Tannerisms On The Road

Tanner: Where are we going?

Megan: Carter's.

Tanner: Is that where we wash the car or fix the car?

Get it? Car-ter's?

Tannerisms at Dinner

Tanner: I'm done!

Megan: No, you aren't. You haven't even touched your roast beef or peas.

Tanner: Sure I have! See?

He proceeded to poke his roast beef and peas with his finger. Touching them.

Oh, to be five again...

Tannerisms

Tanner: This is a jacket, not a coat. Did you know that coats are more "plumpy"?

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Tanner: I love pizza!! Are we going to Little Tweezers?

Little Lewis

Little Lewis belongs to Kerrin. I can't help myself sometimes; I gotta break out my camera when I get a hold of him.

Eating a sandwich the size of his face.

Spud Kinley

After Kinley's first basketball clinic/practice before Christmas, I whispered to Justin, "she's really bad, isn't she?" He confirmed my suspicions and we settled into what promised to be a very long season.

Eventually she learned to block the basket instead of the bleachers and sometime along the way she stopped ducking/cowering when someone accidentally passed her the ball. She only drove the ball to the wrong basket once; fortunately for our team, she's a lousy shot.

To our great surprise and delight, toward the end of the season she shed her tentative demeanor, muscling her way into the fray to steal the ball from boys twice her size. I was just paparazzically on-the-"ball" enough to capture her Moment of the season, as seen in this first picture. She blocked this shot. Check out my airborne basketball princess!



Kinley had the time of her life this season, learning to play basketball while we cheered her on from the sidelines. Early in the season Daddy was able to take her by himself, which was a special treat for both of them. The boys and I took over once tax season got under way.

I have no idea which team won any game or what the scores may have been. I suppose I lack a competitive streak; for me it was enough that she had fun. Her skills and confidence improved dramatically as the season wore on. If she plays next year, she'll be on an all-girls team and she's concerned she "won't be challenged enough." Ahem. I did mention that her confidence improved, right?

Fat Fluctuation

Crew. is. 18. pounds.

We are so happy!

Crew's weight is going up.

My weight is going down.

All is right in the world.

Down On The Farm

One day for preschool we learned about farms. There are an awful lot of picture books and popular children's songs about farm life, by the way. Here are a few highlights of our day.

We played our Funny Farm file folder game. Perfectionist Madison wasn't too thrilled about mixing up the bodies and heads at first, but it was right up my little anarchist's alley.We colored hard boiled eggs
One of these kids is a little less careful than the other. Any guesses?
Yep. That guy.
For the Main Event: Lacking my own cow, I improvised!
Oh, yes I did.
We "milked" latex gloves, and lots of 'em.
Everyone took turns being the "cow".
Kinley was off track and was very excited to join our farmy insanity.
We had a hee-hawin', knee-slappin', song-singin', glove-milkin' good time.

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I made a farmy sound-matching worksheet. (click to enlarge for downloading if you want it.)

Cowlickin' Clipper Calamity

Sigh... sniff, sniff...

Crew became an unfortunate casualty of Naked Hair Cut Day.

I hate it. It's so awful.

I kind of like it... if I close one eye and tilt my head just so. He's still cute, right? RIGHT?


This one I'm used to seeing bald. And I likey.

Tub Time Lights

I found the cutest bath toys at Walmart. They are called Garanimal Tub Time Lights. They are bath/water-safe and require no batteries -- well, they come with batteries that are nonreplaceable, I guess. Anyway, they float, but they also have suction cups on the back so that you can suction them to the bath floor or wall if you like. Push them once and they glow (brightly). Press again and they blink. As if bath time wasn't fun enough...

Chicken Diablo

Mmmmm..... chicken that is equally delectable as a main dish or salad fixin's. Home run with the whole family. Revamped and improved from an old recipe that I posted years ago.Ingredients:
3.5 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, trimmed of all yucky parts
4 Tbs butter
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder

Directions:
Melt butter in 9 x 13 pan. In separate bowl, mix butter, honey, mustard, salt, and curry powder. Pour all sauce into the pan with the butter. Roll chicken around in the pan, coating well. Arrange in single later. Bake uncovered at 375 degrees for approximately 55 minutes, or until rich, glazed, and thoroughly cooked, basting every 20 minutes. To baste, I just take it out of the oven for a minute and use a spoon to re-douse the chicken with the juices/sauce. Be sure to use a clean spoon each time.

For more of our family's most favorite recipes, please visit Vittles Divine.

Hot Cross Buns

I made this hairstyle up by myself. Actually, I dreamed about it one night. Inspiration, if you will. It's one of my new faves.

Fortunately, The Princess approves.

Unfortunately, now whenever I want to try something new, she insists that it be something that I dreamed up. Literally. If I can't back it up with the confirmation of nocturnal genius, she's not interested.

From Kinley To Daddy

Roses are Red, Violets are blue
Happy Valentine's Day to you!

You're always kind and nice;
And we're alike because we're both afraid of mice.

Crew is Doing Better

And I'm so glad about it.

Crew Is Sick Again

Coughing. Again. All night. Medications, oils, humidifiers, fluids, elevation, nebulizing. Nothing helped.

I hope tonight is better. Much much better.

