Even though it's been hovering between -30 and -40 we have been keeping somewhat busy, and with that...I present this post for your viewing/reading pleasure.
Suckers
We took the boys to get haircuts and Harper somehow fooled me into letting her have her first sucker.
I, Harper Yarsley,will forever love Chom for giving me my first sucker.
Concentrating hard on remembering that these are delicious and to seek them out when ever possible.
And, while we are on the topic of suckers...Thatch was in his first fight at school. He's been bullied in the past few weeks since a new boy arrived into his class. This kid is constantly in trouble and Thatch has had a hard time, behavior wise, since he has arrived as well. Last Thursday I walked in to pick him up from his class, and he stopped me at the front door and said he got in trouble. When I walked into the building the Principal asked if I had gotten his message, which I hadn't. The Principal, Thatch's teachers and I had a discussion about this particular situation the day before and I said that it was becoming a problem. Anyhoo, long story very short...the little boy and Thatch were put in time out together, the teacher stepped away, when he looked back the little boy was kicking Thatch in the face (while sitting down, so like kicking his legs up). Thatch's fight or flight kicked in and he fought. e was sent to the nurse and then put in inschool suspension for the day.
We weren't mad at him, but had to do the whole "we don't fight, keep your hands to yourself, blah blah blah". Honestly, its kind of refreshing that he stood up for himself and we were proud of him. They haven't had trouble with each other since then and the Bully was moved to the AM class. Thatch has had a marked improvement since his departure and I am quite relieved that he's gone. So there you have it, my kid officially had a discipline file.
Here's the official paperwork. The counselor said that if he was allowed to pick sides, he'd be rooting for Thatch :)
I'm saving this in his memorabilia because how stinking cute is this?
Sugar Plums
I had this whole big date planned for Thatch and I on Friday but with the fight happening I didn't know if I should go ahead with it. The thing is, I think what he needed most was some quality, alone time with his Mommy. Jonathan took care of Harps and Coop and Thatch and I headed out to Bobby's for some fancy schmancy fun.
Thatch having his first Shirley Temple :) He liked it!
Coloring on the fancy paper onto of the tables :)
The "Bobby" came by and chatted with us. Everyone could tell we were on a special date and treated us awesomely. Bobby showed Thatch what his name was in Greek. Then he kissed him on the head, as most Greek peeps do I suppose. Thatch thought that was super funny.
Here's us. It was the best pic the waitress could get with this stinking camera of mine. I really should send it in to be fixed! SO...funny story...See that sculpture behind us? Thatch was a BIG fan of it, I could barely get him to keep his eyes off it. He kept saying "I'm not looking at it! I'm not looking, I'm not looking!" Hilarious.
And here's us at the Nutcracker. He even picked this one out to keep forever. His favorite part was the battle between the mice and toy soldiers. I wish Wish WISH that I could have videoed his reaction when it first started. It was magical seeing his little face light up!
Christmas Shenanigans
Thatch had his Christmas performance at school today. Shut the front door, it was AWESOME. I had a hard time keeping the camera steady from laughing! Here are the videos of it :)
Seriously, hilarious right? My rookie mistake is that I wasn't sitting up closer, nor did I realize I could get up and video from the front. Next time, I'm all over it.
And here's what our little friend, Buddy, has been up to:
Oh Buddy, why did you make green milk? It made heinous sippy cups.
Thanks for bringing donuts though. I love your little Buddy sized donuts too ;)
And in other related news, Cooper has taken to reading while on the pot. It's the toy ad from Sunday's paper. :)
So there we are, all caught up! I hope it brightened your holiday season...
Well, today wraps up what has been quite the week. It really started on Tuesday with Thatch's Thanksgiving Feast at school and ended today with me making some lackluster cookies and doing laundry. How about a lame finish. Anyhoo, let's do this post day by day.
