Merry Christmas!

and best wishes in the New Year!

(hope you like your gift Jared!)

catch up

Here's some things that we've been up to this last month:

Kids taking swimming lessons:

Making a duct tape dress form:

here's a real tutorial.

You may notice I've also been doing alot of this:

That's because I drew a certain someone's name for Christmas - you know who you are, you lucky duck!

eight years - collect your bets

Happy Anniversary Honey! (-even though you've never read my blog before.) It's kind of shocking to me that we've been at this for 8 years already. (-feels like an eternity! haha) We've both changed so much, but we've grown together, not apart. (-we've also grown around, but that's a different thing.) This year I've really come to see us as a team. (You make the money, I spend the money... right?!?) And we're able to look back and laugh at all that stuff that seemed so hard. (months and months of trying to start a family but Josh took his time, restarting your career and making less than your wife, the workplace accident that put you on worker's comp for 3 months, coming straight to the hospital from school and heading straight back when Taylor was born so that you didn't get expelled, that crappy apartment managing job, living apart for 3 months while you went to school then found a job in Brooks, loosing your job, another workplace accident, getting sideswiped and having our car written off 2 months before finally paying it off, Lakeside... you ARE laughing, right?) I can't imagine living any life but this one, with you, (at least until Richard Dean Anderson comes knocking - kidding!) and I'm excited to spend the rest of it with you. (cue panic-y laughter. Yours or mine?)

bossy books

As Josh starts wandering (slowly and painfully) through the world of reading, we've developed some funny quirks around our house. Sometimes I can be found reading books backwards to my kids (to prove the point that it DOES matter which direction you track your finger!) As my kids find this HILARIOUS, it is, admittedly, one of my less inspired prove-a-point mothering moments.

My favorite (and sometimes not) is when Taylor gets in on it. He likes to pretend to read direction off of boxes or out of books. These directions ALWAYS seem to prove me wrong. Example:

Me: "No Taylor, no more fruit snacks. Only one a day."

Taylor, picking up box and tracking his little finger over the letters: "Mama, box say, Give Taylor two snacks ever."

Me, taking the box from his hands and also tracking over the letters: "No Artificial Flavours, Colours, or Preservatives"

Taylor, knowing he's busted: "Ohhhh, silly me."

Today, I came up with an entertaining alternative:

Taylor, tracking over the words 24 Chocolate Days 'til Christmas Advent Calender: "Mama, this say, Let Taylor eat many, and share with Brandt, not just one".

Me: "Really? When I read it, it says, "Taylor is a little stinker, he only gets one candy each day and we will share next time."

Taylor: "Ohhhh, silly you."