Christmas 2010

How can Christmas be over already? And how did I only take 10 pictures the entire weekend? Oh well, regardless it was another great holiday!

The only picture I captured of all four kids together. And isn't it a great one?!

It was a beautiful snowy Christmas Eve

Poor Cate had to shovel snow to earn her dinner

Leaving reindeer food in the front yard (at midnight!)

This has been one of Cate's favorite gifts...a scooter!

Bennett, Josh, and Scott's legs.... watching some football

While we slaved away in the kitchen, Fran, Reece, and Cate lounged in the tub

Cate's very favorite gifts...ballet shoes and Minnie Mouse luggage (Disney bound in 15 days!)

She practices her ballerina moves ALL of the time. I'm hoping to capture her entire routine on film soon...it's hilarious! Time to sign her up for a class :)

Last night, Carter had Logan, Alec, and Zack spend the night. They decided to play in the snow at 10:30. Cate decided she needed to be with them. This is a picture of Logan pulling Cate in her sled...she laid down flat and he ran around the back yard while she laughed uncontrollably. She loves "Wogan"!!!!!

Happy Holidays!

Uh Oh

This afternoon we walked into the living room and found Cate had opened all of her gifts under the tree. Whoops. Good thing I only put a few under there. Guess she could no longer take the suspense! Sporting her new Dora backpack. It has a treasure map in it...she thinks it's the coolest thing ever!!!

2 Things...

Two things I never thought I'd say on a daily basis (I will use caps lock so you get the full effect)

1. IF THERE IS ANYMORE FIGHTING OVER THE SNUGGIE TODAY, I'M PUTTING IT AWAY FOR A WEEK!!!!!!!!! (directed towards Cate, Bennett, and Scott of course)

2. CATE YOU HAVE TO PUT CLOTHES ON BEFORE YOU CAN EAT AT THE TABLE!!!! (I say this at least three times a day)

A rare moment of Cate with clothes on. But those hands are ALWAYS on her hips.

Video-Brady's 2nd Time On Skates

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Ice Ice Baby

Tonight I took Brady ice skating. I sat on the bleachers and watched him go round and round, only stopping to slide across the ice on his stomach. He ice skates like he plays soccer...full throttle, 100% the entire time. I was exhausted just watching him. My nephew Jon was there to help with tying skates (apparently, I don't do a good job). All of "the girls" were there too...Brady said they were chasing him but they couldn't catch him "cause they were way too slow". That kid lacks confidence.

We left Cate like this.

Jon helped with the skates

He loves to wear all of Jon's old hockey stuff...

Jon, Lexi, Alina, Randi, Rachel, and Abbie. I don't know what happened to Malori....

Week Review

Kinda been a slow week here at the Smallie house. Two snow days this week. One was actually for below freezing temperatures (-14 windchill). Apparently, super cold weather is bad for kids that have to ride the bus or walk to school. I generously offered to pick all of those kids up and take them myself, but my offer fell on deaf ears and I ended up with my kids and husband home all day. And an ice storm Wednesday night kept them home Thursday. Cate was thrilled...as you can tell in the picture below. (yes, she's naked under that comforter...she's always naked)

We took her to the dr. on Thursday (the ice wasn't that bad). We've been concerned about her lack of appetite, thinning hair, and new-found love of being lazy and naked. I love our pediatrician. He is so awesome...always takes the time to sit and listen and never rushes. And he's leaving the practice. BOO HOO. Anyway, he ordered blood work for Cate to check thyroid and iron. He also started her on vitamins. The bloodwork went much better than expected. No tears and she actually watched the needle go in and her blood fill up four tubes. But when the nurse lady put a "puh-ple" band-aid on, all hell broke loose. She screamed and kicked and completely lost it right there in the office. Ridiculous. What two-year old will sit still and watch blood being drawn from their arm, but goes crazy over a stupid purple band-aid?? Cate Smallie, that's who. Kudos to Scott for not walking out of the building and making her walk home...I know he wanted to! Tests came back today and everything looked great. Her blood platelets are a little high, but nothing he's concerned about. Could be a seasonal thing or growth spurt (which would be great..she's only gained six pounds this year(29lbs)...which is what I've gained this month) As for our Dr...with him leaving the practice, we are too. Even though there are five other drs in the office, and we've seen them all, we don't like any enough to stick around, so we're moving on. Sniff Sniff.
Today was the last day of school til 2011. Ben and Brady had class parties and I was room mother for both. Not easy being in two classrooms at the same time. Hectic, but fun. I also ran to Gus' pretzels and picked up enough for teachers and Scott's last hour class (which is also Carter's class). So now everyone is home for 17 days straight. Fa-la-la-la-friggin'-la
Brady sporting his tshirt that he made with his 3rd grade buddy-Bennett :)

Bennett sporting his tshirt that he made with his kindergarten buddy-Brady :) This is his "pod"...Cameron, Rhett, and Hunter. They had to make and agreement and sign a contract with their teacher in order to get to sit together. I'm not convinced it'll last long!

Picture Perfect

My kids+ My sisters kids = Happy Grandparents!

A Shopping Obsession

I visit the grocery store almost every day. And I'm not exaggerating. At least six times a week. For some reason, I would much rather go every day than one huge bi-weekly trip (could be that it's my only *me time* throughout the day). I have become a varsity player in the world of groceries. I know the sale cycles and when products "bottom out" saving us lots of money. I would never pay more than $2 for a box of cereal or bag of chips...it drives Scott crazy when he goes with me. He can't understand why I refuse to buy a box of Rice Crispies when they're not on sale but I'm not going to pay $4.69 when I know the following week they'll be $1.77. I mean, we have four kids, we can't afford to overpay $2.92 for anything!

My favorite store is currently under major renovations. Still open, but complete chaos. It has been this way for months. Scott stopped in the other day during his lunch hour and then text me to ask if I was aware that they were remodeling the store. UM, HELLO??? I could not believe he asked me this. Seriously, I think if I went a week without showing up, the check-out ladies would probably call out the search party!! This reminded me of the time that we saw one of his former students at a high school event. She is also a checker at my fav store. She walked up to us and to Scott's surprise, she turned to me and asked how the kids were and if Brady was feeling better and how our weekend soccer tournament went. When we finished chatting and walked away, Scott couldn't ask fast enough how in the world I know her and how she knows about our family. Seemed so weird that he asked me this considering how much time I spend with her. Seriously, if Scott and I were to renew our wedding vows, I would consider asking her to be a bridesmaid...that's how much time I spend with her!!!! We're practically family!

And speaking of obsessions......

Brady is hog wild over hockey. Ick. For those of you that don't know...hockey is cold. And Scott and I hate cold. But he looooovvvveeesss it and Jon and Cody play (big deal, right?). He is in skates from the minute he walks in the door after school til he goes to bed. Even though he's not supposed to skate upstairs, he always has an excuse as to why he's circling the living room/dining room/kitchen over and over again. Our basement storage room looks like a locker room with a HUGE hockey bag, at least eight sticks, and enough equipment to dress an entire team. And against our better judgement, we're going to feed his obsession with new skates and a session of learn to play hockey. Like we have enough time and money for yet another sport. Eh.

The Tree Is Up!

Funniest picture ever...Scott and Cate doing their best "Dora Dance" to celebrate the tree being decorated! (minus the popcorn/cranberry garland) WE DID IT!

Blog Neglect

I know, I know. Not much activity going on around here lately. All of my computer time has been dedicated to online Christmas shopping and Christmas card/yearly calendar making. I have only taken six pictures this week. I promise to blog about Scott turning 31 yesterday and our wild and exciting night (think ToysRUs and Kids Sportsworld) soon. For now, I'll post these lame-o pictures :)

Cate is still sucking her thumb. Not much, but I find it kinda sweet (I never thought I would say that!) and it beats having to search for/sanitize pacifiers all the time

Watching tv...shocking. But she's doing great on the potty!

Everytime I open my camera, I find goofy pictures like this. DORK!

Picture With Santa

Scott claims it's the weirdest tradition ever. (I think having someone-especially children-blow out candles on cakes, often spitting all over it and then everyone eats it-is the weirdest holiday tradition, but that's just me) So we took our yearly trip to Frontenac to see "ho ho". The line was loooong. And all of the other kids were dressed up hard core. Siblings in matching dresses and perfect hair and parents looking just as fine. No thanks. My kids wouldn't dress alike even if I promised them everything in Sports Authority. Of course, all of those perfectly dressed kids were the most ill-behaved children I've ever had the displeasure of hanging out with for 45 minutes. I did have to hide my smile when one little 4 year old girl -very loudly told her Gucci loafer wearing father to "shut up cause you're mean". Wahahahaha-hope Santa didn't hear that one! As for my (ahem ahem) perfect family...Cate was not loving it til after the cameras were put away and then she marched right up and told Santa that she wanted a pink 4-wheeler. What?? I have no idea where that came from. Brady loved Santa and told him he wanted his own XBOX 360 so he doesn't have to share with his brothers...to which Santa said "we'll see about that"....and Bennett told him he wanted a new hockey stick and an IPOD touch. Two more things not on his original list. So, without further ado...here is our 2010 Santa picture.

Just Keepin' It Real :) Happy Holidays!

