Goodbye, 2012.

Well, never mind that I ordered these cards the last week of OCTOBER, because they are STILL sitting on my desk, pleading, begging, to adorn all of YOUR refrigerators and walls. But, life happened. 

I MAY still send them out, (because at least I smartly included the phrase 'New Year' on them....) but, I may not. So Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and Merry Everything to you. If you sent us a card, I genuinely appreciate it and have enjoyed looking at your beautiful families this season. 

So, It's almost 2013.

Yikes. It's always at this point, mere hours before the clock strikes midnight, that I go into overdrive. Did I do everything I meant to do in 2012? (Excluding of course, the timely sending of Christmas Cards). Did I say everything I needed to say? Did I make the best of it? Is there anything left I'd like to do? (Interestingly, this question left me vacuuming UNDER all the furniture and vacuuming out ALL the couch cushions. Who wants to start a new year with yucky stuff in the couches, right?)

And well, the answer is the same as it is every year. It is what it is. I like to think that ever since becoming a mom after a really long, hard fought battle, that I make the best of ALL of my days. Some days are harder than others, and somedays I can surely be a bit@#, but most days, I'm just happy to be alive, happy to have my loved ones with me.

I spent a lot of time this year reading about and mourning young children's deaths. 2 in particular-Children I've never met but somehow feel almost as if they are mine. Ronan Thompson and Ty Campbell, 2 amazing little boys who lost their young lives way too soon. It's heartbreaking, devastating and it makes you realize that the petty stuff you wish you'd accomplished like sending cards out on time or keeping your house cleaner, doesn't mean crap in the grand scheme of things. People often ask me how I can stand to read about these little boys. My answer is how can I not? These stories have changed me. Truly. I urge to you read. And then do something. 

That, and the continued mourning and celebrating the life and loss of our friend Kim Conca, while watching her family grow into people she'd be so proud of. That's what matters. All the other stuff is just, well....stuff.

So here's hoping that you enter 2013 with no regrets. That you continue to be thankful for every breath you take and each sunrise with which you are greeted. Happy New Year to each of you. I'm grateful to have you all in my life. Cheers!

Have pop creams. Will sing.

Oh my goodness...I can hardly stand to wait any longer to see how this production at school turns out. Since the video I posted a few days ago, we've made a pretty decent amount of progress in trying to learn their songs and actually SING them. I swear my mom and her bribery, while seemingly harsh is really quite an effective tactic :) 

Today they sang for Cream Puffs. (Which, since we're talking about it, is something I'd pretty much dance around in a chicken suit for. So frankly, I like where their heads are at.) 

Ethan kept asking for more "Pop Creams."  (hee hee...) 

Anyhoo, such different styles of singing, I honestly couldn't pick a favorite. I'm sure they will stand as still and motionless as statues on THE night, but that's okay. (UNLESS, I can get Grammy to sit in the front row with a tub of cream puffs....) Oh, sorry. I digress. 

Anyhoo, please, check out the latest rendition of "Jingle Bells". (With Gigi looking on..)

COLTON

ETHAN

HUNTER

The VonTrips

Oh Sonshine Preschool...you and your upcoming Holiday Performance are giving me great giggles.

We are currently practicing 4 songs at home and with varying degrees of enthusiasm and cooperation. I do not know any of the 'actions' that are supposed to accompany their singing, so I've been mildly adding my own for the sake of entertainment, all the while purposely NOT doing the actions so much that they actuall remember them. Heaven knows I don't need to have the only 3 kids in the show doing their own thing!! (Oh right...that IS what happened at their last little show.)

Most of the songs the kids know are because they listen to them in grammy's car and sing them with her. No joke. They know songs I don't even know. 

So she's also been helping them learn their songs when she watches them during the day. 

Today, she was making them sing for snacks! (BRILLIANT, I tell you! ) Colton, who is always the LAST to sing for me, was graciously singing "Jingle Bells" whilst Grammy dangled a graham cracker in front of his nose!! So stinking cute he is when he sings! 

Ethan is the most stubborn at this point. Which stands to reason. He stood as still as a statue the last time his class sung a few songs. (Still hilarious, mind you.) 

Hunter, on the complete other hand, has been belting out, "I wanna wish you a merry Christmas!" (She's got her emphasis on the wrong syllable most of the time, but it's still adorable.) But not funnier than listening to her rendition of "Feliz Navi-dog. La la, la la...Feliz Navi-dog. La la, la la. "

OMG, it's all I can do to keep a straight face. 

