Christmas

Here are a few pics of Christmas:

Daniel with his wheel loader

 Catherine with her baby and cradle

 Bryson with his Lightning slippers

Carly

 Catherine "cutting" her new fruits and vegetables

 Daniel opening his telescope

 Catherine with her new stroller and baby

 We spent Christmas with my family in Bosque Farms.  On our way there, we spent the night in Lubbock to break up the trip and make it easier for the kids (and us).  I was awoken in the middle of that first night because Daniel had a fever.  Fun way to start a trip!  In hindsight, we probably should have turned around and gone right back home because we ended up infecting not one, not two, but five people with the flu!  Catherine got it the day before Christmas.  They were both fairly miserable for good portions of the time.

Other than that......the trip was really fun!  We were with my parents and my sister's family.  We got to spend time with Bryson and Carly which was one of the highlights.  My parents fed us more food than you could possibly fathom, and it was all wonderful.  Too bad that Catherine wasn't feeling well on Christmas Eve.  I think she would have liked the lobster!

A funny highlight of the trip was seeing Santa Claus.  Helen (from my sister's side of the family) dressed up as Santa and surprised the kids by knocking on the window one evening.   All the kids just stood there staring at him and waving.  We even heard his sleigh bells ringing!  Pretty exciting stuff!  Catherine kept saying "Want see ho-ho-ho" after he left.  :)

This was the first time that Catherine really understood who all the people there were.  She learned all their names (sort of) and we practice them a lot by singing "happy birthday" (her latest favorite song) to them all on a daily basis.

We came home the day after Christmas, and the kids felt better in a few days' time.  David's parents spent New Year's with us and spoiled the kids with more presents.  It was like a second Christmas!

I don't know why, but I like to remember the gifts that the kids got, so here's the rundown:
Daniel:
Santa Claus - wheel loader, camera
Grandma Fox - money
Daddy & Mommy - Book of Heroes saint book
Grandpa & Grandma - coloring books and magazine subscription
Abuelo, Abuela, & Uncle Luis - telescope and microscope
Uncle Brian & Aunt Cristi - science experiment kit
Uncle Brian & Aunt Heather - magnet art kit
Ms. Marcy - Skippyjon Jones workbook
Ms. Ashley - science kit and book

Catherine:
Santa Claus: cradle and Cabbage Patch Kid (Pax Charlie)
Grandma Fox - money
Daddy & Mommy - lift the flap Bible
Grandpa & Grandma - coloring book and magazine subscription
Abuelo & Abuela - doll stroller and back pack
Uncle Luis - Violet the dog
Uncle Brian & Aunt Cristi - cash register
Uncle Josh & Aunt Pam - baby highchair and pretend food
Ms. Marcy - headband
Ms. Ashley - stuffed cat and stickers

Surprise!

Daniel came to get me just now and said he had a surprise to show me in the bathroom.

I was immediately concerned, but he assured me it was not in the toilet.

He had me close my eyes and led me to the bathroom.

"Open them!" he says. I open my eyes and see........nothing.

I say, "What's the surprise?"

He says, "It's behind here" as he opens the door a bit.

I still see nothing out of the ordinary, so I look at him, bewildered.

He says, "Well, I sure do know how to put a new roll of toilet paper on all by myself."

He was so proud! My future daughter-in-law owes me big time!

Venture Out

I guess you could say we don't get out much. We definitely avoid taking the kids to restaurants, but the other night David had a work dinner at Abuelo's, and our whole family was invited.

As we were getting ready to go, I told Katie to put on her shoes so we could go out to eat. She said, "Go mass?" I told her, "No, we're not going to mass. We're going to a restaurant to eat." She didn't understand and kept asking, "Go mass?" over and over since that's apparently the only place we ever take her.

Then when we got to the restaurant, someone said something about a menu, and Daniel asked, "What's a menu?" My kid (whose vocabulary includes words like asteroid and tsunami) had never heard the word "menu!"

We need to get out more!

Daniel the Socialite

I came home from work a few weeks ago and found Daniel planning a party. This isn't the first time he's had a party when I was at work. It's actually fairly common for me to find the "happy birthday" banner hanging up, adorned with balloons when I come home.

But this time, he had set out appetizers and everything! There were Cokes (I was told they were for the adults) lined up as well as his plastic cups filled with water (for the kids). There was a bowl of wheat thins, a bowl of Chex (chex mix perhaps?), and even triscuits topped with sliced apples and a sprinkling of cinnamon (a resemblance of a frequent party appetizer of mine).

He wouldn't let me take any of it down because he insisted the neighbors would be arriving soon. That's when I found out he had actually convinced the sitter to let him deliver homemade invitations to three of his friends' mailboxes! 

He was disappointed when nobody showed up, but I convinced him that it was probably just too short notice. I probably set myself up for early invitations next time!

The Trinity

Tonight I was clearing the table after dinner.  Catherine was finished eating and was yelling repeatedly, "Help me, Mama! Help me, Mama!" because she wanted down from her highchair.

I said, "Just a minute, Catherine. I'm only one person!"

Daniel piped in and told her, "Catherine, you should ask for God's help."

He then added, "He's three people!"

Time-Out!

The other day Daniel was throwing a fit.  He was throwing a fit because his sister wanted to play with her stuffed kangaroo, but he wanted to play with it too.  I told him that he could either choose to give her the kangaroo back or he could give her one of his stuffed animals.  Reasonable enough, right?  :) 

Apparently not for a five year old.

He was kicking, screaming and, in general, throwing a good-sized tantrum after I gave him his two choices.

That's when Katie got up, pulled out the time-out chair, started pointing at it and saying, "Mama, Mama!  This!  This!"

Even she knew it was time for a time-out.  :) 

My Little Helper

Don't get me wrong. 

I appreciate the fact that Catherine helps me unload the dishwasher.

But this is what the silverware drawer looks like when she's done: