Sunday Smiles: Improving!

Tess is really getting better with the camera.  In fact, she was fussing yesterday when I put her on the couch for her weekly photo shoot, but when I brought out the camera and said "cheese!" she started smiling and cooing just like a pro.  (I think we have a kind of Pavlovian thing goin' on here.)

In this one her grin reminds me of a baby picture I've seen of my dad.  Maybe they had the same double-chins as babies.

What a cute little Tessie-girl I have!  Too bad the lighting wasn't better, or I would have gotten more pictures.  That, and I think my camera is slowly dying.  (Hang in there, camera!  I don't have the budget to replace you any time soon!  I love you!)

Now it's time to get back to the seemingly constant coughing and hacking that I have been enjoying in the evenings lately.  This cold started off so bad on Thursday night that I thought it could only get better.  I was wrong.  When we die I hope we get to ask a few questions about life here on earth.  One of my first will be "Why colds?  I mean, really, what was their purpose?"  Because I can't think of one good reason for colds. 

My next question will be "Why did you create Nevada?", which was a question posed by my (then) seven or eight year old brother Kevin as we drove through Nevada's barren wasteland to get back to Zion California after a trip to Utah.  I've pondered it ever since.

Tess Halloween Outfit

Dad and Susie bought Tess a cute Halloween outfit.  Now that it's finally cool enough to wear I put it on Tess and tried to have a little photo shoot.

Cole decided he wanted in on the action. Actually, he decided that he should get all of the attention, NOT Tess, which is why there are so few pics.  Oh well, I'm sure we'll get more since she's gonna be wearin' this outfit all month!

Tess really wants to be able to sit up by herself, but as you can see she's not quite there yet.

The little monster on the side of her shirt has teeth, horns, and eyes that glow in the dark.  It thought about trying to get a picture of that, but then reconsidered.  Taking a toddler and a baby into a dark closet just didn't seem like the greatest of ideas just then.

If you think that's cute, just wait until you see her Halloween costume!

Have You Ever Been So Tired...

... that your mom tried to bribe you with peanut butter and pretzels so you'd stay awake?

 

Cole has.  (It worked, too!  Mostly.)

See the awesomeness on video!

How Old Does He Think I Am?

I think Spencer suspects that I am ancient.  Ancient.

Yesterday we were discussing the book Tom Sawyer, which his class recently read.  We talked about Tom and what his school was like.

Spencer just assumed that when I went to school the boys and the girls were separated by gender in the classroom.

Because, you know, I went to school with Tom Sawyer.

(Side note and fun fact and true story: one of my youth leaders growing up was named Tom Sawyer.  Really and truly, his real name was Tom Sawyer and he was awesome.  He took me skeet shooting a couple of times and each time he tricked me by putting in a trick shell that blew confetti and was super-strong and made the shot gun kick hard against your shoulder and made it ache for days.  Good times.)

Today Spencer and I were discussing Indiana history.  I told him I was glad that he was studying Indiana history because then I would learn it.  Why didn't I already know Indiana history?  Because I grew up in North Carolina and learned North Carolina history.

Spencer: So, you didn't speak English?  What language did you speak?

Me: Wait, what?  Spencer, I spoke English.  Because North Carolina is a state.  In the United States of America.  Just like Indiana.

Spencer: Yeah, but it was a long time ago.

I am ANCIENT.

Smiles!

I have been teaching Tess how to ignore the camera and just smile.  She was extra good at it today because I think she's finally feeling better.  (I think she had a bit of the flu.)

Love those fat rolls!  (She's storing up for winter.)

And you gotta love those big, toothless smiles!

I know she's not smiling in this one.  But I love all her chins.

Okay, no smiles in this one either.  But I like that she somehow got the rings stuck around her foot.

Who has the cutest baby ever?  Me, that's who.

BATS!!

A colony of bats have taken up residence on my living room wall!

Aren't they awesome?  I wish I could claim the cleverness of this project, but I can't.  I found this post on Pinterest and knew that this was the Halloween project for me. (i.e., cheap and easy)

Sppooooooooookkkkyyy!

Of course, the scariest part of the project was having to deal with a toddler and a ladder, two things that should probably never mix.  Quite frankly, I'm surprised a trip to the ER didn't become part of our afternoon plans.  That boy has 39 lives.

Have You Ever Been So Tired...

... that you stole a rather large bunch of grapes from the fridge

snuck into your parents room to gobble them down

and then passed out in a grape-induced coma with your tush in the air?

Cole has.