no more phone picture issues?

did i figure it out? can you all see this?

claire loves her "priiin-sus" stuff, but doesn't care for the crown on her head. but loves it on her horsey. me too.

testing, testing, mic, er, picture test....

lets see if it works now. any previous post pictures that you can't see? like the one below?

i swear, the mac disliked me first. i really wanted to give it a shot, but it just doesn't like me. 

sequence of events

thursday night: missionaries over for dinner. we serve tri-tip sandwiches (my fave) with mashed potatoes and broccoli. load claire's plate with mashed potatoes and broccoli and dip (ketchup). claire devours all the broccoli, mine, and joe's. this is a first. she has NEVER kept a bite of the green little trees in her mouth long enough to chew and swallow. success.

friday night: out to dinner. joe orders broccoli as a side to see if  the previous night was a fluke. definitely not. and definitely ate all of it, with more dip.

saturday morning: i woke up with a hunkering for doughnuts. i grab claire and we head to krispy kreme. we wait for.ev.er. in line. (the conveyor had stopped for a little bit, so we kept running up and down looking at it, and people with huge orders kept cutting in front of us. rude. grrr....) by the time we get our dozen, get our freebies, and are on our way out the door, claire turns, looks at me and says "more broccoli??" WHAT!?!? 

we were all out of broccoli, so we settled for sprinkle doughnuts (which she now confuses. i can't tell the difference between her saying sprinkles and broccoli. sweet.)

saturday morning tradition growing up- doughnuts! my fave? chocolate iced custard filled. joes? chocolate covered kreme filled. claire's? sprinkles. duh. 

bad mommy!

good thing this kid can sleep through the noise.... he might not get a nap in otherwise because i keep trying to push back nap time. poor little guy! when its time to sleep, he sleeps. 

oh a new year!

don't we all just love the start of a new year??? i do! and i like new things at the beginning of a new year.

this year its a new hair cut-
it so short... i seriously play with it all day, i still forget its all gone, but i really love it. i think i'll keep this up for a while. yay!

and claire started potty training- for reals this time. she is so ready, and so far has done great today.

oh hey bubba
he's not new, but his little bouncer is! so fun, thanks yaya! his little legs are a little short... thanks to his momma. long torso, short legs, my kids get it from me.

this kid just gets better and better. he's my little roly poly, chunky monkey, snuggle bug. he doesn't care to roll over so much, but loves his toes, sucking and chewing on anything, and pulling on any hair he can get a hold on. (not mine anymore! but poor claire... lets just say shes kept at a little bit of a distance since then.)

here's to a new year! i completed my one goal for last year.... got a few more this year, and i can do it!

its a good day

this may sound pathetic, and it is, but i was a little sad that claire "graduated" from junior to senior nursery today. no big deal or anything, (trust me, it almost didn't happen, she was a little upset and it almost didn't happen :) but in my head i was just thinking, great, and now it begins. she is getting older and i can't get her back to being little anymore! what the heck, when did she get so big?

i was sad. for a few minutes.

and then i was happy. because i still have a little one i can snuggle on. and hopefully more to come.

so tonight i snuggled bubba til he fell asleep, then snuggled claire watching cars, till she fell asleep. it was bliss i tell you. i could not have been doing anything in that moment to make me happier. how lucky am i?

whilst at the airport

she entertains herself. and she insisted on being buckled into the carseat to watch "toys". i got countless looks from some people, probably about the sanity of keeping her like that, but trust me. it was much better than the alternative :) 

"its christmas man!"

a slosh of pictures from the last several weeks up until saturday..... mostly self explanatory. the best was that we were surprised to have santa come visit on christmas eve. claire wasn't a huge fan, and was only near enough to get some candy from him, but when he was leaving (her favorite part) she waved and said "bye christmas man!" she has been singing, talking, and dancing to herself, talking about "chwiss-miss" non-stop. she definitely has her grandpa wrapped around little finger. she goes around on her toy phone talking to him all. the. time. bubba continues to be a dream..... except for the teeth. one has majorly popped, and has at least two more trying to make an appearance.

christmas has been perfect! being all together, talking to my bro in BRASIL, games, wii games, sitting around the fire, shopping, eating and more eating, cirque dreams holidaze, and the list goes on. mostly just being together has been amazing. love my family! we still have a few more fun things coming.... i'll grab some more pictures and throw them up later.

its a christmas miracle!

oh how excited i am to be home for chirstmas this year!!! little "miracles" have been happening since yesterday:

mom's present was in my hands at the very last possible moment
the stand-still two hour delay on the freeway was headed the opposite direction we needed to go
we all made it on time
joe didn't get arrested at the security check point
flights took off and landed basically on time
snow storm waited til we got here

and....

its snowing now! my dad has been waiting 55 YEARS for a white christmas, and the snow fairies have FINALLY granted his wish. :)

this just might be one of the best christmases ever. so many, many blessings. so much to be grateful for.

we just went to see the cirque du soleil holiday show and it was fab-u-lous. had a yummy breakfast. on the schedule for tonight:

traditional dinner
talent show
minute-to-win-it games
christmas stories

and general good cheer. or "use of the christmas spirit" if you're lindsay. :) off to eat my pre-dinner burrito. oh, the joy. merry christmas all!

bum day

it has been pouring snow all day. (yes pouring, because its a little slushy. a good kind to play in so it sticks together for snowballs and snowmen) sometimes a fan of snow, sometimes not. would much rather have summer. lindsay requested snow on saturday. so.....

here's my text convo with linds:

me: You got your wish for snow. You happy now?

linds: no. because i'm at work and it's snowing. i wish i could be at home watching it from my bed :)

maybe if i could watch it from MY bed i would like it? maybe with a good book, and some hot chocolate? ha. 

just STOP by thursday, k? pretty please? i would REALLY like to fly to st. louis without any hiccups, delays, cancellations, etc. please and thank you. which, bytheway, i am stoked about. only three sleeps away!!! and then just one and a half sleeps til christmas day! (because we get in real late thursday. gonna be a loooong day) i just love my fam. and i really can't wait to all just be together. 

haven't gotten out of my pj's. i have changed clothes, but i went from one set of jammies, to another. there is no way in HECK i am going out. i'll stay cozy thanks :)

sorry i'm so boring today. we'll spice things up later maybe.