Winter?

So far this year we haven't had much of a winter.  As a result, the first glimpse of snow got us all a little crazy.  Even Kolton couldn't wait to get out the door and head for the ice.  It was predicted that this would be the beginning of a major snow storm.  It was not.  Still, we had fun.  That afternoon we went for a long, long drive.   We thought the hills would have more snow.  They did not.

Brian swept the patio and brought in a lot of dry wood...

Just in case...

We got out a few times on our drive.  It turns out, however, that Kolton's favorite part was sitting in the front seat.

Just like the big boy that he is.  Xiana's favorite part, as usual, was eating the snow. 

A few good memories...

It always makes me sad when my babies no longer fit in the dryer... okay, maybe I've actually never even considered that particular milestone because, before now, I've never had babies in the dryer.  Still, Kolton is unstoppable and moves from one thing to the next.  He is such a boy.  I imagine it won't be long before he is taking that dryer apart and putting it back together.  On the bright side, he is the most generous little kissing boy I've ever met.  Today in Sunday school a baby girl came over to him making kissing noises.  He kindly complied.  I might have almost fallen off my chair because it was the most adorable thing I've witnessed in a long time.

Xiana will not miss a photo op.  She also will not miss a single chance to sing a song.  I'm a bit ashamed to admit that she knows a great many Lady GaGa, Madonna, and other such irresponsible pop artist songs.  I did not know, however, that she also was a Britney Spears conoisseur.  The other day I had Oh Baby baby stuck in my head from playing Just Dance 3.  I was kind of humming it when, suddenly, Xiana belted the entire song out.  Oy Vai.  I am going to have a lot of explaining to do when she starts kindergarten.

A few weekends ago we went with some good friends and family to shoot some guns.  They had a mini van so we had to stay relatively close to the road.  It's too bad because there sure is a lot of garbage here.  I know that in the past young men have cleaned this particular stretch for Eagle scout projects.  I'd like to see it again. It really makes me sad that so many people leave/dump their trash out here. 

Xiana went to the dentist for the second time with no cavities!  She's such a big girl and sits up and gets x-rays and teeth cleanings like a champ.  It was actually a good experience for her friend Emma too because they happened to be waiting also so she got to see how painless it was for Xiana (not that she doesn't have plenty of older brothers to model this particular endeavor), but she and Xiana really love each other so I think it was a mutually positive experience.  I fear for poor Kolton's little teeth.  He often takes a middle of the night bottle and I give him bottles when we drive in the car which makes me nervous for his sex little teeth.  Xiana didn't get any until she was over a year which made them very easy to care for considering she no longer took a bottle.  We will see.  fortunately, he loves to play with his toothbrush so in the awake hours they get pretty clean.

I know I've written before about how memories are so important for kids and adults alike, but that sometimes, a revisionist memory is much better than the actual thing.  This is one of those times.  Brian and I thought it would be a great idea to go for a walk along the river.  Indeed it was very cold, but we took the necessary precautions and went for it anyway.  On the way up the trail we saw 4 deer, a beaver, and many birds.  It was very nice.  On the way back, we saw crying babies, and whining girls.  Seriously.  Plus, Kolton refused to spend one more second in the stroller and Xiana would not walk unless holding my hand which made my arms extremely tired.  We are trying to spend more time going for family walks.  The really challenging part is teaching little Miss always been carried that she can, gasp, walk!  She's getting better.  We are trying to force her out of the stroller a little more and make it fun, and competitive (two things she seems to thrive on). 

It was absolutely beautiful... for the first 20 minutes... then it was just plain frustrating! 

This little guy, cold or not, is pretty darn cute!

I swing you swing

I had my niece and nephew so we walked to the park. All the kids were troopers taking turns on the stroller. It was great exercise and Kolton LOVED his first swing experience. I recorded a darling video too where he is laughing and laughing every time Ella pushes him.

It was probably a little chillier than it should have been for a park day, but like I said, the kids were troopers.

Xiana showed off her oh so impressive pumping ability.

But she still requested a few under dogs.

We ate lunch, played, and then walked home.  They were tired and easy going for the afternoon. 

I know winter has scarcely begun, but days like these make me excited for spring!

New Year

From Christmas to New Year's we were home sick. We had the stomach flu and Xiana had a high fever for a long, long time. The day after New Year's we had been quarantined for long enough so we went with my brother and his family and my parents out in the hills. We had a wonderful time. Though, despite the last throw up from Xiana having been 9 days previous and 5 days previous for the rest of us, the following day mom and my brother's entire family were all sick. We felt bad, but we sure had a good time, and it was wonderful to get out of the house after being held prisoners for so long.

Kolton successfully ate a lot of dirt.  The girls had been dying to see each other so they had a lot of fun.

They hiked around and let loose which was extremely reassuring as Xiana had been secured to the couch for 6 days listless and immobile.

We love to take out dad's new 4-wheeler.   It is such a blessing to live close to them. 

Brian helped all the kids shoot the bb gun... which they were mighty impressed with.

These boys are wild and love nothing more than shooting guns and playing in dirt.  Despite cold forecasts, the weather was beautiful.

I think Eva was the only one who even bothered with a beanie

Xiana lost interest fast, but she wanted at least a shot.

We should have known Kolton's first time shooting would be a pink gun :)

I almost missed this photo, but my dad pointed out how cute it was.  We ended the day with explosives, but I don't have any pictures because I made videos instead.  It got really windy, but the explosions were quite impressive nevertheless.  I can't say that my family was glad we went, but we were :) IN the evening we went out to dinner when Xiana spiked her fever for one final time.  She went to bed at 7 and woke up fixed... at least for a few days ;)

Pianist

Playing Xiana's piano as loudly as he can is one of Kolton's favorite past times...

with or without clothes!! After the bath he beelined for the instrument.

