Here She Comes and Happy Chinese New Year

Taylor and I had one of those classic mommy/daughter moments yesterday. We watched a rerun of the Miss America Pagent! I've never been a girly-girl, but I've always liked watching pagents, seeing the dresses, making fun of hair, etc. :) Boy, Taylor jumped right in. She was thrilled to see that Mario Lopez was hosting. He's also the host of one of her favorite shows, Pet Star. It's a talent show for animals and we actually DVR it. Since Slater, er, Mario hosts both shows, I asked Taylor which she liked better. She picked the dogs. Later, we came up with the perfect combination of the two. Here she come...Miss Americanine!


Poor Champ. Yes, that's my wedding tiara. I don't get too sentimental about that stuff (obviously).


Sorry Champ, Taylor makes a much cuter pageant girl.

It was a banner day for Taylor on Sunday. I happened to glance at the calendar and notice that today is Chinese New Year. I told Taylor and she went dancing through the house, arms in the air, exclaiming, "It's Chinese New Year, it's Chinese New Year!" Let me tell you, Nick Jr. does and excellent job with the multi-cultural stuff. She always calls the American New Year "Chinese New Year" too. On New Year's Eve, she kept wishing everyone a Happy Chinese New Year. She asked me last night, "Is this the REAL Chinese New Year?" She wanted to draw a picture to commemorate this big holiday. Since it's the year of the ox, that's what she drew. She wants to send it to someone in China. Too cute.


Side note: I was born under the sign of the ox, so I think that means it's supposed to be a lucky year for me. I don't follow all of that hocus pocus, mambo jambo, but let me tell you, Wiki's description of an ox-born person is pretty much right on.

The Pear slept through the pageant and he and I played while Taylor colored. Poor kid is getting like six teeth right now (I'm not exaggerating!) so excuse the drool. I finally just gave up and took his shirt off.

"Hi, I'm Michael, but you can call me Beefcake." He's got my scrawny upper arms, though!

He loves for me to talk for his Cookie Monster puppet. He preparing to give him one of his patented open mouth kisses.

The kids like to rough-house with each other now. This round ended about two minutes later with Taylor crying. Apparently Michael hit her in the nose.

Must get back to work now. Happy Chinese New Year!

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Let it Snow!

Autumn in Ohio - changing leaves, beautiful harvests and a final few days of shorts weather quickly followed by snow. I've lived in Ohio all but three of my 35 years and it's pretty much guaranteed to happen like that. Well we've gotten our snow the last three days. Nothing big, but enough to kind of get you in the Christmas spirit. Mike must have felt it too, because he wanted to get the Christmas village and train set up last night. I take care of the rest of the Christmas decorating, but that's Mike's little project. He and Taylor had a good time getting it put together! It's up on the poker table, but we'll still have to be sure the Pear doesn't get his little hands on anything.

Part of the Christmas village.

Yay, the Christmas village!

Daddy and the kids, pre-bath.

Post-bath.

The kidlets and I.

The Pear and I played while Taylor and Mike did most of the work. Michael has become so much fun in the last month. He loves to play peek-a-boo and does silly things that he knows will make us laugh. Tonight at dinner he kept putting the lid to my Gladware on his head and laughing hysterically. It was so cute. He also likes playing ball - he has a pretty good arm! I've noticed that he's been cuddlier than ever lately. I just melt when he puts his little head on me and nuzzles.

Michael loves putting the ball in this musical tree. Note to self: dark gray is not a good color for a teething, drooling child.

Snot, drool, a little leftover dinner and a yellowing bruise on his noggin. Still, the Pear is adorable. (Don't worry, I was there the whole time he was on the steps and pulled him off after this picture. He thinks it's funny to climb up a few steps then laugh until one of us grabs him.)

All cleaned up and in a comfy pair of fuzzy jammies.

Whoa Mom, it snowed!

Givin' a little love to Champy.

Like most moms, I get horrible mom guilt if I think I've not paid enough attention to one of my kids. Champ, my first "baby", is no exception. I felt bad that he hadn't gotten a walk in a few days, so we headed out in the elements after I put the kids to bed.

Just like the old days - Champy and I out for a late-night walk. Gotta love my ensemble. Eh, I was warm.

A picture of our snowy deck.

Gotta get some sleep now. I'll update this weekend with pictures from Taylor's Thanksgiving program.

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

Happy Halloween!

