Buddy Night

Andrew has some friends that take karate lessons. Every few months they have a "buddy night" where they can bring friends and they play games and learn some basic karate moves. The pictures didn't turn out great, but Andrew loves going.

Waiting with Kiersten and Abby after getting out in musical plates.

Waiting for his turn to break a board.

Practicing board breaking form.

Watching while Abby breaks her board.

This is Danny's special action shot that he took. The best thing about breaking a board is that they get to bring the boards home!!! Then we tape them back together and Andrew gets to break it over and over again. The old boards have to be thrown away at night when Andrew is asleep. How many pieces of wood do we need around here?

Andrew's pictures

Andrew got a hold of the camera tonight and took some pictures in his room. At the time he was supposed to be getting ready for bed. Between him and Claire we have to watch the camera like a hawk. They love to take pictures and then review them.

Here is Claire on his bed unfolding some clothes I was trying to put away. She is wearing her favorite cousin pajamas. She would wear these day and night if we let her.

This is a picture of The Rescue Heroes Aircraft Carrier. My boss gave me this entire set when her son had grown out of it. Yes, it really is as large as it seems. There is also a whole bin of the actual Rescue Heroes figures and accessories. Oh, and don't forget the airplane, helicopter, police car, fire truck, and dune buggy.

A cross stitch on his wall made by his aunt Keri when he was born.

I'm not sure what the focus of this picture was supposed to be - Star Wars sheets, Claire's feet, or the favorite cousin pajamas.

Doll wars

I tried to get some pictures of the girls fighting over the dolls. There are two problems with this: 1. they move very quickly and 2. I don't actually want anyone to get injured and it is hard to referee and take a picture at the same time. These were from yesterday morning:

Here is the wound on Elaina's cheek from Tuesday. Not good at all, but she was ready for another round on Thursday.

It all started in the kitchen. Claire had both dolls when Elaina arrived. A chase quickly ensued. There would be no "nice" sharing this day. Keep in mind there is also a lot of noise involved during these arguments.

Claire got temporarily distracted by something on the TV and Elaina went in for the kill.

In the end Claire got the yellow doll and.....

Elaina got the pink doll. No battle wounds this day, but then Elaina wanted the doll carrier......and I think you all know how this story ends.

The doll in question

So, here it is the doll that has started all of the fights between Elaina and Claire. I purchased another one last night at Target. Claire saw the new one this morning and was thrilled - she now has twins!!! Claire was carrying both around when Elaina arrived, there was a tense moment at first when Elaina reached for one of the twins. I gently suggested to Claire that they share and she actually gave one to Elaina. The update from Natalie is that the sharing isn't going too well. Elaina grabbed a doll and Claire retaliated by scratching her face. Ummm, not good. I'll try to post a picture of the wound. Maybe there need to be 4 dolls???

It's finally here!

Our new computer arrived yesterday! We still have to set it up, but the thought of having "high speed anything" is divine! Our old computer was on its last leg and anyone out there who has used it knows how bad it was. I'll let you know how it goes.

Ordinary life

I've decided to post some moments that are part of our ordinary lives. There is no overriding theme, just a collection of random things happen around here fairly regularly.

1. Doll mania. Claire got a new doll, doll stroller, and doll carrier for Christmas. She loves to take the doll in and out of the carrier and carry it around the house. There is a hat for this doll that refuses to stay on, so we spend a lot of time locating the hat and putting it on. This carrier even goes in the car and to stores with us. And when she is tired of carrying it, I get to. Yes, purse in one arm and baby doll carrier in the other - so sheik! Unfortunately, according to my sister Natalie (a.k.a - best babysitter/nanny/driver/Star Wars player ever) this doll has been the source of some knock down drag out fights between Claire and her cousin Elaina. In my view, the only way to solve this is to purchase another doll. Better add it to the list.

2. Sidewalk chalk. Seriously, does the stuff ever die? This was the scene yesterday in the backyard. Come to find out Claire thinks the the chalk is also a food. There was blue chalk all over her face and she was still chewing when I caught her. I don't like to think of that as bad parenting as I was do other parental things at the time like Windexing the scuz off of the sliding glass door.

