look at you

You were as pretty a baby as there ever was, just like a big, fancy doll.

Here are a couple pictures from those months when we babysat you both.

Oh my goodness.

And now, you so big, Mr. Luminous, talking and telling jokes, jumping high in the air, telling stories.

photo by Lisa K

Awww, thanks for being our kid, our cousin, our baby, for being b.g.'s most excellent brother, and for coming to this whole family who loves you so much.

This family is definitely better with you in it.   Lucky, lucky us.

love forever, Grandma and Grandpa and Everybody

a sudden, surprise sleepover

 

Our friend is the guy in front in the goggles.  He normally spends New Year's Eve with us, but this year he stayed over on Sunday night instead.

 

The other guy is t.c., who happened to call on the phone.  I teased him, "Yeah, we're having a sleepover. You should come too."   His parents said yes, and soon he was here. 

 

 

 

Tim's room is a little intense right now.  We have to go through the closet and get things straightened out so he can put away his new gifts. 

 

 

See what I mean?  He always blames his nephews, but I just don't know. 

 

 

 

This is a weird little thing he got for Christmas, a Sully mask.

I've been sewing blankets for a new baby girl.   After the blankets were done, I felt brave enough to face that closet where all the fabric is.

Okay, this is a bin overflowing with fabric in amounts large enough to sew blankets out of.   There were five other totes with scraps.   I sorted them by color, but  the chance of me ever making any patchwork designs is slim.   It just takes time I do not have.

I have a friend who is a professional organizer.  She said the two biggest rules are:  1. Group like things together, and 2.  Don't let things pile up on flat surfaces.

Okay, that makes sense.   In cleaning this closet, buried all throughout were brand new packages of blanket binding.    That's expensive, about seven dollars each.   When they were all together in a shoebox?  There were twenty-four.   Who could have imagined that?

See this stack?  Also fabric in lengths a yard or over.

More kids arrived during the sleepover, including Little Jay.

We found Maria working in her room.

With this person keeping her company.

All the tablets and ipads are dead, so back to legos while they charge up again.

Anyway, I don't think anyone got that much sleep, but they were happy, running all over the house having fun, eating snacks, not even much arguing.   We're heading into New Year's Eve feeling pretty happy.

I even think I'm going to go now and get my hair cut.   Happy New Year!    love always, Val

 

 

 

 

famiily christmas party, 2013

 That's smiling nice for ya.  She smiled nice.

 Okay, better.  He also does his drunken communion thing, "Blud of Chrisst, shad fer ya."  It's real uplifting.

 Okay, over the next couple hours the gift pile GREW.

 And there was a feast.

 Back in the day, we chose an alternate date for our family Christmas party to minimize stress on the actual holiday.    We had no idea what a genius plan this would later become.   There's no set date for this gathering.  Before Christmas? After?  Does not matter.  It's only togetherness that does.

 Heather was here too, always wonderful.

 The babies were too excited to eat, surprise, surprise.

 He liked it, hey Mikey.

 Little Jay brought his girlfriend home for the party. She was a good sport, took her Claritin to help with the dog hair and there were a couple points where her eyes were a little big, but that's okay. She showed up and battled both sensory overload and dog hair at the same time, and God knows we love a good sport.

Plus she makes Jay happy.

 Okay this is p.j. and her mom and there was a Hello Kitty airplane that Alicia bought a few months ago, saving it for Christmas. Dan said both his boys were so obsessed with the Hello Kitty airplane that it became somewhat obnoxious.  

Well, the power of the Hello Kitty?  It pretty much blew her other gifts out of the water.

 This is a handmade Barbie tent Dannell got at a craft fair, and one for p.j. too--way easier to set up and more sturdy than the regular ones from years past.

 At some point, late in the evening, they all congregated in here with a roll of cracker and a Grinch DVD.

 The other guys were in here.

It was a lovely Christmas party, nice and wild.   Love you all so, Mom, aka Grandma