Ready or not, here we come.

We've been in a really fun habit as of late - playing hide and go seek after dinner with the kids. Both Maureen and Rowan get really excited, and Kristin and I are willing participants. Because of my cheating, we've restricted the hiding places to just the first floor. I think the fun thing for the kids is being found, not necessarily being successful hiders. Rowan will hide for a while, and then seek the seeker out if too much time has past. They both like to be seekers too, because of the counting involved. I like to make Kristin laugh with creative hiding places, like the time I had Maureen on my shoulders, standing in the middle of the our office/den, with only a blanket draped over us. It's fun to hear everyone giggle, and it's a great activity to have after I've been at work all day long.

Say cheese

Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry

Fun with Mama's specs

Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry

Lazy Saturday

Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry

Sleeping Angel

Or perhaps a snoozing little devil? This was sent to me by our babysitter of the day, Papa Paul. Thanks!

For Karen

I was asked to update the Blog. Here's a photo of Rowan and his morning "awfla"
Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry

Bad Ass

Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry

Binko, Binko Biddle Dar

Zoo pic #3

Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry

Zoo pic #2

Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry

IMG00312.jpg

Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry

Slight hiatus

Oh. Hello there. I almost forgot I had a blog. What's this thing about anyway? Oh, yeah, the kids.

Well, both kids are still alive and doing well.

Maureen continues to amaze me with her intelligence and good nature. Kristin is currently working on the alphabet with Mojo daily. The last two nights I've sat with her before bedtime playing a game where I spell out and have her sound out the names of our family members: "The next one is one of your uncles and is spelled J - what sound does a jay make?" and she tries to guess which family member as we continue to spell out the name. I'm not quite sure she fully gets the concept of sounding out - she's good at memorizing and I think her ability to spell certain words is done by rote.
Mojo seems to be doing well at the parents day out program (school) and is starting to learn quickly about group dynamics. She is having trouble with certain kids who seem to have no problem asserting their will on others without concern of feelings or consequences. Last night she said, "Hey Daddy, look at me" and stuck her tongue out at me. I knew immediately where she picked that one up, and told her that was not a nice thing to do. She scrunched up her brow and told me she was sorry and she'd never do it again. Her quick reaction told me she already knew it was wrong, but now is the time to test the waters.

Rowan is a showman. He loves to make me laugh and it doesn't take much to complete his task. He is still really into sports and we are trying to foster that by reading baseball books at night (thanks for the books Karen!) and throwing the ball with him. We haven't spent much time outdoors with him in a long while, but I plan to be able to go outside more in the spring to run him around and test out that little arm of his. And I'm anxious to fully test out that golf set and t-ball set he got for Christmas. I hope he keeps with this enthusiasm for physical activity as he grows, but if he does, I'll have to read up on how not to corrupt his enthusiasm with my poor athletic ability. I need to learn how to aim grounder so he can practice fielding. I wonder if there's a coaching for Dummies book out there? Perhaps we can send him out to North Carolina for spring training with his uncle Dolberry?

It seems that Kristin's quitting the Girl Scouts was the best decision made this year (actually last year according to the calendar). She's stayed super busy with Real Estate, but has had more stress free time to spend with the kids. She still gets frantic at times as her business increases, etching out time for phone calls and pop-up projects; but I can tell that she is more calm as a result of dumping the additional burden. Now, if we can only get me back on the right track...but that's a whole different blog subject, and I can barely keep this blog up!

I realize keeping this blog up is a matter of will power. I encourage the existing readers (all one of you!) to harass me about not writing.

Indianapolis Children's Museum

Mojo & Mom on the Yule Slide - Indy Chilren's Museum
Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry

Having fun in the Barbie exhibit

Barbie exhibit - Indy
Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry

Had enough of the Barbie Exhibit

At the Indy Children's museum, waiting for Mojo to be done with the Barbie exhibit
Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry

Baseball Bat

One of Rowan's first words was Ball. Then he somehow added the word Base to Ball to make Baseball (most likely influenced by his grandmother.) And last week, we went downtown to see the monumental baseball bat down at the Slugger Museum - he added Bat to his phrase, which is repeated several times a day.

IMG00283.jpg

Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry

IMG00282.jpg

Sent on the Now Network� from my Sprint® BlackBerry

What a nice holiday.

It's been a great Christmas break - very relaxing and stress free. Maureen and Rowan seemed perfectly satisfied with and appreciative for their gifts from Santa and their very generous extended family. And they seemed not to get into major arguments about playing together (as much as a three-year-old and a year-and-a-half-year-old can.) No disappointments, no holiday blues, just plain nice.
Christmas eve mass was a bit of a challenge with Rowan - he is at the age where his energy is overwhelming and he must be on the move at all times. We had plenty of assistance as he was passed between Meemaw to Papaw, from Uncle Scott to Aunt Kathy, from Cousin Abbey to Cousin Gus, from Great Meemaw...you get the picture. That evening we did the whole cookies and milk bit with Maureen - of course she was amazed that all the refreshments were gobbled up by the time she awoke. Score.
Gift highlights: Fancy Nancy paraphernalia for Mojo
Sports oriented everything for Rowan
Evil Roy Slade DVD for Dad
Things Mom bought for herself for Mom
It's been the perfect respite at the end of a not-so-perfect year. We hope everyone had a wonderful holiday, especially the family and friends who live out of town (in particular, the Dolberries and Carrie and Almost Uncle Gabe). Here's looking forward to a loving yet prosperous 2010!

Annie Leibowitz?

Her are a few shots Mojo took with her new Dora the Explorer digital camera: