Christmas Skating Party December 6, 2008

Veeka does the limbo...How low can you go?

Olivia was getting the hang of it.

Wow, I actually got Greg to let us take a picture of him. This is what he lookslike without his hand in front of his face.

The Zaner hangin' out with Granny Chapman

Surely Santa knows what a naughty boy Noah has been lately, I wouldn't expect too much this year kid.

Toinia gets a chance to sit on Santa's lap.

This is Zane's first experience with Santa. He was sure checking him out. He didn't cry though, which really surprised me.

Here's good ol' Dennis (the menace). You know I love you, right?

And, of course Nadia. She told us this was her first time sitting on Santa's lap. I think this is a sweet picture.

Merry Christmas!

Zane fell down and bruised his crown and Papa, Grandma and Mommy came tumbling after.

Thursday was an exciting day, but not in a good way. My dad had Zane on his shoulders at the top of the stairs at my mom and dad's house. Zane reached out and started to pull a mirror off the wall, my dad went to grab the mirror to keep it from falling off the wall, and lost his grip on Zane. Zane basically did a back flip off the back of my dad shoulders (about 6 feet in the air, mind you) and tumbled all the way down the stairs (about 13 steps). Luckily the steps were carpeted and he barrel rolled instead rolling head over heels. My dad, my mom and I all three dove after him trying to catch him. I don't think I've ever moved so fast, or been so scared in my whole life. I saw the whole thing happen and could do nothing about it. My parents finally picked him up off the floor and handed him to me. He was wailing, his face was a funny yellow color, and he had carpet burn on his forehead, eye and cheek. My dad felt worse than he has ever felt before, and turned in to a puddle. I comforted Zane and looked him over. My dad insisted that we take him in and have him checked out. So we went to Pediatric Urgent Care. They looked him all over and discovered he had double ear infections, not related to the fall of course. But other than that he was just a little bruised on his face and shaken up a bit. He is now on high-powered antibiotics and ear drops for the pain, as well as ibuprofen. We are so blessed that it wasn't worse. When we went to bed last night I told Greg, "My dad may have dropped him down the stairs, but I think your dad got him safely to the bottom". He had somebody looking out for him that's for sure. He could have easily broken his neck with the first fall backwards. Today this is what he looked like. Not too bad, considering what he's been through.

No Mistletoe here

Noah is so in love with his baby brother, I caught him kissing him on the cheek. They are best buds.

Zane the Piano Man

I'm convinced that Zane is going to be a Musical Prodigy. He absolutely loves music. When he's worked up, I can just sing to him and he calms right down. At nap time, he has to have the radio going. I had sat down to play the piano and he crawled over to me, and when I picked him up he couldn't get his hands on the keys fast enough. Check out his tongue, he had to have that hanging out as he played. SOOOOO Cute!

Check me out

Zane has reached a milestone. He is MOBILE, that's right, he learned to crawl this week. LOOK OUT! There was none of that army crawling either (Noah did that for a while), no, Zane just took right in to the real crawling, and there is no stopping him. The kids are already getting upset that he is in to their things. I have to re-baby-proof my house.
I caught this shot of him in the bath (sink). Check out that physique. He's built just like his mommy. But his fat is MUCH cuter than mine.

This won't let me put my pictures in the order I want them, so here are some photos from Olivia's 6th Birthday Party...
Here's Zane. He fell asleep on Aunt Leslie's arm..and drooled a bit too.

Here's Zane with his Uncle Zach.
This is Olivia at the end of the evening having a complete and total meltdown. You know the rhyme: There once was a girl who had a little curl right in the middle of her forhead. And when she was good she was very very good, and when she was bad she was HORRID?!?! That's my daughter, aside from the curl in the forehead part. Olivia has a great personality, she's funny, she's extremely bright, but man does she know how to throw a fit!

This is when she was still being good. This is her card from Grandma Chapman and the kids.

Greg doesn't like to have his picture taken, but doesn't mind bugging the crap out of everyone else to get theirs. Here's Daniel... a bit irritated I think.

