Piano Man

We are mean parents that make our kids take piano lessons. They don't really enjoy them. That's a shame.

This is Drew's piano book. It was mine when I was a child, hence the tattered cover. Drew made his feelings known about the piano.

Let's take a closer look:
"Noo (That would be NOOOOOOO!)
This is poopey"

This Week's Crazy Things

-I wish I had matching gloves. My gloves are blue, but my shorts are red. (Mallory, said while playing wii boxing)

-Me: "I love you, honey!" Mallory: "I'm not your honey! Daddy is your honey. I am your daughter. Daughters are called daughters, and sons are called sons!"

-I'm going to take this little rock home and plant it and grow a big tree. (Mallory)

-Mom, can I listen to some smooth jazz? (Drew)

-That's for a fat girl. (Mallory, said while clothes shopping)

The following things were said while Elizabeth and Mallory enlisted Edward's help to put on a play at my parents' house.

-Grammy, do you have anything that looks like throw-up? (Elizabeth, said while gathering props)

-Our play is called, The Englishman and His Two Daughters That Made Him Floss His Toes. (Elizabeth)

-It's my mustache, can't you tell? It's made out of paper and tape! (Edward)

-But I don't know how to floss his toes. (Mallory)

Two Months

Sweet cheeks is 2 months old! She is 12 lbs. 5 oz. and 22 1/4 inches long.

Growing like a weed!

Crazy Things I Heard This Week

-Are all drunk people fat? (Drew)


-Who are your grand kids, Mommy? (Mallory)


-Mommy, why are you eating barf!?! (Mallory {And I wasn't. It was spinach and artichoke hummus.})


-Hey, Ross. You know that time we had country fried steak at school? Well, it was just a hamburger with a couple of crumbs on it. (My nephew, Harrison)


-Said during a prayer, "...and thank you for Ross. And thank you for Elizabeth. And thank you for Drew. And thank you for me because I'm the goodest kid...." (Mallory)


-You don't have to cry about it, Lucy. (Drew)


-Maybe a hobo snuck in and stole all the water. (Elizabeth)


-Your baby has a very nice chin. (Nurse)


-Look who it is, Lucy! It's me, Mallory - your favorite person! (Mallory)



I'm glad Mallory has such high self-esteem.

Lucy's Blessing

The first weekend of February was a happy one for our family. Baby Lucy was blessed at church, and we had a houseful of family and friends to help us celebrate.

Lucy's beautiful blessing gown was made by a friend from church. This is the same friend that made Mallory's blessing gown.

Four of Edward's siblings and their families as well as his mom and step-father made the trip to celebrate this special occasion with us. Saturday night we had 29 people sleeping at our house. The 19 cousins that were here had a great time catching up with each other.

Sweet Lauren meeting Lucy

Four of the five cousins born in 2010

Rex, Ruby, Lucy, and Emme

#2 and #4

Caroline and Ross

Mallory and her Ellie

Rex couldn't help but chew on Lucy.

Some of the boys talking Pokemon

Lucy, Jani, and Papa Otto

Lucy puts their combined grandchild count somewhere in the 30s. I have lost track.

Papa Otto and Mallory

This is the group shot of our family and friends that came to Lucy's blessing, minus my grandma and a few aunts and uncles. Big families are the best!

A Second Installment of Crazy Things Are Spoken Here

Here are the crazy things that have been said at our house this week.

Because I love the taste of wood glue.

Can I go to a real barber? 'Cause you're not a professor of hairtology.

"But Mom, I'm not going to remember." "Son, I promise I will remember." "But old people forget a lot."

Mmmm. This bacon tastes really good. Like it's from a fancy hotel - not one of those cockroach hotels. And I've been to a cockroach hotel.

How can you tell if someone's been sleeping in your bed? (Asked after being told the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.)

Is this where Jesus was born? (Asked during a funeral at a Catholic church.)

Mallory, you just got schooled by our thirty-five year old dad. And their brains don't even work that well.

Jews can't have meat on Fridays.

It's always exciting around here.

Light As A Feather. Stiff As A Board.

After discovering Mallory's amazing feats of flexibility, we've now learned that baby Lucy has an incredible talent as well. When you hold her in the air, she extends her legs straight behind her.

I see a future in the circus!

Crazy Things Are Spoken Here

These are just a few of the wacky things I've heard around the house this week:

-Do you like my toe people?
-Stop touching his underwear! Do you want to buy him new underwear?
-"Bless you" me, Mom.
-Do monsters not like toots?
-This tastes like a zebra.
-At least snot didn't come out!
-I really hope that's chocolate.
-Mom, Mallory cut her pants.
-You're small, but you're densely compacted.
-Mom, you're weird. Lizzy gets the weird from you.
-You are crinkly.
-I can't wait to go through puberty! (One guess as to which kid said that.)

