Busy Boys

I've been fortunate enough to meet a great group of moms here. We've come up with a babysitting swap because many of us are heading back into the workforce. So, today, Ben came over to hang out at our house. The boys, dogs and I had a really good time.

Yeehah Ben!

Swinging Buddies
Piano Lesson

Uh Oh - Gross

Hug Attack

Sipping and watching Elmo

Hallway Mayhem

Playing "Choo Choo," as Ben so eloquently puts it

The Artists

Too exhausted to finish his banana

Annual Venture to Chuck's Place

Andrew and I headed to Chuck E. Cheese this morning to hang with the moms' club. It was fun. We were there with Jon a year ago in McAllen, TX (click here). Can't believe how much our boy has grown since then.... needless to say, he was MUCH more into the rides this time. We'll be back to visit Chuck really soon, that's for sure.

Delusions of Fitness

Jon and I signed up for a March 7 5K walk/run. The course is through one of our favorite places: the zoo. Jon will be doing the run and Andrew and I will be doing the hopefully aptly-named "fun walk." Since it's been a few years since Jon did a 3.1 mile race, and months since he ran at all (present blog-poster included), we had the following discussion this morning:

MK: So, you're running a 5K!
Jon: Yeah.
MK: Is this the kind of thing you'll be training for this month?
Jon: Um.... I won't drink the night before.

Perhaps our fitness goals are a little too lofty.

Southern Snow

We awoke at 7:30 this morning to a nice little dusting of SNOW! Jon's district had already closed school for the day (LAST NIGHT by 6pm, before even a flake fell), so the whole fam got out together this morning in the 28-degree weather to check it out. It's the first snow in a yard of ours since we lived in WV four years ago. Andrew saw snow once this past December in WV, but this was the first time he actually got to touch it. Maddie and Dora never did before today. Gotta love the rare southern snow!

Tale of a First Haircut

We've got a little man now. And we discovered he has a neck. He was FANTASTIC during the cut... the animal crackers given to him by the stylist didn't hurt! We celebrated the surprisingly positive experience with a visit to Leapin' Lizards.

Here are some BEFORE shots:

Sporting the new Elmo slippers

Fun with static electricity

With Dad right before the cut

The cut, by a sweet lady named Jenny

AFTER - The MAN

The man with a NECK

Post-haircut fun at the Lizard

Tomorrow's the Day

Poor Andrew's hair is now just wrong. It's only curly in humid weather. We've been in denial about the mullet, too.

Lately, it's been very A Flock of Seagulls.

We're having it chopped off tomorrow.

Times sure have changed

Our friends Mike and Kara drove up from Summerville this afternoon for a visit. We had a great lunch at Chili's and then, what else?.... were off to the zoo!

Mike is Jon's great drum corps buddy and played marimba at our wedding in 2003:

He and Kara have had three gorgeous kids since then - Sydney, Lauren, and new little David.

It was a fun day.

Retro Christmas Posting

Just back a few days, that is, before and during Christmas. Things have been way too crazy around here lately for a decent posting of some holiday shots, so here they finally are.

We traveled to WV before Christmas, and hung out at Aunt Phyl and Uncle Jack's in Morgantown.

Then it was off to Ritchie County to be with Mom and other family/friends.

This is my high school friend Michele and her boys posing with Andrew and me.

Andrew and Great Grandma DoakOpening presents with Grandma Diana

His first trip to the 100-year-old Berdine's 5 & 10

We also hit Charleston, WV to see Aunt Rena, but Andrew was Captain Phlegm by that point and we opted to go ahead and leave the camera in the diaper bag.

We were back in Columbia in time for a good ol' nuclear family Christmas eve and morning.

Benny Goodman he's not, but the interest is sure there!

Our three children on Christmas morningChecking out his new super cool train table
Of course... Elmo Live

And, of course, Christmas morning, the video. It's his first sight of the goods.