Two Unrelated Thoughts

To the untrained eye this seems to be a harmless roll of four different colors of ribbon.

Upon closer examination, however, one realizes that it is in fact a roll of "Momma comes around the corner only to find that it has exploded all over the floor in the hands of two children."

When Cayden was told to clean it up, he wadded all of it into a huge ball, which Erin and Andi spent the better part of an hour getting untangled and put back on the roll. The top picture is actually the roll after it had been put back together. So these pictures are not so much 'before & after' as they are 'after & more after.'

In other news, as you well know, NFL teams are making their final push for the playoffs. Although it appears as though America's favorite team, the Houston Texans (sorry, not open to argument, so please keep your snide remarks to yourself), will be watching again on TV this year, Avery apparently wanted to get in the spirit to root for the Green Bay Packers. Their fans don big blocks of foam cheese as hats, and are thus known as 'cheese heads.' Again, this is one of those where you unsuspectingly turn around and lo and behold...

...she had taken two pieces of the cheese she's eating and balanced them perfectly on her head! And her smile says that she's pretty proud of herself, too...

Mmmmm...Chocolate!

Parenting is a journey of learning lessons as you go. Sure, you read books (or, more accurately, magazine articles in the 3 minutes between when one kid is throwing food and the other is falling off of the chair) and get advice from seasoned veterans, but some things you still have to learn on your own. Here's a list of what we picked up this morning:

1.

If you leave just a little bit of hot chocolate in the bottom of your mug overnight, it almost solidifies by the next morning. Really, it forms a delightful chocolate paste.

2.

If you leave said mug by your chair, thinking you'll put it up the next day, it emits a signal that only toddlers can hear, much like a dog whistle for canines. Honestly, it may not even be a sound. It could be more of a scent, or maybe even a hot or cold sensation that only those close enough to the floor are perceptive enough to discern. It's all guesswork for me at this point. All I know is that numbers 1 and 2 lead to...

3.

An unsupervised toddler will undoubtedly find the mug and sample the paste. Of course, it's never a matter of 'sampling,' but more of 'digging' and 'smearing' and 'touching everything you can in your immediate area with chocolate all over your grubby little fingers.'

The pictures below give you an idea. It's hard to see the chocolate at the bottom of her shirt, or on the carpet nearby, but believe you me, it's there. Anyway, this was the excitement for the morning in the West house.

All Aboard!

Well, we got the camera out on Tuesday to document another exciting "Day-in-the-Life of." We knew we'd be ending the day riding the Polar Express train with Cayden, so we went ahead and took pictures all day. There's lots here, so feel free to close your eyes and scroll past any you don't want to see. Just trying to help you out...

Cayden started the day headed to 'school' (Parents' Day Out at Wolfforth UMC)

While big brother was being educated, Avery learned the finer points of a Slinky.

When we went to go return some of our unnecessary Black Friday purchases (and oh, there were several), Avery put on her mean face to guard the shopping bags in the car.

Momma made some Mary Kay deliveries.

We weren't sure what kind of roof an 'affordle' required...

...but the attached truck brought clarity to the situation!

So, do they actually put chicken in the smoothies, or...

That reminds me of a Seinfeld episode!

She had chicken and fries for lunch...

And toes for dessert!

After we got Cayden from school, they played with their high-class toys: an empty bottle and car charger. You might be a redneck!

Later we wrapped some presents for Cayden's cousins. He's holding a tissue in his left hand after suffering what initially appeared to be a life-threatening paper cut, but we survived.

Then it was on to Buns Over Texas for a hot dog in his jammies before we got on the train!

Once at the train station, we could see it coming in the distance.

And it's finally here!

We got to ride with the Velas, and Novi and Cayden kicked it with the Conductor.

Ready to ride.

Tickets, please!

Cayden actually told Santa he wanted a bell for Christmas. Which was convenient because...

Lo and behold, that's what they got!

He finished the night by getting an elf's phone number. We're not too worried about anything happening though, as apparently she's from pretty far out of town...

Cayden (and okay, Mom and Dad too!) had a ton of fun on the train. In case you were wondering, Avery stayed home with Damon's mom (Nana). You know those stories you always hear of little kids yanking off Santa's beard? Yeah, that would be our daughter if given the opportunity. So she rode the "Stay at Home and Crawl Around in the Floor" Express. On a side note, the cutest thing was that Cayden asked us several times throughout the evening if we could hear the bell (if you've seen the movie or read the book, it makes more sense). I think he was relieved that we all were able to. Where would it fit on the 'cruelty to children' scale to pull the little ringer out of the middle of the bell and then ask him if he could hear it? I mean, not that we'd ever do that, but, like, if somebody else was thinking about it...

Until next time!

On a Saturday...

This past Saturday was a big one for our family; it was "Put up the Christmas Tree" Day! This is a tradition that Erin brought in from her side. In my family growing up, best I remember, mom would drag the tree in out of the garage on a Saturday and get it all set up while I tried to stay as scarce as possible. The Turners, on the other hand, made a family affair out of it, with Christmas music in the background and the whole family chipping in to set up and decorate the tree. So that's what we do each year in our house, and I know Cayden and Avery will enjoy it as much as Erin and I have over the last few years.

I took a couple of pictures to start the day, and then decided I'd keep going and just document everything that happened. And here are the results: a day in the life of our family...

Kind of like Zoolander's 'Center for Ants', this isn't our full size tree - it's just the top section and a team effort to get it fluffed (?) out prior to putting it on.

His greatest concern all morning was "Daddy/Mommy (depending on who was closest), how are we going to get the star all the way to the top of the tree?"

The wrecking crew...I mean, helpers... went to work unwrapping ornaments.

Eventually, we made a game where we unwrapped the ornaments and Daddy got them out of her hands in the 1 second window before she threw them.

These are the memories you want to hold onto.




I'm not sure, but moments like this are usually followed by, "What's Avery getting into back there? Avery? AVERY!"

Eventually, while Cayden and Mommy hung ornaments, Avery was removed from the scene to go play on the step-stool. For all of our good, really.


Here's the finished product. We survived!

From there, it's off to Wal-Mart. Avery's spitting into her hand while Bono looks out at passing cars.

And into the belly of the beast: Wal-Mart on a Saturday with two kids. Bring it on!

After we took the groceries home, it was off to a land flowing with chips and salsa.

Last was Bolt at the Drive In. Not to ruin the movie for you, but let's just say that Bolt fared better than Tech was against OU at the same time...

Some folks just aren't cut out for life on the road. And yes, when Avery starts wearing Cayden's old pajamas, it's time to do laundry...

We'll try to keep you updated on both the exciting and the mundane in the weeks to come (okay, the mildly interesting and the mundane). See you soon!