. We went to WalMart and apparently most of the other people in this town were out with the same intention because the hat row was very crowded. After trying on several different ones and getting a fair amount of static in his hair, Owen decided on this Bob the Builder hat and mittens. The mittens don't have a place for his thumbs so it only takes a second to slip them on.

Happy 5th Birthday Haley! (one last time)

On Monday, Haley's actual birthday, we had one more small celebration. She chose a giant cookie decorated with Chicken Little and wanted her name on it in green. After dinner of taco salad (her choice) we sang Happy Birthday, had some of the cookie, and went to ToysRUs to get her Baby Princess Alexa with her birthday money from Meena and Papaw.















Haley and Ashlyn are posing for the camera and Owen is yelling because he wants some of the giant cookie.
















Owen has given up with the yelling because it is not getting him any cookie and has decided to take matters into his own hands and get some cookie himself.
















As Haley yanks the cookie away frantically the #5 falls over and Haley tries to fix it. Meanwhile, Owen is getting himself completely on the table so he has a better chance at reaching the cookie.
















The #5 has been fixed and we have lit the candle and are singing Happy Birthday. Owen now wants no part of the cookie because it is on fire.
















Haley makes her wish!

Owen and Tigger

Owen was getting his diaper changed and Tigger was there for moral support.

Owen's bad hair day

We planned on taking the kids and getting Christmas pictures and some casual pictures made at Sears on Saturday morning. Friday night we got their hair all washed and dryed perfectly so the next morning they would look good for the pictures. Owen got up Saturday looking like this.

Meet the new guys

As most of you know, Haley has been asking for a cat. We have been putting her off, telling her such things as "when we get to Texas" or "for your birthday". Well, guess what! We are now in Texas and it's her birthday. We tried to go the 2nd dog route, but she really wanted a kitten.
I found a place that rescues kittens and they are spayed and have their shots and all that and they cost $55, which is the same as the animal shelter. Well, today I took Ashlyn, Haley and Owen to look at what they had and it turns out they had one orange one and one white one. Well, Haley wanted the white one but the orange one was really being sweet and cuddly and Ashlyn was pulling for the orange one and Owen was putting all the cat food into the water bowl and the place had the overwhelming smell of cigarette smoke and my head started to throb and I didn't know what to do and then the lady said "How about 2 for the price of 1?" I guess somewhere, somehow that sounded like a deal or something and who am I to pass up on a deal so I said okay and instantly became the biggest hero in the world to everyone involved.

In my defense, this makes perfect sense because if one gets sick or runs away or gets out and hit by a car then we have a back-up. Owen can already say Kitty Kitty but the cats, smart little devils that they are, know to run away and hide.

And just a minute ago Haley said "Mom, Frosty loves me!" and I said "How can you tell?" and she said "Well he's purring at me...either that or he's really cold." And that, my friends, was worth every penny of that $55!

Tigger and Frosty

Decorating the Christmas Tree

Scott and Haley went out Tuesday morning and got us a tree while Owen and I went to playgroup. We put the lights on that afternoon and last night we got the decorations on it. Ashlyn and Haley did fine, but Owen would just lay his ornaments on the branches so they had to be fixed. Also, we had some of those colored balls that the girls wanted to use and Owen would walk up to them and point and scream "BALL!". The night ended with Owen picking two of them off the tree and beating them together so they could just crumble in his hands. He didn't get cut, but if he had it would match his fat lip he got from falling off Haley's bike yesterday right onto his face.




















I don't know if you can see it well or not but Owen has one of those plastic candles you sit in the windowsill in his hand. You twist the bulb and they light up using batteries instead of cords. The kids have found that while candles in the windows are a good idea, these work better as a light saber or a pretend microphone and are also fun to put in your mouth and shine through your cheek.

Owen's not the only one...

We have been getting a little bit of a hard time because Owen, tough as he may be, is scared to death of Santa Claus. He will not even accept candy from him, so I know it is pretty serious. I also know that there are lots of children out there who are frightened by the guy, but just to prove this point (and make Owen look better) I am posting this picture of Arden, who Santa has obviously scared out of her mind.

Our Family

Here we all are sitting on the loveseat while Pops tries to get all of us to look at the same time and smile at the same time we are looking. Nana is also taking pictures with my camera, and neither one of them was counting--you know...One Two Three (and then the camera flashes)--so I guess we didn't know which person to look at so we are looking in different directions. But overall I think it's a good picture!

Haley's Birthday Party #2

Haley had another birthday party last Friday while Nana and Pops were still here visiting. Joe, Amber and Arden came over with a cake for both Haley and Arden, since they share a birthday. For some reason I do not have pictures of the cake.

Joan and Rebeckah sent a packet of Strawberry Shortcake art supplies.
















Nana got Haley her yearly Cherished Teddy.
















Pops and Nana got Haley a pink fuzzy sweater and some khaki pants.
*please note that when I say "Pops and Nana" I use that term loosely and Pops probably had nothing to do with it besides driving the presents out here in the motor home.





















Arden got Haley a bead bracelet maker with 100s and 100s of beads.
















Arden also got Haley the Doodle Pro with Color, which turned out to be a huge crowd favorite, especially with Joe and Scott.
















Owen got Haley a Texas bell.
















Ashlyn got Haley a khaki jacket.
















Ashlyn also got Haley a pink jacket, figuring Haley couldn't wear them both at the same time so she would always have one to wear too.
















Pops and Nana also got Haley a butterfly shirt...
















The butterfly shirt goes with these pink pants that Haley can't wear often enough.
















Arden opened presents, but didn't seem interested in much until she came across the Mr. Brown Can Moo book for her baby leap-pad. At this point she began to sneak glances toward Owen to make sure he wasn't coming to try to take her book.
















Grandmama and Granddaddy sent money, which Haley spent on a dress the very next day, and a small snowman ornament for the Christmas tree.
















Janice and Barry sent Dora the Explorer house shoes.
















Janice and Barry also sent new brown boots, and Haley proudly announced that they would fit her without a doubt because they were size one-one.
















Mary Kate sent a memory game, which Haley cheats at.
















Mary Kate also sent a Strawberry Shortcake game. I recommend this game for everyone who has children between 4 and about 7. This is an absolutely great game. And yes, Haley cheats when she plays it.
*there was some speculation that these 2 presents may in fact have been Christmas presents, but we didn't decide that until after they were opened. anyway, regardless of the reason they were sent, Haley and Ashlyn both have enjoyed them tremendously.