The Bearded Dragon Spa

Spikes received some pampering today: some new stones to play on his tank, freshly sifted sand, AND a bathing by the owner herself of the local bearded dragon spa. (She also wanted to put a masque on his face and cucumbers on his eyes, but we opted for the basic package as opposed to the deluxe.)

Also aiding with the bath were two young male attendants. The youngest was evicted after pouring water over Spikes' head. The older proved proficient with lizard bathing protocol. (As this was the first bearded dragon bathing on the block, observers were also in attendance.)

Measuring!

While helping me prepare for preschool music group (there are glass gems with music notes and rests on them in the boxes), Andrew lined up the treasure boxes and decided to see how his height compared to the line of boxes. 

Andrew participates in the preschool music class along with three other little friends, and he loves helping to prepare activities for it.

Peter loves a good run!

Peter knows what it means when we pull out the jogging stroller, and he's all for it! Here he is getting all bundled up before braving the cold temperatures during Mommy's morning run. He loved it - at the end, he refused to get out of the stroller!

Spikes on the Move!

Spikes enjoys scampering around our house under supervision. He seems particularly interested in the far area of the kitchen, but he slips and slides on the tile. While he was out and about tofay, I used my body to block off access to the kitchen. Or so I thought...(documented mainly for Naomi's enjoyment!).

Haircuts!

The morning after recovering from the flu, I wanted to get everything back in order. That included the boys' shaggy heads! My boys know that getting a haircut also means getting a lollipop, so they all happily trooped into my bathroom for a haircut, a lollipop, and a bath! 

The haircuts happened Thursday morning. Matt worked such long hours (making up the days he stayed home to take care of the sick folks) Thursday and Friday, that he didn't even know the haircuts had happened. I took these pictures to post so he could see his handsome boys...but I was too busy playing catch-up with rescheduled piano lessons and other things, and I never got around to posting them. Here they are, finally!

Pictures? We don't want pictures taken, Mom. 

Oh, wait! Mom can get us to giggle by challenging us to NOT smile!

Stay away from our house!

We've contracted the flu! Here's what Peter and I do when we are recovering but don't have much energy:

Gabe Gets a Snack

The title reminds me of those early reader books which you get at the library by the hundreds when your child is first learning to read!

Today Gabe asked for a snack. I gave my permission for him to find a snack. A few minutes later, I found him chugging syrup out of the peaches container! Mom - 0, Gabe - 1. 

He did eventually eat a few peaches but was uninterested in smiling for me...

Peter Loves Yogurt!

We've been handing him the spoon more often, and Peter is thrilled about it!

Sequence of events:
- Peter gobbled up the yogurt.

- I filled his container with cottage cheese. 

- He ate that. 

- I filled it with cottage cheese again.

- He used it as hair gel.

Keepin' it classy!

Demise of the Crib!

We were given a crib before Naomi was born. It had previously housed two boys, and it made it through Naomi, Gabe, Andrew, and...most of Peter!

Jefrilyn offered their crib so we didn't have to worry about Peter having a crib collapse on him during nap time! So Peter aided in dismantling the old one and assembling the borrowed one. (I'm curious how long it will take us to find all the tools he stashed while I was using the allen wrench!)

A Boy Waiting for the Post!

Andrew saw the mail truck in our neighborhood on his way home from preschool, so he hung up his backpack (oh, wait...that might be Mom's wishful thinking!) and headed right back out to wait for the mail truck to arrive. He danced and hopped and bounced while he waited. It was fun to watch him!

The Gangster Suit

Peter, chillin' in his gangster suit while he waits for the waitress (Mom) to serve the food and considers joining the Mob. :)

New Chef in Town!

Gabe developed his cooking skills by manning the griddle last night! He cooked tortillas (for burritos) and quesadillas for our dining pleasure, and he was so very pleased with his efforts!

Loving on Spikes

For Christmas, Naomi received adoption papers for Spikes, the Bearded Dragon! This little guy is getting all kinds of love at our house!! A few pictures from today:

Naomi's braid

About a year ago, I asked Naomi if she wanted a braid in her hair. She'd been asking for some fancier hairdos, so I told this one would be simple because I hadn't had time to figure out anything more exciting. Her response: "Sure! Braids are so rare around here. I'll take whatever I can get!". HA!

After I stopped laughing at her response, I asked a friend who knows some intricate braids to show me how to do them. That didn't pan out, and it took me a whole year to ask another friend. (I did look up some braids on Pinterest in the meantime, but that's as far as it got!) I mentioned it to a friend last night, and she pulled her daughter over and showed me a slew of braids. So here is our first quick attempt at something fun! 

This picture isn't really included to document my journey with braiding. :) Naomi is so excited about the braids, and I love these pictures of her. So it's really about the girl, and her giddiness about having a braid in her hair!

A few nights ago...

The kids got the Minecraft video game for Christmas. Here they are, enjoying some playing time with Naomi's friend Lauren. Even Peter thinks he's in on the fun. (He decided to tackle Andrew before too long, though!)

The Building of the Lego Sets Fun Shall Be!

Gabe and Andrew both received Star Wars Lego sets for Christmas. The anticipation during construction time is always fun to watch!

New Year's Eve Celebration, 2014

Root beer floats and Zathura (our children have recently fallen in love with the movie Jumanji, so they were thrilled to watch a space version).