Now for the Christmas posts...late and in brief.

Yes, we did see Santa this year! The gift opening was a tad chaotic...2 year olds and wrapping paper do not mix!

We spent some time sledding in the snow. Andrew (along with everyone else) loved it!

There were some interesting pile-ups on this sledding hill...what the heck happened here?

We enjoyed some great company and ate lots of good food.

The kids performed the traditional nativity though the entire ensemble was not willing to take a group photo.

The cousins loved being together...it happens so rarely! And I loved spending time with my family. We miss you all!

Catch Up - Kids Birthday's and Good Times

Sadly, due to my lack of blogging...I have failed to publicly celebrate Ethan and Ava's birthdays this year. So we are going to quickly recap some of the happenings and just what makes them special to me.

First, Ethan turned 7 this year (in October). He invited 3 friends to come miniature golfing and then had dinner and cake afterwards.

Ethan is such a great kid. I don't think he has it in him to be anything but great. He gets good grades, enjoys school and especially science and reading, LOVES to play with his friends and is learning to be a wonderful big brother. This kid always has favorites. This year they are as follows: Pokemon, Nintendo DS, Poptropica and any other computer game he comes across, Magic Treehouse books, and playing handball and baseball. I want to be able to share the depth of my love for this, my eldest son. But as I think about him, I find my words are completely inadequate. I love his innocence, his sensitivity (though I love this about him, I also dread it...nothing like trying to console a small boy crying over something I can't possibly relate to), his innate desire to please everyone and to make good decisions, his touch of shyness, his love for rules and structure, his ability to focus his energy and accomplish whatever task he has been given, his willingness to take care of himself - get up in the morning, shower, pour himself a bowl of cereal, brush his teeth and prepare his backpack for school. All I have to do is make his lunch and he's out the door. Wow! If only it could always be this way! Ethan, I love you. It's been a great seven years!

And now for Ava. She turned 5 in December and we played hooky from school and work and went to Disneyland for the day (thanks to Aunt Jody for the free passes!). She was a little disappointed not to invite friends but was fortunate to have Jackie and her family meet us there. We had a lot of fun and then continued the celebration on Sunday when Aunt Karley, Aunt Tammy and Erin and Uncle Randy came over for dinner and cake. Having a birthday one week before Christmas sure makes for an overload of gifts but she loved each one and especially the attention she received. The day really was all about her !

Ava is a sweetheart, a cuddly little teddy bear, a kind, loving angel....most of the time. I think we girls are wired with the "drama" gene. If we're a little tired, we behave irrationally. If we're a bit hungry, more craziness. Some days we just can't be consoled and that's when we need some time alone.

This girl is no different. I look forward to many interesting days and moods with her! She loves to have her hair down and free flowing...mainly a tangled mess. Loves comfortable clothing, sweat suits and soft shirts with no tags. Loves to wear jewelry if only for a moment and begs to wear makeup. For her birthday she asked for a curling iron, but in true Ava form, she will rarely let me use it on her hair. She is quick to share and notice when someone else is unhappy. She'll usually do whatever it takes to change that frown to a smile. She loves animals, her kitty here at home and every dog she sees. She's becoming a big help in the kitchen and with some of my cleaning chores and loves to spend time here with me. She loves her gymnastics class and is excited to try soccer on for a change this spring. This beautiful little girl is slowly breaking me down. I'm not the cuddly type. I rarely sit down long enough to truly enjoy anything and I'm not the best at spending that quality time with my kids. I am always busy...but with what? That's a great question and as this little girl works on me, forcing me to pause and to just play, I am learning that it's those moments that are most important. I am learning the just sitting and cuddling can be among the most wonderful activities of my day. I am learning to enjoy the sweet and generous spirit of a beautiful daughter of God. I hope that she continues to work on me and I continue to allow my heart to soften for I know, it is these days and the tender love of a small girl I will miss the most.

Hide and Go Seek

The other day my 2 1/2 year old vanished. It took a while for us to notice but when you don't hear anything loud and he's not right under foot, it's time to start worrying. We looked up and down, no sign of the little tyke. I looked over and noticed the cat sitting intensely focused on the closed cabinet door under our TV, his tail twitching back and forth. Hmm...I wondered. I opened the cupboard to find my little devil, face glowing in the light of Ethan's "DS", volume turned down so as not to alert us, content as can be. This is a definite no-no in our house. This small child is not allowed to play with the "DS" but his ability to hide and do it so well was something to be applauded. We couldn't help ourselves, laughing and cheering his indiscretion. He must have hid out quietly for at least 15 minutes or more. Probably the best 15 minutes of his little life!

Warm Hearts and Hands

The other day we were out running errands. Ava announced from the back seat, "Mom. I'm going to be nice to Andrew all day!"
"That's great! It should be a good day then," I said as I looked back through my rear view mirror. And there they were, little brother and big sister, holding hands in the space between their car seats. My heart felt instantly warmer.

Green Boogers...

I know kids pick their boogers. I've seen it, I've done it (oh come on...you know you did too!!) But I've never had a kid quite like Andrew. Don't you usually discreetly wipe them on something...eat them...you know, dispose of them so that no one knows or sees? "Mom! Mom! Boogie. Need tissue." There is rarely a day that goes by that I am not asked to dispose of the green booger on the tip of Andrew's pointer finger. Oh well, at least I know they aren't hiding under my throw pillows!

Hair Did...

Boy, did this one need a haircut! Though I'm a sucker for the whole Matthew McConaughey look...or maybe it's the Owen Wilson...whatever, it only works if you get haircuts and this was too long and too out of hand. His head looked at least 3 sizes too big!

So as they say in Wonderland...."off with his head!" (what?)

And there you have it...the new and improved Andrew! (I think this time I was ready for it!)

No Promises

It's been forever. My last entry was in August. It's now December. I've simply been too busy. Ok, probably not, but you know, when you write a blog, you read lots and lots of blogs. I would sit down to write but I would first have to read. By the time I was done reading, there was no more time to write. So I stopped blogging. I told myself it didn't matter, that I was wasting time I could be spending on more important things. After all, I began the blog to keep the grandparents informed about their grand kids and they don't even read it. So, I moved on without guilt. What I didn't expect was that while I was no longer "wasting" my time writing, I was still reading! And to make matters worse, I wasn't taking the time to appreciate all the small stuff that happens all around me each day. Things I used to look for so that I could write something I'd appreciate later. I wasn't writing anything! And for that matter, I wasn't remembering anything either.

So, here I go again, no promises but I'm going to try. This time I'm going to worry less about being interesting and having good pictures to post and more about just doing it. I mean seriously, who reads this anyway? What audience I did have has probably grown tired of my lack of updates (sorry you three!). So here's to the small stuff that make up the memories I will one day treasure!