Tuesday: Thatch's Thanksgiving Feast
Thatch's classroom had a Thanksgiving Feast with 24 little Kindergarteners taste testing the usual fixings. They prepped by making Pilgrim, Indian and Lady Pilgrim hats. I remember making those as a kiddie and they were still as adorable.
Thatch and his friend Cooper. Stinking cute.
Cooper managed to sweet talk himself into a plate of goodies too.
Here is the whole gang.
After the feast the whole group went to the carpet for story time. Notice anyone in the group? Which one of these is not like the other...
So we wrapped up Tuesday with a swim lesson...did I mention Thatch has excelled at swimming this past session? He's moved up to Level 3 and is determined to be on the swim team. In the past he has been adamant that he "Will not walk the plank" (that would be a diving board for ye land lubbers) but this lesson he decided that he was just going to skip the 1m board all together and advance to the high dive. After screaming at him (like a crazy woman, might I add) from the balcony to get off the high dive (he was 3/4 of the way up) he came down. He was pissed at me, I could sense the waves of indignation rolling off him from the stands, but acknowledged that he should go on the 1m board first. He walked half way out onto it and turned right around and said, "No thank you" to the teacher. Yeah, that's what I thought. We are going to have to go spend some alone time at the pool for him to actually walk the plank I believe.
Wednesday: Grandma Jonesie's Arrival
Before Jonesie's arrival I made some pies. They weren't the best but I've had worse. Thatch made some stuff with the leftover crusts.
Hard at work.
Train...or Wagon Train? This reminds me of the Oregon Trail.
Darn me, I didn't manage to take a picture of Jonesie this whole day. I did get this from Family Night though...
Harpie and her boyfriend, Gunner. He's kissing her hand and saying "Hello my Lady, my you look lovely today." True story.
Thursday: Thanksgiving :)
Jonathan was working so we had a late dinner. Honestly, it was kind of nice to relax in the morning. I did all the prep after we watched the Macy's Day parade. The boys loved watching it and Harpie slept until 12 (because she's awesome) so really, the kids were a piece of cake.
Jonesie ran interference with Coopie. They built cars and ships while I cooked. I say she had the hard job. Look at Cooper in this photo, his face is priceless.
Have I mentioned lately that Coopie LOVES to run around the house naked? He takes his diaper off, throws it away on his own and runs around comando all day long. He leaves random puddle around the house, mostly in bathrooms. Holidays are not an exception to these practices. Only, on Thanksgiving, he decided to poop on the floor. Twice. Awesome. But I digress...onto the feast.
Here's Thatcheroo waiting for Dad to show up. I let him eat on my wedding china and with my crystal champagne glasses. He was pretty into it...
...And insisted on cheers-ing about 100 times.
No worries, it's sparkling cider. Well, Thatch's is...Jonesie was running interference if you remember correctly, so hers was a well deserved glass of wine.
After dinner we had some dancing while we watched Polar Express. We ALWAYS watch the Polar Express after Thanksgiving dinner, on this night though we didn't start it until 7 so the menfolk were up late watching while we put the tree up.
Grandma Jonesie was rewarded with all her hard work watching the kiddos with Harper saying "Grandma". It was clear as a whistle and adorable!!
Friday: NO WAY would I go shopping with kids.
We toyed with the idea of going Black Friday shopping but it was quickly dismissed. So instead we watched Oceans, then we watched Brave, then we watched Mary Poppins, and then we watched Nanny McPhee...you get the idea. This was also day 2 of Thatch in his too small Polar Express jammies from last year.
Saturday: MWOW
We hadn't been to a Museum With Out Walls event in a LONG time so it was fitting that Grandma got to go with us. I thought I had charged the camera but I'm missing an integral piece of the charging and it apparently didn't take. I snapped about 5 pictures before it was game over and had to use my phone. Sorry for the cruddy photo quality...
This is an antic from Buddy the Elf. He seems to have a mischievous streak in him this year.
Here we are, playing with Legos. Stuff we have at home. Awesome use of time guys.