Once again, this place is a zoo.

7

Happy birthday, to our funny little man!

Cute As A Button

I received this package in the mail today. I don't know who sent them for Lucy, but they are darling! If you are responsible, please come forward so I can thank you properly!

1 Month Old

Getting help with a smile from big sister

Fluffy McChubbers went from 7 lbs. 11 oz. at birth to 10 lbs. 8 oz. in her first four weeks. She is now in the 75th percentile in weight and height (She's now 22 inches.).

Look Natural

They Were Only Out Of My Sight For 10 Minutes

Newborn babies require a lot of attention. Newborn babies like to eat. A lot. Frequently.

This afternoon, I suggested that Edward lay down for a nap. He has been Super Dad these last few weeks since Lucy's arrival. I take that back. He has been Super Dad the whole pregnancy, picking up what I have had to neglect due to nausea, fatigue, and, frankly, lack of mobility. He was deserving of a nap and a whole lot more. While he holed up in a corner bedroom, the kids were asked to play quietly, and I went into my bedroom to nurse Lucy for the 357th time today (because newborn babies like to eat. A lot. Frequently.).

When I came downstairs, Elizabeth yelled to me from the living room, "Mom! We have a surprise for you. But wait just a minute. I'm almost finished.... Don't come in yet.... I'm not done.... Okay! Now you can come in!"

I was hoping for a meticulously cleaned living room, not this:

Elizabeth decided to turn Mallory into a meerkat. When that proved too hard, it was decided that she was a raccoon instead. Despite the facial expression, Mallory really was a willing participant.

I immediately told the girls to wash the make-up off before it ruined Mallory's sweater or got on the furniture. This was the sad result of their attempt:

Nice work, Ladies. Sweet little Mallory had been transformed into The Joker.

Thankfully Daddy and eight pounds of Vaseline restored Mallory's face to its original cuteness.

Just Because...

...she's so fun to look at.

Mallory Loves Being A Big Sister

Mallory loves her new role as big sister and takes it very seriously. She helps me pick out Lucy's outfits everyday. This is a time consuming process as she feels like she has to find just the right outfit each day. She literally has her very own baby doll to play dress-up with.

Mallory is of course very curious about every aspect of caring for Lucy. When she was examining her in the hospital, she said, "Look! She has pink teeth!" upon seeing her little gums. I guess we forgot to tell her the baby wouldn't be born with teeth.

The first time she saw me feeding her, she asked, "How are you thirsty-ing her?" After a brief and toddler friendly lesson on nursing, she asked, "So when you drink water, how does your body turn that into milk?" Uh, I don't know dear. Bodies are wonderful things?

This morning she wanted to help me change Lucy's diaper. As I lifted up her little gown, Mallory blurted out, "Wait, I want to do the next level!" She was referring to unsnapping her little onesie. I suppose Mallory is certainly a child of the technology age!

And she created the perfect accessory for her little sister. She crafted a baby bracelet for Lucy out of Bendaroos. It looks smashing, I would say!

I can't wait to watch these two grow up together!

Merry Christmas!

We woke up Christmas Eve morning to find snow! Edward took the opportunity to play with the kids for a while, and I think they all had a great time.

That evening, Edward continued the tradition his family had when he was growing up of reading the family 'Twas the Night Before Christmas, Luke 2, and now Santa and the Christ Child.

Lucy and I sent everyone to my soon-to-be 98 year-old great-grandma's house for Christmas Eve. She and I took the opportunity to take some cute photos while the house was so quiet.

Christmas morning brought with it excitement! Drew got the goat cheese from Santa that he requested.

Mallory wanted a "cheap dancing Dora doll." We don't know where she got the idea that Dora needed to be cheap, but Santa came through, none the less. He also brought her a soft little meerkat - her favorite animal.

Ross got a new Gators hat.

Elizabeth got a new camera.

Edward helped Drew log onto the web to activate all of his new spy gear.

Elizabeth and Ross tried out her new wii game, Just Dance 2. It was funny!

This little dancing machine can really groove!
The boys played with Drew's new Hex Bugs. They are so cool!

And Ross put on his new sneakers as soon as he found them. Hopefully they can keep up with this active boy!

Mallory loves to hold Lucy when she's hungry! She belly laughs as Lucy searches for an adequate food source.

Christmas was a wonderful day that wore these two little sugarplums out.

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!