I promise...it's worth it!

I tried a new Sweet and Sour Chicken recipe from Pinterest...

It was easy...

...and, it was yummy!

...and then he was FOUR!

I'm still behind on posting pictures, but these were so cute I couldn't resist. M turned 4 in December-my, oh, my....where has the time gone? I think they enjoyed playing with the balloons as much as anything. Having the large open space in the new house gave them a lot of room to toss and chase...

...they stayed busy corralling the balloons while mommy and daddy set up for the cookie decorating party...

I think my fave pics from the party were of G waiting for M to blow out his candles. You can see the excitement and anticipation on his face, watching his little brother...

G gets beyond excited and can hardly wait for surprises & celebrations. While M is all about having fun, he is a lot more relaxed-just chillin' and taking it all in... 

I think M is concentrating on making his wish here, he looks so serious as we sing "Happy Birthday" to him...                     

 ...and he blows out the candles!

Not too sure why such a serious face here, but fun was had by all! Happy Birthday to sweet M!

Marley...

Marley was right in the middle of our Christmas morning celebration. She loves to be in the center of whatever is going on in the house. And, of course she had to see what Santa left in her stocking.

Here she's playing with her pink pig from G & M, they like to get her surprises.

I think M is waiting to see if Marley is going to let him play, too.

She's spoiled and well loved.... 

And, she knows it!

Everyone needs an Uncle KK...

The boys are always so busy and "on the go" that most of my pics the last couple of years are very candid...that being said I still wanted to try to capture one last photo of them before they began their trip back to Texas... they were all dressed up (meaning not in their pj's), hair combed, no toys out to distract them, etc.  I asked them to sit on the couch so I could snap a couple of quick poses...G is getting where he will indulge me and the camera, for a few seconds at least, not so much with M. I still got a few adorable shots, but soon they were distracted by something more fun...Uncle KK was standing in the same room, so they were quick to jump up and start playing around with him.

Maybe I shouldn't stress over not having more traditional, posed shots...because, how cute is this? What a cool uncle he is, and they love to wrestle around with him...I think the feeling is mutual. These are the pics I treasure the most... 

Continuing to "ham it up" for the camera...

These are priceless... 

...and they are priceless!

Christmas at Nienie's...fun times!

We had so much fun over the holidays...no one was sick...no drives to Urgent Care this year because of sore throats or strep...we all relaxed, ate, played, took naps, read, watched movies, and simply enjoyed being together as a family. It just can't get any better than that. Fun was had by all!
The table game was meant to be one of daddy's gifts...

...and if you hold your mouth just right, and concentrate
it makes it a lot more fun!

Sorry daddy, maybe you can play next time...

The boys got some wooden toys to put together, packaged with screws and a kid-friendly screwdriver, G got a tow truck and M got a train
...after assembly they needed a colorful paint job

I love that they are so creative and enjoy building things and putting things together-they are perfect crafting buddies for Nienie!

...and G is a natural at reading directions and following them step by step, it's fun to see him so confident and self assured, the printed pages are not intimidating to him at all... 

...I'm sure M will soon be reading his own directions because he loves to follow along and do anything his big brother does!

I hope everyone had a blessed holiday!

Does this ever happen to you?

Christmas Eve at Deda's...
we really wanted a group pic of the little ones,
just one would be great-
we don't get everyone together very often...

After coaxing all of them into the same general area
we thought the rest would be a breeze,
quick and painless
we thought we had it made...
Should it be so challenging
to get everyone's attention at the same time?

Of course, there is always the animated one...
teasing us, making us think we were almost there,
and also one (or two, or three) who could care less...

All of our clapping and snapping and dancing around
did nothing to convince them to all look our way and smile...
especially not all at the same time. 
They were really making us work for it...

Maybe even better than snapping the perfect picture,
was watching their comical faces entertain us
as we waited patiently for group cooperation,
which was not to be had...

At this point, we can tell that it's not going to happen,
not like we thought, anyway...
let's throw a "big kid" into the act and see what happens...

We aren't making perfect pictures,
but we are making perfect memories...

Thanks kids, maybe next year.
Happy Holidays!

Sometimes...

sometimes when you go to nienie's you
get to play on the computer...

and sometimes there are two computers so you
don't have to share...

and sometimes the room is messy, because
nienie was busy playing too...

and sometimes you get tired of the computer
and have to move on to nienie's iphone:-)...

and sometimes marley thinks maybe you will take a
break soon and play with her in the backyard...

...and sometimes you just give up and take a nap!