Christmas 2012

Sorry it has taken so long to get this post up.  I know, I know.

I tried to get pictures of all the kids dressed nice.  As usual, the boys did not participate.  So it looks like all I did was take pictures of Gwyn.  We don't really put her in nice dresses very often, but after seeing how cute she was, she will be wearing more. She had another dress for Christmas Day, but I don't have a good picture of it. 

All of my mom's side was at Christmas Eve, with the exception of my great-grandma.  This has not happened in years, since so many of us have kids and other families to see.  There were all 12 in my mom's generation (including spouses), all 12 of my cousins (16 with spouses), and then all 12 great-grandchildren.  It was awesome, and loud!  It was the type of Christmas I remember having when I was young.  We got pictures of all of my mom's generation.  (It happens so rarely that someone has a picture up with an imposter for my uncle Jerry.  With a family that big, there is always one person who can't make it!) We tried to get a picture with all of my generation, but the youngest is only 2 and he was crying.  So in his place is his truck.  (We tried to use it to bribe him but that didn't work.)  And then we also got a picture with my kids' generation.  Those kids were the easiest to get a picture of!  I didn't have my camera, but I will share them when I get them!  (And only 5 of my cousins and I have started having kids!  There are still 7 without kids!)

As for Christmas, all I remember now was the AWESOME bottle opener we got from Kevin's sister Kelly, who is in Australia.  The boys loved their Legos, and put everything they got together in two days.  And Gwyn LOVES her new baby things.  She opened her stroller first and then walked around for 10 minutes not bothering to pay attention to any other gifts.  She stopped when she got the baby bed, and new baby from Colin.  She loves taking care of her babies, and rocks them, puts them to sleep, and walks around with them.  The boys had a doll and a stroller, and they never played like this.  It is adorable.  Oh, she did love her apron, since I wear mine when I cook.  But not as much as baby stuff.  Girls are so different.

 

 

Movie Night

Last night we had movie night in our house.  The boys get really excited about it.  We get blankets and pillows out, which they took to mean that we move furniture for every possible blanket in the house.  The first time they started tearing apart bed, so we had to draw the line somewhere.  Now, they get every pillow and blanket allowed, and stuffed animals if they are in the mood.  This time, they were.

We watched Home Alone.  In the past we have watched How To Train Your Dragon, Short Circuit, The Muppet Movie, The Last Starfighter, to name a few.  And Kevin and I were surprised (again) how different a movie is from the perspective of a parent!  The boys LOVED Home Alone, but I didn't remember cursing (so much inappropriate language!), a body being shot, and the kid shooting the gun.  But movies are different for kids, and I am pretty certain they will remember it as I did, as a fun Christmas movie. 

They throw anything they want from upstairs over the balcony.  This wasn't even everything.

The pre-movie set up.

Colin later turned all the animals so they were facing the tv.

Eating pizza, and later popcorn.  

One more thing worth noting - Gwyneth went crazy during the movie.  There is something about movie nights that make her more hyper than usual nights.  She spent about 20 minutes running laps around the house while giggling, another 10 minutes spinning and falling down, and would stop to dance whenever there was music.  She never really sat down at all.

Jacksonville Marathon

Kevin and I went to Florida this past weekend for the Jacksonville Marathon.  We flew out on Friday night, and then returned Sunday.  Kevin did fantastic in his race!  His final time was 2:53, which means that he qualified for Boston!  Our flight left about 5 hours after he finished.  He says the flight home was the worst part of the trip.  I made him run from one connecting flight to another in Atlanta.  (We were at different concourses, and our landing time was the same as our boarding time.  Kevin still says we could have made it without running.)  This made his side hurt for a few hours.  I feel bad about it, but I get way to anxious when I travel, and I was doing so much for him that I was needing control over something for me.

