The New Year

Wow, seems I have not posted in a while. The holiday season sure turns my normal routine into mush. I have a ton of pictures to share. Brandon's mom came to visit for a few days before Christmas, and then we drove home (Oregon) to surprise the family on Christmas Day. Lots to come.

I leave you with a list of things I have learned over the holiday:

1. Don't order a gadget from a little no name internet store just because it has the cheapest price. You get what you pay for.
2. Kids can handle a lot more driving than I previously gave them credit for. We just might have to do that again.
   
3. Don't judge those shopping on Christmas Eve. Kids throw curve balls, and well, Santa has to oblige.
4. I dislike cold weather. Its pretty from inside a cozy car, but sucks once you leave said car.
5. Sharla's new favorite word, "hate". I am not a fan. I don't know where she picked it up from, but it sounds so harsh coming from a 4 year old's mouth.
6. The Leapfrog Clickstart should not be played on a 42 inch LCD TV. No one needs to see 6 inch pixelated flounder floating around the screen.
7. Its not so bad having a 13 inch TV/VCR combo in the kid's room... oh, the possibilities!
8. Being able to surprise family on Christmas, priceless.
9. The never ending winter break sniffles being passed around our family, sucks.
10. So far, my new wii fit (courtesy of us selling the seldom used weight set on Craigslist) is lots of fun. Not that I have done many actual exercises on it, yet.
    

A "Sorta Sleepover" for Sharla

For her birthday party, we hosted a sorta sleepover for a few of her friends. The kids came in their jammies, just in time for dinner, and went home ready for bed.

We had breakfast for dinner, so the kids ate sausage and a piece of the Pancake Cake.

They played with slime,

and made their very own sundaes.

And, because I am a firm believer in opening gifts at birthday parties... we did that too. In the first picture, I think Sharla is trying to pretend to care what the card says. The second one, apparently, it was funny?

Sharla had a nice time. I hope her friends did as well.

Four

Wow, where has the time gone? Today, my little girl is 4 years old. No longer a baby. She has strong opinions of her own (like her Momma), and oozes of personality (like her Daddy).

Four years ago, today, God gave us Sharla Rose Dawson, 8 lbs 11 oz.

At one, she was infatuated with Elmo. She started developing her dramatic girl personality.

At two, Sharla shed her elmo ways and became a lover of all things princess.

At three, her life changed. Our family grew by one, and she was now a big sister. She embraced her new role with such love, it has been amazing to see.

Today, Sharla has grown to be such a sweet, shining girl. She is pleasant to be around, most of the time. The rest... well... lets just say, she reminds me of me.

Learning to tie shoelaces

No, not Sharla. Its just that, I am always reminded of who tied Sharla's shoes when I pick her up from school. If they are still tied, it was me. If they are untied, dragging on the ground, then Brandon must have done it. He never remembers to double knot the laces!!

Popcorn Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving! We spent ours with friends. It was nice. The only fighting was between the kids. :) Really, though, it was wonderful to spend the day usually reserved for family gatherings, with friends who care. Not living near relatives can make holidays rather uneventful and lonely. I am thankful for the friends we have. On another note...

Sharla's school had a feast before the holiday break, which was rather entertaining to witness. They gathered all the kids around a decorated table, and served a turkey.The pastor of the church got the honor of cutting the turkey, lovingly prepared by the Teddybear class. This turkey... was paper bags filled with popcorn, shaped, and taped together. It was super cute.
The kids waited patiently... ok, not so patiently for most... for their food to arrive. Jasper kept trying to steal seats from the kids that couldn't sit still. He really wanted a place at the table. We were supposed to just observe the preschool feast.
He did find a friend to play drums with, though.

Spaghetti Anyone?

Surprisingly, our spaghetti fight had very little actual throwing or fighting with pasta of any kind. The kids just wanted to eat and eat and eat. Good thing the pasta was safe to eat!

Fun at the Zoo

We spent Jasper's birthday at the Santa Barbara Zoo. Turned out to be the best trip to the Zoo we have ever had. It is guaranteed that some animals will be sleeping, and thus not present or at most very unimpressive. But, we got really lucky. The elephants were eating; the Lions roared; a pig snorted at Sharla; an otter squeaked and tried to play with Jasper; the penguins were active; turtles were riding on the backs of caymans... Just a great day to be at the Zoo.


