While Mommy's Away....

I introduce you to the all-meat lunch!  Mommy got home just minutes after a plate full of chicken nuggets and turkey sausage had been placed in front of Everett.  Daddy didn't see the need for any fruit of vegetables (for Everett or himself!).  Oh, my boys!

Imitation is the Highest Form of Flattery

So when we walked into the computer room and saw this, we just knew Everett wanted to be like Mommy and Daddy!

Christmas Morning

Having given up all hope on the Browns, Billy is glad to see a Cavs shirt under the tree!

Mr. Clean!

Everett liked pulling the tiniest pieces of paper off - one small piece at a time!

Christmas Morning

An Elmo steering wheel from Aunt Val!

Making a quick phonecall...

Testing out his new kitchen!

Riding his new airplane!

This is what happens when you leave Santa a slice of cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory!

Christmas Eve

We went out to eat at Cheesecake Factory on Christmas Eve.  Everett had such a great time there and, of course, was such a good boy.  The last photo has a great big smile because he just spit water all over us.

4 More Days Until Christmas!

I was desperately trying for a cute shot in his Christmas jammies....this one will have to do....

Empty wrapping paper tube = hours of entertainment! How he knew to use it like a sword when he's never even seen a sword is beyond me! His favorite thing is when I whisper in it and put it right next to his ear.

Library Wednesdays

Wednesday is the day we go to the library. We always take a bunch of books and CDs out and then we go to storytime. The storytime program is pretty good - Everett has really been enjoying it these days. They sing songs, read books, play with bubbles, and play with a parachute. The bubbles and parachute are Everett's favorites. He calls out for bubbles as soon as we sit down. I actually found a parachute for him for Christmas! I can't wait for him to see that. We always end library Wednesdays with a game of chase around the book stacks. Great fun for us, probably not so much for the other library patrons...

Roadtrip!

We drove to LA to visit our friends, Charlie and Michael, and to meet their son, Harry, for the first time. It was a great weekend with lots of laughs and lots of walks down memory lane for Billy and me. Everett adored their house, but didn't care much for their 3 big dogs. He and Harry became good friends.

California

We stayed with our friends in Venice. We took Everett to the ocean at sunset and played at a playground. Venice has a system of canals modeled after Venice, Italy and they were all lit up for the holidays. We also stopped at the 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica to visit Laura's old haunts.

Living the So-Cal Life!

Before we got in the car to drive back home to Phoenix, we stopped at an amazing playground in West L.A. Of course our boy was in his element and took off running! He loved the ramps and the play structure shaped like an airplane. He also loved the tunnel shown below and went up and down it a dozen times - each time saying, "Whee" even though he was crawling, not sliding

Big boys like to play, too!

Some Funny Photos

After a particularly messy breakfast, Everett was walking a bit funny. So I felt his foot and realized that a cheerio was in his footed sleeper. Who knows how he managed to get a cherrio all the way down the sleeper and into the footie, but he could feel it and therefore was walking stiffly. I opened up his PJs to remove it and he ran off dressed like this.

Sweet Dreams!

Ho, Ho, Ho!

We took Everett to see Santa today! I had been debating whether or not I would, but since he was in such a fantastic mood today and we saw Santa's house, I went for it. First, let me tell you about his wonderful day....

I had to get the tires rotated on my car today so I decided to go right before storytime so Everett could be rewarded for good behavior. Well, he didn't need storytime because Big O Tires is his new favorite place! He had so much fun in the waiting area! He ran around and touched every tire at least 3 times. He looked at his reflection in the hubcaps. He even made friends with a little girl who was also waiting. He climbed up and down the chairs 2 dozen times. He ran behind the registers once. He was the happiest he's ever been! So it was a great treat to then go to storytime and get to enjoy that and all his friends.

After a nap and lunch, we went Christmas shopping for Daddy and that's where we were when I saw Santa. Billy was on his way home from work, so he met us there and got to video it. Everett was mad at us for holding him and waiting in line because there was a big field outside of Santa's house that he had been enjoying until we got into line. So he was quite squirmy. He watched Santa carefully and then when I put him down on Santa's lap, he looked at me and made a noise, but didn't cry. Santa was kind of a dud and didn't say much, so Everett just looked at him and looked away and that was the end of that! I was bummed because when we say "What does Santa say?" Everett replies, "Ho, Ho" and I wanted him to say it to Santa - Oh, well!

Wilderness Family Part 2: A New Family Tradition

On Friday, we drove up north to Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest to start a new family tradition. The forest sells a limited number of permits to go in and chop down your own tree. We thought we'd give it a try! Billy was armed with his new hatchet, Everett was armed in his running shoes, and I, well, let's face it, I was chasing Everett! We found a nice spot and set out on foot. Billy pointed out a tree and we put it on the list of possibility and kept on. It was a beautiful sunny day and a pleasant 45 degrees. But as time flew, toddler spirits waned and so we decided on that first tree. Out came the hatchet and my wilderness husband! It only took him about 5 minutes before we shouted, "Timber!" and threw that tree on the roof of the car. It was a long drive home worrying about getting it home alright, but it's safe and sound and fully decorated in our family room. Everett LOVES having a tree he can touch in the house and I do believe I saw some excitement in Miss Zoe when we hung her ornament. It was a beautiful day and it's a perfect tree.

Into The Wild

Carefully studying a specimen. What a scientist!