Uncle Tom!!!

Aaron's brother Tom came up from Monterey to spend a few days with us before he went to Ohio for Christmas. He brought my girls barbie dolls and Bailey a football game for his PSP. He also was a true sport and took Bailey to Chuck E. Cheese for a few hours. Now that is some true love! Bailey was ecstatic. Mary Claire got him familiar, and quite amused I might add, by Phineas and Ferb, her favorite cartoon! What a great visit! Can't wait for him to visit again!

Bailey just figured out the whole Santa Claus thing this past Christmas. He has known about the Easter Bunny for a while. However, as he loses teeth, he still continues to place them under his pillow and wait for the Tooth Fairy (who often forgets). I mentioned to Aaron that I was really surprised that he still continues to believe in the Tooth Fairy when he knows about the others. I thought it was really cute that he hadn't pieced it all together yet. So . . . the other day while we were driving, he mentioned to me that the Tooth Fairy was about three days late and asked me if I could call her. I said "Bailey, do you believe in the Easter Bunny?" He said, "No." I laughed and said, "Do you believe in Santa Claus?" He said, "No." Then I said, "But you still believe in the Tooth Fairy?" He started laughing and said, "No, I just pretend to so you will keep giving me money." And I thought he was the naive one!!

The girls got a new kitchen set and a bunch of accessories for Valentine's Day. They love to play cook. One day they came in all dressed up like this and asked me what I wanted for dinner. The chefs hats look more like pioneer garb but thats OK by me. I don't think Mary Claire's will velcro the right way anyway. Too large of a cranium! Come over. They'll make you anything from pancakes and eggs to pizza. Too cute.

I was holding Emmi on my lap while Aaron and I waited to be seated while we were out celebrating his birthday. An old lady sitting next to me was looking at Emmi and kind of playing with her. Of course, as a parent, I couldn't help but think of how adorable she must be thinking that Emmi is. Just then she says, "You baby looks just like my grand-daughter. Like a car. . . with its doors open." Uhhhhhh, how do you respond to that? I just laughed. I know her ears are big. However, she is still adorable.

Mary Claire loves her little pair of plastic generic crocs. She wears them constantly. However they are getting a little snug. During our fun trip to Wal-Mart (to buy something as exciting as nursing pads) we walked by shoe department and there to catch Mary Claire's eye, (but obviously not her fall) were some new, shiny, pink plastic crocs. As I moved closer to look for her size, MC decided she couldn't wait any longer and reached for the closest pair. Obviously they weren't close enough because next thing I knew, her face had introduced itself to the floor. She started crying, her nose started to bleed, and a large goose egg was beginning to appear on her forehead. No one but those behind the security cameras saw it happen thank goodness so no looks of "You are the worst mother I have ever seen" or "Why would you allow her to stand up in your cart" or "If I had children, I would at least keep an eye on them in public." I already thought those things about myself! I quickly picked her up and awkwardly pushed my cart holding the car seat with Emmi in it and of course the box of nursing pads to the frozen veggie aisle to get some corn to keep it the swelling down. We quickly purchased our two items and headed for the car. I was so worried she had a concussion but no throwing up and her eyes were not dilated so she seemed ok. She felt better after her nap and then Bailey came home from school and thought it would be a good idea to dance with her and spin her around. All of a sudden she falls to the floor screaming and holding her foot. My immediate thought is "What if her foot is broken? Could i seriously take her to the ER with a knot on her head, a black eye and a broken foot and not have CPS get involved? After a few minutes she started putting pressure on it again saving us from an ugly trip to the hospital. She looked bad last night, worse this morning, but looked better as the day progressed. However, we won't be going to any public places for a while! She is still happy. What a trooper!