Sunday, December 30, 2007

Holiday "wrap" up......

Ummm did anyone else's house get a lot smaller this month? Ours seems to have been invaded with plastic toys and balls! Chris and I were feeling the squeeze this week and got a little inspired from a trip to IKEA so we spent the better half of today cleaning out all the kids old toys - we made good headway and made room for all the fabulous new items they were blessed with! I know we are not alone as I scurried off to Target today to revel in the organizational bin isles and laughed when the shelves were nearly empty - okay good its not just us........


Another Christmas has come and went and we all survived, well barely. We all had been blessed with a cold at some point in the month long festivities. But all in all we had good times, enjoyed watching the kids revel in gifts and excitement, visited with good friends and family and gorged on good eats.


Merry Christmas Brooke and Brady!

Laying out cookies and carrots for the reindeer - Santa was a little ungrateful this year and hinted that we needed to step up our cookie selection for next year!

HE CAME!!!!!

I have no idea what all this stuff is but they are letting me rip up everything!!

Brooke helping her brother open the rest of his gifts - he somehow lost interest!

Does anyone else think George Costanza when they look at this picture?

A PINK fuzzy makeup kit - whats not to like?

This is video of Brooke opening the Big Santa gift she asked for, but better yet the favorite part of the video is randomly Brady just yawning like he is sooooo bored with all this nonsense.....And it gives a good picture of how he spent the better part of the holiday - balls in hand and just walking around with no purpose.......

Hope everyone had a great Holiday!

Wednesday, December 26, 2007

My aplogizes to the future spouses.........

I started to admire my mother n law's tree this past week and how elegant and pretty it looked and then thought well perhaps in 25 years or so I too will have that window shopping sparkling tree too......... you see my mother-n- law as well as my mother handed down all "our" ornaments from when we grew up. So on our tree we hang proudly every sport figure from 1973 on, as well as every fad or special activity we were once involved in. As I hang them every year its nice to remember hanging them as a little kid and jocking for space on the tree (somehow it seemed Tom's always ended up dead center) so anyway.... every year as we put up the Xmas tree there are a few ornaments that are points of contention. No matter how I try they just always seem to end up in the dead back or nestled into the brush next to the trunk..... and Chris seems to complain about it every time -"why can't this one be in the front" Let me explain...... This ornament has always creeped me out - It's a homemade special from the dear hubbie but it is made out of a plastic medicine cup with gold glitter and a creepy rusty bell and hanger on top. Which was personalized with a green sharpie..... I mean bless his heart but Martha Stewart I know you are cringing......Somehow Chris will just not part with it......and neither could his mother - apparently she had the courage to hang this proudly on her Xmas tree for twenty five years until it was bestowed onto us......... let me have you get a little glimpse of it......



But then I came to thinking as my kids are bringing their homemade treasures home that I so proudly hang from our tree. I don't even think of giving them a side or back piece of real estate on the tree..... They get lake front property.....front and center......
and that is because I am a mom who is proud of these ridiculous things that they make with glitter and foam just as Chris mom was proud of his creepy medicine cup - and I too will store these for 20 some odd years or more until I can proudly present it to each of them and possibly their future spouses and say enjoy. Then secretly when I come to their houses at Christmas I will be searching for which one that spouse is hiding at the back of the tree and most likely move it to where it should be Lake front baby!!! So my apologies to the future spouses of my kids you will inherit all these treasures and hopefully will have an "ah-ha" moment and find it in yourself to not bury them at the back of the tree (I am really going to try hard next year to make space for the medicine cup! - perhaps I might find space on the side of the tree :) ) baby steps......

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Kids are like Snowflakes.....no two are alike!

While there are SO many similarities between Brooke and Brady - Lately I have been noticing how they differ in so many ways.......

(side note - is it possible for a Binky to freeze to a kids face?) Ahhh Brady you and that Binky - live it up kid you have 12 more days until we pull the plug!

Brady, he is such a rough and tumble guy when he wants to be , but more often than not he is this overly cuddly sweet thing that I never got from Brooke when she was a baby! I think I now know why the phrase "momma's boy" was coined. I seriously want to eat him!
He is also like clock work at night you say nigh nigh and he heads for the fridge for his milk and walks upstairs, Brooke on the other hand say nigh nigh and she is all "Dad can I help you clean up the toys or organize some stuff" Staller Johnson and she has been that way since 2 and probably always will be!
Once Brooke started walking it seemed to me that she was off to the races, where as Brady is walking at a slow trot and never seems to be in much of a hurry to get anywhere.
Brady is our picky eater -one day cheese is the shizzle the next day it very well could be chucked halfway across the kitchen - We are slowly realizing what a good eater Brooke is and was as a baby. (I didn't say neat, I said good) Both the kids take home the Oscar in let me see if I can wear more than I eat!
I am sure there are a million other ways I won't bore you with - just a few I have noticed in the past few months.


Mom and Dad if you haven't noticed you got out of Dodge just in time - we had our first significant snowfall this past weekend and the kids loved being in it......so enjoy your freezing cold 65 degree weather cuz that seems like summer for us folk.


