CLAIRE'S NEW HAIR

Okay, here is my baby girl with a new hair style. Some of you haven't had the chance to see it yet. Yes, she looks like she is 10 years old and she acts like she is 15 years old. It is truly amazing how fast these kids seem to be growing right now! Every week it seems like another piece of clothing is too small, or a new pair of shoes are a must.
As you can see, Claire thought it important to include a shot of the back of her head, to (Just so no one is confused as to how long her hair is now)!!

WELCOME TO OUR HOME, SPIKE!

What a cute little turtle, right? So everyone knows, Spike is Brian and Erica's (brother-in-law and sister-in-law) lone pet that is being left behind as they journey to Japan for an undetermined length of time. Poor Spike...I am sure she misses her real mom already! I think I am the hovering step mother that she is tired of seeing and the kids are like her annoying step siblings that always want to play a game she doesn't like!!
No, really, she is doing very well...today. Let me explain.
Day 1 without Mama Erica and Papa Brian must have been a bit traumatic. Her little eyes were swollen, probably from our not-as-good-quality-of-water, like she used to have in NYC. We put drops in them and she seems fine. She then tried to escape the tub, BUT hovering step-mom was there to catch her!! So I rearranged her rocks, which apparently I did not do right, because she continually knocked them over. I did, however, find a suitable arrangement and she has since let them be. whew!
Day 2 without Mama E and Papa B was probably even more traumatic. She seemed so lethargic in the morning, and of course the hovering step-siblings were extremely concerned. Oh, I reassured them that everything was fine...."she's just getting used to everything, " I said. Well, the kiddos went to school and I started noticing how tired she seemed. So, I watch her hiding in her little cave that is under water. Her eyes seemed okay, but she really hadn't eaten anything. I figured she wants something special to eat...I'll teach her to depend on food when she is stressed out. You know, just like the rest of us. So, I put some romaine in her tank and feel the water and....HOLY COLD!!! This poor turtle wasn't tired, she was freezing! (not literally, don't worry). I look to see if the heater is plugged in and it was, but I find a crack in the glass casing around the heating coils. It must have shorted out. ANYWAY, I am just thankful that Spike wasn't electrocuted on Day 2. If that would have happened we surely would never be trusted with any of Erica and Brian's other offspring EVER!!

So, Day 3 has begun, and Spike is swimming and playing as a normal turle should be, in a tank warm and cozy. She, of course, has a new heater that I am hoping makes things better between us. Food brides haven't worked, but maybe I could buy her love.
Thank you Brian and Erica for adding this little bundle of joy to our family! We love her.






And this...well....this is Ayden's fashionable combination of "get-up" from Aunt E. Claire, of course, was the histerically laughing photographer. He looks like a...well, you know what he looks like. I have to admit, he is a funny guy!

SNOW

Sunday, it finally snowed!! Okay, it was only 1 or 2 inches, but it was pretty and fun to play in and that makes ALL the difference. Friends of ours, the Ethridges, invited us to play on the ice at a pond by there house. It was alot of fun, and Claire was able to try "iceskating". Ayden and his pal, Dalton looked more like penquins belly flopping and sliding on the ice. It was pretty impressive!

Dalton is in Ayden's class. We have had a chance to get to know the family through their friendship. They are alot of fun!











In all honesty, the kids played in the surrounding woods more than they played on the ice. I don't have any complaints, but I think the Daddy's shoveled snow for their own enjoyment!!

So this was our one day of playing in "real" winter weather!! Yay!......
I think I'm ready for Spring, anyway!!!

Back to the Basics!

Well Christmas has come and gone, New Years was lots of fun, and now we are all thankful for some normalcy. Ayden is especially happy when we can get back to our routine! He's so funny that way.
So for those of you who do not know, our holidays were great! It was such a fun year. The kids were very gracious about all of their gifts and were equally as excited about giving as they were getting! Of course Santa brought new bikes! It was very fun. The elves were very sneaky this year and had "stolen" Ayden's old bike and gave it a PINK paint job! Claire was ecstatic, and thought it was AMAZING that the elves were able to be so tricky, as well as thoughtful of REDUCE ~REUSE~RECYCLE! Santa also used newspaper this year to wrap presents which was also important to the kiddos.
Now that I've told you all about Christmas you are probably wondering, "Where are all the pictures?". Well, Claire received her very own camera for Christmas, which is now LOADED with pictures, however Mommy still hasn't worked with it enough to get our computer to recognize her camera. SO, there will be more pictures in the very near future! In the meantime, enjoy these pix from the school website. They are both totally into school this year and love learning, which I think is a huge blessing! I am so happy with their enthusiasm to learn and their teachers' eagerness to make it fun!
Above are CLaire and her friend Cole reading books in the class library.
Our school has spirit days....this happens to be Blue and White day to show your spirit for the E-town Bears!
Ayden is enjoying science class. They just ended their unit on Matter. What floats and what sinks, and why?
The last spirit day was dress as your favorite book character day. Ayden loves listening to the Harry Potter books, but decided he looks a lot like Draco Malfoy (Harry's nemesis). He really does look like him, and had a great time dressing up and practicing his british accentl "I'll get you, 'Arry Potta!"





Here is the "real" Draco Malfoy....I am sure you can see the resemblance!!