Out takes

So, Ronell took some adorable pics of the kids about a month ago and I finally got around to doing our card this week. There were too many cute ones, so I thought I'd post the ones we didn't use in the card.

Palmer: Loves loves loves Kindergarten and calls me Miss Glover (his teacher's name) at least once a day. Our little smarty pants in whizzing his way through school and has already completed the kindergarten and first grade reading program, as well as being awarded the "Math Master" award for the first quarter. He loves playing outside, even when it's cold (relatively so, I'm still thinking it's warm here, even when it's only 40 because there's no snow) and has decided to teach himself how to golf. We enrolled him in tennis lessons this year and he enjoys doing that, too...when he's not playing computer games on PBS Kids or reading. He's slowly paying more attention to Teya and has recently started trying to teach her to crawl, much to my dismay.

Portia: Our little diva. She asked for make-up for Christmas. She loves to smother take care of her baby sister and loves playing with any baby in sight, even the dolls. Her newest imaginative tool is her "Princess house". If she's ever told she can't have something or doesn't like how things are going, she says, "That's okay. I have four babies at my princess house so I'll just play with them." Or, "at my princess house I have a doggy and a horse." Fine with me, means I don't have to get one here, right? Portia started dance this year and LOVES it (understatement). She's got a great memory, too and can usually tell me what steps she's doing. She is our budding artist and loves to draw, color, cut out, glue and basically use up any supplies left out to create pictures and cards for everyone she knows. She's loving her preschool class and loves showing everyone what she's learning.

Teya: Our baby has gone mobile! She's doing the "commando" crawl at the moment, but it suits her fine, especially on our hardwood floors. She gets up on all fours but slides back to her tummy when she tries to crawl. She hasn't cut any teeth yet (which is crazy) but she certainly drools and bites enough to make up for it. She sleeps like a rock with 12-13 hours at night and three naps and is the easiest, calmest baby I've ever seen. She finally has started liking some baby food but she'd still rather eat the real thing. She loves kids and has the greatest laugh when any kid, but especially her siblings, play with her. We've started signing with her and she attempts "More" and "eat" but it usually results in her just sucking her thumb. Her new favorite things are Portia's dolls and grabbing cheerios.

Last of all, I had to share this picture. This is downtown Rogers and it's got these great classic Coca-cola murals. I love that our kids are totally in their own world. I probably would have sent this one out as our card if Teya was in. Next time. For now, I'm off to make rolls and ham for our get-together tonight. Happy Christmas Eve! May Santa treat you well and let you take a nap tomorrow. See you tomorrow for the morning chaos pics.

M.I.A.

Sorry I've been out of touch recently. I've decided I'm not very good at juggling many activities and prioritizing. Also, my external hard drive that has most of my pictures on it is being weird and won't connect with my computer. But I'll give you what I got, people. So, here's a quick update:

1. Halloween: It happened. :-) We went to the ginormous Walmart home office trick or treat bash. We filled two reusable shopping bags (the big blue Wal-mart ones) and used this candy all weekend for parties and trick-or-treaters. I think there's still some lurking in cupboards. I'll post pics when I figure out my hard drive issue (grrr).


2. Thanksgiving: it, too happened. We had a few couples from work over. It was small, quiet, and perfect. But we had sooooooo much food. I went a little nuts. Ronell failed to take pictures of the table.

She was actually very helpful. 

I'll get back with more pics, I promise. Because as fun and witty as I am, I know you're really just here to see the kids. I don't blame ya, that's why I'm here. :-)

Out of the Mouths of Babes

One of the interesting things about Portia attending preschool at the Church of Christ is the songs she comes home singing. They're all good lessons, just...interesting. Today, this was the conversation about her new song.

Dad: (after Palmer sang his song about the months of the year), Portia, did you learn any songs at school?
Portia: Yep. (getting out of her chair and with hands on hips, sways back and forth) "I don't want to be a hypocrite" (emphasis on the "hip") over and over.
Mom: Portia, are you a hypocrite?
P: No.
Dad: Is mommy a hypocrite?
P: No, but Daddy is.
Dad: Portia, what's a hypocrite?
P: It's an animal.

Good to know she's learning important life lessons in preschool.