Emotionally Vested

This morning we had on Animal Planet and were watching the Crocodile Hunter. Eric has a tendency to get very emotionally vested in what he watches. Case in point.

85 Years Young

Ryan here.

Grandpa Alleman (Great-Grandpa to the kiddos) recently turned 85. Grandma said, "Don't bring anything. Just come and draw on our driveway." Eric and Beth were thrilled with this, and we have some real artistic types in the family. Here are some of their offerings.

This is Eric and CJ and Megan's boy, Alastor, playing with Great-Grandpa's cannon.

"I can't see anything in here! Light a match!"

Here, Beth picked some flowers for Great-Grandpa.

After the art show, we retired to Aunt Kris's place for sandwiches, then an "over the hill" cake and some ice cream. It was loads of fun, and a great opportunity to celebrate Grandpa.

For those of you who don't know my Grandpa, he's worn many hats over the years: missionary, soldier, teacher, historian, author. But most importantly, he raised some incredible kids, including my amazing dad. Looking at Grandma and Grandpa's kids, you see a track record of discipline, hard work, dedication to family, and devotion to God.

So I don't think I'm alone in saying:

All About Robert

This post is for the Grandparents who like to see the fun, everyday things Robert has been doing. It's ironic that whatever he's up to, he can do it while talking, screaming, yelling or crying... you'll get the idea.


Robert eating.


Peek-a-boo.


Rolling and talking.


Right before bed he gets totally slap happy (and loud).


We are grateful for the many faces (and sounds) of Robert. We love having him in our family. He keeps us all happy, busy, and sleep deprived.

Crazy Curlers!

I'm not a huge girly-girl, but, Beth loves new hairdos and painting her fingernails. And I admit, I do get a kick out of dressing her up. Thank goodness my sister is watching out for me. She told us about this fun way to curl hair.

So, without further ado . . . presenting Bouncy Curls Beth! Complete with Party Dress and other accessories!

Barbie, eat your heart out.

Here's a rear shot. Now, guess how she got these adorable curls!

Socks! Take four regular socks, tie them in knots, let them sit overnight, and voila! Curls galore.

Here's Beth from the night before.

And another rear shot for a better look at the curls.

Maybe I will get the hang of this someday. If you want some other fun hair-do ideas, we like this site: http://www.cutegirlshairstyles.com/

A Couple Pics From Today

Robert is enjoying tummy time and is starting to smile for the camera.
This was Eric's way of telling me to please not take any more pictures. Subtle, isn't it?
Another view of Beth showcasing her amazing style. (Along with her pet Zebra named Sunshine.)
Did I mention that he is now smiling for the camera?

January So Far

We kinda skipped Christmas on the blog. We'll see if we can do a retro-post later, once we retrieve the photos from the portable hard drive. So, moving on to January, here is a recap of the first few weeks of 2012.

We spent New Year's with Tyler and Kacey and their beautiful little Leah. It was loads of fun, and I think Leah got a taste of having a big sister who can't keep her hands off her (Beth). She handled the attention like a pro, though, as did Kacey and Tyler.

Here are the cousins, Leah and Robert. All together now, everybody say, Awwww!

Eric's front teeth have been loose for two weeks. One was dangling by a thread, but a strong thread. It got very crooked and skewed. Take a gander:

Yay! It finally popped out.

Naturally Eric placed the tooth under his pillow . . . and that darned tooth fairy didn't show! For school the next day, Eric wrote her a stern reprimand and placed it under his pillow. The next morning, he woke to a dollar and a sucker and a heartfelt note from the tooth fairy apologizing for the delay.

Sam, Mary, and Maggie visited as well. Robert loved talking to Uncle Sam. I had some cute pics of Maggie and Robert together, but they were only in their diapers, so we thought the Internet might not be the best place to post them.

White Christmas, bah! This winter's been dry as a bone until recently. We got our first snowfall a few weeks back. Ryan took the kids out and they pirated most of the snow in the front yard (and the surrounding yards) to build a snowman.

Here is Beth enjoying Papa's chair and reading to herself.

On some of the nicer days we were able to go to the park. Robert is a great sport about being all strapped in.

"Help me! Help meeee!"

Beth is also developing her own fashion sense. She never wears pants when a dress is available. And the more colors, the better. Outfits like these are the norm. I think it was Coren who said she wished kids could wear a sign with this disclaimer:

"I dressed myself. Mom had nothing to do with it."

It's been a crazy, busy few weeks. But rest assured, we're handling it with quiet dignity.

Ever wonder how you keep Eric busy for an hour? Here's what you do . . .

Just a note.

This will be really quick, but when Ryan gets home I'll try to tell more about our last few weeks. Till then, here is a quick clip.