Animal Shelter

Today AnneMarie made an "animal shelter that doesn't sell animals." Not sure exactly what that means. According to her, she is just a person who loves animals! But I thought her set-up was very cute and pretty accurate, with the boxes all stacked up like that.

A Snowman

We had a big snow last week. Nathan and I had somewhere to be, so Kelly kept the kids and they had a blast in her backyard. Mom came over and they built a snowman. He is wearing Jack's hat and AnneMarie's scarf. I was told AnneMarie refused to pose for pictures.
Here is a nice shot ...

And here is the crazy version ...

Lost Another Tooth!

AnneMarie lost yet another tooth! The first I heard of it, she told me, "Mom, I have another loose tooth!" She had not mentioned it wiggling or bothering her at all ... about 60 seconds later she had yanked it out! Once again, she lost the tooth. This one was not recovered, so she left a note for the Tooth Fairy, who was very understanding.

Gingerbread House

The girls were supposed to decorate their gingerbread house with Grandma a couple of weeks ago. But, they had a friend over and were so excited, they got started without her. Luckily, she arrived before it was totally finished. They did a nice job and didn't eat too much of the candy. We still have the house as a decoration in our kitchen.

Holiday Photos

The official Santa picture ... I think this is the best one we've ever had! Everyone was in a good mood, glad to meet Santa, no tears. AnneMarie told him she wanted a "Barbie & the Diamond Castle and a carriage." And Jack asked for "cars like Dalton's" which means Hot Wheels with tracks. Santa was very kind and patient, and big as a linebacker! He was somewhat imposing but the kids did not seem put off by his size.

Grandma treated the kids to a train ride while they waited in the line to sit on Santa's lap.

Here Jack is posing with a holiday display at KMart. He was having so much fun looking at their trees and outdoor decorations, and he said "Take my picture, Mom." I don't usually have a camera with me, but for some reason I did, so I obliged.

His First Black Eye

I couldn't get Jack to pose for these pics, but you can see the blue and yellow, and a tiny cut, around his left eye. This Thanksgiving weekend he was playing on the floor in front of a couch, and a heavy toy fell off the couch and smacked him right in the eye. His first black eye - definitely a milestone for a little boy!