Merry Christmas Eve!

We stopped by our babysitter, Miss Racheal's, house tonight to give her her Christmas gift. She was not there, but her parents kindly invited us inside. We had never really met them before and it was nice to talk and visit. The kids had a great time looking at all the decorations and presents. Out of the blue, Bradley pulled one arm inside of his long-sleeved red shirt and walked up to Mr. Parker and said, "Where'd my arm go?" He's the comedian that I never thought he would be.

This is one way to keep kids contained during the excitement of Christmas.

You know your kid is too old for a pacifier when he can stick the whole thing in his mouth.

My husband and I have succeeded in teaching our children the importance of praying before meals. So successful, in fact, that this morning while I was changing Wendy's diaper in the family room, I could hear Bradley praying over the Hershey Kisses they were eating for breakfast.

Bradley's first bloody nose.

Bradley has been sick all week long with a fever, stuffed up nose and fatigue. He flipped out when he wiped his nose with his arm and saw blood. Emily thought it was ketchup.

Bradley has a fever today. Is it bad to enjoy when your children are ill? All he wants to do is sit on the couch and watch TV and I love it. The house is quieter. I should probably call the doctor. I never know when I should because more often than not they send you home with no remedy. Maybe I will wait one more day.

I talked to Camille today. She is the mother of Dylan, a boy in Emily's karate class. It was a wonderful missionary opportunity. She inquired about the church because she has a sister-in-law that is Mormon. I told her a lot about the church. I plan to give her a Book of Mormon next week.

You find the darndest things with kids in the house:

1. I very large red Clifford stuffed animal stuffed in an Igloo cooler. ??? According to Emily, she was making a "really big music box."
2. A 21 month old girl fallen on a powder room floor covered in water. In the sink there are Legos, a baby doll and a pacifier.
3. A glass fruit bowl filled with caffeine free Diet Coke and a plastic restaurant kid's cup floating atop.
4. Three bananas on the upstairs, brand new, master bedroom quilt.
5. A poopy diaper tossed out the front door into the bushes.
6. Smashed pop tart in the white Berber carpet.
7. A diaperless toddler wearing a dress and wet socks.
8. A gnawed on chunk of cheddar cheese making a grease mark on a Golden Book.
9. A tragic Fisher Price Little People bus accident at the bottom of the stairs.
10. A gold minature Reese's Peanut Butter Cup wrapper in the parmesean cheese container.

1 brother + 3 sisters =

Happy 3rd Birthday, Bradley!

Wendy went to the doctor today for her 4 month check up. She weighed 8 lbs. 5 oz. She lost 5 oz. since her 2 month appointment. Now I am paranoid and feel like an inadequate mother. So we are going to stuff her with formula so she gains weight by next Tuesday when they want to weigh her again.

Today was Bradley's last day of being 2. Tomorrow we are going to see Walt Disney's Chicken Little.

I have two cavities.

I am constantly reminded why I buy and serve diet soda to the children. Bradley spilled orange juice on the kitchen floor this morning and now it feels like somebody sprayed adhesive on the floor.

Awhhhh!

(Bradley, 34 months and Wendy, 2 months)

Sister Hall came over today to visit teach me. The kids love to take advantage of the time to do as much destruction as possible. Today they decided it would be a good idea to play with Sprite in the playroom. It reminded me of why I purchase diet drinks to avoid the sticky messes. This was not diet Sprite.

Bradley went to gymnastics tonight. I met a mother named Wendy there. She had a baby 9 days younger than my Wendy. Her baby's middle name was Beth. After gymnastics, we went to the grand opening of Sonic. It was so busy we had to go through the drive thru.

What more could Bradley break today? Let's see... he broke the leg off the small white kids table by tipping it over. He broke Emily's Belle crown by trying to pull it away from Sarah. He took the Hercules DVD insert out of the cover, but thankfully it didn't rip. He tore the pen off of the Magnadoodle. He is the most destructive kid I know.

Emily had a difficult time going to bed this evening. She likes to come downstairs a lot and have daddy take her to bed over and over.

I am going to join a Mom's club.

Motherhood is anything but glamorous. Sarah woke up with a goopy red eye. Wendy leaked her breast fed baby poop onto my skirt at church today. At lunch Emily was sitting on my lap. Bradley did something to crack her up and she peed on my lap.