And the Walls Came Tumbling Down

When we moved out west, I knew we were getting in "quake" territory. I just never imagined one would hit so close to the holidays and wreck our gingerbread house. Walmart should sell disaster insurance along with their crappy-doesn't-hold-together-worth-a-darn icing. I guess saving money isn't everything. And yes,I followed the directions and let the icing sit the requisite 15 minutes before decorating. I even used a timer. It was the longest 15 minutes of my life with Brenna asking every 30 seconds or so "Can we decorate it now?" Even the icing on the windows ran. Sheesh.
I guess the one good thing that came out of it was I actually got to taste the gingerbread house this year...not bad, so I guess I have to give Walmart kudos for good gingerbread. Normally the house sits and collects dust and I'm all "Um, this is going in the trash and no, you can't eat the gray pieces of candy. Are you nuts child?" Never fear a replacement gingerbread house has been purchased. Construction is slated to begin December 24, 2009. Stay tuned for further updates and photos.

Does this come in pink?

Brenna has discovered her inner rocker playing "Guitar Hero" on the Wii. Sometimes the songs are a little long and she loses interest, but she's starting to get the idea of it. I suppose she'd be more excited about it if she had a pink guitar. Maybe if she ever gets off the beginner level, we'll look into one.

Holiday Sing-A-Long

Friday, December 11th, was Brenna's day care recital called "Winter Wonderland". Her group sang "Frosty the Snowman" and "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" at the top of their lungs. It was heart warming...really. When we arrived at the auditorium of a local Junior High, I fully expected Brenna to cling to us and need to be coaxed onto the stage. Once again, she completely surprised me and ran off to be with her friends until the director called them up on stage. Our little girl is growing up and gaining confidence and independence. Watch out world, here she comes!

Me and my girlfriends!

Pretty sure she is saying "wish" here.
Either that or she forgot the words
and we're going to have to have a
conversation about "bad" words.

This is a sing-a-long, right?

Santa Came to Carmax

Sunday, December 6th, we attended the Carmax Holiday Party. The man in the red suit made an appearance, and Brenna ran towards him at a sprint, holiday dress and all, when she heard his jingle bells all the way across the Carmax showroom. This is the first year that she has been truly excited to see Santa and it shows! She asked Santa for another baby doll (with curly hair). If she gets another baby doll, this will put her over the state limit for an in-home daycare. I really hope Santa is up on his Utah child care laws. I don't want to have to bail her out of jail.

Hmmm...Have I been good this year?

Why, yes I have been good!

Who needs Santa when I have Daddy's lap
and green paper to crinkle!

The Simple Things

Paper Towel: $.01

Shoe Box: $45.00
Eating a meal in peace: Priceless

All Tuckered Out

It happens to the best of us. One minute you're enjoying a lunch of bananas and rice cereal and the next you're slumped over fast asleep in your high chair.

Stair Master

There is no staircase he won't climb. It's the getting back down that poses the problem, so for now he will have to be content with only going up. He even climbed up on the two step stool in the bathroom today. He wasn't quite sure what to do at the top, and when he made moves to climb on the toilet, I put an end to his adventure. I know, I'm a kill-joy. That's what Mommy's are for, right?


There's really no better reward at the end of a hard climb
than a big old smooch from your doggy.

The posting of this blog was interrupted when Brenna said, "Mommy, you've got to come see this!" I went into the front room and Austin was half way up the big staircase. Oh boy, here we go.