My Funny Valentine.....

I think my kids have officially watched too many episodes of Americas Funniest Videos. It is one of their favorite shows right now, they laugh hysterically at anyone falling, getting hurt or running into something. So when I asked the kids what should we get Dad for Valentines Day.....My four year old says this......

Mom we should get a pie and put it in a box with a spring at the bottom and when he opens the box it pops out and goes into his face. I thought, good for you..... a boy after my own heart, I think Mom can arrange that.

Seriously these kids worked so hard on this, and were literally peeing in their pants laughing every time they discussed how it was going to go down.......We didn't necessarily get the logistics of the original plan with the spring, but we came close? Here are my two little funny Valentines at work (well one of them anyway, Brady spent all his creative juices on the idea and made Brooke execute the plan which she was happy to do)

So then I go to get his real gift and my greedy little daughter says .......I am making another one.......little did I know she went upstairs to make another and comes after him with another I didn't have the camera ready for I didn't know her plan.....but I got the end where Fast hands Dad wasn't so slow this time.....

And my daughter learned her first lesson in Greed.......

So their final question of the night was .....do you think we will win the $10,000 from AFV? Ha!

Winter wrap up.......

It has been a busy and fun winter......here is a quick update on what we have been doing........

Chris was able to make it and enjoy, despite a nasty cold and a bout of laryngitis, his most coveted weekend with his college buddies. His cold didn't delay his late night jam sessions, hockey games out in the bitter cold, and usual early fall out of the poker tourney. He may have paid for it in the following THREE weeks that the cough/cold stuck around for.....but given the choice again I don't think he would have changed a thing. Here is the "glory day" group.....

I also wanted to include some photos of the Blizzard of 2011 otherwise known as Snow-pocalypse 2011. It came fast, people spoke only of it for two days straight as businesses closed, school was closed for two days, roads took days to get plowed, and driveways took basically all day to shovel. We got a reported 16 inches and snow drifts beyond belief.....

And so we start....I love this picture as Chris looks at the snow plow thinking it would take this guy 30 seconds to do our drive if he was willing.....unfortunately he wasn't so it took us 4 hours.

The kids had a field day.....powder of fun, as far as the eyes can see.....

Literally snowed in!

Trying to save our deck from the weight of 16 inches of snow.

Coco living the dream in Chicago .....love the street parking.

Grandma's house with the lake effect drifts.

My Brady man is taking his first sports sampler class and it started out a bit rough, not knowing anyone, new teacher.......not being the kid to accept new situations.....but we held tough....it was really only the first class that he was unsure of......ever since then it has been.....Mom is sports class today??......last Friday he even was ordering me to drive faster as he didn't want to miss one minute of class. They have messed around with basketball, soccer, floor hockey, kickball.....he is loving it, and so am I since he has voiced an interest to play soccer this spring, hopefully this will be a nice transition.

Rounding the bases.....

The teacher commented....."looks like someones dad plays baseball" as he felt it necessary to slide into home plate!

So yeah some things are new for my little man ......but then some are not......still the struggle to get that first piece in his mouth.......oh it is painful......and it kills me because more often than not if I FORCE the first bite (because of course it looks odd and not like a pizza or hamburger) he usually ends up liking it and finishing the rest by himself. ABSURD. Look familiar Ma?

My Brooklyn is also trying some new things this winter she is currently taking Hip Hop dancing.....haha.....parents are not allowed to watch so no pix yet.... will have to wait for the performance. She also started piano and seems to like it, we are still trying to instill the will to want to practice a bit more. She seriously at 7 knows more about music than I do at thirty........something........ So dance and Piano and ...........

THE PHONE!

I say it as an extra curricular activity because it is she is obsessed. She calls Arizona for at least 30 minutes a day to talk to G'ma & G'Pa (thanks for always willing to talk!) I have parents calling me saying "Brooke just left us a message" SHE DID? We tried to tell her that "back in the day" we would have to pay for each "long distance" call and you have to pay for each minute you are on a cell phone. She didn't get it........I fear if Chris doesn't work out of the house at some point and doesn't get free phone service and this one becomes a teenager.....WATCH out......

She is a talker!

She is also super independent lately.....making her self breakfast, getting dressed by herself, bathing.......we are seeing the light. She even cleaned and re-arranged her room on her own (the clean really only lasted a few days)

Brooke also continues to loose teeth......she has five gone now.....This was the letter she left for the tooth fairy.....I mean it only makes sense (to her) to get $5 for her fifth tooth gone......Funny enough the Tooth Fairy didn't think it made sense.

Sweetheart Swirl - 2011

Brooke and Dad attended their second annual Daddy Daughter Dance this past weekend and had a great time. She loves the process of getting dressed up, dancing and hanging out with friends from school and the neighborhood, and of course the ice cream (her self proclaimed favorite part!). Hopefully she will retain this as a fond memory of her childhood and of her Dad!

Now I will have to admit that I felt a little like a mom from that show Toddlers and Tiaras as I took Brooke, a seven year old, to go get her hair done. But I got word that a neighbor friend of hers who is two years older actually wasn't going to the dance this year because it wasn't "cool" anymore....... It made me sad and I wanted to soak up every ounce of her excitement about hanging out with her dad and have all the fixings to boot. When I told her what we were going to do she was a toothless grin from ear to ear.....All I told her is that we were going to go get her hair done fancy at a salon and this was her response......"OMG mom okay I think I should get highlights, and some streaks of black and then curls and then sparkly barrettes" I told her it wouldn't be that elaborate and the only person in this house getting highlights would be me! She was great, sat in the chair for an hour and asked the lady tons of questions and repeatedly told her how much better she was at this than her mom, which I responded "that is odd because it seems like you are much more patient and willing for her....." haha..... I could tell she felt important and enjoyed every minute of it........

Here is her $10 super-cut red carpet do.......

Checkity checking herself in the hand held mirror and every mirror that she came in contact with after that......the rear view mirror....the entire way home and then every single mirror in our house until it was time to leave for the dance.....I think she liked it.
Ta-dum......Mom she kept saying take one for Grandma - I promised her on the phone today....

Our Baby girl not looking so much like a baby anymore.....

Cue the closeup......

Now even more than the hair she couldn't get over the shoes......she begged.....she pleaded.....she talked about how grown up they were and how much they looked like Moms......but also saying to me don't even think about borrowing them......

There is a whole lot of something behind that smirk.......God help us!

If you didn't guess.....sequins were the theme! The shiner the better!

Dad and his girl.....

Brooke and Luci getting ready to head out....

Some neighborhood shots.....

And off they go......to dance the night away....

A New Game.

Now I will preface this, before I have each and every grandparent calling, that the kids did enjoy it and it was requested to do it over and over and over....and it IS laughter you hear....... I think the winter monotony is setting in..... I present to you "Try and get up......"