He doesn't mind taking a turn while dressed as well. He balances with one hand and bangs with the other.

He's also mastered the skill of balancing by pressing his belly against the piano enabling him to have two free hands to bang away to his delight.

Hanging

This little squirt continues to stand on everything!  He can let go in between couches and chairs illustrating that if he wanted, he could probably take off and walk.  Still, he's only 8 months!  He loves to copy cat any noise we make, particularly clicks of the tongue.  He babbles and says, "mama, and dada" since December.  He gives kisses freely and often...snotty, wet kisses.  We love them! He loves to pinch me and pull my hair and thinks any form of discipline is hilarious.  If I yell at him and slap his hand it sends him into a 15 minute giggle fit.  Really, he's kind of a monster, but he's so good and so sweet.  He isn't mean spirited, he simply thinks it's a game.  Even if I pinch him back he thinks it's hysterical.  He's still a little guy, but not in comparison of his big sis.  He already dominates her in some ways.  If she has a plate of food she simply cannot keep it from him. He will cheerfully take it right out of her hands, much to her dismay.  He loves to go up the stairs and so far has only fallen down them once.  He gets approximately 5 bruises on his head per day... sometimes he doesn't even make a sound so I have no idea where they came from.  He has figured out that if there is only one stair he can lay on his belly, inch forward until his hands reach the ground, and alligator crawl off of it.  He does this frequently.  He shakes his head no while giggling at just about everything.  He especially loves to shake his head no when you say yes. He jumps on everything, but doesn't love being contained in his jumper anymore.  Brian says that he loves his tenderness at this stage, "because it will disappear" :)  He also wants to remember his hugs and kisses.  I think they're here to stay, but we will see.  He is all boy, but he does have a soft side, much like his daddy.  He reminds me of Brian in so many ways it's sometimes spooky. 

As promised, these are the marvelous 4-foot dolls that Xiana was so kind as to let me color 2 complete outfits.  I may or may not have had more fun doing so than her... Still, she loves to play with them! 

She has become a master of memorizing figures of speech.  Sometimes her application is a little off, and sometimes it's exactly as she heard, but inappropriate for a 4-year -old.  For example, there is a picture of Kolton on Brian's phone where his eyes are half closed.  She proudly declared, "look at the stoned baby."  She also informed grandma that Kolton was "screaming bloody murder at home."  After cleaning her room she told me, "I know why I had to clean my room.  So my friends won't think we live in a pig hole." One morning she told Grandma, "I didn't sleep on little wink last night." She also told us that her friend is a "scare wart" dubbed from the phrase "worry wart."  While watching tv she told me, "doesn't that little boy look so like Mitchell?"  I swear this girl.  She's funny.

He's a big boy.

He no longer lets us feed him.  He must feed himself.  If we dare try, he takes the bite out of his mouth and puts it back in himself.

And like sissy, he must have his own bowl of cereal! 

Brian's birthday

By some miracle, we weren't sick on Brian's birthday. We had a one day reprieve before everybody had a violent, pernicious stomach flu and Xiana had a long long long fever. But, we were spared on Tuesday which was wonderful. Ekco would throw up later that night, but the day was puke-free.

Brian typically goes hunting on his birthday so I had arranged for a sitter so that we could go bird hunting together, but he didn't want to leave the kids and instead opted to go out for a drive in the hills and shoot guns a bit.  We had lunch and then made it out in the mountains just in time for Kolton to have a blow out.  Unfortunately, he had thrown up on his spare outfit the night before and I had forgotten to replace it so, our trip was cut a little short.

For some reason Ekco has been afraid to drive up hills as of late so Brian had a wonderful solution... the girls walked up the steep hills.

It was an added bonus that they got some exercise.  We got stuck a little later.  Brian is pretty amazing at getting vehicles un-stuck (well, and stuck to begin with).  He got us out after about 30 minutes and we headed home. 

I made seafood pan roast for dinner and then we had cake. 

It's hard to believe another year has passed and Brian is now in his mid-30's.  It feels like a dream, this thing called life.  Like a fleeting moment in time that can scarcely be captured even in photographs.  The end of 2011 (and all years) leads to reflection and consideration of the previous year.  Brian and I talked about our best and worst of 2011.  All in all, I'd say we were pretty blessed.  I saw a lot of people posting about how glad they were to be done with last year.  I'm glad only in the sense that I welcome a new year, but 2011 was a pretty good shot for us.  And our sweet baby boy.  Happy birthday Brian!

Christmas with the Frey's

When we got home we went to my parent's for Christmas with them. Kolton got a really fun v-tech ball. It rolls itself like it has a mind of its own.

Xiana got what will certainly be considered her most used and probably treasured gift... a v-tech digital camera.  She has taken roughly 1000 pictures and videos.  She snaps shots of everything!

Ekco got a 3-d paint set and a kindle gift card. 

We got my parents two dates and attached them to a bottle of sparkling cider.  It looked very cute.

Brian and I got a new dishwasher.  It might not be the most exciting gift we've ever received, but it's certainly the most expensive and will get the most use!!! 

Brian had to get in on the camera action.  A true tribute to how sick Xiana was for the next 8 days is that she scarcely touched, even her camera, and all of her Christmas presents and stocking stuffers sat in the bag we transported them home in.  It was a long week.  But...the holidays were wonderful nevertheless, although, so far it's been a challenging year :)  We are now one week sick-free and life is good.