Saturday, December 24, 2011

Santa, Retconned

We saw enjoyed the holiday festivities at Bass Pro again, and for the third year in a row we saw the same Santa. I'm beginning to think it might be the real guy.I plan better now, and make sure we go when the lines will be non-existant. This year we skipped out of school early on jammies day. Since unstructured holiday time at school is hell for my rigid boy, this was a double bonus.
Pink firearms let his sensitive side show through. Also, he totally looks like Ralphie here.

Zoo Christmas, Retconned

Christmas lights and Santa at the Zoo.



We were early, and there on a Thursday, so there was no one else there to see Santa yet. No line, no time pressure, perfect for Case. So Case is being peppered with impossible questions, like his name and age and what he wants for Christmas. Case says nothing but giggles, so eventually I said that he was non-verbal and probably couldn't answer that. As children want nothing more than to make their parents look stupid, it is that exact second that Wonder-child pipes up with "the candycane has white stripes!" Santa and the volunteers all chuckled.
"Sounds pretty verbal to me."
I shake my head and laugh too, and internally comfort myself with the knowledge that he still couldn't answer any of their questions.

Friday, December 23, 2011

Hot Springs

We've upgraded to using the snorkel. This will help tremendously next summer.



Friday, November 25, 2011

Chickens!

We spent a couple days in Mississippi playing farmer.
Case was over the moon for these chickens. They were nice and mellow and bawked appropriately. The rooster would crow on Ronnie's command which made him a wizard in Case's eyes.

He was a little disappointed that chickens don't leap into the air for snacks.

This sweet smile is the perfect capture of how happy he was in the chicken coup.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Armistice

Happy Veteran's Day, especially to my favorite vets. My grandfather, my brother, my brother in law, and most of all my best friend.It's different when they are still in the rocks. 10 months down, 3 to go.

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Balloons

Happy Birthday Peanut!
creative spellingWe are thinking about you and your sweet little family.
This balloon is staring at the hole in his teeth

Saturday, October 22, 2011

8

Happy Birthday Case!Since you are a kid like none other we had a birthday like none other. We dressed you like Link (Ocarina of Time style, for those in the know) and went to the Zoo Halloween party. You got to ride a pony and bounce house'd twice and went on the long scary hay ride where you cheerfully waved and shouted hi at the clown chasing us with a chainsaw.You are not what people expect. You are not the average 8 year old in any way. You surprise and confuse and frustrate and delight people every day. This has not been an easy year but I wouldn't for a second want to do it without you.

We are lucky to have you.

Friday, September 23, 2011

Florida

It is hard to get a tan through body armorWe spent a few days this week at the beach, enjoying Marc's R&R.

We hit McGuires and Old Bay. No pictures from the later because I dove head first into the bucket of seafood they brought us. The camera certainly would have slipped from my buttery hands too.
Pro tip: just because you can hug a jellyfish doesn't mean you should.

Thursday, September 22, 2011

R&R

It's been rather busy here as of late, with our household increasing by 50% for a couple weeks. Suddenly there are occupants here who want to eat something other than ramen and hotdogtopi.
He's not back for good yet, just a couple weeks. But it is AWESOME.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Again?

There is something different about you.
You don't look any crazier than usual.Holy smokes.
Seriously stop getting so old.Still smooth though, even with your jack o'lantern smile.

Monday, August 15, 2011

1st day of school

He was not the only one jumping for joy this morning.
First day of school, finally. He was so ready to get out of here he wouldn't pose at all. Also, for the first time since last September, I dropped him off and left. For right now I am not attending 1st grade for a third time. It was so weird.
He was in a great mood when he got off the bus, kind of surprising considering how long he was riding. Here is looking forward to a successful year!

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Little Fish




The slide was something he's been looking forward to doing for two summers now. I told him he couldn't go down until he could swim :)

Friday, August 5, 2011

Pool

This is the happy face of a boy who can SWIM.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Bowling

These are not the most technically amazing pictures I've taken but they still crack me up. Everyone knows Case is a blur much of the time anyway.We went bowling with a bunch of other families with deployed spouses yesterday. Watching all these little kids fling the balls down the lanes was hysterical. The constant THUMP of poorly thrown balls smacking down onto the wood; those lanes will never be the same. We were hardly the first kids to play there though.The hardest part of getting Case to throw the ball instead of using the ramp comes down to color. The tiny 6 pound balls are green and he is not in love. The orange balls are 9 pounds. So he either needs stronger arms or a custom ball. Good thing he does so many push ups.