The race was very organized, and it was pretty easy to get around.  I was able to see him 5 times during the race.  The cops were all very nice to the spectators, helped with directions, and just told us to park in the grass to see the runners.  It was so strange though, because they didn't close the roads, so there were still a few cars in the neighborhoods.  (The busier roads had lanes closed.)  Even though it was hot and humid, a decent portion of the race was in the shade.  (Not enough, but a lot.)  I was always too nervous to get pictures when he was running, so I only ended up with a few.  For those who have not waited to see your marathoner run by, and know how he is doing on time/pacing, it is anxiety-inducing.  My mom has only been the one at the finish line with me, and I am pretty much a wreck.  This race ended in a stadium, around a high school track.  As soon as I saw Kevin enter I just yelled his name.  Then I started screaming him on.  (He heard me!)  When he finished I was in tears I was so proud of him.  This is is 3rd marathon, and he has been training for this specific marathon for about 10 months.  No late-night weekends, long runs on Saturdays, running when the kids go to bed, all of it is unreal.  Not to mention that Kevin took a UMR class this semester that had an intense workload.

It is surreal now that it is all over.  Afterwards, he took an ice bath, a long hot shower, and then I had to get him in the car to get food and to the airport.  We got home, got kids, put them to bed, and he returned to work the next day.  It doesn't feel like anything is different.  It went by so fast, and so different from his previous marathons, which were both in St. Louis.  But he did it, and his family is extremely proud of him, even if he is acting like a runner about it.  (Which means, he is rethinking the race constantly, thinking about what he could have done to shave time off here and there.)  This means he is not really satisfied, and is frustrating to me.  He did so much work, took about 20 minutes off his 1st marathon time, easily qualified for Boston, and still is disappointed in himself.  I learned years ago that it would be this way, but for a wife it is perplexing, and a let down.  The kids and I want to celebrate and be happy, and we miss out on that with him.  But he knows we are proud, and that we love him, and that we will support him again.  Just don't run a marathon for a year or so.  (Please?)

A lot of the race looked like this, through neighborhoods.  In the very back is Kevin, I think. 

Only a person who ran 26 miles can sleep comfortably like this.

Bedtime... Again.

After Gwyn's bath tonight, the boys took turns taking showers.  While Colin was showering, Kevin took Gwyn into her room and read her books.  She was even doing the hand motions for some of them!  She LOVED it.  Then, when Kevin was in the shower, Colin read to Gwyn.  Colin, to no one's surprise, was still nekkid.  So I had to get a picture.  And I included Gwyn's bed.  (She is moving into her toddler bed over winter break.)  A girl who loves books this much has a bed that looks like hers.  And she adds a new one every few days.

I am also adding a few door hangers.  Kevin made sure than Gwyn's room had the penguin.  And one of the boys even put the gingerbread man in the gingerbread bathroom!

Zoo Wild Lights 2012

We have a new December tradition, which is going to our zoos Wild Lights. (Here is last year's post.) This year is our 5th year attending. We arrive at the zoo at 6:00, eat dinner, walk to the cafe that has desserts, and then walk around the zoo.  (The best year was two years ago when it was about 12 degrees outside, because so few people were there.)  This year was warmer than normal, and no children broke down in tears.  (Unlike last year.)  Kevin is no longer terrified of the people dressed up as animals, but Gwyn screams and clings to me if she can even see them.  I like it for the snuggle factor, but no for the terror factor. Here are a few pictures.

Aunt Kelly Birthday

Bath Time

Bath time pretty much works like clockwork around here.  One parents can do all three kids pretty successfully, without even having a drink afterwards.  Gwyn gets her bath.  Then while she is getting books, the boys take turns in the shower.  They still need help rinsing all the shampoo out, but they are getting better. 

Gwyn's hair still has some curl to it, so I got a picture to show.  (Here and here are previous pictures of her curls.) 

Which led to being chased by Bubby...

Which led to following him everywhere he went...

Which led to finally saying good night to everyone to then get pajamas on...

Which led to a dance party while reading Barnyard Dance!

Too Beautiful For December

The past few days have been in the 70's.  And it is December!  (Why couldn't we have waited until this weekend to put up decorations?  It was about 30 when we did it.)  So that past two days we have gotten up from naps early and out of the house by 3:30 to get outside.  Yesterday we went for a walk and wagon-pull on the Katy Trail.  Today we went to Creve Ceour Park for bike rides. 

The boys just rode ahead and then would wait for us to catch up.

Gwyn got to choose between the wagon and stroller.  She chose this!

Ever since Zoo Camp in July, Colin wears his cheetah mask EVERY TIME he is on his bike.  It is adorable, and typical Colin!  One very kind person even commented on it.

He was too hot after a while and pulled his mask down.  And, of course, he kept talking to me.