Harpie and Grandma Jonesie making googly eyes at each other :)
And playing with Trains, yet another thing we have at home.Sigh.
Here's Coopster balancing. He's quite advanced in his gross motor skills actually.
Okay, this is kind of embarrassing but really funny. Backstory: My Dad and Jonesie usually take us grocery shopping on base when they visit...So the boys were playing groceries and in line to check out and Thatch looks up at Grandma Jonesie and said "You can pay for these, okay Granmda Jonesie!" Oy Vey, the things kids pick up.
This is a new exhibit, Thatch had a good old time dismantling this computer. I have an old Dell that may be dissected as soon as I get some old pictures off it.
Here is Coopie playing with the Balloon Fan thingy.
Oh those sweet little faces! He's shouting "WOW!!!!"
Here are a couple of videos of Coopie from the MWOW too :)
Shortly after this we headed home for naps and then back into town to drop Jonesie off (sniffle). We had a really nice, relaxing visit. Don't be too sad though, she'll be back for Christmas in 30 days!
After Jonathan came home we were sitting down for dinner and Coop decided he was done, and then took off his diaper and started to run around. Next thing we know Thatcher is yelling "MOM, COOPER IS POOPING AGAIN!!!" It was wonderful though, because he was aiming for the potty (yes, I mean aiming because he wasn't sitting, it was more of a squat over the pot) and the poop went in! We had a major Poopie Party and candy was had by all! It really was quite funny, wish you could have been there . Especially for clean up. ;)
Sunday: Funday
Today was my day to make cookies for church so I tested out a new recipe. Cooper didn't complain, but that's not saying much. It wasn't great so back to the drawing board! If it wasn't my day to bring cookies I probably wouldn't have gone though, it was -25 out at our house when we left. Sheesh. We went though and I listened to an amazing sermon about being thankful and all that jazz. It was totally what I needed (plus an hour with out kids, that was nice too). Here's the one sentence that the whole sermon was based off of:
Let your lives overflow with thanksgiving for all He has done. Col 2:7
Sometimes I may sound snarky and unappreciative of the wonderfulness of my babies and this really helped me gain a little perspective. So my kid pooped on the floor. Big Deal. At least he's healthy and has a sense of humor. I really am thankful for all that I have and all that Jonathan does to provide for us. We are lucky and graced with love.
Oh, Buddy decided to take a relaxing day to himself too. That crazy Elf.
And on that note, I bid thee farewell. My monkeys are all down and I've my favorite show to watch, in peace and quiet.
Harper is officially double digits. Even if it is only months, still double digits. She's starting to really blossom into a little spitfire. She has that spark, like Cooper. Oh, and she's a screamer. LOVES to hear herself talk. Lord, help us all.
Here are the official stats for Ms. Harper Evelyn Yarsley:
Weight: 20 lb.+ (ladies don't need to give too many details)
Height: 28"
Teeth: 4
Words: Mama, Baby, Hi and Grandma (that was this weekend, pretty much made Grandma Jonesie's visit!)
Clothes size: 12 months for sure, but can wear 18 month pjs no problemo.
Favorite Food: Pumpkin Pie, cherrios, cinnamon scones, company potatoes and lime water
Favorite thing to gnaw on: shoes, shiny ones preferably.
Crawling: Not yet, thank the sweet baby Jesus, but it's coming...
And here's the photographic evidence :)
Well, this is getting harder as she ages. My word, she's a squirmer.
And here's a cute one of her waiting for big brother getting dressed at swimming. It is seriously adorable how much she looks like Jonathan :)
So there we have it, our sweet girl is only two months away from the big ONE. Sigh.
Yup, still not up to much. We did go see Santa Claus, you know, because we live in North Pole. It has perks. Well, honestly, that's the only perk. Anyhoo, we went last weekend but "someone"(<---Jonathan) forgot to bring the camera. We took pictures with my phone, which I truly detest, but they turned out okay actually. I feel that there could be a lot of improvement in the Santa backdrop at Santa's house. Perhaps Mrs. Claus should spend some time on Pinterest. Just saying. Because of the little camera incident though we went back again today.
