Snowdays

December is always a busy month, but I have taken just a few photos....

Here are the boys after one of many recent snowstorms. Daddy is lucky enough to have two big helpers this year. The smallest helper mostly stands around looking cold, but he wouldn't want to miss the opportunity, just the same.

These guys do EVERYTHING together, including using the facilities. Spencer is starting to desire more privacy, but he's not going to get it until he starts closing (and perhaps locking) the door!


Carson has a great time putting on eclectic outfits. One morning he came in with Christmas jammies, a Superman cape, a Santa hat, a hammer, and a plastic crowbar. I don't know whose side he's on, but I want to be with him!

Carson goofs off a lot after we put him to bed. Lately he keeps falling asleep in odd places. He never comes out of his room, but he might be on the floor or upside down in bed or something.

Today Carson was playing with a toy Santa. Santa was riding on the back of a zebra and yelling, "Yeeeee-haaaaah!" You just never know what will happen next around here. We had spaghetti for dinner last night and Carson thought it would be funny to fling a forkful onto the floor. After we scolded him, he said, "Sowee!" with a BIG grin. When I let him down from the table, he saw the mess and yelled, "WHOA!!" I hope we can get a handle on this little one or we're in big trouble!

Holiday Happenings

Well Spencer fell into the Christmas tree today. Yes, he fell INTO the Christmas tree! Don't worry--no injuries or other necessary repairs. I was in the kitchen making breakfast when I heard sort of a crashing sound. I turned around and there was the tree, shaking, with ornaments raining down. I said, "What are you DOING??" He whimpered a little and said, "Help! I'm stuck!" I couldn't help but laugh when I saw his predicament. He was leaning over the edge of the couch to get something and fell over, into the tree. He nearly tipped it over! So there he was, caught in the narrow space between the tree and the couch corner with branches in his hair and ornaments all over. Our Christmas train was completely derailed and the tracks were a mess. Nothing was broken, but it took a while to redecorate!

This time of year is sooooo exciting for the kids, especially Spencer. We go over and over "how many more days." He told Grandma S. the other day that he had been "a little bit naughty" this year. (I think he's hoping Santa will forgive a few trespasses and take a broader perspective.) Every year I become more tired of the Chipmunks and Mickey Mouse singing Christmas songs. Unfortunately, this only the beginning....

Tonight was the Christmas devotional by the Presidency of the church. It's televised for us Utahns. They always have the Mormon Tabernacle Choir sing, which was amazing as always. Carson was hoping they would do a rendition of "Rufolph" (Rudolph), but he was disappointed. Rudolph is his newest (and severe) infatuation. He was also certain that one of the men in the choir was Santa. He kept pointing to the TV and babbling on and on in language we didn't quite understand. Finally Spencer said, "He's going to speak Spanish when he grows up."

Firecracker in November

Carson is becoming a firecracker! He gets funnier every day. He still refers to himself as "Honey" and Spencer as "Dadoof." One day Spencer asked him, "Are you strong?" He gave Spencer a little punch in the arm and said, "STONG Honey!!" Last night he was playing football with Andy. He would yell, "Honey, me, HIKE!!" and take off running with his elbows out for momentum. This morning both boys wanted to be close to me. Carson had to sit right ON me and Spencer was not allowed to touch me. Carson would move Spencer's hand away and say, "Honey's mommy!" I'm glad they love me, but I hope it doesn't cause a fist fight some day!!

Yesterday Carson woke up at 6:30, so by late morning he was exhausted. I tried to keep him happy by reading stories for 30-40 minutes. Then I had to get up for a quick break. By the time I came back, he had tucked himself into bed, pulled up his blanket, and was sound asleep! He slept right through lunch and woke up 2 1/2 hours later! He was a different (and much more pleasant) child when he got up!

Spencer's head is mostly repaired now. We've had no more traumatic injuries, thank goodness! He is already excited for Christmas and has been creating lots of holiday drawings. He also requested Christmas music today! I told him that regardless of the worldly trends, the Sherman family does not do Christmas until AFTER Thanksgiving.

The Other Side of the Story

Andy wrote the following:

While Kristy was tending to Spencer, I had the chance to observe lil' Carson after "the incident." What Kristy didn't notice was little Carson looking really sad with real big lower lip. He watched Spencer and kept on repeating "Dadoof, owie" over and over. When we were putting Spencer in the car, Carson kept on crying about Dadoof. I went back in and picked Carson up. "Carson, are you sad?" He shakes his head yes. "Carson, does Spencer have an owie?" Shakes his head yes. "Carson, did you hit Spencer?" Shakes his head yes and then puts his head on my shoulder real sad.