Sleeping Beauty

Cate is the best sleeper ever. EVER. I will put her ability to sleep long and hard up against any other kid out there. When she's out, she's out. I often vacuum during her naptime in the same room she's sleeping in. She doesn't even flinch. It's a beautiful thing really. We never have to tell the boys to be quiet, or take the phone off the hook, or hush the dogs...nothing bothers her. I take her Minnie Mouse nightgown off of her after she falls asleep, wash it, put it back on her and she has no clue. But what I'm most grateful for.....drumroll please..... she's a true champ at "the transfer". You know, transferring from car to bed while she's sleeping..or car to stroller..or bed to car to stroller to car to bed....and never waking up, which means not wasting naptime on a stupid 20 minute power nap that ruins everything! An example would be Monday when I had to pick the boys up from school (which I will soon write a rant post about). She was sleeping on the couch, I carried her to the car, she slept the entire time we waited for them, then we went to the carwash, vacuumed the car out, and when we got home I carried her back to bed and she never woke up once. Seriously, she's that good. Tonight at the highschool basketball game, she laid down on the bleachers and almost fell asleep while the band was playing four rows over. I think it's because it was actually quieter there than most of the time at home! (which is sad and why I'm always crabby..too much noise in this damn house). On school days, she sleeps through everyones showers and I am able to take Ben and Brady to school without having to load her up..Carter is here to listen for her while I'm gone-(although he's not much help when he's singing in the shower). And even lately when Gabby and Gracie are dropped off at 9, she doesn't roll out of bed til well after 9:30 and when she walks into the living room and sees her "fwinds" it's like the best surprise ever!

So there ya have it...I've been working feverishly to figure out something positive to write about Cate after my O.C.S. post...and yes, it's taken me this long to find something positive. Scott has taken to calling her PITA ( pain in the ass)...cute nickname for his 2yr old don't you think? Yesterday, I sent him a picture of Cate laying on the floor of Target reading a book..just laying on her back, legs bent, one crossed over the other, laughing and giggling at the Dora picture book...like she was on plush carpet in front of a cozy fire. Anyway, my caption read "What are the odds that her 3's will be easier than her 2's?" His immediate reply "Not so good" Oh hell.

Disney

39 days til Disney! Did I mention we're going to Disney in January? Carter's 3v3 soccer team qualified for the Kick-It World Championships held at the ESPN World Wide Sports at Disneyworld. The tournament is Friday-Monday, but we're making it a vacay and flying out at 7am Wednesday morning. Yes, that's right...Team Smallie, party of 6 is flying. I feel like I need to call ahead to the airline and ask them to send out a mass email to the other passengers to bring earplugs, liquor, and lots of patience. It could get ugly! Grammy, Aunt Fran, and Bau Bau are going too, so I'm hoping we have assigned seats and Scott and I are in the back of the plane while everyone else is in the front with more adults than kids, that the boys will be on their best behavior (I won't even mention Cate's behavior...we're counting on Benedryl to get her through the flight). We have park tickets for four days and we plan on cramming as much as we can into the six days that we're there. I'm getting super excited!!!

Carter at his 3v3 tournament last weekend (they got 2nd place). His team name is The Flying Dutchman...#5 "van der" Hall :)

Tis' The Season

On Saturday, we made our annual stop at Wild Lights at the zoo. It was freezing! Bennett and Carter chose not to go (bah-humbug), so the rest of us bundled up and headed out for a night of fun. We arrived as soon as it opened and it wasn't nearly as crowded as last year, which made for an enjoyable, laid-back visit.

Warm, fresh kettle corn hit the spot!


These are about the only animals we saw....lighted ones! Only the insectarium and the penguin house are open to walk through. It was actually 10 degrees warmer in the penguin house (45 degrees) than outside and Brady said "finally they turned on the heat for these poor penguins!" The pathways are all lit with Christmas lights and displays, there are Christmas carolers throughout, and the carousel is open and Lakeside Cafe. The kids love running through the zoo at night :)

Cate running through one of the "tunnels"

Last night we wrote letters to Santa. This is their pose with their letters. Charming isn't it?! (especially Cate's nightgown tucked into her undies) Cate's letter read "Dear Santa. I've been pretty good this year. Well, mostly. But, I'm two so expectations were low. I would like a purple baby, Minnie Mouse backpack, and a swing for my baby. See you soon!"

Today was the first day for the advent calendar. The kids woke to this note hanging on their door With four kids, Advent Calendars are a bit tricky. All of the ideas I could find only held treats for one kid and I didn't want to make four, so on days that they actually get something I leave a hint as to where it is *hiding*. Today's bags were filled with candy, gloves, and their favorite mechanical pencils.