So here's the photographic evidence and then a few bonus ones.
Here is the one from my phone. Harper is classic.
Round 2: Loves them.
This looks like a mug shot from the Naughty List.
NOT an attractive look on Cooper's face BUT look at Harpie and Santa regarding each other! So cute!! He actually remembered Harper's name and that Thatch went to Badger Road Elementary and was in Ms. Diaz's class. That's why he's Santa.
After pictures we had some world famous "Rudolph's Not So Hot Chocolate". Santa came and chatted with the Coffee Elves later. He's really quite amiable.
Here's the bonus material: Just a few randoms to keep your insatiable appetite for my adorable children quenched. ; )
Here is Coopie all bundled up and playing outside in the snow. This was taken before the first Santa visit, by Jonathan, which automatically means he was at fault for forgetting the camera. Don't let him try to fool you.
He was trying to pick up snow, I'm assuming to throw some at Jonathan or make a mess or wreak havoc in some sort of way.
So there we have it. That's what we've been up to. I had some photos of the kiddos taken today, hopefully they are fabulous! I will post them online when I get them, until then...I bid ado.
Thatch was late to school today but it's our fault because we took him voting with us. We are of the opinion that he will learn that voting is important if we bring him with us to vote and kind of make it a a big deal. Tonight, we are being kick a$& Americans and having chili dogs and curly fries for dinner and apple pie for dessert- now known as our traditional election day dinner :)
Poopie Coopie is practicing his victory wave...33 more years and he's eligible for president!
Santa!!! I know him!!
Thatch was star struck and hid behind me and Coop couldn't take his eyes off him. Then he gave the boys candy canes (which he carries in his pocket-no joke) and they were goners. Team Santa.
Anywho, we took this picture while standing in line. We ran into Big Red himself, who I am assuming is Republican otherwise he would be in a blue suit.
When we got home, Coopie had to take care of some business. The potty situation is going REALLY well, I must say.
So stinking cute!
That was today's fun. Who knows what tomorrow will bring :)
Cooper went pee pee in the Potty!!! YAY!!! In the past few days he's taken to removing his own diaper but I haven't really pushed the whole training stuff. Today I just pulled out the little potty chair and left it in the kitchen and after one of his striping routines he sat on the potty and said "Pee pee potty get candy." and then got up and lo and behold there was the pee! Of course we cheered, danced, threw a small parade (after proper permits were filed) and ate our hearts content of M&Ms. It was a magical moment. Of course, being a Yarsley man, he did it on his own timeline, when he wanted and did it perfectly. Those guys...sigh.
Post pee pee eating his candy. He wasn't shy when I let him stick his hand in the jar and pick out a piece :)
In other news, we had a movie night on Friday (because that's what we do) and it was time for a girl movie. We watched the "chick flick" Tangled (don't let Jonathan fool you though because he likes that movie) and had some fun afterwards. Last winter I bought these lantern things from a West Valley fundraiser and since it was finally dark at night, we lit those bad boys up. It was really quite pretty and if you get the opportunity to do them, you should.
They were deceptively large. The budding pyromaniac in Cooper was fascinated.
He's really excited about all things that fly, especially things on fire that fly.
And here's my menfolk. They all got the same hat and therefore think they are the coolest kids on the block. Which is true, since they are the only kids on the block.
And in other news...
Harpie has pushed through two teeth since my last post. And, Lord help me, she's also learned how to grind them together. Egads, it's an awful noise and often times it's so bad that Jonathan has to put her down and walk away. Wimp. But here's a cute little thing for you to nibble on until I get some nicer pictures of her...
Harpie this afternoon.
Isn't it nuts how cute she is? I'm totally unbiased.