Here, Jasper and Sharla are looking at some red birds. (I can't remember what they are called.)OOh, I love this picture. Its a beautiful shot of the turtle, and you can see Jasper's reflection!
Here is the Cayman with the Turtle sitting on its back. I had to look at it very close to make sure it was real.
Jasper, checking out the penguins...
The otter kept squeaking at Jasper. Little man was just enchanted.

Sharla sliding down the artificial turf hill. Its a zoo attraction, cardboard, and all.
Then Brandon slides down with Jasper. Don't let the look fool you... it slides VERY SLOWLY.

Jasper turns 1!

I know, candle seems like overkill, but, he knows how to blow when asked to blow on his food when it is hot... so seemed like a good idea...
He was so interested in the bright glow on top of the candle, the concept of blowing was difficult for him to care about. (Unlike his sister, who kept trying to 'help' him) I am having to hold back his hands so he doesn't grab the flame here.
Goes in for a mouthful of flame... (at which time Mom blows candle out)
Comes up with a nose covered with frosting.
A little taste... and he was sold. (Video Below)

Ooey, Gooey goodness between the fingers...
"Hey! Check this out, when I clap, the Ooey Gooey Goodness Flies EVERYWHERE!"
This year has gone by so fast. I look forward to seeing how our little man grows and develops in this coming year. I feel like he is no longer a baby, but just another kid in our house. Crazy.

Happy Halloween - Part 4 (Last one, but good)

Brandon needed a costume for a Halloween Party we were invited to. He went as a bum last year, and wanted to be a bit more creative. He decided that the brown and cream super hero cape that I made him was good jumping off point. I was kind enough to indulge him, and made him the costume. Lets examine, shall we?

Start with the Super Hero Cape, add a brown eye mask...A holster with Chocolate frosting...
Some brown swirl pads that velcro onto his cape and can be pulled off for throwing...
And a hot cinnamon bun shield... and you have Dessert Man!
What? That cinnamon bun looks like steaming poo? Maybe that is because... IT IS. This is not Dessert Man, folks. My husband went to the party as... wait for it... SHITMAN. Yes. He. Did.

Hot Cinnamon Bun = Steaming Poo
Can of Chocolate Frosting = Poo in a Can
Brown Swirl Pads =Flying Cow Patties
Doesn't he look so proud, standing there in his Shit Suit? Such a dork, I love him, Shit and all.

Happy Halloween - Part 3

The kids got to dress up quite a few times in their costumes this year. First, Sharla had a party at preschool, of which she dressed as Belle, from Beauty and the Beast. She wanted to wear her actual halloween costume, but it was vetoed, as it has a hoop skirt. I could just see her trying to sit down to eat snack, just to whack the kid next to her with her skirt, showing off her undies in the process.

Then, we had the annual Costume Parade with the moms group. It was super windy, but the kids did not mind. Jasper was Billy Idol, Sharla came as Scarlet O'hara. Her hat would not stay on because of the wind. Although, it was rather entertaining to watch the little boys chase after the runaway hat for her.
On Halloween, we went to the mall for some trick-or-treating. Not a great event. It was sad to see that only a third of the stores participated, and a lot of those handed out random stickers to sports teams. Yay, not. Jasper dressed as a frog, which he enjoyed once he accepted that the hood was not coming off.
Sharla went as Scarlet, again. She just glows in this costume.
Daddy and Jasper after getting their first piece of loot.
Oh yes, he got the wrapper open. That is one determined little boy.
Miss Scarlet turning away from the camera. She kept saying, "But, I don't have a lot of candy". The night was still young. As in, its only 4:30.
After leaving the mall, we went to a church event called, "Trunk or Treat". Church members parked in lot and hosted games for the kiddos out of their trunks. They also gave out lots and lots of candy. Sharla thoroughly enjoyed those games that involved shooting nerf guns.
In all, the kids made it the house before falling asleep, at 7:30. Fun day. Don't think we will do the mall again. I really hope that there is a repeat of Trunk or Treat next year.

Happy Halloween - Part 2

Halloween day festivities started off with Lunch. We invited friends over to share in the goodness. Sharla enjoyed helping me make all the fun food items on the menu. So much fun.

Happy Halloween - Part 1

We did the pumpkin patch as part of Sharla's preschool class field trip, this year. Here is Sharla super excited to be at the top of the hay stack. Sorry, no stack in the picture, I zoomed in on all the shots, forgot about the big picture.Sharla and her friend from school are rather connected at the hip. We hear so much about this little girl. They are supposed to be going through a hay maze... but 3 year old have no clue what boundaries are, so when they would get to a place that they did not want to be, up and over the walls they went (Or, on top of the wall, sometimes).
The standard "kid on a pumpkin" shot...
Jasper was rather enamored by all the bright orange balls.
Again, super eager to just touch the pumpkins. He had a great time.
Sharla decided jumping hay walls was not fun enough. Must. Climb. Pumpkins.
Each child got to pick out a pumpkin to bring home. Here, Sharla is showing me the pumpkin she chose. It was a lovely, itty bitty little thing with black icky spots on the back. Perfect!

Sunday Morning Comedy

A month ago... while in church:

Pastor (during sermon): "Who is the Greatest?"
Sharla: "I am!"
congregation laughs
Pastor: "Amen to good self-esteems".


Today, again, in church:

Pastor (in prayer): "Lord, let us be still" pause
Sharla: lets out a blood curdling scream.
congregation laughs, Daddy promptly removes Sharla from her audience.

When asked later why she screamed, her response was, "to make people laugh". Wonderful.
Of course, it did not help matters, that people remember her response from last time, and commented to her after church today that her behavior was funny. Thanks for the help teaching my child appropriateness. Seriously.

Lesson in Parenting: Learn to embrace embarrassment caused by your child.

Sibling Shots

Its so nice that we can still have nice weather here, in October. The kids can go outside, explore the innards of toadstools, fight over the ball, pick on each other. You know, the usual.I did get them to be nice to each other for a few minutes. Enough time to get some great sibling shots.

Let's Get Dirty!

We had a mud party this morning... lots of mud. LOTS of fun.

Kids and Rain

Playing with our Food

What do you get when you mix 2 tbs milk with a few drops of food coloring? The perfect bread paint. :)

Sharla and I enjoyed decorating our bread before popping into the toaster, and enjoying our artwork for snack.

Do a search for "painted toast" online lots of examples and plenty of tutorials.

More Mud.

It always starts by Sharla asking if they can play on the patio. If the kids play on the back patio, they are bound to ask for shovels and buckets. If they have buckets, they will ask to play in the dirt. If you give a kid dirt, she is gonna ask for some water. Dirt and water make mud. Two children and mud, well, it makes for a very good time. It also makes for quite the bathtub ring.

Daddy's Birthday

For the last week, Sharla and I have been discussing, in private, how we plan to decorate for her Daddy's birthday. Which, when it came down to it... I decorated, while she ordered me around. I think she is taking too many lessons from me. Speaking of which... the whole goal was to make it a surprise party for him. We turned off the lights, lit the 27 candles and waited quietly in the candlelit glow for Daddy to come through the door. Just before he entered... we had this conversation.

S: Mama, can we call Daddy and tell him his cake is on the table?
J: No, if we call him, it won't be a surprise. He is gonna be here in 5 minutes, you can wait.
S: I don't want it to be a surprise.
J: Why not?
S: Its so hard to wait. PLEASE let me call him?

We waited, and she yelled, "Happy Birthday" when he came through the door. He was surprised, and it was great. But, it does tell me, she is too much like me. Brandon rarely gets his gifts on their appropriate day, as I always want him to have them NOW. Seriously, I am that impatient, too.
Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures of the decorations. This is quite a disappointment to me, as I was very proud of them, banner, streamers, and balloons. It was festive. :) At least you get to see the cake in of its glowy goodness!

Tent... of sorts

Two spring rods, a curtain panel, and a hallway... all it takes to keep my kids happy for a good hour.