PHOTO SHOOTS WITH FOUR KIDS...
we even attempted a family photo... FOOLS
i told everyone to sit up and smile.. so my dear husband did just that.. to be funny.. little did he know it would have been a great picture.
we did get one that we used in our card.. minus some adults.. add some wrestling and sitting on a sibling.. hey, lets keep it real.. that is life in our home. as is the toddler bailing out of pics. or off santas lap. or off the potty. whatever... life as we know it.
bless those in conn. tragedy today.. a little persons first day of school pictures shouldn't be their last school picture..
kissing my babies when the walk in the door today...
this little miss entered our lives... all pink.. foofy and girly... she has since glittered bombed our world... can't imagine life without her.. her tiny little voice.. her messy messy self (ok i could do without that one).. sassy... nuturing.. little tiny thing that she is no matter how much older she gets.. just a blessing always...
it is that time of year again.. the annual trip to storybook land. it has been going for as many years as i have been alive.. i went as a kid with my dad.. i've been on many o' field trips with my kids preschool and kindergarten classes... we go as a family every year.. we missed the last two years.. you know, when your baby almost kills you and you spend over a year in recovery, one skips such events ;).. so we weren't going to miss it this year!
(the girls are staring at a grandpa who was trying to get minie to smile)
i'm sure it's a magical little place for children. the funny thing about magical moments is that they are really for the parents to see magic in their kids.. the entire building is lined with Christmas trees (that are from thinning the oregon forests) and each little little spot has a theme from a movie or a storybook. some are new, most are old.. some have been there since i was a kid.. my favorite is a 'ginormous' raggedy anne and andy.. when gav was just a tiny 4mo old baby i broke the rules and hopped the fence to put him on their lap.. it's a happy memory.
and now onto this years...
it wouldn't be a trip to storybook land without a trip to the bench to have a talking to. it's just a sade tradition i guess. one year it was eli blu.. then a pic of him pointing a finger in daddy's face.. next pic is of gav and luci on santas lap but no eli .. hehee.. it's a good memory too.. a funny one at that.. this year it was minie who refused to walk and had some fits when put down. once she got comfortable with it she was happy to do so and so into all the little scenes..
choo choo is always a favorite.. people stop and it holds up the line.. eli blu who was just almost too big to go this year, thought he would be funny in this one..
this beautiful little girl loves anything nutcracker.. such a good girl.. sometimes we forget how little she still is.. love her..
we had the first peek of santa who was around the corner at the north pole.. precious
luci had a friend from her class run over and loudly exclaim "luci do you still believe in santa? I DO!" then she went on to list her friends who don't.. nice.. this was eli blu's first year not to sit on santas lap.. he also made a few suggestions that it's his last year to believe.. i stood in that exact place 4years ago when gaven's eyes welled up with tears as he walked out of the building telling me "it's sucks to know"... i could see that moment in eli blu as he watched long after our girls we out of line.. sigh.. a weepy mommas heart <3 ..
and once again this sweet girl who loved to get on his lap and happily tell him about the preschool age toy she wanted at 9yrs old.. thank goodness because i do believe it's what he already has got for her..
and then there was...
a quick daddy handing her over, no eye contact with santa as arms went back up to daddy and DONE! she did like mrs. clause.. who doesn't.. she is the one with the candy canes..
that is pretty much how i'm feeling today..
(yes his head is stuck... no children were hurt too badly during this photo op)
here we go...
i'm thankful that we had 15 people over for thanksgiving and it came together so well... no stressing.. really.. at all.. it turned out better than i could have imagined...
i used an old door as a buffet... spread out some of my leaves that i press every year onto it.. added a bit of tulle.. you know, a buffer between the lead paint and the food :)
there was not a picture of the turkey which is a bummer because it was beautiful and there was a comical story behind it. while putting the pan in the oven we pushed a bit hard, ripping the underneath. yes, the $5 pan. imagine that. it's about time i get a 'real one'. as long as the turkey was weighted in the middle of the pan then it was fine. so we just left it to do it's thing. couldn't have been more moist and delicious.
we then moved on to other traditions... not really 'we'.. i'm the only crazy in the family that goes shopping from 10pm-10am!
this time it hurt a little less. first of all, she is 2 and does not have any friends of her own. she does, but they are from ages 9-35... none that want to wear a party hat or play games. thank goodness because i hate that stuff! it makes me uncomfortable. i sometimes show up at the end of parties or showers so i can avoid such things, yet in time for cake. that is how i roll. my two sisters however? one can entertain, cook and plan like no ones business. plus she enjoys it! my other sister is FUN. like really fun. creative fun. kids love her. even her kids who are in their 20's. me? i can craft/pinterest the 'bleep' out of anything, bake, photograph it, and then scrapbook it. our creativity comes from growing up poor and making anything out of nothing.
i also have a thing for simplifying. so that is exactly what i did. a mickey mouse party. it started out with the idea of a fun and oh so cute dress, tutu maybe?, cupcakes, balloons, some pom poms,and a few minnie mouse gifts. then i realized that was for me, so i bought a dog guitar that she adores and must play with every visit to target. she doesn't like cake but LOVES cookies and i would work mickey mouse into the party through sugar cookies. the reality of how it turned out? she stayed in her pj's all day, at some point tattooed herself with markers, put clothes on her for a few photos, a box (gasp) of cookies with frosting and a candle, 2 balloons for being 2, and an unwrapped dog guitar, and her siblings. SHE LOVED IT.
the story; she didn't know how to blow out the candle so when we all cheered her on she SCREAMED at it. this was the result of it in a photo. so funny. she makes us laugh everyday so of course she did just that at her 'unparty'.
the party did end up a bit mickey/minnie because of three very special people in her life. grandma cookie gave her a mickey mini lunchpail, luci made colored her mickey rocks and a card. then just when the party was over her most favorite person in the whole wide world, MEG came over with a box of minnie mouses. she went to bed with her mickey, her 3 minnies, and her baby.
although nothing went as my little dream 2 party would be, after four kids i can let go. surprises that were better than planned happened. kids love balloons more than anything even a box. brian picked some really divine red velvet cookies. and most of all? she was happy.
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