Crazy Busy!

So as if this time of year isn't crazy enough, we have a sick baby thrown into the mix.  Little Jamison has his first high fever.  It was 102 yesterday and 103 when he woke up today.  He has a nasty respiratory virus and a blazing ear infection.  Poor little guy!  Still smiling though.

I've been greatly slacking on my blog entries.  First off, there hasn't really been too much going on.  Secondly, I've been very hard at work trying to get ready for Christmas, including our homemade Cook holiday card.  I LOVE creating my own cards, announcements, etc. and the Holiday card is like the grand puba!  It went out this morning, by the way.  My goal was for at least some homes to get it by Christmas Eve and SUCCESS! 

More to come soon... we will have a lot to report on soon.  Hugs & kisses!!!!!!

Oh... one more thing.  The boys got to see Santa twice this year.  The picture above is from the first visit and Joshua would not have anything to do with it.  This is the only shot we could get with all three boys in the frame.  The second time went much better - but you'll have to wait to get the holiday card to see that pic.

Baby Toupee

So... since Jamison doesn't seem to be growing any hair of his own, we took it upon ourselves to buy him a Baby Toupee.  As you can see, he likes it.  A little Donald Trump in the making!

Let it Snow!

A couple of weeks ago we were lucky enough to get a whole bunch of snow.  In fact, it was the biggest early snowstorm since the grand Halloween blizzard of 1991 (I think that statement just confirmed... I’m officially old!)  We didn’t get the 30 inches of 1991 but we did get a nice foot of the white stuff. 

The boys woke up at their usual crack-of-dawn.  We allowed them to head downstairs on their own so we could see if they’d immediately notice the change of scenery outside, even in the darkness.  Sure enough, as soon as they hit the bottom of the stairs you could hear the awe and excitement in their voices.  We heard “Mommy, Daddy – you HAVE to see this" from Jack and “WHOAAA” from Joshua!!!  It was so fun to hear the pure joy in their voices.

They diligently stared outside until breakfast was done.  As we were eating, I peered through the kitchen window and noticed our batch of evergreens on the side of the deck.  To my surprise, they looked like a very white Snuffaluffagus and I chuckled to myself.  A few minutes later, I looked out again and the trees were all bent in different directions almost touching the ground.  It was definitely a double-take moment because the tree’s had all but vanished in a matter of minutes.  Corey immediately got suited up and headed out to ease the poor trees suffering.  The boys and I laughed as we watched our very own lumber jack attempt to brush the snow off of them.  It worked!  Kind of. 

Jack normally loves his Saturday morning hockey but on this day he was insistent that he WAS NOT GOING.  I was fearful that he was beginning to dislike hockey but after talking with him further I discovered he was afraid the snow would be gone by the time he emerged from the arena.  After some heavy reassurance, off to hockey. 

Later that day, we got suited up to head outside.  This may sound like an easy task but I assure you it is not.  When all was said and done, they looked like little Randy from A Christmas Story (see for yourself) and I was sweating… but it’s worth it! 

We are fortunate enough to have a decent little sledding hill right in our backyard so we broke out the sled.  We were super impressed when Jack carried the sled up the hill, hopped on his belly and took off down the hill like a little bob-sled champion.  No fear!  What a difference a year makes!  

After a few trips down the hill with Daddy, it was Mommy’s turn. 

We took several trips down the hill in our little sled and even built a snowman!  Frosty was looking pretty stylish until his head fell off.  Playing outside with my boys is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a parent.  It is just peer, uninterrupted joy - so bring on the snow!!! 

CeCe Fell Down

It's not unusual for CeCe to come visit on Sunday mornings - it's kind of her thing.  She comes donning her little Caribou carrier with two large coffee's and two small cups full of mini-marshmallows for the boys.  The boys love those little Caribou marshmallows!  There was nothing usual about this Sunday though.

