Sully Meets Santa

Sully kind of froze, he didn't know what to ask for, but he won Santa's heart and now we have this adorable picture that will cheer me up whenever I need a good laugh.

I'll Eat You Up, I Love You So

Poor kid. Sick, chapped, grumpy.

This morning he was banished from the girls' room because he used a straw to flick orange juice onto Elizabeth. Before Elizabeth screamed, Jack was up from his chair and frantically trying to gather his "things" in a tupperware bowl. At first I thought he was trying to prepare for time out, but he was already one step ahead of me. He was trying to beat exile.

By the time I even said "time out" he had reached the bottom of stairs. Elizabeth yelled "I'm outta here!" and Amanda replied "me too!" and they both ran for the stairs. As the girls passed him on the stairs, Jack yelled "I'm coming wiiiiiiiiith youuuuuuuuuu!" but he had already started to cry. He sat on the stairs and waited for me (and time out) with the tupperware bowl on his lap.

He tried again after time out. Knocking, then banging, then begging, then tattling. "Mommy! The sisters won't let me in!"After another time out warning, he was quiet. And then..."MOMMY!" So I replied from downstairs, "It's not Mommy, it's a Monster."

Quiet. Then the pitter patter of feet, but I couldn't tell if it was to or from the stairs. Then...

"Monster?"

"Yes?"

"Monster, the sisters won't let me in."

UGH. But he was curious, so he came down and played with the Monster for a bit. Then he went back upstairs and knocked on the girls' door. And the door opened.

"Password?"

"Um...Elizabeth?"

Then I heard him gasp, the door close, and then...quiet.

Good Ninja

5 Things To Do In An Empty Amphitheatre

1. Roll, run or tumble your way to the stage.

2. If your pants fall down and your bum is hanging out from running down the hill (Jack), pull your pants up! Blue comedy is too easy, you've gotta work for the laugh kid!

3. Dance, stomp, run, scream, sing, laugh - AMPLIFY!

4. Take a bow.
5. Hike your way back up the hill while basking in the applause (of your parents).

The Jealous Bear

We went back to the zoo with the whole family yesterday. This time, this bear would not be left out. He was ready for his close up and hamming it up. It was pretty cute.

So here you go jazz hands bear, your own post. Thanks for not jumping over and eating us!

To The Land Of Torsos!

Jack has started preschool, and I was surprisingly sad that he was my only preschooler this year. Then I remembered that this is the year (age 3-4) when kids remember to draw a torso in their portraits. Isn't that strange? I have no idea why that feels like such a big deal - but right now Jack is still drawing people with arms and legs coming straight out of their head. It's bizarre and adorable. But at some point this year, the light bulb will go off, and he will draw people with torsos. First a torso, then BLINK, he's off to college, then med school... Not yet little man, not yet! For now, I treasure each picture he makes of me, each just a big ol' head with arms and legs coming out of my eyes and ears.

Love you little guy, and I can't wait to see how much you grow - this year and beyond!

Rebels at the Zoo

I took two rebels to the zoo today: my camera and my preschooler. The camera behaved itself. The preschooler threw a book into the tiger exhibit. The tiger part was the end of the zoo trip, and I risked my life (really just a stick and my flip flop) to get the book out. Other than that, it was a perfect zoo day.

We went straight to the walkabout...

...where we were greeted by this wallaby who immediately gave us this "watch yourself" look. It worked! Jack stayed on the path with his hands to himself. The kangaroos were not nearly as social as the wallabies, they stayed far away from the path.

Some of our other great encounters: