Make 'Em Laugh!

Reese and Eden have a special way of cracking Jesse up. I'm not sure what it is--Chad and I try, but there is something about his sisters that Jesse finds hilarious. Last night after we had strapped Jesse into his high chair and were setting the table, Eden started tossing a toy microphone into an empty laundry basket (you'll notice by the background that it is laundry day at the Howards'!) For some reason, Jesse started laughing every time she'd do this. He has such a sweet and genuine laugh that the rest of us started laughing when he was laughing. I'm telling you, we had so much fun! Keep watching 'till the end--he lets out a great belly laugh. If I could bottle his laugh and sell it as an antidepressant, I'd be rich!

Do As I'm Doing-- The Grandpa Dance

During Family Home Evening Monday night, the kids were especially wiggly after our lesson, so we decided a couple of rounds of "Do As I'm Doing" were needed. For anyone not familiar with that song, someone is the leader and chooses an action that everyone else repeats while they sing:

"Do as I'm doing, follow, follow me! Do as I'm doing, follow, follow,me. I can do it high or low. I can do it fast or slooooww! Do as I'm doing, follow, follow, me. Do as I'm doing, follow, follow, me."

Well, it is a coveted honor to be chosen as the leader, but there's a lot of pressure to choose something super fun to do. Reese chose rolling your hands, then Eden chose spinning in a circle (that's always entertaining to watch and needless to say, Dad and I just watched on that one!) Then Reese got to be the leader again and decided that we should all do the Grandpa Dance! When Chad's parents still lived in NC and we were visiting, Grandpa loved to put on music and have dance parties with the kids. Let me tell you, there would be some serious moves going on! Gary's signature move with the kids, however, is bending a bit, moving your knees back and forth, and crossing your hands back and forth on top. I'm sure Grandpa didn't know how big of an impression his dancing made on the kids, but they love doing the Grandpa Dance! Enjoy!

I Love North Carolina!

As I was loading the kids into the van this morning, I couldn't help but smile and think about how much I love North Carolina. Where else can I enjoy a snow day with the kids and snuggle inside with hot chocolate and then three days later have Carolina blue skies, sunshine, and 60 degree weather? And in a couple of weeks, the Easter lilies will be blooming! I can't wait!

Snow Day!

Yesterday, we were blessed with 2-3 inches of snow for at least half a day (until the sun came out and melted most of it!) In typical Carolina style, school was cancelled and so we took the opportunity to have Mollie and the kids over to play in the snow! Chad let us take two of his bodyboards to use as sleds in the neighborhood common area across the street. This was Jesse's first time in the snow and the first time that Eden will remember. You will see that being out in the cold brought out mixed reactions!

Reese and our neighbor, Kendall, getting ready to take the first run.

Caitlin couldn't wait for the bodyboard and took a roll down the hill.
So the black thing on Eden's head is supposed to be one of those neck warmers that I doubled over to use as an ear warmer (there wasn't enough room under her chin to snap her hat in place.) In this picture, though, I think she looks a little like a Russian soldier-- what do you think?
Little Sabrina is so light, that her body weight just isn't sufficient to pack down the snow when she walks. Instead, it sticks to her boots and after a dozen or so steps, she ended up with platform snow shoes! That is very frustrating for a 3-year old!
No outing in the snow is complete without making a snow angel! And what an angel she is!

Here's Jesse at the bottom of the run (sporting a Long Beach hat in honor of his father.) And if you can't tell from the look on his face, he was slightly less than enthusiastic about it all! Perhaps that's because the last time he was on a bodyboard, it was a sunny California day at the Shore and his Uncle Ryan was pulling him along in the water at a much more leisurely pace and he didn't see his short life pass before his eyes! Plus, he was relaxing in his trunks instead of two layers of clothing and those ridiculous mittens that just weren't cutting it!

Ethan and his friend, Isaac, trying to make it down the hill. I think Isaac starting out pushing and fell on top! They had lots of fun!
These two pictures are to document for our children when they are teenagers, that even though we are "Mom" to them, we are actually also barrels of fun! C'mon-- how often do you see a 7-month pregnant woman sliding down a hill? If you are wondering how I actually got that coat to zip over my belly, don't ask. Even I'm not sure how I did it!
Reese's gloves weren't doing the job, so she went for the big dogs!
Aunt Mollie trying to console the frozen Jesse Pop. If that face doesn't scream pathetic, I don't know what does!
I think it's time we went home and had some hot chocolate and thawed out. There's only so much fun a gal can handle!

Three cheers for Snow Days!

Our January Christmas Play

We decided that since there are so many Guffey grandchildren, that we should start acting out the Christmas story when we get together at Mom and Dad's. We have enough kids for the Holy Family, shepherds, angels, wise men. However, with the way everyone's schedules worked out, the time for the Christmas play Well, I had built the whole thing up with Reese and Eden that not doing the play was just not acceptable.

