Happy Baptism, Avery!

Last Sunday Avery Secrest was baptized at Blessed John. She was the super star of 9:45 mass! 

She made it to the big screens

She and Fr Herb took a walk-about so she could see everyone. I call it the Lion King.

I think Fr Herb was getting a little tired after walking around church for 4 minutes with Miss Avery.

After church Nick went home to take a nap (after his epic melt down at the end of church) while Ben and I went over to Cameryn and Avery's house for a little baptism party. Happy Baptism, Avery!

The Clash of 21 Months and Christmas Decorating

Did you know that it is scientifically impossible to put up Christmas decorations with a 21 month old in the house? Well Nick spent 4 hours proving it today. After an epic melt down at the end of church, Nick took a 3 hour nap. In that time, Adam and I started to put up the Christmas tree. Nick woke up while I was finishing the lights, so he was fully awake and present for the ornaments portion of decorating. To make a long story short, we lost somewhere in the neighborhood of 4-6 ornaments (nothing special) and it took probably 5 times longer than required. I thought I could try to outsmart the 21 month old (hahaha me!) by getting him is own tree to decorate. Fail. He strung some Mardi Gras beads on it and then headed right back to the big tree and glass ornaments. By the time we were finishing the ornaments, Adam was kind enough to wake Ben up from his nap, so I had both boys 'helping'. I persevered and got it all done, but it was far from a pleasant experience. I don't think George James is going to have a glowing review of today's behavior for Santa. There's always tomorrow...

The final product

No Yogurt for YOU!

The you would be me - the mommy. I am no longer able to eat yogurt unless I eat it in the car on the way home from the grocery store. These kids eat yogurt like the last dairy cow in the world is about to die. A few weeks ago I bought a Chobani 4-pack. It was completely gone by the time I had all the groceries in the house. No lie. Fage was on sale 10 for 10 this week so I bought 10. Ben was very excited that he got to eat the 'fancy' yogurt. In less than 6 hours, there were only 4 left. I actually got to consume one this morning. I hid one in the back of the fridge in hope that it might survive long enough for me to take it for lunch tomorrow. 

Here, Nick is sporting the yogurt half-stache

The Return

It is that time of the year again. Time for the return of the Elves. Our elf, named either George or James depending on who you ask, made his arrival on Tuesday. He was expected to arrive Monday morning, but must have gotten tied up in Christmas magic traffic. George/James made quite the splash when he did finally arrive. Tuesday morning I am getting dressed when I hear screaming in the living room. Ben comes barreling into the bathroom, screaming ''Mommy!, Mommy! My elf came! My elf came!' Unfortunately, I believe George James has had to make some not so sparkling reports to Santa this week. One little boy need to learn to listen and another needs to learn that furniture is not a trampoline. They have 24 days to clean up their acts.

Workbook Time!

Ben is now the only 3 year old at daycare on Tuesdays and Thursdays so I thought he might enjoy doing workbook activities with Sharon on those days. I bought a few workbooks at Learning Express yesterday, along with a little mini taper measure that someone was not supposed to find, but did. One workbook stayed at Sharon's and the others came home. I figured the cutting one was better done at home. I don't think Sharon would appreciate Ben with scissors in her house. So this morning at 7:30, Ben was all ready to go and do one of his workbooks. I gave him one of the cutting pages where he needed to cut in a straight line. Before he could cut, though, he had to measure - several times. He used his little tape measure to measure the length of each line. After carefully measuring each line several times, he was able to proceed with cutting. I'd like to note, that I had no input on this train of thought. I think it's funny that he had on his handyman gorilla jammies, too. As for the cutting, he cut in a perfectly straight line. We just need to work on following directions, like when to stop cutting.

Stickers, Stickers Everywhere

Last week I let Ben get a sticker book at the store. I really am brilliant sometimes. I let him get one with like 500 stickers, most the size of a pencil eraser. I believe all 500 stickers have in some way, shape or form been applied to either human skin, my furniture or the dog. Lesson learned.

Wresdling

Wresdling: A simultaneous combination of wrestling and cuddling. 

Exhibit A

Exhibit B

Exhibit C

Turkey Cookies!

I forgot one! I forgot this post because the pictures were on my other camera. A few weeks ago our friend Susan invited us to Meijer to decorate Turkey cookies using Oreos. The kids had fun making a mess of the melted chocolate and candy. After our cookies and the purchase of some white asparagus, we headed over to Barry's Bagel for a yummy lunch! 

Swim Time

Sunday we headed over to the Hilton where Grandma and Grandpa were staying to enjoy some yummy brunch and do a little swimming. The little fishies were in full swing. Nick really likes being thrown in the pool. Ben does not. So I made sure to throw Ben every chance I got. The boys swam around, jumped off the side of the pool and worked themselves up for some good long naps.

This is me laughing after having thrown Ben. I thought it was funny...

Ben was kind enough to let Nick borrow his froggie swimmer for a bit but then he had to 'push' Nick around in it. 

They ended up hugging it out. Or least Ben did. Nick wasn't really giving much of a choice in the matter.

Lights at the Zoo

Last Friday we bundled ourselves up and headed for the Lights Before Christmas at the zoo with Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Sarah, Aunt Terri and Uncle Les (who were in from Georgia). It was quite cold and windy, so it was a bit challenging for the warm blooded southerners. Us northerners, who can handle the cold, had on 2 or 3 layers of pants, heavy coats, gloves and hats. Nick had trouble moving. The wind died down after a while and it turned into a great night! 

Ben was anti-picture at this point. Nick had no choice. He couldn't move.

It's kind of hard to see because of the dirty glass, but the polar bear was sleeping right against the window

Ben had to have his picture taken with the baby wolves statue.

Ben was sooooo tired. We had some issues at the zoo because he was so tired. So, of course he fell asleep as soon as we got out of the parking lot at the zoo.