Good Imagination

It was dinner time and I was holding Simon on my lap. He wiggled his index finger up and down, a very subtle movement. Jimmy exclaimed in an amazed voice:
HEY! It is like I am getting on a plane and Simon just asked to check my identification!

Hobbies

Amelia likes to rip things. I always wondered why her floor is covered in little bits of paper and why so many books are missing pages. Finally, I asked her about this. She said she just likes the sound. So I decided it was time for a new hobby. Last month she took up sewing, made a bean bag and then got bored. I offered to teach her to knit. I only know one stitch, but I figured that would be plenty for a 4 year old. I hoped that she would like the sound of the needles clicking better than the sound of ripping.

I took Amelia and the little boys to the store to buy supplies. I was very surprised when Jonathan got very excited by the knitting needles and crochet hooks. I got the fattest pair of knitting needles I could find and handed them to Amelia. Jonny insisted I buy a crochet hook for him too. I thought perhaps he was feeling left out, so I bought a large crochet hook, one that would be good for child hands.

Over the course of a few days, I taught Amelia to cast on, which she does very independantly and the basic knit stitch, which she needs minimal guidance. She does four per day because she is four.

Jonny enjoys his crochet hook. He carries it in the hammer loop of his pants. He especially likes it because it is rounded "like a rocket." He also likes knitting, because it provides a sword for each hand.

Baby Talk

I was awakened at 3:30 this morning. Not unusual. The unusual thing was that I was hearing baby talk over the baby monitor. Why in the world is Amelia talking like a baby in the middle of the night? I wondered. Then I realized, it was Simon cooing and ahh-ing and mu mu-ing! He amused himself in this manner for half an hour!

Snow!

It snowed! And the snow was perfect for frolicking with the kids. Early in the day, Amelia, Jonny and I made a snow man and tried to sled. The snow was perfect for snowmen, but too sticky for the sled. We enjoyed smacking snow from the branches and stomping around too. When Jimmy got home from school, he and I made a snow fort "together." When I was done, he climbed behind the wall of snow and gleefully exclaimed "So where's YOUR snow fort, Mom?" Finally, when it was getting dark, I thought of taking a picture or two... so enjoy these doctored photos. (they showed up black, but I was able to get shadows by playing with the contrast, etc)










Finally, after 6 years of trying, we made a snowman to be proud of. I think that having kids old enough to get the idea helped. Millie provided pinecones from her collection to make eyes and buttons for our man of snow.

The Super Hero Craze Continues

I am pleased to announce the arrival of our most elaborate super hero yet... Cookie Man (created by Jonathan.) He is "really fast" and has a costume too! (this one ups Crismon Shedds, Fire Girl and Shella Shedds who happen to "look and dress just like" Jimmy and Amelia. Cookie Man wears blue goggles and a yellow blanket for a cape. My only question is "Where's my camera when I need it?"

Jeopardy! Online Test for January 2008

Greetings, fellow Americans. It's time to register for the Jeopardy! Online Test, the first step to appearing on the world's greatest game show. A successful test may lead to an in-person tryout, and Tracy can tell you how fun that is!

Given to Fly

Tracy gave me a very thoughtful birthday present. She sent me on a discovery flight with Av-Ed Flight School. That means I went flying yesterday in a very small airplane!

The instructor and I chose a two-seat model, the Diamond DA20-C1 Eclipse, tail number N781MA. I was surprised about 90 seconds after takeoff when the instructor told me to take the controls and fly a certain heading and altitude. I flew most of the flight, other than takeoff and landing. It was really fun!

You can view photos from my flying adventure. The instructor and I took some better photos with his camera, and he should be sending me those soon.

You can also view a map showing our approximate route.

Catch Up?

Sorry it's a bit out of order, but in the interest of time, I give up!
Simon was in the hospital for a few days just prior to Christmas. Jimmy remarked it was kind of scary to see Simon all hooked up. Yes, it was kind of scary, but it did help him recover from RSV and pneumonia. Here is Simon, hookeed up to his oxygen, IV/antibiotic, and oxygen monitor. While he didn't lie in the bed very much, here he is getting some much needed sleep. He mostly wanted to be held.
One day, Gary took the boys to finish Christmas shopping and Amelia came to the hospital to keep me and Simon company. We set up our spare Christmas tree (I always think of selling it on Ebay, but can never bring myself to do so) and cut out decorations for it. Also strung on the tree are the toys we found in the diaper bag. That night, before the others came back, she and I had a dinner for two, splitting the hospital meal that was brought. Amelia was great company.
Here is Simon, feeling much better after all of the treatments. He was alert and off of the oxygen and IV at this point, getting ready to go home. You can see the oxygen monitor, making his toe glow red.

Amelia was delighted to discover that she was promoted to a backless booster seat (for the car) on Christmas morning.
My brother and his wife came to celebrate Christmas with us and while they were here, his oldest daughter Sara turned 4. I was excited to make her a cookie monster cake as my own kids have not wanted cookie monster cakes on thier own birthdays. Amelia wanted a huge party with games, but the hour was late when they arrived and we settled for decorations and cake.
Simon enjoys the exersaucer that he got for Christmas, thanks to all who sent gift cards, this is what you got him!

The day after Christmas, we decided to sight see with my brother and his kids. We went to Gettysburg (I forgot the camera) and the following day we went to the National Mall. The natural history museum was overcrowded, but the monuments were not. Here we are at the Lincoln Memorial. The kids were not happy. Jimmy had contracted pink eye and the rest were tired. We strolled past the Vietnam Wall, the White House and the National Christmas Tree on the way back to the Metro Station. Here are my cute neices, Emily and Sara. They sat on my lap and ran with the kiddodiddos while their parents enjoyed the WWII Memorial.
Here is Jimmy, opening his magic set on Christmas morning. He delighted and amazed us all with his magic tricks, (especially his cousin Sara who would squeal with delight every time) until I, in a sleep deprived stupor, shouted out "hey he's got two balls!" and ruined the trick. He still has plenty of other tricks, but I kick myself just thinking of it.

Oh yeah, and Jonny found a new way to enjoy the choo choo train and Nephite temple the kids got for Christmas:

This is my hat

In nursery at church today, Jonny made a hat. It's one of those head bands that has a sentence on it about the lesson and the kids color/scribble on it.
Me: Jonny what does your hat say?
Jonny: I am a vampire.
Me: No, I am a child of...
Jonny: child of God BECAUSE I am a vampire.