jakob's teen angst (a decade early)

age 2-3: "i believe in Jesus, i just don't want to go to that boring church."

age 5: (after being told it was time to come in from riding his bike)"not this day, old man."

age 6: "maybe it would have just been better if i was never born."(because he couldn't have ice cream for breakfast.)

age 7: "you don't know my life."

poor tormented thing. oh how i wish we could sneak some prozac in your chocolate milk.

meet jonathon

the daddy found this little guy while mowing the front yard. most of us screamed upon hearing the word "snake". so the daddy gently picked him up with a stick and flung him far far away from all the nervous on lookers. he (we are basing our assumption that it was indeed a "he" on riley's observation that it had no visible eyelashes or a bow) ended up in the middle of the street. which brought sighs of relief. until some of us realized that put him in the immediate path of unknowing cars. (actually, trucks. we're in texas, here.) hearing the pleas of his children, the daddy begrudgingly stopped the mower, again, and pushed the slithery serpent to the sidewalk, where he was named (jonathon) and loved and adored for approximately 2 1/2 minutes, until he simultaneously wiggled and stuck out his tongue, causing, yet again, screams of terror.

9 is fine

(photo courtesy of riley grace. age 4.)

since this was an odd birthday for miss zoe lane, she got to choose one friend (rylie b.) to do something too fun for just anyone. so off to build-a-bear we went. (she even let her little sis tag along.) and then a "just the girls" lunch. then home for a sleep over where very little sleeping occurred. but a late night game of 4 square proved to be fun for all. so, are you ready for 9 things about zoe? here you go:

1. zoe is all about saving the earth. when i forgot to bring our reusable bags to old navy, she insisted we carry that little bundle of clearance out to our suv (that "uses way too much gas") in our bare arms. i love her for that.
2. she loves to help. when she wants to help.
3. she doesn't like to watch reruns. if she's seen it, it doesn't need to be seen again.
4. she's basically a genius. and i'm not being one of those overly proud mothers. she gets straight a's (and a pluses are relatively common.) when she saw her report card, she was bummed. "i thought i was smart at math." "yeah, that's a 96%. that is smart." "well, it's not as smart as my other grades." well, honey, we can't all be super nerds. (don't tell her i said that.)
5. she's a shoe lover.
6. that girl will talk your ear off. she has a lot to say. she doesn't always care if you respond or not. which is nice when i'm tired.
7. she used to want only 2 kids. twins. 1 boy. 1 girl. then a couple of months ago, decided she only wanted 1, "and it better be a girl". then a few weeks ago she confessed she didn't really want any kids. "it'll make more room in my giant house for cats."
8. she instinctively holds hands with whoever she is walking next to.
9. she laughs loud. like me.

happy birthday, zoe!! my favorite 9 year old in the whole wide world.

the shindig

we celebrated the anniversary of max's birth last weekend with our really good friends, the bryants and the roylances. (we missed you darby's!! we missed you v's!!) we hung out and ate hot dogs and"mater cake" and watched the kids play.

and play.

and play.

it was a great day.

when john paul lit the candles, max slowly backed up and said, "uh oh. fire."

hey, niki, do you wanna hear a gross/hilarious story?

if the answer is "no", then read no further. so you already know about riley's strange relationship with poop. well, the other day she went potty and when i went in to make sure she washed her hands she pointed to the toilet. (it looked like a dozen green+brown snakes in there. ewwww.) riley said, "look. a family reunion." what a weird-o!! hilarious and adorable. but still, a weirdo-o.

you say it's your birthday

the little man turned 2! on the day of his birthday we had a little family party complete with cupcakes and presents from the brothers and sisters, the grandparents and other lovies that sent him gifts. he loved the mini cars and carries them everywhere. he got books that we read over and over. (i love it that jakob can read to him now.) and all the monkeys played with the wonder pets playhouse. it was "soopuh fun". for your reading pleasure, here are a few things you may or may not know about our sweetest little maxwell:

• he loves like no other. we call it the "crocodile roll", where he hugs around the neck and pulls back and forth and rolls around and around. he has another love we like to call "the can opener". he hugs tight around the neck then sneaks his pointy little shoulder under your chin and pulls up. hard. it almost hurts.
• he is a great communicator and has constant...adorable...pauses...between random...words.
• he is obsessed with cars and trucks and puts them in different categories. anything loud or big is a "tuk". anything sporty or fast is a "dun dun". fire trucks, police cars and ambulances are "we-eww we-eww"s. everything else is a "tar".
• he has very specific taste in music. he needs a good drum beat or bass line so he can shake his money maker. headbanging, leg kicking (when sitting in the car seat) and shoulder shimmies are some of his best moves.
• he recently started biting. once on riley's back. once on jakob's cheek. (poor little things.) when he realized he was in trouble after the riley fiasco, he quickly covered his face with his hands and whispered "noooo". after the incident with jakob (they were in tub) he held his breath and stuck his face in the water when i came in. (if i wasn't so bugged about the biting, it might have been very endearing.)

we can't help but adore our little maxwell rees. he is showing signs of "two-ness" (the screaming, the biting, the taking just because he can) so we may have to occasionally draw strength from his first two perfect years to get through the next one. bring on the naughty chair. ("what am i supposed to do? he's too cute. you tell him he's in trouble." -this is what jp said to me after max pushed riley, but "showed remorse.")

i don't know if you noticed, but max's fingernails are purple. just thought i'd draw attention to how adorable that is.

a happy valentines day indeed

dear good husband of mine,

thank you so much for my valentine's bike. i love it. really. i hope you like your new jacket. (although i don't know how much longer you'll be able to wear it in the great state of texas.) and thanks for making such a beautiful dinner. and for using the real dishes. and for cleaning the kitchen afterwards. you really are my favorite. what do you say we put the monkeys to bed early tonight and celebrate this silly holiday like a couple that's really in love should? (watching simpsons and eating pita chips and humus.) this is the good life. much too good to waste.

i love you. really.

"unco dano" is here to stay

and we couldn't be happier.

snow day

northeast texas got a record breaking 8.2 inches of snow. we lived outside until it melted. except for the occasional hot chocolate/christmas movie break. we were in heaven having snowball fights, making snowmen (with mohawks), eating more than our share of the powdery goodness, and playing in the amazing igloo that daddy and uncle daniel constructed. it. was. AWEsome. the kitchen temporarily became a swamp with all the soaking wet snow pants in constant rotation. and coats. and boots. and hats. and gloves. but it was oh so worth it.

merry christmas to all

we were so happy to have nona and grandpa howard here for christmas. after snow and ice kept delaying their flight, we finally got to see them christmas day. we went to the audie murphy museum (texas is pretty proud that he's from hunt county), we went to the movies and saw alvin and the chipmunks: the squeakuel, and ate at a restaurant with unlimited ice cream. but i must say, one of my favorite things was watching nona make pies with my girlies. i loved watching her hands guide theirs, i loved their joy and her patience. i loved that i have these same memories as a little girl. flour covered hands, loving the squish of the dough. and then covering the left-over crust in cinnamon sugar. i might like that more than the actual pie. but i think i'm the only one. all the better. more for me.

the loot

santa called us christmas eve. no, really. caller id showed up "unknown". no number. no state identification. no nothing. the monkeys were on their best behavior. he insisted their presents were already loaded and on the sleigh. and that jakob was for sure getting the bike he wanted and riley didn't have to worry, it was a pink dollhouse for her. he claimed that max would get something perfect and zoe's gift was going to remain a secret until morning, but that she would love it. i was a little surprised how open santa was about the gifts, having not spoken to him personally, i kept thinking, "wow. i hope he knows what he's talking about." i, for one, didn't want to have to explain things in the morning if it wasn't exactly what santa promised. but christmas morning was pure excitement. that santa claus sure did deliver.

zoe: 1. polly pocket mall 2. "peace" build-a-bear 3. mint green camera (she got that early. we've established this.)

from santa: her very own room!! how santa managed this one, we may never know.