Jack and Josh had just finished lunch so we were headed upstairs for a nap when I peered out the front window.  Something was seriously awry!  There were things strewn all about including shoes, a cute black hat, coffee, gingerbread cookies, and most notably, mini-marshmallows.  I initially thought CeCe had just dropped her little carrier and felt immediately bad about it.  We opened the door and realized that it was more than just a mess on the sidewalk - CeCe had fallen on the ice.  It was so slippery and she was in a lot of pain so she was not able to get up for quite some time.  She laid there trying to flag down passer-bys for some help to no avail.  What is with people?!?  Can you imagine just driving right on by someone who is clearly in need of some help?  Obviously she wasn't laying there catching a tan!  We ran outside to collect her and it was very clear something was amiss with her arm because it was blowing in the wind.  We told the boys CeCe was hurt and to be good boys and head upstairs to bed.  Jack responded "CeCe's hurt?  But I want my marshmallows!"  Now Jack is normally a very compassionate and empathetic kid - I guess that doesn't apply when it comes to his marshmallows.

A few minutes later CeCe and I headed to the Emergency Room.  We had a nasty ice storm Saturday night into Sunday morning and the impact on limbs was evident as we entered the ER.  It was like a scene from a movie - there were bodies, wheel chairs and ice packs everywhere!  The check-in gal told us it would be a 5-6 hour wait and they had called in more docs.  Luckily, or unluckily, the big football game was on the big screen so we got settled in.  I've never experienced the type of commrodory that was happening in this ER.  Everyone was willing to share their wounds like it was a badge of honor from the ice war they just returned from.  We saw broken collar bones, broken ankles, broken hands, and of course, broken arms. 

CeCe was escorted into X-Ray surprisingly quick and she definitely had a broken arm - the Humerus bone- the big bone between her shoulder and elbow - OUCH!  Back to the waiting room.  Now that she was armed with this new information she had a very mini panic attack that was actually kind of funny.  "How do they cast this?"  Am I going to be in a whole body cast?"  "I wonder if I'll have to have surgery."  "Oh-no, what if I have to have one of those stick things under my arm?"  I chuckled and told her to just take it one step at a time. 

Finally, time to move to a room.  I'm not privy to most of the happenings here because I had ran home to feed Jamison and help with the tornado's for a bit.  When I returned, they were re-positioning her arm and immobilizing it - she was clearly in A LOT of pain, despite the morphine, but they got it done.  After another X-Ray we were free to go. 

I gotta say, this is an extremely painful injury and CeCe was such a trooper!  She kept a positive attitude throughout the ordeal and barely shed even a tear.  Really quite impressive!  Now it's our turn to take care of her.

Spider, Mickey, & the Bee

Ok, so I am behind on posts again.  Here we are at November 18th and I'm just getting around to Halloween.  Oh well, 3 kids under 5... I think I have a valid excuse.  Anyway...
  

Elvis the Bee



Halloween was beyond fun this year!  The holiday kicked off on Thursday, Oct 28th with the annual Halloween parade at daycare.  I am fortunate enough to have the boys right at my work so I dropped them off in their rooms and snagged a spot for the much coveted and ever so popular parade - Dad even joined me (it was also our 10 year anniversary - WOW.)  It kicked off at 9:00am and started with the youngest so our little bee was first to make his appearance.  All the babies were just as cute as could be but our little bee was the cutest with those big chubby cheeks (may be just a little biased... then again... no, he was the cutest).   

Next up was our very own Mickey the Mouse followed by our Spider Man.  Joshua loved all the attention and was all smiles - his little flirty smile.  Jack on the other hand, was funny.  Granted he had a mask on so we couldn't read his true expressions, but he would not give us the time of day.  Keep in mind that hundreds of people are watching these little celebrities - it would put the Hollywood paparazzi  to shame!  Jack tends to get a little nervous in these types of situations but that is usually when he gravitates to us the most.  On this day, it was as if he was far too cool for Mom & Dad - was this a glimpse into what it's going to be like in 10 years when he is a teenager?  I always say this is my favorite two hours of the year and this year was no exception!   

Saturday was pumpkin carving day.  Jack loved digging in and pulling all those pumpkin guts out.  Josh was deathly afraid of the pumpkins!  At one point in Jack's excitement, he flung a piece of the innards towards Josh and he had a meltdown.  Check out the look on his face in the pic below.  You've got to wonder what is going through his brain at this point - what is so scary about pumpkin guts?  Is he afraid it's going to grow wings and attack?  Guess we will never know! 



