It's unfathomable to think you can put a gingerbread house in front of a 4 year old, tell her to use frosting as the glue to hold her gumdrops, M&M's, and pretzels in place . . . and oh by the way, honey, you can't eat any of it. Who invented this little project of entrapment?!
Now for the real cooking! Lisa's family has a traditional bread they make each Christmas called kloban (the spelling is a guess as I couldn't find it in google . . hmmm). Anyway, Audrey wanted to jump in and help. Daddy took a nap with Sam which was a mistake, I should have been running defense on the 4 year old. Please take a moment to guess if Auntie Calie is having a "teaching" moment with Audrey or a "disciplining" moment. I wont tell you my guess, but it errs on the cynical side.
And here is our little baker boy. A little late for the action, but ready to go none-the-less. Sam has a new found affinity for hats. We love it, as putting a warm hat on him in the cold weather isn't even a question. If we mention going outside he runs to the closet to get his hat.
Lisa grew up with 3 cousins that lived just across the border in Surrey. They've all married, moved East (like Nova Scotia, Maine, and Chicago East), and had children. They were all home for Christmas so we headed up to add to the madness. The picture above shows GG (Lisa's grandma) with 7 of her great grandchildren. Not pictured are one who was napping and 2 more that were in St. Louis. 10 great grandkids is a wonderful blessing for sure.
I know Lisa cherished seeing her cousins, and seeing the little ones interact was special. It was a great reminder of the unique bond that family has. It was truly heart warming to see. On a "not so special note", we heard the 24 hour flu bug hit the household a day after we left. Eeks.
As with all little kids, Sam absolutely adores cats and dogs. While he can't say puppy yet, he is actually "walking his dog" in the picture above. Perhaps he'll name his first pet "crock-pot". Lisa and I aren't so sure about adding a pet to the household, but pictures like this definitely push the guilt meter past the middle.
Ah yes, Santa came to town as well. When Santa asked Audrey what she wanted for Christmas she replied in a sheepish voice "a leapster" (it's a kid handheld game for those of us that had no idea). Santa leaned in and said "a hampster". Audrey's eyes widened a little and you could see her thinking "that would be cool . . . ". The panic in Lisa's eyes was epic. She jumped in and snapped Audrey back to reality by telling Santa (I wont say shouting) that she said leapster.
And here is our little baker boy. A little late for the action, but ready to go none-the-less. Sam has a new found affinity for hats. We love it, as putting a warm hat on him in the cold weather isn't even a question. If we mention going outside he runs to the closet to get his hat.
Lisa grew up with 3 cousins that lived just across the border in Surrey. They've all married, moved East (like Nova Scotia, Maine, and Chicago East), and had children. They were all home for Christmas so we headed up to add to the madness. The picture above shows GG (Lisa's grandma) with 7 of her great grandchildren. Not pictured are one who was napping and 2 more that were in St. Louis. 10 great grandkids is a wonderful blessing for sure.I know Lisa cherished seeing her cousins, and seeing the little ones interact was special. It was a great reminder of the unique bond that family has. It was truly heart warming to see. On a "not so special note", we heard the 24 hour flu bug hit the household a day after we left. Eeks.
As with all little kids, Sam absolutely adores cats and dogs. While he can't say puppy yet, he is actually "walking his dog" in the picture above. Perhaps he'll name his first pet "crock-pot". Lisa and I aren't so sure about adding a pet to the household, but pictures like this definitely push the guilt meter past the middle.
Ah yes, Santa came to town as well. When Santa asked Audrey what she wanted for Christmas she replied in a sheepish voice "a leapster" (it's a kid handheld game for those of us that had no idea). Santa leaned in and said "a hampster". Audrey's eyes widened a little and you could see her thinking "that would be cool . . . ". The panic in Lisa's eyes was epic. She jumped in and snapped Audrey back to reality by telling Santa (I wont say shouting) that she said leapster.I haven't seen Lisa move that fast since Sam was running through Greg and Jessica's house with a lit candle . . . . but that's a different story.
Of all the gifts Audrey received this year, one of the most cherished was the footlong M&M dispenser. Ah, I remember those days when the immediate gratification of candy outweighed almost any longterm toy.
More hammering toys for Sam. We now have a fully distressed coffee table that would make Restoration Hardware jealous. Lisa keeps reminding me "people pay good money for this look". I reply "who are these people and when can I drop Sam off at their house?".
Sam doing a little reading with Grammy. If you notice the white toy in Sam's hand, it's a "reader" that allows kids to drag it along the book page and it will read out loud for them. To Sam it's a slightly bulbous hammer that if he slams onto a page it might read out loud if he happens to hit the paragraph. Oh Sam, finesse is not your thing.
Sam is getting ready for the New Year's Eve party that Lisa threw for the neighborhood kids. Rocking hat #1.
He wanted to switch up the look once the party started so he went with the New Year's tiara.
And for the countdown he decided to go with the traditional top hat. On a somber note, Audrey came down with a fever literally 30 minutes before the party started. She ended up going to bed just as people were arriving (yes, we're those people that expose others to our sickness (actually, it all happened so fast)). I kept checking on her throughout the night and all she would ask is "how are the kids doing without me?". If you know Audrey's social nature, it was heartbreaking. She was so looking forward to the party.
Of all the gifts Audrey received this year, one of the most cherished was the footlong M&M dispenser. Ah, I remember those days when the immediate gratification of candy outweighed almost any longterm toy.
More hammering toys for Sam. We now have a fully distressed coffee table that would make Restoration Hardware jealous. Lisa keeps reminding me "people pay good money for this look". I reply "who are these people and when can I drop Sam off at their house?".
Sam doing a little reading with Grammy. If you notice the white toy in Sam's hand, it's a "reader" that allows kids to drag it along the book page and it will read out loud for them. To Sam it's a slightly bulbous hammer that if he slams onto a page it might read out loud if he happens to hit the paragraph. Oh Sam, finesse is not your thing.
Sam is getting ready for the New Year's Eve party that Lisa threw for the neighborhood kids. Rocking hat #1.
He wanted to switch up the look once the party started so he went with the New Year's tiara.
And for the countdown he decided to go with the traditional top hat. On a somber note, Audrey came down with a fever literally 30 minutes before the party started. She ended up going to bed just as people were arriving (yes, we're those people that expose others to our sickness (actually, it all happened so fast)). I kept checking on her throughout the night and all she would ask is "how are the kids doing without me?". If you know Audrey's social nature, it was heartbreaking. She was so looking forward to the party.It was simply a 24 hour bug and the good news is she started 2010 on a spunky, ableit challenging and exhausting, 4 year old high.
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