favorites in stocking: taylor swift cd, books, zuh zuh pet

jakob: 1. lego pirate ship 2. star wars skiff 3. real life cash register (i wish you could have seen his face)

from santa: brand spanking new bike

favorites in stocking: clone trooper outfit for build-a-bear, r2-d2 watch, scooby-doo dvds.

riley: 1. super fancy princess dress 2. parachute (just like the ones from elementary school. giant circle of fabric, everyone holds on to the handles and shakes it. runs around it. bounces beanbags on it. it was a huge hit.) 3. for the life of me, i cannot remember riley's third present. i'll have to come back to this.

from santa: pink dollhouse with a green roof. (she was very specific.)
favorites in stocking: stuffed white kitty cat, books, ariel costume for build-a-bear*pictures will come.

max: 1. geo-trax airplane 2. shake and go race track 3. big orange tractor trailer that carries a big orange race car.

from santa: metal grocery cart

favorties from stocking: cars, trucks, motorcycle mailman, build-a-bear stroller

the phone call with santa ended, and jakob immediately claimed he knew who it was. it was "an old man with white hair. but he doesn't live at the north pole. i think it's called idaho." i debated that it couldn't have been grandpa howard or it would have shown up on the phone. and then....it started.....snowing! in texas!! on christmas eve!!! i picked up the nearest kid and swung them around and heard myself say something like, "it's a christmas miracle!" i guess i was pretty excited. and that was just enough to seal the deal for the sloop children. santa claus is real.

max's obsession

every morning, in a tiny sleepy voice, max asks to watch "lightneen uhteen". so i plop him on the couch with his blankie and a warm sippy, and he's happy for about 20 minutes while i make beds or shower or sit by him spaced out (depending on what kind of night i had). he is starting to quote lines from it and apparently dreams about it. sometimes when he wakes up from his nap, he'll say "mom, mom. lightneen uhteen is faaasss." or "mom, mom. mater funny." then laugh and laugh at a joke only he knows. he loves repetition. he wants me to repeat the same story over and over. once on our way home from rockwall, we saw a police car with its lights on, parked behind a truck on the side of the road. max asked, "mom, mom. what happen?" "that truck was probably speeding, so the policeman pulled him over." and seriously about 20 more times "what happen?" since my one line answer was not enough, i elaborated. "remember when lightning mcqueen was looking for mack and the cop car turned on his siren and started chasing him and lightning said 'serpentine! serpentine!' and he broke the road and got tangled in the telephone wires? that truck did that." "ooohhhh!! i like dat. mom, mom. what happen?"

all i want for christmas is my two front teeth

jakob lost his top teeth within hours of each other. the bottom 2 (on either side of his fancy new middle bottom teeth) fell out in a blur of days either before or after the top. the tooth fairy was in a frenzy every other night searching for ones. and, sadly, forgot once or twice. oops. i kept remembering when i lost my front teeth. i was so bummed. i couldn't eat corn on the cob (and i love corn on the cob) until those buck teeth replaced themselves. it felt like forever. when i told jakob that tid bit of information, he was very reassuring. "don't worry mom. i don't even like corn. as a matter of fact, i don't like most vegetables other than carrots. and i can just eat those on these side chompers right here." that's great.

traditions

when thanksgiving rolls around, i can't help but start in with the questions. "what does your family do for christmas?" "what were your traditions as a child?" "what are some of your favorite memories of the holidays?" you see, i really want to make this magical for mine. i want solid traditions that we do every year. after pooling traditions from my childhood and his childhood and interrogating family and friends, and a few that popped into our sugarplum heads, these are the keepers thus far:

• secret elf. first of december we draw names. everyday of the month we do small acts of service for that person and make a serious attempt to direct extra hugs and smiles and well wishes their way. buy a present for them to be opened christmas eve, hopefully encouraging serious brotherly love. (or brother/sisterly love. zoe drew jakob this year. they are either best friends...or not even close. zoe asked if she could trade. john paul said, "nope. that's going to be the best thing for you.")



