Rock Band!

So most people have silly games they play in the car. Some play slug bug or zitch dog. For a while my kids yelled "motorcycle" every time they saw one -- until the yelling got so startling we put a stop to that game. The latest game (of course, knowing our family) is yelling "rock band" as soon as a rock band song comes on the radio (or sometimes, "guitar hero" "guitar hero 3" etc.) Again, it is a contest to see who can catch it first. So, this game was getting a little tiring -- until Reece joined in. Today Reece and I were in the car and suddenly this little voice sqeaks behind me "rock band!" At first I am thinking he is just imitating the big kids but then I realized, it is The Replacements, who do have one song on rock band - just not this one - can he possibly be making that connection? or just shouting out random comments he hears the big kids make? Probably the latter, but I still think its cute.

The Demise of the Crib

So it finally happened -- Reece literally broke out of his crib. Its not like he has superhuman strength that he can bend metal -- this crib has just seen a lot of wear after 4 rough kids sleeping and trying to climb out/break out of it. Even funnier than the wreckage of the crib is the huge grin on his face as he appears at his doorway seconds after being put down for bed. At first it was amazement, "look what I did, wow, I am not stuck in that place" now it is "haha, I am out, what are you going to do about it?" So the naptime that used to be for 2-3 hours every afternoon is now nonexistent. Bummer for me. We have to wear him out anyway so that he is too tired to get up again at night. Otherwise we are worn out as we have to return him to his bed over and over every couple of minutes until one of us finally gives up and drops off. I don't remember the transition from crib to bed taking more than a week with the older kids. Honestly I think we were better at blockading their rooms or maybe they just didn't realize they could escape.

Ellie's 5th Birthday

Ellie's 5th birthday was last Saturday. We had her first real birthday party with friends. We had four little girls over and we did the requisite party activities: crafts and games and a pinata. Of course the grand finale was pink cupcakes with pink frosting and pink sprinkles. Ellie helped decorate them and had a great time making a mess with the frosting and sprinkles right before the guests arrived -- but hey, I am not going to stifle any creativity! She was so excited about every gift she opened, exclaiming, "Its just what I always wanted!" Unlike most other kid birthday parties we've hosted, there were no meltdowns or tears or hiding in a corner -- I think with the 3rd kid we finally have realized that simplest is the best.

The Family Christmas Picture

So, anyone with even one child can identify with the drama of the family picture -- be it for Christmas or just because. You work up a sweat even getting everyone looking pretty for the picture, let alone attempting to get them all to stand still in one spot for even 5 seconds. After no less than 50 shots, we finally ended up with something we are not proud of but not horribly embarrased by either.