Old Pictures, New Stuff

The pictures are mostly self-explanatory, and I didn't think it would be right to post without any chit chat from me (don't I always have something to say??). So, it's probably about time for an update on new happenings at our house.

First, JM. There is so much that I don't know if I can cover it all. Lots of words lately, some that we can even understand (baby, duck, choo-choo). He's also a great jumper now, on or off a bed. It's a little scary to see him jump up just from standing, but he can do it. And when we were over at Mimi & Pap's over the holidays, he watched his big sister (guess which one?) and thought about trying to jump up the stairs. But we headed that one off. His latest attachment is to his hooded bath towels. Beware to the person that tries to take it off of him. Here's how he likes to wear it mostly:



When he's not carrying around snacks or toys in his hands, he holds the towel around himself. He hasn't had to go to bed with it yet, and we haven't left the house with it (I don't plan on ever doing that!). What a funny thing to be attached to - the girls never did this.

On to Clara. She's growing like a weed - some of Gracie's size 6 outfits don't fit her! Her latest passion is Webkinz. She's gotten to play on their with less supervision than Gracie had (since I figured she would just do the stuff that Gracie usually does). Well, bad assumption to make. She's found all sorts of new things to do. Her absolute favorite is "Checker Champion." That's checkers to you and me, but she really is the checker champion. After she got the hang of the game online, she's been getting out the board here and begging us to play games with her. I don't think Mike has played her yet, but she's beaten the pants of me and Gracie. And I tried pretty hard when I was playing her, usually only giving her one hint per game and trying to make strategic moves myself. So put your thinking cap on if she wants to play checkers with you!

And Gracie. She's been having to practice reading more & I think she could really take off with it if she wouldn't get so frustrated when she has to sound out a word. But she's doing really well and her new motivation is working toward earning a ticket to Six Flags. Hmmm, I guess that means we'll have to take her to Six Flags. And she's loving her 2-wheel scooter that she got for Christmas.

Here are the pictures - first set from the rest stop on the way home from Amarillo and second set from Christmas picture taking night.





Check out the height of this slide! I couldn't watch.






Ta Da!



Good smiles from both girls - too bad JM wasn't in this one!


One example of what lots of the pictures looked like ... not bad, but trying to get everyone coordinated - tough!

And the winner, in terms of comedy value:

(check out the shoes!)

Just two more posts before I get to Christmas pictures!