Trick or treating was a success! No costume malfunctions, we had just enough candy and the weather cooperated - couldn't ask for anything more. It was pretty chilly so Taylor had to wear "normal" clothes under her princess dress. It was all pretty much covered by her unicorn costume (yes, a dual costume this year), so no big deal. She looked so cute and just kept saying, "This is the best Halloween EVER." Ever Taylor? "Yes, EVER." Precious.




Princess Taylor - the Unicorn rider.


Taylor and her preschool friend.

I was a little nervous when I first started getting the Pear ready. He was having a few **ahem** bowel issues and not happy about putting on his bat costume. Luckily, a little guano and few minutes later and the little guy was as happy as can be. He looked adorable, too.

"Let me get this right - I have to wear this stupid costume, but I don't get candy?"

The Pear, checking out the sights.

Champ donned the same costume he's worn the previous five years. Super Dog isn't quite as fit and trim as he was at 1 1/2, so we had to make some alterations.

2008

2003

We lasted about an hour before heading home. Taylor helped me hand out candy and Michael supervised. I bet we had over 300 kids this year! Our street is a giant horseshoe, so parents unload their kids at one end and pick them up at the other.


My cuties.

The family posing. Neither kid is looking at the camera.

Taylor also had her preschool party yesterday. It was a circus theme (it's a Christian preschool, so they do this to eliminate scary/gory costumes) so I had to find a second costume for Taylor. She chose to be a tiger and we just threw something together at the last minute. She loved it and looked great! I helped out at the party and had so much fun. Four is a great age - the kids are getting out of the shy stage, but haven't entered the "too-cool" stage. I had so much fun playing with Play-Doh, helping with games and doing silly dances. The kids couldn't believe that the moms all knew the Chicken Dance!

Taylor the Tiger.

The circus class.

Yesterday was a busy one! After the class party, we picked up Michael from the babysitter's house and headed to his GI specialist follow-up appointment. He's been going to a specialist since was about 8 weeks old because of milk sensitivities and reflux. The doctor was amazed and quite pleased with how big the Pear has gotten. He's 31" long (over 95th percentile) and 23 pounds (75th percentile). We're starting to wean him off the Prevacid (the doctor said the dose he's on is not very effective at his weight now anyway) and were given the okay to start trying cheese and foods that have milk as an ingredient. If all goes well, he can have regular ol' milk at 1! He also put him on a mild stool softener for a few weeks because of some straining. We'll leave it at that since the Pear and his future wife might be reading this some day. :)

Until next time,

Mommy Kel

P.S. Updated to add a picture of my Halloween costume. My sign says "Charlotte" - I'm a web writer (my official title at work). :)

Happy Birthday, Champy!

Well Buddy, you were my first crack at caring for another living thing. I can hardly believe it's been six years since you made your appearance at Shannon's Valley dog farm! You've been a great friend and I want to thank you for that. You don't have a mean bone in your expansive body (unless someone tried to hurt one of "your" kids, I imagine). I remember how excited we were when Marilyn (Grandma N) and Rich told us they were giving you to us for one of our wedding gifts. You've been the best dog ever since! Yeah, you shed a lot and you're a little over-passionate about food, but you are well worth it. I can't imagine taking walks without you, even when it'd probably be much easier leaving you at home at times (picture Michael in the Bjorn, Taylor in the stroller and Champ on the leash. That's an extra 146 pounds for me to deal with!). We love you Champy. Happy Birthday!

Champ Facts:
* Born June 21st, 2002
* Full name is Shannon's Champagne
* Dad Beauregard was a Westminster Best of Breed. Mom is a black lab named "Bed of Roses" or Rose
* Only brown-eyed member of our family
* Loves walks, food, his Grandparents, Taylor and Michael, other dogs, scratchies and licking up Michael's projectile spit up (disgusting I know, but sometimes he's just too quick and beats me to it)
* Been the butt of hundreds of fat jokes. He walks 1-2 miles every night, plays in the yard and eats only low-fat dog food. I have no idea why he's such a moose.

Taylor took your place as the baby, but you still adore her. You've never lost patience with her and I know she's loved growing up with you.

Michael lights up and squeals when he sees you. Sometimes, the only way I can get him to practice tummy time is to have you lay just out of his reach. Don't worry, it won't be long before he stops pulling your fur and starts petting it.

You are so strange sometimes.

Until next time,
Mommy Kel