Shower Me With Cleanliness

Cate has graduated from the bathtub. Hooray! Her new favorite place to be is in the shower. She giggles and shrieks the entire time. This makes me so happy because I think baths are kinda gross. Sitting in her own dirty water, possible urine..washing her hair and then sitting in that water...just never appealed to me. After Brady's shower last week, she said she wanted in, so off the clothes came and in she went. And she's been in there every night since. I'm hoping it stays that way...I'm tired of bleaching tub toys :)And I think the shower has made her hair thicker and curlier~ Ha!

Her Newest Accessory

Cate is way over bows (that lasted approx. 6 hours). Now she loves to wear reindeer antlers everywhere. Isn't this a fun phase?! NOT!

Gimme a B!

Brady made his indoor soccer debut Monday night and he did great! This was his first time playing organized soccer and he loved it. I was very worried about him playing on this team because his teammates and opponents are all in 1st or 2nd grade and Brady is still in preschool. Most of his team played outdoor together so he was about the only one without an official uniform. Good thing Santa left this awesome Manchester United jersey and shorts and Mau Mau and PaPa bought him those super cool yellow shoes :) Brady definitely had the largest cheering section...14 family members :) Carter played the role of proud big brother...all of those "training/coaching sessions" in the basement definitely paid off!
He was a bit timid in the beginning, but after the first quarter he was everywhere the ball was!
First thing he said after the game..."how many days til my next game?"

Tuesday Night

Me: "When your dad gets home, I'm going out to dinner with my girlfriends"
Bennett: "Ewww, I didn't know mom was gay"

And when I came home three hours later:

Brady: "Bennett pointed the f-word at me" (meaning his middle finger)
Bennett: "That's because he was being an a-hole"

UGH.

Carter had to give me a very (long) detailed run-down of the first night of American Idol (who needs TIVO?!)

Cate was wearing Brady's boxer briefs and hot pink boots

Scott was "cleaning" the bedroom...meaning he was laying in bed watching tv.

So, thank you to my "girlfriends" for once a month giving me such a great reason to leave this madness behind!!!

Game Night

We've had a lot of game nights lately. Monopoly, Pictureka, cards, Guess Who, and everyone's favorite..Twister. And Cate always makes things extra exciting :)

Every time she played she had to kick one leg up...maybe she has watched one too many yoga infomercials with Ben!

The boys finally decided they'd had enough of her butting in and made her the spinner. Bad idea.

"Come on Cate!!!"

Poor guys were left in that position while she indulged in a water break

Brady gave in and played a round with her

I guess this was "head on yellow"

Next game night may have to be played after she falls asleep :)

Snow Days!

Plural. Snow dayS. Two. Yuck. Much more fun when I was the one getting out of school and relying on my mother to entertain me because I was "soooooo bored". These two days totally threw off my schedule. Wasn't 17 days off for Christmas enough? And even worse, the snow days fell on a Thursday/Friday, meaning a 4-day weekend. Scott and I have kept the kids very busy and active, which has left me exhausted...and it's only Friday night!!

Below zero temperature means the lake freezes solid and the kids love to "skate" on it and play hockey. They lasted a lot longer than I expected.

Cate lasted about 30 seconds. She preferred eating an ice cream cone and watching Barney from the comfort of her rocking chair :)

One perk to being a high school coach is that Scott has keys to the gyms! We took the kids there last night to play basketball/soccer/baseball and run some energy out. Genius!!!!

This morning, we took the kids to Monkey Joe's to play and then to Steak N Shake for lunch. I was trying to figure out this "collage" thing in photoshop, so I apologize for the crappy layouts...I'm just learning!

Scott commented more than once on how nice it must be to have three big brothers catering to your every need. Cate is one spoiled chick!

Three Lil' Ladies

My Tues/Wed girls were over today and we had a great time! Cate loves spending time with her girls and the three of them have so much fun together. Cate, Gabby, and Grace sharing a snack. All three of them have their mouths stuffed!! Cate and Grace were banging on the table..they are so loud :)

Cate telling Gabby how old she is!

SOOOOOOOOOO BIIIIIGGGGGGG!!! This game never gets old!

Givin' Props to My Boys

Semester grades came in the mail today....and they were great :) Carter had all A's with a B in something...probably Social Studies..I can't remember. Bennett had all A's and moved to the "Fluent 5th grade" reading scale (he's in 2nd grade). GOOD JOB to both Carter and Ben for great grades and surviving the first semester. Here's to hoping the next 18 weeks are just as productive and successful!
Bennett was crying til just seconds before I snapped this (fighting with his brothers..duh!) Notice the big screen tv in the background...a gift from Uncle Josh. Perfect for their video game systems....THANKS JOSH!

2010...The Year of...The Bow??

Today, I finally took our annual "1st" picture of the year. And the second..and the third.

After her bath, Cate insisted on wearing a bow in her hair. First time ever. Could this be her New Years resolution? And why won't she wear a shirt? I guess I should start saving money and only buy pajama bottoms...the tops never get worn :)

New Years and Resolutions

This year, we rang in the New Year at the Lorton's house. The boys were thrilled that all of their friends were going to be there, and I was thrilled that we were actually getting out of the house :) Carter attended a "huge party" at Logan's house.

4 happy boys...and one..well, not so happy :)

Once the boys took their shirts off, there was no chance that she was going to keep hers on!

The Countdown......5..4..3..2..1....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Heading upstairs to leave....12:45am. Party Animals!

As for Resolutions....I always make a list, but I never keep them :) This year, I resolve to: actually print pictures out once a month and put them into albums, keep my car clean, be better about sending bday/anniversary cards, and play the lotto. Those don't seem too hard do they? Well, except for the picture thing and the clean car. Wish me luck!!