Bragging on Brendan

Okay I have to brag on our friends' little guy, Brendan, age 3. He fell and split open his chin, which required 17 stitches.














This is what his father writes about the trip to the hospital:

While we were checking in at the hospital, he was explaining to the nurse all of the injuries suffered by the Cardinals this season, with a complete breakdown by player, type of injury, and how the injury was suffered. As far as Brendan was concerned, he had just joined an elite club. This tells you (1) why the Cardinals didn't win the series this year; and more importantly, (2) why Brendan rocks.

This might very well be the coolest kid alive! I'm SO PROUD!!

This is about as kid-friendly a tree as they come

Virtually none of my good ornaments are on the tree this year. Everything can be touched and almost nothing can be broken without lots of effort. Not that she won't expend lots of effort, of course!

Livi helped put the papier mache apples on the tree, so now she says it's her APPLE TREE!

Miss Olivia's First Christmas tree

Well, okay, as far as we know it's her first...and it's almost certainly her first train UNDER the Christmas tree!

Paris in November

 

The Louvre...oops, some other French place??

Moulin Rouge

Vive la France! (or at least what's left unburned at present)
This is our buddy Mike, and friend, who took a weekend jaunt to Paris. At least some of it wasn't in flames!

 

Yo-ho, Yo-ho, A Pirate's Life for Me!

Livi performing some weird, pirate-related dance.

But isn't the hat cute?

Belated announcement

I am delighted to announce, albeit belatedly, that Miss Olivia can use chopsticks!

We frequent a Mongolian BBQ restaurant where we have become friends with the owners and family. As such, Liv has a lot of opportunity to experiment with chopsticks.

During the last visit she successfully fed herself several bites with appropriate use of chopsticks! (i.e., no "spearing")

Wow! Can dating and driving the car be far behind?

Livi and her hero, Grace Marie 

Brendan is checking out the scene. (Hayden, his brother, is blurry in EVERY SINGLE photo of the evening's festivities. He's short, but he's FAST!) 

After dinner, Livi plays with her mini Chinese flag on mama's lap.  

John and I survey the scene and, presumably, talk the dreaded LAW TALK. (Fred and Mary roll their eyes at this point...) 

Livi, Grace Marie, and Katie on the dance floor! 

Cutting the Proverbial Rug & Mostaccoli for All!

International Families dinner/dance: Katie (aliases: Cathy, Michelle) takes Livi and Maggie out on the floor to cut the proverbial rug!

Harvest Moon?

Fred and I have worked very hard to instill good manners in our daughter. Please and Thank You are a must in our household. Waiting your turn is essential.

Apparently this is NOT sinking in.

Yesterday, when I picked Livi up from daycare, the teachers gleefully told me that my little princess had MOONED another child!

They'd been playing and suddenly Livi stood up, turned around, and down came the trousers, diaper and all. Both parties were said to be giggling hysterically. (The daycare teachers said they had to turn away to keep the kids from seeing them laughing.)

I blame her father.