Watch Out, Danica Patrick.

This is why motorized race cars and girls with long hair don't mix. Gabriella's hairstyle could now be described as a "semi-mullet".

Tractor Party

We had a birthday party for the boys over the weekend, and they had a great time. We got to see lots of friends and relatives and I think all the kids had fun getting very, very dirty. I had no idea a corn bin would make them so dusty (see Chase's sleeves below). For our families and friends who couldn't join us, here are a few pictures.









Big thanks to Grandpa for taking pictures and to everyone who helped clean up the straw afterwards (it did not stay on the tarps like I had planned). Happy Birthday, Graham & Chase!

Gabriella's Pastimes

Gabriella sure has a lot of character.

Three days ago, she put her breakfast cereal in her ears.
Two days ago, she cut a hole in her shirt with a pair of scissors.
Yesterday, she tried to check out a book about stem cell research at the library.
Today, she was snuggling with me on the chair. Here was our conversation:

Me: Well, Gabriella, do you think I should get up and finish vacuuming?
Gabriella: No, Daddy vacuum.
[Pause as my heart melts knowing she wants to keep snuggling with me, then she finishes...]
Gabriella: Mommy need to take a shower.

Name Above All Names

Graham and Chase like to refer to people as "Your-name Duh-Dode". For instance, I am Mommy Duh-Dode, Will is Daddy Duh-Dode, and the guy who measured our counters was "Hey, Duh-Dode."

Chase also has a habit of calling everyone "Guy". Once, as we were waiting in the pharmacy line, he turned to the 90 year-old woman behind us and shouted, "Hey, Guy! You got some food?"

But my favorite has to be Graham's new name for me: Mommy del Woppy. I think he is trying to call me Mommy Jalopy, but that's not very flattering, either.

Perfect (Snow)Storm

We had the best snow for making snowmen yesterday, so we headed out after naptime.






We built snowmen for everyone in our house. All the kids wanted to do was lick them.

Corta el Pelo

Gabriella is on a hair-cutting kick, and nobody is immune.





"What's the big deal?" you may ask. Well, yes, they are plastic scissors, but they are painful. She pinches our hair with them, and one time she purposely tried to cut off my ear. Our budding cosmetologist needs a little more practice.

Chase is 3

Chase turned 3 on February 2nd! I can't believe it has been 3 years since we got a phone call and a few hours later, the caseworker plunked him down on our couch. He was so tiny that he didn't fit in the carseat, and they had him in an enormous 3-6 month outfit because he had spit up all over the others.

This year's birthday went much better than last year's simply because we had electricity. What a difference some heat makes. With a gift from Uncle Joe & Aunt Gwen, I took them to a local kids' fun center, and he had a blast. Unfortunately, he didn't quite understand the concept of skeeball and wound up chucking the balls at the wall. Oh well, he had a good time.

We had cupcakes that night with our family.




What a ham!




He had his 3-year appointment yesterday, and he is growing and developing well (except for his extreme stubbornness that prevented him from counting for the doctor). He is a professional tantrum-thrower which gets him his fair share of time outs, but he is also a sweet, fun little bundle of energy. Chase has a unique talent: 3 different voices. He has his normal voice, a very high kitten-meowing-voice, and a very deep voice which he uses to say things like "Wrestle me, Aunt Kim" and "Tunnel time!".

We're so glad he is our son!