Here's mom (Grandma). I'm pretty sure nobody likes to have their picture taken while they are eating.

Well, I guess Noah doesn't mind.

It's kinda cold in here, I need a Sveta!
Here's Olivia's Princess Castle Birthday cake. I was getting so frustrated while making the thing that I almost went to WalMart and bought one. I actually did go to WalMart and price their cakes, but decided I would try and make the one at home work, since their cheapeast was 9 bucks and it was on the day-old cart and not very attractive. It turned out alright in the end.

I'm Strong to the Finish, 'Cause I eats me spinach...

So, the kids dressed up 3 times this year. Once for a costume party at a friend's house, once for Trunk or Treat at Church and once for the actual Halloween. I posted two pictures because we made a few modifications with each. Olivia is wearing a wig in the first pic, but it turned out to be incredibly uncomfortable and itchy, so we decided to spray her hair black on Halloween night. We also lost Zane's sailor hat, so had to make due with the one he has on in the second photo. Noah's muscles were uncomfortable for him, so I had to cut a pair of my pants to make his arms in the second photo. Anyway, I've about decided that it's store bought costumes next year. It's too much work, just to have them wear the stupid things for 30 minutes and decide they are tired of them. Olivia says next year she is going to be Jessie, Noah will be Buzz Lightyear and Zane will be Woody...we'll see.

My beautiful babies

Greg took these pics after church Sunday. I thought they were so good I just had to share. Zane's still not sitting up by himself, so that's why we don't have a picture of him alone.

Update

Well, Greg and Olivia got home at 1:45 this morning. The doctor didn't want to stitch it because she thought it would heal better without the stitches. This week she is the "star of the week" in her class, which basically means she has to bring snacks. But she was so excited. I decided to let her sleep in this morning since she was up so late. When we got to school, she asked where all the cars were, and I explained that we were late. "What do you mean we're late? I don't want to be late. Why didn't you wake me up sooner?" Well, we got her cheked in at the office and took her to class. Luckily it was on her left middle finger, and she writes with her right hand. We just have to keep it clean and dry. I just kept thinking it could have been a lot worse, I guess.

She asked her daddy to hide that massager so she doesn't get hurt again. He told her was going to sell it on ebay. She said, "But what if somebody else gets hurt?" So Greg said, "What if we sell it on ebay and then use the money to go out on a date?" She thought that was a brilliant idea. So they decided that next summer they're going to go to White Water on their date. She should be good and healed by then. She's going to have a nice little scar and a nice little story to tell about it.

When it rains it pours...

It's pretty late, and yet I'm up...waiting for my baby girl to come home from the ER. We got home from Greg's mom's house and Olivia was playing with this vintage Jeanie Massager. Something told me that she should not be playing with it, but I dismissed the feeling. Greg got up to unplug it, and Olivia started screaming. Her finger was caught inside the motor and cut pretty badly. Greg whisked her to the kitchen sink (meanwhile she's dripping blood all over the couch, dining room and kitchen floors and the kitchen sink and counter). He got a good look at it and said that it would require stitches. Noah was already in bed, and Zane was needing fed, so Greg was the one to take her. Now I am anxiously awaiting their return. I am just about to come unglued. I feel physically ill. Why didn't I listen to that voice telling me to not let her play with it? I hate myself for that and I would gladly take her pain away. She was so upset. Greg stayed as cool as a cucumber, and I tried really hard to, but it wasn't easy. I just keep telling myself that it could be a lot worse. Just keep her in your prayers.