I really think Carson felt bad about the entire incident. I think he was quite worried. Anyway--just thought I'd let you know our little offender did feel quite a bit of remorse on his own.....

The Worstest Day Ever

I dropped off Spencer and the neighbor boy at school this afternoon. I was just walking around the car to get in and go home, when suddenly Spencer was standing there, crying and dripping blood! He had tripped on his shoelace and smacked his head on the sidewalk. It was a nasty gash. I gave him a wad of Kleenex and drove to the doctor's office. However, it was lunch time and all the docs were at lunch! So I had to drag my poor bleeding boy to the Layton clinic, where they had to call around for a while to find someone to stitch him up. He was very brave. At first he wanted to go back to school, but by the time he was done, he just wanted to go home. I held his hands while they put three stitches in. It isn't the first time I've assisted with such a procedure, but when it's my child, it's very different!! I got a little queasy toward the end. I will never be able to erase that image from my mind. I took him home and we watched a movie together. As if that wasn't enough for one day, tonight after dinner, the boys were playing in Spencer's room. Carson threw a toy and of course hit Spencer right in the head and broke open two of his stitches. His little head was flooding. He was quite upset at having to go back and do the ordeal all over again. I told him we were going to wrap his head in bubble wrap or put a little pillow over it. He doesn't want to do that. Anyway, he told me in the procedure room that this was "the worstest day ever!" I heartily agree.

In-House Protection

I found him some army helmets at the dollar store and Carson loves his. He's spent the major portion of his waking hours wearing it. He usually has his binoculars around his neck, too, including during mealtime. You never know when the enemy will strike.

This morning Spencer asked Carson if he is a baby. He said, "I not baby, I HONEY!!" I wonder if he will still go by "Honey" when he's 16!

Halloween

Here are some pictures from Halloween, in no particular order since Blogger just seems to do whatever it wants.

We went to the school Halloween carnival and the boys had their faces painted. Carson had a partial pumpkin and then decided he was done. So it turned out more like an orange blob. I told them we had to wash it off before church on Sunday, so I started scrubbing Spencer's face. He squirmed and whined about it, and even bawled a little, saying it hurt. I figured he was just tired (changing the time back an hour really throws us off schedule). The next day he had an abrasion on the side of his face and I realized I had literally scrubbed his skin off!! I felt really bad!

These are the alternate costumes. They wore these to the Syracuse Pumpkin Walk, where they have carved, lit pumpkins all around the perimeter of the park for people to see. Carson loved the Elmo outfit and still wears it. He had it on for two hours yesterday while we were outside.

These were the best toys we've ever received in a kids' meal. They are little finger flashlights in the shape of Halloween characters. This was taken in my closet, if you couldn't tell.

The neighborhood Trunk or Treat. Carson is Curious George, Spencer is the man with the yellow hat, and Andy is an angel. I was dressed as a devil, which you will see shortly. I must say that I fashioned the boys' outfits myself (with a pattern, of course). It was a learning experience. I have learned that next year I will do something much easier!

Carving pumpkins with Grandpa. It's very serious business.

A broader view of the pumpkin carving process....

We did mohawk hairdos for Halloween. They both thought it was way funny.

Here we are, the polar opposites. Truly, I think this is how people probably see us--he is angelic and sweet and I am ever so slightly wicked. It's the real me.

At this point in the evening, Carson (aka Curious George) had had enough Halloween, and definitely enough pictures!

He perked up a little when I sent them out to visit a few neighbors.

"I hate Halloween! The doorbell keeps ringing and it makes me soooo tired!"

Slippy went to the vet for a geriatric screening last week. They checked her blood pressure with a cute little tiny cuff. They also did a heart tracing. Her blood work is normal. She is borderline hypertensive and she has an AV block (probably associated with age), so she will go back for a follow-up in three months. I think it would be great fun to be a veterinary assistant for a day or two. They have much of the same equipment and supplies I used to use at the hospital. It's quite intriguing.

This is not exactly Halloween-related, but I had to include it anyway. Next time we need to put some red punch in his cup, so you can see the liquid going up and around. It's pretty cool. I might even try it myself sometime.