Now, just to make your holidays a little more chipper, or at least give you a reason to smile, I give to you, a sneak peek of what's to come in another week and a half...The Bunch Trio singing Jingle Bells! A perfect snapshot of everyone's usual degrees of cooperation. Please excuse the gratuitous partial nudity. We were in various stages of bedtime preparations.

And now, a step (or two) down from the VonTraps, I give you, the VonTrips!  (Get it, "Trips?")

Ethan on the left, Hunter center stage, and Colton on the right.

Faces and Disguises

Apparently, Hunter was very into drawing faces at school on Friday. She came home with 5 different plate faces. 

As I looked at each face, I paused on one in particular. I couldn't shake that it somehow reminded of something...(profound, aren't I?)  

It took me a full day and then something flashed through my mind. Alas! It came to me...

Does anyone else see the resemblance? 

Just thought it was funny...If not for the nose, I'd say she was spot on!  :) 

And then there are my circus acts. 2 of them, to be specific. 

 

They got these as party favors at our friend Trynnity's birthday party today and well, they've been quite the hit around here.  

I sure do love these goofballs! 

And I just thought these were cute photos of Colton and Autumn the other day. He so loves her...

Wishing you all a wonderful start to your week. 

Be kind today...do something nice for someone.  

The B.T.C.

I know it's December, but I couldn't leave you all! It's only been a few hours since November left us and I already missed my blog friends and family.

So, until I lose steam, I'll just continue.  :)

Besides, I've been meaning to share some pretty frightening news about something Hunter's recently gotten involved with. It was something I had NO idea 3 year olds could even begin to know anything about. But, she does and she has.

She's become involved in a gang.

It appears to be a very localized gang. (So local in fact, that for the most part, their turf seems to be confined to the walls of our home, with occasional jaunts to other parts of town.)

It's membership is growing at a pretty alarming rate. What began as just 2 members has grown to 6 in just less than 3 years. Luckily, from what I can tell, they appear to be a non-violent gang and have even dubbed Hunter as their leader. (And she's pretty sweet most of the time.)

This gang I speak of is called 'The B.T.C.'

Parental Enforcement Members know that's code for 'The Bed Time Crew. 

That's Jessie. 

Woobie (one of two founding members of the BTC)

"Baby"

"Piggy"

And the newest member, "Bunny." 

They look pretty rough and tumble don't they? 

Particularly their leader, on the left. Those eyes say, "Don't mess with us. We like our naps and we ALWAYS go together." 

Okay, truthfully, the BTC was born not long ago. Hunter has always been extremely loyal to her best toys. She and Woobie were together from the very start. I've written about woobie before so if you follow us regularly, you know that where Hunter goes, Woobie goes. She's less attached now during "lighty hours" as she would say, but naps and bedtimes are must-have woobie times. 

Then somewhere around her first birthday, she got a baby. And baby was initiated into the crew. So all sleeping times required a "Hunter, do you have baby and woobie?" 

Theeeenn, came Jessie, thanks to my good friend Jen Lofgren and the generosity of her kids who decided to give us a bajillion Toy Story toys. From the moment they arrived in our home, Jessie was a full fledged member of the bed time crew. 

Then piggy moved up in the ranks, as she had been a toy for some time, but only recently had her status upped to "the Night Time Clique".

And our last member is Bunny, a new addition to our home and to the Crew. 

So as you might imagine, it became cumbersome and tongue twisting to say, "Hunter! Time for bed! Make sure you get woobie and baby and Jessie and Piggy and Bunny!"  So, I started calling them 'The Bed Time Crew" instead. 

And somehow, not long after that,  I found myself shortening it even further to what we now lovingly refer to as 'THE B.T.C." 

It's kind of funny when I say it, but I find it hysterical when Hunter asks me where her BTC is.   :) 

So there you have it. 

Gang activity is rampant in the toddler sector. 

Her brothers, on the other hand, have much less loyalty to their bed time companions. There was a long time when Colton HAD to have his die cast Lightning McQueen car in hand at bed time, but that ended a while back. Now, both he and Ethan seem to choose a different item each night. And the items are RANDOM.  

Below, a sampling of 'some' of their companions. 

A wooden whistle (not a good night time toy, for obvious reasons.)

Francesco

An Easter light-up-spinning-toy thingy.

A Kids Black and Decker measuring tape.

More cars.

And my favorite is the Homedics Back Massager which lights up in neon green. (They think it's Rocket from Little Einsteins.) Again, not a good night time toy. 

Happy December everyone!