Thanks

Say no to slugs

Tonight was Olivia's Fall Festival at school. It was a PTA fundraiser and was supposed to be cowboy themed, however, Olivia was one of 3 people dressed for the occasion. Oh well, she didn't seem to mind. We had fun.
Anyway, when I picked her up from school this afternoon, she said, "Mommy, do you know what I'm going to say no to?" I said "No, what?" "I'm going to say no to slugs and alcohol." Of course I couldn't laugh because she gets so upset when you laugh at her, so I just said "Oh, uh-huh." I had to tell Greg about it as soon as we got home. It was just too cute.
Last night I had an Enrichment activity, and Olivia missed me while I was gone and decided to make me a 3-D card. When I got home, it was waiting for me on the mailbox in a cup. Olivia was already in bed, but I opened the card anyway. It said "I love you mommy. You R my Best Fred"
Aren't kids wonderful!?!?!

The ol' Heifer turns the Big Dirty 30

Can I just say, I hate myfamily.com. I tried to load these pictures on there to share and it was taking forever! So, I've just decided to put them on my blog. This is my birthday party. The kids had games to play (Twister, Connect 4, Guess Who..etc.)
Lindsey and Samantha got all tied up in knots.
I caught this picture of little Joel grinnin' from ear to ear. He looked like he was having a big time.
The adults decided to play with the balloons. They had an exciting game of "Don't let the balloon touch the floor". Carl decided that he needed more man boobs, and Olivia decided to "fondle" them.
And this is a couple of beautiful girls playing Guess Who.
We also had pizza and soda and my mom made cakes: a strawberry one, a blueberry/lemon one, and a chocolate one. YUM! And of course you can't have cake without ice cream. Thank you to everyone who came to share in my special day. I am now officially older than dirt.

After my birthday party Saturday night, we had a cooler of ice so we dumped it out on the lawn and the kids walked on it. Then we decided to put it down each other's shirts (and pants).
This is Noah digging the ice out of his britches...
And this is Noah crying because he can't get the ice out of his britches. He had some cold booties and his underwear was getting wet. Nobody likes wet underwear, am I right? Good ol' family fun. Greg just sat quietly holding Zane. I guess he didn't want ice down his pants.

Too Funny Not to write down

Noah was on the floor smooshing a fly. Olivia said to him, "Noah, stop killing him." Noah replied, " But mommy doesn't like flies in her house." Olivia said, "I like them, they're pretty. They have pretty bumbums." Noah and I laughed...Olivia continued, "They do, they have angel bumbums."
Where in the world did she come up with this. There is nothing pretty about flies.

Funny Hair Do's (Or Hair Don'ts)

Noah got a haircut last week, so we decided to give him a "faux-hock" using a little warter and hair gel. One of Olivia's doll hairpieces came off so we put that on the Zaner. Doesn't he look just darling?
Sorry I've been slacking in my blog-posting duties. I've been busy sitting on the couch eating bonbons.

Pete and Repeat were sitting on the fence...

Not to constantly talk about Noah, but I have to write this before I forget. I said to him, :Pete and Repeat were sitting on the fence, Pete fell off so who was left?:
Noah replies "Eggwart."
What a knucklehead.

Three Year Olds

While driving the other day, Noah asked:"Mommy, where is Jesus?" I explained that Jesus was with Heavenly Father in Heaven. So he says:"So he's dead?" I replied, "Well, he did die but then he came back to life, he was resurrected." "So where is he?" "He's in heaven with Heavenly Father." "So he's dead." "No, he died and then he was resurrected, and now he lives with Heavenly Father in heaven." "So he's dead." Finally I realized what he was getting at and why it was so difficult to understand. He thinks that since he is in heaven that he must be dead, because that's where all of our loved ones have gone that have died...Eli, Emmey, Great Grandmas Chapman and Lewis, Grandpa Chapman, and Ryan.
I am amazed at what he can understand at his young age. And the questions he asks me. It's astounding. He is such a sweet little spirit to have in our home.
A couple of months ago he asked "Why did Heavenly Father make people?" I was kind of speechless. "Well, mommy and daddy wanted to have children, so we could be happy and learn together and grow together and love eachother, and that's what Heavenly Father wants too, he wants lots of children. He wants them to come to earth and learn and grow so they can return to be with him someday." I absolutely love these tender one-on-one moments with my babies.