Brady having fun in his first sledding adventure - but looks like he is secretly thinking "umm folks I am not smiling my face is frozen like this - would you fools get me inside already!!"

Brooke spends more time eating the snow than actually playing in it! She loves to go out and shovel with dad and make snow angels.


oh yeah and sled down the driveway cuz the Munson's choose to not shovel during the ice storm last time.......I don't think that stuff is melting until April!!

Hope everyone enjoyed the snow fall as much as we did - Isn't it nice that it actually happened over the weekend when we could enjoy it instead of the usual Monday morning frazzling start to the work week?

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Santa Trifecta

Okay so I think we have put in our time visiting Santa this year - 3X in one week! This guy just kept popping up everywhere! We got to see the jolly old man at the parade, the mall, and the nite lite show. Perhaps repetition helped this year (well at least for one of my kids) Just to refresh Brooke has not been too fond of St. Nick in previous years - last year was the first year with no tears - but still insisted that she sit 4 feet away from him - Well she finally had a break through at 4 years - she had no problem hopping up on the guys lap and explaining what she wanted - at the nite lite show she even gave the bearded fool a hug! Now that is progress! Well what is the old saying - one step forward - two steps back....... Brady on the other hand wasn't having it. He had no problem looking from a far but once we got up to sit on laps it was no go - as you can tell by the extra body in the picture! I don't blame him - here is some random unshaven old man with breath like a dog in a big red suit asking if he was good - I can just imagine Brady thinking -Whatever old man I already got a big plastic ball at home and my new favorite plastic elephant (the new obsession right now!) I don't need to sit on your lap - I gots everything I need. Well at this rate I figure if Brady follows in Brooke's path I got at least another 3 years on the big fella's lap! Should I be offended that he never asks me what I want? :) Here's some pix....enjoy.


Anxiously awaiting the man who could possibly be the one to bring me a sticker maker that I have been bugging my mom for!

I have no idea what I am so excited about - Who is this Santa character - oh yeah now I remember why I am so happy I have escaped from my stroller and no one seems to mind!
I don't know why this guy is so famous - look at me I have a big distended belly too but no one seems to be waiting in line to sit on my lap!
Same situation - different kid as I install the mom straight jacket on Brady in order to snap the photo!
I REALLY want a sticker maker - oh yeah and let me slip in I would also like baby McKayla....
So upon hearing of this new baby McKayla - I find out from my mom it is some $80 doll that she noticed when looking through the ads with my mom......She isn't even into dolls - but her cousin bousin really wanted a doll for Xmas so she had to hop on board - hate to break it to you sister Santa may have been watching those few moments when you were naughty! I know terrible mom - but come on $80 for a doll to sit in our toy cabinet - BAH HUMBUG!

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Step aside Michael Phelps........

Brooke continues to really LOVE swim class - I feel like she is right at that breaking point where she is trusting of her teachers and of herself to go it alone...... Literally! She usually ends up having a personal private lesson (the other kids are not fond of the water and usually take off 10 minutes into the class) which gives her great one on one time with the teacher! She practices in the bathtub all the time and challenges herself with new limits ...... "mom I am going to keep my face under for 20 seconds this time....." It's exciting to see her so proud of herself for trying something beyond her comfort zone.....so goodbye Puffy suit..... (as much as I hate to see it go - it was such a confidence booster for her as well as me!) hello slippery fish!!

Brooke willing submerging herself to jump in for the dive sticks!


I am sure she still has her foot on the stair for comfort - but she is definitely getting braver each class to give it a shot!!




In other news...... something I am truly enjoying is the infatuation between brother and sister that is occurring right now......It is so fun to watch Brady just idolize his sister!! He MUST do everything she does.... Brooke drinks her milk.....Brady drinks his milk.......Brooke dances......Brady dances....... Brooke wants to wrestle......Brady is all over it!! You get the picture. So I will revel in it for now since I know the "keep out of my room" sign will soon be hung on each others doors soon!





Just thought this was funny - Brady will go up to everyone now lift up their shirt and just give random zerberts! He is pretty good at it....haha turn your volume up!
Last lil tidbit - so I thought Brooke was our rough and tumble kid - but Brady is gaining on her QUICKLY - let me take you back a few weeks - I happened to be a the play gym at the mall and some six year old boy (completely by accident) turned around quickly and Brady just happened to be behind him and knocked him over......well without hesitation Brady put both arms around this kids ankles and just forced his head (a powerful tool mind you!) into this kids knees, who is five years older than him, until he buckles - the moms and I were just like who does this kid think he is?? I couldn't believe it - then I see him doing it to Brooke when they are playing around and she is egging him on to wrestle.....its just so funny that it is the exact same move that his father famously mastered at a Halloween party one night :).....anywho moving forward.......I pick him up from school the other day and his teacher asks me "So does Brady tackle at home??" HAHA I couldn't belive it my kid is the bulldozer.... We laughed about it - she said he did it out of play not out of anger and the other kid was laughing because they thought they were playing but still ........I told her we would simmer down the wrestling at home since it is pretty much a nightly occurrence!