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.
Well I wish I could say that I'm behind on blogging because we have been so busy but the truth of the matter is, we didn't do jack. There has been nothing to report, honestly! Swimming, school, OT, library time. It's all been bloggoed before, it's still the same. But now...we have HALLOWEEN to report! What what!! (FYI, that's Cooper's new thing to say. He walks around saying "What! What!" all the time.)
So here's the scoop...the boys where Sharks (courtesy of ebay), Harps was a mermaid (courtesy of her Mommy and pinterest), I was a jelly fish (courtesy of Martha, herself) and Jonathan was a fisherman (courtesy of the fish sticks we had for dinner a few nights ago). I LOVE Halloween, a holiday that we get to play dress-up and wear glitter? That's what I'm talking about! So here's some of the stuff we did in the week leading up to All Hallow's Eve...
Actually, first....a couple of randoms...
I went into Harp's room to get her for the morning because I heard her stirring and this is what I found. Ridiculously cute and slightly concerning for Harper's future safety.
A little impromptu photo shoot while we were at Thatch's OT. She was a thug with her hoodie on.
My pretty baby.
We went to the Spooky Train one weekend at Alaska land (No, I will not call it Pioneer Park. Like, ever. Write a song about that Taylor Swift.) Kids dress up and we ride the train around the park in the freezing cold. It's not so bad, really. There's a fake zombie graveyard manned by teenagers, some aliens (also teenagers, same thing really), and some pirates, all who decided it was too cold so they went inside to warm up during our ride, which left us pretty much just riding the train around the park in costume. Good times, the boys loved it.
The shark boy.
Sharks eat cupcakes. True story.
Jonathan's shark face. Coops is more lifelike though.
Good shot of Harpie's eyes...not quite brown, not quite gray. Completely awesome though :)
And here they are getting their photo taken at the train. Coop's stole this from some kid or prop, it wasn't ours.
So that night, after we drove around all over town looking for "THE GREAT PUMPKIN!!!" we carved it up, Yarsley style. We were going to have the 4th annual pumpkin carving party but people in Alaska don't like to RSVP and I don't like to clean my house, so I cancelled it and it was just us. Next year we'll do the big shin dig again.
Here's the Coopster. He has a super fat lip from falling at McDonald's playland. He lived though.
Their faces speak for themselves.
That's a gutsy move there, Cooper.
Here's our Mickey Pumpkin. He's a work of art.
And of course, what is scarier than a shark attack?
Hehe.
So with the giant pumpkin I did a little photo shoot with the Harps. She was pretty pissed off at first, and I shall spare you those photos because she wasn't using her pretty crying face.
This is just funny, so I had to add it.
I love this one!
This would have been awesome if I could just learn to use my freaking camera.
Woa, scary flash.
And here's the Coopster, unable to stay still for the camera. It's kind of a cool picture though!
So on to Halloween night we go...
Thatcher had some trick-or-treating at school so we kind of took it a little easy on Wednesday night. We went to family night after OT and then hit up 4 houses and went home. Fret not though, they still didn't get in bed until 9 pm. Small victory for the munchkins.
Harpie was a mermaid. The most beautiful mermaid there ever was. Little known fact: Mermaids like Cheetos True story.
A picture is worth 1,000 words. Here's one though...Ha.
This is Corva, Cooper's lady friend. They have unpromted kisses. It's serious.
And here's me. I was a jelly fish, remember? Scientifically speaking, this would be a picture of me eating Mermaid Harper.
And here's the whole gang. Thatcher referred to us as the Ocean Family. I concur.
And so onto today...
I realized I didn't take an 8 month picture of Harps. Or a 9 month one. I suck. Better late than never though!
When we were at the store, she said "Mommy, I need this shirt. It says your name in glitter!" I coudn't say no to that kind of logic. Anywhoo, here's the first picture. Sort of a good one, but I needed to get more.
She's a squirmy little beast.
I mean really, does she not understand what I'm trying to accomplish here?
And finally, it's a little blurry but you can truly see how big she is getting! She weighed in at 20 lbs 2 oz yesterday. She's slowed down on the weight gain, as she's a lady and watching her figure now.
So there you have it, what we were doing during our October. We don't have many plans for November, other than maybe painting my bedroom and probably laundry. Yeah, definitely laundry.