Finally, Halloween is here!  Since the Vikings were on from 3:00 - 6:30 (glad we won't have to worry about that happening again for another 7 years!) it was up to Grandma and I to get the boys all ready for the big event.  This may sound easy but I was sweating by the end so we headed outside for a little pre trick-or-treat photo shoot.  Wrangling three little boys to sit still for longer than a nano-second is more difficult than leading the British army - I'm sure of it! 

  

Aunt "Werewolf" Kathy

Jamison stayed home to hand out candy with Grandma while Dad, the boys and I headed out.  All in all, they did awesome.  Joshua fell off a couple of steps and skinned his knee after tripping over his own foot (surprising, right?), Jack handed back anything he didn't like - namely chocolate, and anytime a barking dog greeted the door they ran like the wind, but they had so much fun and brought in a decent amount of loot for the short hour we were out.  

We already can't wait until next year.  Jack brought up a very important concern though -"Mommy, I was Batman last year, Spider man this year, WHAT am I going to be next year???"  He said it like those were the only two costumes in the world and he was in quite the predicament.  Guess we will just have to see. :) 





Look Who's Eating

Finally, after 6 long months on the white stuff, our little Miso can venture out into food land.  Rice was his first taste of the hard stuff - the first couple of bites were ok but he wasn't overly excited about it.  Actually, he wasn't at all.  He was looking at us like "excuse me, you know I don't eat that stuff!"  Next on the menu: peas.  Peas were definitely a NO-GO.  We had to take a long pause inbetween bites while he finished gagging.  Uh-oh, does he have his Daddy's gag reflex???  God help us.  On to oatmeal and sweet potatos (Mommy's favorite.)  Now we are getting somewhere - he wasn't exactly enjoying it but he wasn't gagging either... we are making progress now!

Daddy's Birthday Party

Daddy's party was lots of fun!  He is so funny about his birthday - he doesn't like all the fuss over him.  I knew I wanted to have a party but had to approach it with caution and careful deliberation.  I finally said "I am ordering a cake and we are going to have a very small pizza party, it is important to the boys afterall."  I know I can always play the "boys" card to get at his soft spot.  To my surprise, he was open to the idea.  For the next couple of days, he continued to suggest people we should invite.  Ahhh, my plan worked to a T!

We were lucky enough to have family still in town from Uncle Colin's wedding so we celebrated with the football, Papa Murphey's Pizza, a half chocolate/half vanilla Vikings cake, and cotton candy ice cream (yes, cotton candy - it is delicious!)  Chocolate is Dad's favorite but Jack won't eat chocolate in any way shape or form so I called around to see if anyone would do half and half.  Doesn't sound too complicated, right?  Just slap half the cake with chocolate frosting and half with white frosting.  Well, you'd think I was asking for Santa to pop out of the middle!  Target was appalled I'd ask, Rainbow said maybe but Byerly's finally came through in the end.  It looked awesome and tasted even better! 

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pics but Joshua's attire for the day.  What was I thinking!?! 

Happy Birthday Daddy! :)  Thanks for allowing us to celebrate you!

EJ/Jamestown Photo Shoot

So this has to be one of my favorite pictures of all time.  Auntie Gretchen and I decided to do a little photo shoot at with Jamison and EJ.  They did great for a while but eventually had had enough!  Of course, that didn't stop us from shooting away, afterall, some of the best pictures are crying pictures.  Jamison is crying on the left and EJ is not a fan - check out that LIP! Here are a couple of the more enthusiastic pics of the little fellas.  It is so fun to see them grow up together!

Our Little Gretzky

Ok, well maybe not Gretzky quite yet but our own JT has officially started hockey.  He is going on his 4th lesson and not quite skating like the wind at this point.  To the contrary, Corey and I have awarded him the nickname "Mrs. Towiggins" when he is on the ice.  He moves as gingerly as a 90 year old woman without her walker. The skating will come - in the meantime, he sure looks cute in his helmet and he is loving every minute of it!