• after we decorate the tree we have a giant family slumber party in the living room and smile with excitement until dreams of random things dance in our heads. (we eventually kick the daddy out. he snores, you know.)



• gingerbread houses. my fam did this every year. we each got to decorate a house and then choose who we gave it to. i have to admit that i have been known to buy a pre-made kit at the grocery store, but it's not the same. the house doesn't smell like gingerbread and the candy isn't as stale. i love stale candy canes. seriously. (there's no telling how old our gingerbread house decor was.)



• typically, every friday we have family movie night. it's the one night a week we get to watch tv while we eat! (exciting, i know.) it rotates who chooses the movie, the meal and the treat. but this year we are also doing christmas movie night. starting the kids last day of school we will watch a different christmas movie every night until christmas. i have to decide if we will get to eat dinner in front of the television, at least the treat will make it's way in front of the grinch and george bailey and the charming muppets in a christmas carol. (i hope someone will actually sit through it this year.)



• we are eagerly adopting the "three wisemen gifts" this year. we are giving each child 3 presents from us. santa will hopefully come through and bring an amazing one, we'll expect lovely and thoughtful gifts from grandparents (they always deliver), and we'll cram their stockings to full capacity. but we are really hoping to focus on the birth of our savior. and shying away from mounds of toys will help us do that. they always end up adoring 3 or 4 presents anyway. the rest is just filler. very expensive filler.
  

we rely heavily on the tried and true stand-bys. blaring christmas music and dancing around the house. baking cookies and dipping anything and everything in chocolate. we read the classic christmas books and the new. and we're working on our very own living nativity. (we enough kids, geez.) john paul makes his own delish hot chocolate that the kiddies and i top it off with soft and fluffy homemade marshmellows. we love going for drives and looking at the christmas lights. and finding a family to help have a merrier christmas. i'm so excited for my house full of monkeys to rip open their presents. and grin at my husband when they keep screaming with delight "oh me oh my!!! this is what i've always wanted!!" i guess riley's the only one that really does that. jakob does get all excited and yelling, but it's usually more like, "YEEEESSSSSS!!!!! YEEEESSSSSSS!!!!!" zoe has never had much of a reaction. if she is absolutely in love with a gift, she kind of quietly says, "oh. wow." we'll have to see how the little man is. it doesn't matter. i'm excited. excited that for 2 weeks school won't interrupt our days. excited that i have some things hidden away that i know they'll love. excited that they're excited.

thanksgiving and why i didn't take any pictures...again

we braved the cold and the 16 hr drive to make the trek to north carolina to get our nana and grandad fix. (and don't forget about the aunts and uncles.) we basked in (nearly) a week of love and affection. and when we got home, i eagerly checked the camera card to see what lovely little pics i had to prove that we had a beautiful thanksgiving, only to find these little ditties:

that would be max on the lawnmower (the engine blew up shortly after this. they have no evidence). riley at the aMAZing children's museum. looks like she's making herself a box. some random dog from the neighborhood. and zoe's neck. when i saw these, i thought, "what the what?! why do i always leave thanksgiving photo-less?" and this is what i came up with.

1. i wasn't at my own house. so i couldn't always remember where i had left my camera.
2. thanksgiving is mostly an indoor show. and we all know that i shy away from indoor photos. (not the best lighting. boo.)
3. thanksgiving, when we travel, feels like an honest to goodness vacation. very little is expected of me, so in return i expect little of myself. my main concerns are laughing hysterically, playing with my babies and making sure they don't chop off a finger in pap's workshop, or bug anyone too much. easy peasy.
   

so if i had been thinking about it, i WOULD have gotten pictures of riley spooning with abby, the dog, and using her for a pillow. and i for sure would have gotten a million of max snug-mugging nana's neck. and i wish i would have gotten some of everyone together. or ANYone together, for that matter. i found these gems on zoe's camera. nana and grandad had an early christmas for the monkeys so they could see their cute little faces when they opened their loot. and these are some pretty cute faces.

i'll do better next year. (i hope.)