Sorry I've failed to post anything for quite a while. Here's a video of Mr. Zane laughing. He gets especially giddy when he's tired. I've had my hands full lately trying to keep Noah occupied. I'm now thinking about babysitting so he will have someone to play with during the day. He is wearing me out! I'm not able to get ANYTHING else done because we're playing all day. You can tell by the looks of my house. Today it was 90 degrees and Noah decided to wear his snowsuit. Needless to say, he got quite warm when he went outside. I told him the police would likely put me in jail for attempting to smother my son, but he wouldn't listen. The thing is, when you're 3 you can get away with wearing whatever you want. Olivia is doing well in school. She loves it...still. I just hope she continues to love it for the next 13 years! Oh well, I'll try not to wait too long before posting again.

I just had to post this picture

Why are my kids so silly?

Crazy Kids

This picture was taken during the Chapman Family Reunion in May. Last night, Noah mentioned that he wanted to shave his head bald again. Olivia said, "No, Noah, you can't. Because if you shave your head bald, you're going to be so cute and I'm going to want to kiss you and marry you." "Okay, Owivia, I won't shave my head." Noah replied.

The Third Post today

I wanted to write this before I forgot. Noah got my watch and brought it to me and stated "Mom, it's 40 o'clock, it's time to go pick up Olivia!" Soon after that, he went to the bathroom, and let out his usual "I'm DONE POOPING" yell (that's my que to come wipe his bum). So, as I was wiping his bum, he says, "Mom, we can't flush the toilet because we need Olivia to see this when she gets home. I'm gonna be so mad if someone flushes it. Tell daddy to go to the other bathroom when he gets home. No one can flush it." A couple of days ago, Olivia went in the bathroom after Noah and was amazed at the size of his terd. So, I guess now he will be preserving his productions until she gets home from school so that she can examine them daily. Sorry if this is a bit crude for your liking. To me it's hilarious.... Just kids being kids. Hey, at least I didn't post a picture of it.

My boys

It's just me and my boys at home now. Noah likes to dress like Zane. He actually likes to wear Zane's clothes. Luckily Zane is a pretty big kid so his clothes somewhat fit Noah. He always asks if he and Zane can be twins. Noah could not be sweeter to his baby brother. Zane is lucky to have him, as am I.

Olivia's First Day of School

I sent my baby girl off to her first day of kindergarten today. Zane was the only one in the family that didn't cry like a baby. When we got her things situated in her classroom, I asked if she was ready for mom and dad to leave, and she said "Well, yeah." Kinda like "DUH". Noah did not want to leave his big sister there. He was quite upset. We sure miss having her at home with us, but it's just one of those things.

An afternoon at the park

Greg was nice enough to take the kids to the park the other day when I was feeling so lousy. (Our family went through the stomach flu last week, it hit me really hard.) He strapped the kids in to the bike trailer and rode them to Nathanael Greene Park. These are some pictures he snapped of the kiddos having a good time. Noah is in this stage where he can't take a serious picture, he has to make goofy faces when you get the camera out.

I'm afraid Noah is going to be lost without big sister here. 3 more days and she starts kindergarten. We went this morning to meet her teacher Mrs. Williams. Olivia planted her bottom in her seat and she didn't want to leave. I on the other hand had a real good cry last night as I pondered the thought of her leaving me. I was giving Zane a bath, the other kids were with Greg at his mom's. I was just thinking about how Zane will be going to school before I know it, and how I won't even remember giving him this bath. I don't remember giving Olivia baths at that age. I know I did because she was clean. I don't remember her saying her first word, but I know it happened because she talks nonstop now. I don't really remember her first step, but now she's running and riding and skipping and playing hopscotch. All I have are photos of the past and the chance to live for today. My brain is a big puddle of mush, so my memory is not real good. I just know that letting go of my little girl is something I REALLY don't want to do, but something I HAVE to do. I hate change. Time is waving goodbye to me. Soon, I'll be saying goodbye to my Noah too, and then Zane. I can't believe how quickly they grow. :(