Doublemint Gum

I truthfully wondered if I would, but I love having two kids.Kate and Cole are nuts about each other, despite their age difference. Kate loves to read books and sing songs to Cole. And Cole adores Kate…and I mean ADORES her. The mere sound of Kate’s voice makes him smile. It makes my heart glad just watching them.
Kate was sick for all of last week. She got to watch movies and wear p.j.’s all day everyday. If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was a faker. She’s a big T.V. head and that week was probably one of her favorite weeks ever.
Also in the happenings…
Kate and the rest of us have been anxiously awaiting the metamorphosis of both her caterpillars and her ladybug larvae.
Both species are getting huge, but aren’t transformed yet.
Most days, we can’t wait for our Daddy to get home. Kate loves me, but she often reminds me that she “loves Dad the VERY most.” I won’t be surprised if Child 2 shares those same feelings, but I’m crossing my fingers that at least one will favor the mom.
We broke out Kate’s new art easel (I assembled it myself, thank you). She likes me to guess who she drew, and I rarely guess wrong (that might be due in part that she draws Jack Skellington 99.9% of the time).

Two weeks ago was Ward Conference. Sister Gallup from the stake taught the primary. Sis. Gallup made the mistake of asking, “Does anyone know the song ‘I’m Trying to Be Like Jesus’?” Without a second to waste, Sunbeam Kate stood up on her chair and sang the entire song as a solo. Everyone was very impressed by this little 3-year-old and The Parents heard the story SEVERAL times from SEVERAL people.

Well, because of this…Kate was asked to sing again, only this time, in sacrament meeting. Oh, heavens! Our child is fearless. Anyway, she gladly accepted the invite and nailed the performance. I think it's safe to say that she already has a very big following.

Cole boy is growing, fast. His good looks have only doubled, and so has his wasteline. At 3 months now, we just switched him to his 3-6 month sized clothes. They don’t fit. He laps down 6 ounce bottles with zero trouble. Apparently, I overfeed my child (I got ya, Dr. Arnold), but this boy doesn’t like me skimping on his meals.

Cole has finally mastered the art of sleeping through the night; 11 straight hours to be precise. Restul, happy parents once again prevail in this household.

I love my life. Have I ever mentioned that?

Kate In Wonderland (Video Added)

***Let’s take a trip down memory lane for just a moment… This is me (left) and my BFF, Lindsay. We were the white rabbits in a little production of “Alice in Wonderland” circa 1985.

***Now fast forward 25 years…

And here is my little Baby Oyster with her BFF, Cammie, prior to their unveiling in “Alice in Wonderland.”

Twinkle-toed Kate had a recital both Friday and Saturday nights. She loved every minute of the madness and danced her little heart out.

Kate and her classmates played the Walrus’ & Carpenter’s Baby Oysters, as well as the Queen’s hedgehogs. They absolutely stole the show (and my heart, if we’re going to be technical here).

Kate was so proud of her little self and did a beautiful job shaking her thing. Even more proud, were the Mom and Dad.

Kate is the Baby Oyster on the far right.

Kate is the 3rd Hedgehog from the right.

Crazy Town

Unbeknownst to me, it’s a very popular thing to pick a theme word to live by for the New Year.  I’ve thought long and hard as to what my theme word could be. Ultimately, I’ve decided on not a single one.  I think I don’t want to base my whole year around one theme; although “sanity” did appeal to me.  No one wants to be crazy, after all.

Speaking of the New Year, a lot has been going on.  I’ve got a lot of projects I’m occupied with and lately, it seems like there just aren’t enough hours in the day to accomplish everything. If I know me (and I do) I probably won’t complete a one of them this year. It’s fun trying though.

One project that Dave and I (and the rest of America) have signed up for is getting our fitness on.  I aim for at least 20 minutes a day, but with Baby Cole, Preschool, dance, playdates, and life, sometimes I can only fit in 15.  I say, it’s better than nothing.And because I’m used to 3rd grade mentality we’ve even got reward charts.  Dave just marks an X on his, but I get a smiley face and a motivational phrase on mine.  As you can see, sometimes Dave beats me to the task.

***

New Years was originally going to be low-key with our little family. But when Dren and Ryan couldn’t find sitters for their usual event, they celebrated with us instead. How lovely that their misfortune played in our favor. Dave made chocolate and cheese fondue and bought up confetti bombs, horns, and hats.  That guy really knows how to party. 

The hosts with the most.  Ah, cute:

Ringing in 2011:

New Years Day was spent tournamenting at Annette’s.  We broke the usual ping pong, air hockey, and Wii bowling tradition to do the whole “Minute to Win It” thing. 

And, yes. I successfully color-sorted an entire bag of M&M’s (using only one hand, mind you) in less than a minute.

Kate and her little cousins played dress-ups for most of the event.  And Coley Bear did a lot of this and not much else:

And that’s how our New Year is rolling…just a whole lot of good, “sane” fun.