3. Hannah. Some of you may not know Hannah our super high maintenance Siamese cat. She has allergies, a bit of OCD, and a temper. We spend more money on her than the kids. She loves this blanket where she can be camouflaged on the sofa. She sleeps through all matter of screaming, Wii games, Disney movies, and general chaos. But if you try to even touch her watch out!!!! The kids know to stay away, but I will still try to get her to like me more than Danny.

4. Breakfast fun. When Natalie arrives in the mornings I am at various stages of getting ready. It depends on how early I got up and how cooperative the kids are being. The kids often eat together, because I just haven't gotten there yet. Cereal, yogurt, and blueberry Eggo waffles are the favorites. The seating arrangement changes by the meal.

5. Goodnight Claire. Claire has a routine at night that involves teeth brushing, reading books, and drinking some warm milk. No, that is not a bottle - that would be more bad parenting! It is merely a cup with a funny shaped lid. One of these days I will figure out how to take it out of the equation. Add this to the list too. The tomorrow sounds good mantra lives on. Her favorite book is "Mommy's Little Girl". It has been taped back together more times than I can count.

6. Andrew's teeth. He had his 6 month checkup this week and no cavities again - yeah!!!! He is hit or miss with being cooperative. The dentist said he needs to floss more. Agghhh! We can barely get him to brush most days. In the picture he is using the new "cool floss thing." We literally have 5 different kids of toothpaste trying to find one that isn't "spicy" that he will use. We are currently using an all natural strawberry toothpaste which he seems to like.

7. More toys. These foam blocks started at my mom's house then they were at Natalie's and now they are here. The kids like to jump, slide, and play on them. But as you can see, they pose a bit of a storage problem. I just noticed that one of the corners is mangled. Natalie - please tell me that was the dog and not Elaina!

8. Helpers. The kids love to help no matter what we are doing. Claire wanted to help rake the front yard. Note that the rake is upside down and that she didn't want to use the "kids rake". Andrew helped wash the car yesterday and thought it was really cool that his shoes got all wet. Let's hope that this helpful attitude continues when they get older.

So there it is, a glance into our glamorous, exciting lives. I am off to play some Wii tennis with Andrew.

A Sunny Day

It was finally a sunny day today after what seems like weeks of fog, rain, drizzle, and cold. We decided to go the the "park by our house" as Andrew calls it. That way it is not confused with "the park with swings", "the park by Abby's house", "the park with water", and "the park with the train". It is the elementary school around the block from our house. Andrew rides his bike and Claire gets to ride in the stroller with snacks and drinks along the way. A great time was had by all, except when it was time to leave.

Claire wanted to go down the big slide by herself. It moves pretty quick, and as you can see, halfway down she got a bit twisted. Although Andrew was there to catch her, he wasn't sure what to do once he caught her head.

I tried my best to get a picture of them together, but no luck. Andrew climbed up where Claire can't reach him.

Here is Claire driving the train. She thought it was great fun that the steering wheel actually turned.

Danny and Claire in the train.

Claire and I with her super nutritional bag of Fruit Loops.

Great outfit

Danny got Claire dressed today and this is what she came out wearing! He said that she picked it out. Hmmm is what I said. It doesn't match, but she doesn't care because she gets to wear her "kitty shirt" which she loves. Andrew was getting ready to play Wii and Claire wanted to play as well which causes great distress when she can't.

More Christmas pictures

As promised, here are more pictures from Christmas:

1. Ryan got the 20 questions game to guess the word of the week....vommit!

2. The three 2008 babies (L to R: Taylor, Chris, Mia)

3. Danny with the kids Christmas morning.

4. Moms and babies - Lisa and Taylor, Mandy and Mia, Natalie and Chris.



5. All 8 Larsen grand kids: L-R: Eliana, Claire, Landon, Chris, Mia, Isabel, Andrew, Taylor.

6. Andrew, Landon and Isabel frosting sugar cookies. It was a huge mess when they were done, but they had fun.