Let’s go January 2013!
First, another apology for not staying on top of the blog. We’re sending out our GOLD MASTER CANDIDATE for the game I’m working on, so things should sort of slow down for a little bit, at least enough for me to be able to do this again. Maybe I could work out again too. ANYWAY… so here it is now September, and we’re going to talk about January. Let’s get a move on!
Alright, so… First things first, I forgot to mention that when we were at Grampa Dave and Grandma Marcia’s, we also celebrated Nina’s birthday, again!
A pic of Nina about to make a wish with her birthday cake, on January 5th! Thanks guys! See this image larger.
January 9th, and we’ve returned from our Christmas adventure! Here Nina looks super cute in little pigtails! See this image larger.
January 10th, Ian and I share a quick hug during the bedtime routine. See this image larger.
January 11th, and Nina shows us the definition of hug-worthy. Wait, is that a word? See this image larger.
January 12th, Chef Nina prepares another culinary delight! See this image larger.
Check out Nina’s writing… mostly just zig-zags, but she’s getting there! See this image larger.
Peek-a-boo at the park! See this image larger.
Hugs are the best! See this image larger.
Mommy and Ian try out the slide! See this image larger.
Almost kicking Daddy’s camera out of his hands is always a good time! See this image larger.
Probably the last time you’ll see Nina squeeze into a baby swing? See this image larger.
Ian’s first attempt at using a real key in a real lock on a real door, I’d guess. See this image larger.
January 15th, Christmas casualties abound in our neighborhood. See this image larger.
When Ian’s mittens actually do make it home from Kindergarten, they reside here, in order to be dry by morning. If they’re really soaked, I have to turn them half inside-out and put them on the vent like bunny ears. See this image larger.
January 15th… with snow pants on, the boys looked like “Hans and Franz” from Saturday Night Live about twenty five years ago. So I made them flex, of course. See this image larger.
Ian and I at Chili’s. Possibly our last trip there ever. So much salt in that food, it honestly makes me a little ill. See this image larger.
Mommy and Nina, across the table… See this image larger.
…and say, who is that over there, but Max and Brandon! Hey guys! See this image larger.
Hot chocolate day in Mrs. Lanham’s class. Buckets of sugar for all the good boys and girls! See this image larger.
January 16th, and it was a “Doughnuts with Dad” day at Kindergarten! See this image larger.
They had a little choreographed number or two to thank the dads. I got one of them on video which I will share later. Very cute! See this image larger.
After seeing all of the little pieces of paper that said “My Dad is… Funny” I was figuring that Ian had followed suit with his friends… thus, when I saw his said that I was loving, it felt pretty darn good. See this image larger.
LOL. 15 years old? I wish! See this image larger.
He likes hot chocolate when “I am dun slddng.” See this image larger.
Guilty as charged! See this image larger.
This I just found sitting around at home somewhere… I must be doing something right. I feel like all I do is correct and raise my voice. See this image larger.
January 4th, we made our way slowly, but surely north, back to Michigan! We arrived at Grampa Dave and Gramma Marcia’s just ahead of Santa, who was finishing up fourth shift. The kids arrived via cardboard space shuttle. 
Actually it was part of their Christmas gifts! Nina got a princess castle! The two of them spent the evening making Grampa Dave and Gramma Marcia assemble, while they colored and played! O_o;; 
Back in the shuttle, with helmets on! 
This was a great distraction to let the kids go a little nuts with while Mommy and Daddy tried to recover from all the driving. 
Bedtime reading! 
Wish Nina was in this shot, so beautiful! 
The next morning, January 5th, and Santa had arrived! 
Lookit! Fun Lego stuff and a “Cindabrellah!” 
Dinosaur roar! 
Hey ladies! Great shot of Gramma Marcia!
Nina ballerina! Is she pointing those toes? You bet! 
I think Grampa Dave offered to open up or sniff these chocolates! Great Grandma Betty knew better than to fall for that trick! Love this shot, so happy! 
Grampa Dave got a new toy to show off his motorcycle pics! 
Did somebody say karaoke? Hope you like Row, Row, Row Your Boat! 
Ian made a secret fort under the table! 
Ian and Nina check out a video on the iPad. Soon we’re going to let them do this in the car during the trips too, a bit. 
They’re sharing nice! Thank you so much everybody for an excellent Christmas! If I’m not mistaken we stayed that night, woke up in the morning and headed back home, Christmas tour complete! What a crazy adventure was had by all! 
January 1st, bonus pic! It’s my face. Wow, that’s a big face. 
January 2nd, the kids were playing so well together here, it was neat to see. In this shot we’re out in front of Barb and Ray’s house on the walkway. 
New town square? I suspect we should go check it out, right kids? 
The boys, gettin’ a lil car sick thanks to the roundabouts. 
Our lil’ peanut! 
Just a gorgeous shot of Nina at one of the town square outdoor stage areas. Worth looking at bigger. 
At a park with a pirate ship, Captain Nina at the helm! 
Arrrr, Maties! 
The kids may never understand that they’re re-enacting a scene from Titanic, but we can enjoy it, right? Little bit of photoshop necessary on this one to get both kids looking at the camera, but good luck finding it. 
Went out for a little walk, and headed back for the ship… the kids wanted to go back and play immediately, so they may look a little impatient in this shot. 
Melissa and I enjoying the beautiful weather! This was pretty much the end of our Florida trip, but still not the end of Christmas! Thanks everybody for having us! 
January 1st, time for a trip to one of 60-ish pools in the Villages. Yeah, I looked that up. I’m good with the Googles. 
Mommy takes Nina for a spin, while Grandma Barb does the same with Ian. 
She’s already got the beginnings of a swimmer, in this pic. (Months later, she had a great time in swim class at the YMCA, but that’s a tale for when we catch up on the blog!) 
A helping of noodle! 
Nina’s confidence level around water makes me both thrilled and completely terrified. 
Perfect image, destroyed by handrail! 
Both kids love water! 
I think the thing that I remember most about this part of the trip was Melissa’s grace with the kids. She stood there in the pool, quietly and gently helping Nina back and forth, smiling; they moved like partners in a slow dance. The act itself and Melissa were mesmerizing, and beautiful. A reminder from life of just how lucky I am. 
Love you, girls! 
One more swim! 
Ian and I posed for some hilarious shots at Grandma Barb and Grampa Ray’s! 
Some more hilarious than others! 
It was around this time that I must have lost my brother’s watch, as it would later turn out that Barb found it in the recesses of this chair. I didn’t realize I had lost it until at the hotel on the way back up to Michigan; so locating it was not easy. Thanks Barb for checking around a bunch! 
Trouble kitty adds to the fun… I’m sad to report that dependable, loving, and often drooling; more recently Trouble has gone from this world and will be missed. He was a really cool kitty. 
My favorite shot of the bunch. I think you can tell I really love my son, and he really loves his dad. 
Ian took this one with my camera, thus it is a little blurry! Overall, nice job, though, kiddo! 
Nina gets ready for bed, to say so long to the first day of the new year! 
December 25th, I couldn’t get Ian to NOT make this face on Christmas morning. Words cannot describe how excited he was. 
Alright kids, come on down! 
So happy to have them home on Christmas morning! 
*We made it through December, sister, oh thank God we made it! And look! Santa thinks we were good! LOL!* 
These were gifts from Aunt Jill! She’s so awesome! And look, I think she’s dropping hints that she wants us to come visit her in Arizona! 
A joker vehicle! 
Nina battles for lens time with Ian’s noggin. 
A lego toy! 
What the heck are these? Pfft, towels? 
WAIT… NOT JUST TOWELS.. COSTUME TOWELS! 
Run-around-the-house break! 
Hello Kitty! 
A cool book with hello kittys inside! 
Ian gets a snap-circuit set, but Ian mis-read the front. “For ages 100 and up?” No buddy, 100 projects!! 
The only thing Nina asked for was a pink kitty. She opened this up… “A… (sniffle) pink… bear.” WAIT! Nina! Look at the tail and whiskers!!! 
“PINK KITTYYYYYY!!!!” 
“O-HO-HOOOO PINK KITTTYYYYYYYY!!!!” 
Cool Dino/Vehicle transforming toys! 
What do you have there, Nina? Minnie Mouse Dress-up set? Nice! 
A shirt and sword from Minecraft! 
Sword and Pick-Axe! 
*Grin.* 
Mommy gets some cute earrings! 
See? 
AND a kiss! 
Pink Kitty is invited to a big party in the dining room! 
Big mess in very little time! 
Later, it is time for Nina’s birthday celebration! 
A puzzle! 
Piggy bank! 
We got word that a snowstorm was heading into Ohio, so we drove as quickly as we could to get to Ohio on Christmas night. We wanted to beat the storm to celebrate Christmas with Mel and crew! We didn’t get there until late, of course… So the next morning, December 26th – Hug for brother! 
Another day, another cake! 
Celebrating with the cousins and brother! 
We hope all your wishes come true, little one! 
Visiting Connor’s bedroom! 
Good times! I said Good times, Ian. *sigh* 
Gathering around for a quick breakfast? 
The four cousins! 
Ian gets a lego toy! 
I got a T-shirt! 
Somebody got Connor Halo4! 
And yup, I got Ian the same gifts as Connor… couldn’t help myself, those foam things were cool! 
Opening and assembling! 
December 27th, the snow had been falling all day as we opened presents on the 26th, so the next day, it was time to shovel! We all pitched in! 
There was a lot of snow, perfect for sledding! 
For the first chunk of time, I watched Nina while she slept in the car, but eventually she woke up and we joined everybody else. Ian and I making a super-fast run pictured here. 
Someone loves her mommy! All too soon, it was time to go! We got lucky with the weather, as the roads were perfectly fine for the next leg of our journey! 
December 28th, after all of the tunnels and mountains, we hit South Carolina. It was there, on our way down to Florida, Ian suddenly handed Mommy his first loose tooth, one that had been loose for several weeks. With no crying, and no fuss, he just suddenly piped up “I lost my tooth!” 
December 29th, “Another dino-vehicle!!! I don’t have this one!!!” 
Our little sun-beam! 
Remote control hilarity ensues. 
A good size cake! Happy birthday again, little girl! (So weird. Without a shifting of her birthdate, Nina will probably never have friends over for a birthday party… but she does get to celebrate it all over the country! Someday we’ll have to work out a system. Life’s crazy when you share a birthday with Jesus!) 
Stomping around in some sweet jammies! 
Grandma Sue took us back to the Christmas Light Show at a nearby nature area. It’s a great time! 
Little bundle falls asleep in Mommy’s arms at Chili’s, despite the noise! 
December 30th, I had heard about these, but never seen one in person until we stopped by Moe’s with Grandma Sue. It is called a “freestyle” pop machine. You walk up, press what kind of pop you want… for example, Melissa has chosen “Sprite” here… THEN… you choose a sub-flavor. So she could choose cherry sprite, grape sprite, orange sprite, vanilla sprite, etc.! It was cool! 
At Aunt Leslie and Uncle Gordon’s, Ian was amazed to find that a mailtruck toy still contained “letters” from his previous visit! 
That totally made his day, thanks for keeping those in there! 🙂 
Happy family! 
Ian ran like the wind, and the wind was swift and cold, for Florida! 
Father and son, on the beach. 
Florida beach with winter coats! Who would have thought?!? Grandma snuggles in for this shot! 
Happy family! 
Love you forever, sweetie. 🙂 
Run, kid, run! 
December 31st, last day with Gramma Sue until next time… we had fun, thank you! 
Arriving at Grampa Ray and Gramma Barb’s that same day, and time to open more presents! What a little doll! 
Pizza toy! 
*I’ve never eaten a pizza with one of these!* 
*Grampa, open this for me!* 
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from the holiday season over the years… it is that Christmas would come to a screeching halt without males around to open packages. 
Batman Trios set! 
“Punch it in, Grampa!” 
This is the classic “kid doesn’t understand present yet, parent explains present” scenario. 
An Elmo sandwich holder!! 
Hello huggy kitty! (Ian, in the background, begins digging in!) 
December 11th, Mommy gives Nina a big kiss for good luck! 
Grampa Dave and Grandma Marcia drove all the way across the state to see Nina stand completely still and stare at the crowd while the music played. In the previous weeks Nina had been belting out fully-memorized songs louder than Whitney Houston could have managed — so I promised them quite a show. But stage fright and a 3 year old do not always allow for proper delivery. :-\ 
Ian begs for a little attention on a Nina-filled night. 
Nina spots Daddy in the audience. 
Yes, you’re cute. 
But speaking of cute! 
She got a lot of the hand motions correct! Ah well, thanks for making the drive, Grampa Dave and Gramma Marcia! 
December 12th, my first good opportunity to show the difference in boot-prints between little girl, and little boy. 
Ian drew this at school, it is a picture of something we build in Minecraft! 
December 13th, he can look so little yet so mature at the same time! 
A sea of blonde kids. 
I’d have to check the video to know what song this is, but Ian had the hand-motions down pat! 
I think this part was “…it hurts their brains, when our parents get stress-related migraines.” 
Ian’s class — he’s in the lower right. 
December 20th, Ian’s Kindergarten Christmas party! 
Ian the elf! 
If Santa got stuck in my chimney? Ian responds: “I would shove him up the chimney.” Good call, buddy! 
“What do you want for Christmas, little boy?” 
*Well, Santa, I want a particular rocket that no mortal human could possibly get here on time for Christmas. Which is why I’m relying on you to do this for me. It’s all I really want.* (paraphrasing.) 
Class picture again! Ian’s in the back by Santa, smiling. 
And in this one he’s making a face. 
My beautiful wife helps Ian with a project! 
December 21st, while at Nina’s party, we spotted some pics on the wall. Here’s a snowman they put together! 
Hmmm… that’s a little sour tasting. 
This little girl was quick to make sure Nina got her present. I sometimes think Nina basically rules this room. 
Aw, she’s SO cute! 
Here Nina tries to share from long distance. 
And then she leans in so she can really share! 
December 23rd, Nina used our wine rack as a parking structure! 
Christmas Eve, and Nina’s ready to run outside! 
What are we doing outside in the freezing cold? 
Dumping reindeer food. Because, you know, whatever helps your chances, I guess? 
Another attempt at a photo-shoot… Ian looks a little pained, probably had reindeer food in his eyes. 
But nothing can stop the excitement! 
Ian looks like he’s about to punch me for being too much of a paparazzi. 
December 2nd, and yay, Star Wars Advent calendar! (This will probably be the last year we do this… the kids get pretty well spoiled on Christmas, the last thing they need is a little toy for every day leading up to it, right?) 
*yoink!* 
Packages from Grampa Dave and Gramma Marcia!!! *THEY SENT BUBBLE WRAP!!!* 
And it turned out there was something IN the bubble wrap! Cool snow globes, with pictures of the kids! 
Nina wonders how the Santa hat was put on her picture… Grampa Dave’s photoshop magic! 🙂 
December 7th, put on some socks, little elf! 
A face-plant at school gave Nina a “Rudolph nose” just in time for the holidays! 
December 8th, our little dancer! 
“TA-DAAAAH!” 
“TA-DAAAAH-LA-LA-LA-LA, LA-LA-LA-LAAAAAA!” 
A brief moment of introspection. 
Melissa took this one, love it! 
Didn’t I see this scene in Risky Business? 
Nina gracefully chucks a ball around the living room. 
“I’ma kitty too, Kitty!” 
You don’t need a Roomba when you’ve got Nina to dust the floors with this outfit! 
Kids checking out the snowfall. 
They probably were trying to figure out how to get out there! 
Our winter wonderland out back. 
It was really pretty; glad that as I write this it is spring. 
Wipe-out! 
Casualties! 
Cute as a button! 
Ian laughs off another crash! 
Mommy helps Nina so she’s positioned just right! 
And then Nina lays down and giggles her way to the bottom of the hill. 
Ian needs a push! 
This is a cute shot, look at it bigger if possible. 
Go Speed Racer, Go! 
You too, Nina! 
Daddy made a mini snowman on the slide. 
Ian and Nina made this spectacular snowman! 
But I think they’re ready to go inside and get warmed up! 
No idea why a little snow-man is attached to this big snowman’s bum, but hey, I just take the pics! 
Ian takes a turn as the kitty! 
December 9th, if the term “barely contained excitement” entered your brain after seeing this pic, I won’t fault you. 
Probably a bit too much sugar and the knowledge that Santa would soon, very soon, be there. 
Obligatory hug shot! 
Spontaneous but somehow choreographed dance number! 
And hey, there’s a good one! 
December 11th, counting snacks is always a welcome activity in Lanham’s class. You can probably imagine how this goes: “Now, class, you should each have fifteen marshmallows.” “MWS. WANUM, PWOBWUM! AH OMWY HAWF EWEF– *gulp* eleven!” 