My critter has no immune system. He never gets a chance to build it back up again before the next plague strikes him.

Babbling Boy

We have reached two very exciting milestones this week.

#1. Crew is starting to ask politely for things beyond food and drink. He has realized that he has the power to ASK for what he wants with gestures and a gentle grunt. This is a huge change for us, one we have long prayed for. If he wants to get up on the couch, he will stand up at the couch and then point his hand at the couch and say "uh?" If he wants his socks on, he will hold them up to us and say, "uh?" If he wants to go from Mommy's lap to Daddy's lap, he will patiently reach his arm to Daddy and say, "uh?" When he wants me to read him a book, he will get it, hold it out to me and say, "uh?" When he wants to play ball, he shows it to me and says, "uh?" You get the idea. It's. so. nice. It hasn't completely eliminated melt-downs, but they are decreasing in frequency and intensity at an astonishing rate.

#2. Crew is learning to speak. I can't tell you what this milestone means to us or how happy we are about it. He is in the most primitive stages of mimicry, but he is making (very successful) attempts to copy our sounds when prompted. Ma-ma-ma. Da-da-da. Ba-ba-ba. Ta-ta-ta. Ooooo, eeeeee, aaaaaaah. Moo, meow, baa, woof. It's glorious, I tell you! GLORIOUS!

Is it Just Me?

Or is my critter cute?



"OK, I'm getting tired now."

"This is the last one, Mom."
"I said no more."
"Stoooooooop! Put down your stupid camera and pick me up!"
(Please don't tell Tanner that I used the s-word.)

Living in Mayberry

Mock me if you will, but I love that my kids think the s-word is "stupid" and the f-word is "fart". Kinley recently realized that the s-word isn't "stupid" after all. It's "shoot".

Happy Valentine's Day

Balloon Boy

Crew loves him some balloons...

The Internet Generation

Tanner: Mommy, when I fill up my sticker chart, will you get me a new squirt gun? My old one is broken.

Mommy: We'll have to see if they have them at Walmart.

Tanner: Why can't you just buy one online?

Feelin' The Valentine's Love

While leaning in for a close inspection....

Kinley: I think it's time to shave those legs, mom. They look like they're growing a mustache.

Every Party Needs a Pooper

The Birthday Princess

Our Princess is eight years old. Eight years ago she dubbed us parents. I learn so much from her. She is a precious daughter, a generous sister and friend. Many times I have watched her intentionally lose board and card games so that her brother can know the thrill of victory. She always buys Tanner goodies from the school store with tickets she has earned. She has been known to hold half a cookie in her hand for over an hour's drive to deliver it to a brother who was left at home. Her explanation? "It's not fair and it's not nice that he should miss out." She is famously witty, and she knows just how funny she is. She keeps things interesting around here and we love her very very much. We're so glad that she is a part of our family.

Magical Make Up

While watching me get ready this morning...

Kinley: Wow, that stuff is magic. It really does cover up all your zits!

I forgave her. It's her birthday, after all.

Friends and Preparation

Kinley was able to attend the baptism of her good friend, Isabel. It was very exciting for Kinley. She was paying special attention to all the details, taking mental notes. Kinley's big day is coming up next month and she is so excited! It's great to be eight!

Relativity

He may not be porking up as quickly as we'd like, but he's definitely getting taller and he has gained weight. I plotted our little critter on the chart this morning to see just how far we were off. Not too shabby, in my opinion. Crew's adjusted age is 24 months and he is the height/length of a very small 20 month old. He, of course, looks smaller than that because he is the weight of a very small 9 month old. He also looks smaller because he isn't walking. People are often surprised at how tall he is when they find him standing up. He really is extremely long for his weight. Heck, even his feet (size 5) are long. We recently put him back on Benecalorie, because that's when he was gaining and growing best. It will also help if we can keep the poor kid free of illness. Jeesh. Nothing like clear liquids for a week to derail your weight-gain efforts. More weight means more muscle. More muscle means gross motor improvement. It's the game we play.

Kinley is Turning 8!

The Age of Aquarium

Trying to catch up on blogging. For Kinley's last day of off-track vacation, we took our first trip to the aquarium. Overall, I was pretty underwhelmed for the price, but it's something we've wanted to do for a long time, and we had fun.

Ribbit.
We saw lots of interesting creatures.
Crew was mesmerized by some fishies.
Pretty fishies...
The sea horses were a little smaller than Kinley was hoping. No saddles or anything!
Some more exotic creatures as well. Aside from this fancy pencil-lookin' fish, we saw sharks, sea turtles, penguins, and an octopus.
And this funny guy, decked out in his finest Lady Gaga apparel.
Arrrrrgh, matey!
We found a penguin cut-out just their size!
And just his size too.
The highlight of the day was petting the stingrays. They felt soft and kind of gooey. I wasn't expecting that. Kinley made friends with the little buggers pretty quickly.
Crew was chillin' patiently.
Tanner is watching the stingrays in the distance, trying to decide whether he really wants to try to touch one.
Yes! He wants to! But.... it's too far.
Soooooo close. Not quite. I tried to help. Arm too short, child too stubborn and independent. Next time, buddy. Next time.
Winter adventures are hard to come by sometimes, but this was a nice way to spend our morning!