Last night was Graham's first Christmas program. His fan club sat on the front row. He walked in with the group promptly at 6:30pm. We smiled and waved at him as he walked in. He stood front and center. Then he had a melt down and began sobbing. Very loudly.
Daddy went over and let him come down off the stage for a few minutes. Graham calmed down after the first song and eventually went back up, but he was not happy about it.
By the end of the program, he was laughing.
Maybe if it had been 10 minutes longer, he would have sung the songs or done the motions. Instead, we got the double nose pick.
Lately, the kids are in a bird phase. They make nests out of laundry baskets and ask me to feed them pretend worms. If they are pretend worms, and birds don't have teeth anyway, we shouldn't have to fight through bedtime toothbrushing, right?
Here they are, crammed into our closet.
And here was one tired mama bird who woke up to three squirmy chicks on her belly. They were awfully sweet, though.
My sister sent a pair of training chopsticks for Graham a few years ago, and he just discovered them in the back of the utensils drawer. He insisted on trying them out, and since we were having chicken and noodles (a meal he refuses to eat) we consented.
Three plates of noodles and broccoli later, I decided that Santa will now be bringing every version of ethnic cutlery on the planet. It would be worth it to get him to eat without complaining.
Every time we visit Will's parents, the kids have to go to the barn. I think they would have been the happiest boys on Earth if they had been born in a stable like baby Jesus.
Mostly, they just want to sit on tractors. Emily and Aunt Susan are very kind to oblige, and they even got to ride one down the road. You know the song this time of year. Oh, what fun it is to ride... a John Deere tractor.
We also tried to see the baby goats, but the kids were terrified. Ours, not the baby goats.
Gabriella turned 2 years old yesterday. She is turning into this spunky little fun-loving girl with a mind of her own. Watching her sweet little personality unfold has been awesome. What a fun kid.
She's had a few firsts lately. For instance, we finally decided to chop off her mullet curls into a kicky little bob. I don't know if she was depressed about losing her hair or scared to be in the chair, but she was not happy.
For her birthday, we decided to take the kids ice skating. Through an awesome person at the ice rink, we got to have the whole place to ourselves that morning. This was good because Chase did not stop screaming for more than two minutes. See how Will is skating with Chase on the little metal walker? We both felt like we could have won the Geriatric Couples Award by the end. Could barely stand up this morning, but I digress.
Gabriella decided a few weeks ago that she wanted to potty train. I dug in my heels as much as possible, but she started staying dry at night and during naps. She's doing the whole thing backwards--still won't tell me when she has to go--but at least we're not messing with diapers on her anymore.
She enjoys helping with the dishes.
And finally, judging from this video, I think we should sign her up for Irish dancing lessons. Her Grandma Kelly would be proud. She claps for herself, and for a while she would yell "Amen!" at the end of each song.
This year, the kids got several excuses to wear their costumes. We did a Trunk or Treat through our church, went to a party with some friends, and showed up at the church's party behind us simply to take their candy and ride their hayride. We like to give them opportunities to witness to their community.
Graham was a bashful "demolition guy" (homemade costume, his phrase).