Uncle Jason was working in Badin, North Carolina a couple of weeks ago and came over for dinner. Reese decided that it would be a great time for us to do the Christmas play! Here are some pictures from our grand production.

Since Uncle Jason was a little too big to play the part of Baby Jesus, he volunteered to be the narrator.
Here is Eden the Angel, fully equipped with Tinkerbell wings, announcing to Reese the Shepherd with a purple bathrobe that Christ is born. Jesse is supposed to be Joseph (we decided that he was too wiggly to be the baby Jesus!) but he's keeping Eden company on the piano bench!
And finally, here is Mary holding baby Jesus with the angel and shepherd coming to worship Him. Joseph is looking a little distracted, but maybe it's the burden of his new responsibility! You may also notice the purple "donkey" passed out beside Mary. My Little Pony isn't used to such hard work!

Overall, I have to say, that I am grateful that the kids understand that the pinnacle of the Christmas season is the celebration of our Savior's birth and that of all the things that they wanted to be sure to get done, it was acting out the Christmas story. They are some special kids!

Christmas Is For Kids

Okay, so I'm still slightly behind, but I am determined to post Christmas pictures before the end of January! We had a wonderful Christmas season in 2008. Grandma got to visit with us for a couple of days and we had Chad home from the day before Christmas through January 1. We were able to visit with lots of friends and family and we were certainly reminded of how much we have to be grateful for. Here are some pictures from December:The Griswalds tain't got nothin' on the Carlsons! We love to visit the real Christmastown, USA every year. The girls love seeing Joe and Vicki and playing amongst the decorations. Reese loved the singing Christmas trees, but her very favorite ornament was the pink flamingo! It was freezing cold the night we went to visit and yet the girls still didn't want to go home! I don't know what it is about Christmas lights!
We had Aunt Mollie take our family picture one night at church to put in our Christmas letter (which most people got after New Years! Hey, it's early for Christmas '09!) Do you see those cute little munchkins? Don't you just want to reach into your computer and eat them up? They rock! We can't wait to meet Little Mama and fall in love with another one!
One of the best Christmas surprises we got this year was getting to have Grandma stay a weekend with us. We had so much fun with her. The girls were so happy to share their bed and their Princess sheets with her. Little Jesse of course flashed his charm and loved playing with Grandma. We have got to figure out an inexpensive way to get to California! We're saving up our hugs for Grandpa, too.
This image may be disturbing for some viewers. Chad thought it would be great fun to put on his mom's jeans while she was in the shower. This is case-in-point for my belief that just being able to fit something on your body does NOT mean that you should wear it! They were stretch jeans and I believe that Chad made enough room in them for two Pams! : ) Ain't he purty? Any more time in those and I think the button would have popped!
So you can see why Chad had more fun shopping for presents this year than any other year! He got to buy Match Box cars!

Jesse loves cars and was happy to play with all of them-- including the airplanes and helicopters! Can you just imagine the soundtrack?
The girls both got princess umbrellas and once they opened them, their other toys were quickly forgotten! I've decided that practicality is the way to go!
We thought we hit the jackpot with the umbrellas, but that was because they hadn't opened up the microphones yet! We had originally gotten these just for the girls, but the day after that shopping trip, Jesse was singing songs all day long and we knew that he would love one, too! They were a hit! And these aren't fancy-battery-powered-contraptions-- they are made so that they echo and were $3.99! We could have done Christmas for $12.00!

This is really why I titled this post "Christmas Is For Kids." I really don't know who has had more fun with those microphones-- the kids or Chad! : ) Childhood is a state of mind! Chad is awesome!

Catching Up

Okay, so I think it was a really great idea to start a blog-- now if only someone would help me to keep it updated. I think the pressure of coming up with something witty to say is creating a lot of anxiety in me. : )

Let's go back to November--Chad delivered Reese's Doll Cake to her complete with flaming candles! As you can tell, he really enjoys a good party!

Fun was had by all and with the acquisition of Puppy in My Pocket, Kitty in My Pocket, and Jungle in My Pocket, along with silky pajamas and other treasures, Reese declared it, "The Best Day of My Life!"

This was later on in November and apparently dinner arrived too late. Poor Jesse ate his food but couldn't hold on any longer after that! Tired little man!
We were so blessed to have Grandmother and Grandfather down for Thanksgiving and to spend time with them (Poppa's parents). Reese and Eden love Grandfather especially because he teases them. Here they are snuggling and watching the "Good Night Show."
This picture was taken Thanksgiving day. It was time to get rid of the overgrown pseudo-mohawk, but I had to get some good pictures first. Jesse was playing woofleball-golf. He hit the ball underneath Nana's car and even though it rolled out the other side, he couldn't figure out how he was going to fit under the car (as if he had to travel the same path the ball did!) I introduced the concept of going around the car and he was amazed. At any rate, can you understand why I am so taken by this kid?

That's it for November. Hopefully it won't take two months to put up December stuff!