Luscious Locks

 It was finally time to cut Jakob's luscious head of hair. He had been growing it out since April for his Han Solo costume and with interviews with schools going on it was time for him to look a little cleaner. 

 So Mom set to work. Yes his mother still cuts his hair. She does a fabulous job. Why go someplace else when you have a Mom who has been cutting hair for 30+ years. 

 So much better. 

There was a lot of hair on the floor! It was bitter sweet seeing Jakob's hair go, but I like him better with short hair.

Accepted

The last couple of months have been rather rough for Jakob. Applying for school and the fear of the unknown is never fun. Jakob sent in his applications and with fingers crossed, we waited. Of the four schools Jakob has applied to he has been accepted three of the four. (We are still waiting on UT.) I cannot even begin to describe how proud I am of him. His hard work has paid off and we are now trying to finalize our decision of which school to attend. Change is in the future and while Vegas has been good to us and I will be leaving with a broken heart I am excited to start a new chapter in our lives and see what adventures await us.

Sometimes...

 ... Elmo just needs a bum change. The other day while Peanut and I were playing she came up to me and said "E-mo go POO!" I looked at her and asked if she had gone poo and she shook her head and looked at me, eye brows furrowed and said "No, E-MO!" I was confused, All I got was Elmo and Poo, so I answered like any adult would and said "Really?! Okay." (I know you've all done that!) She then got up and toddled over to the diaper bag, pulled out the clutch and sat down on the floor ready to rip it to shreds. I walked over and tried to take it away and she very earnestly repeated. "NO! Ma! E-mo go POO!" Still confused I just let her do her thing. She likes to take out the wipes and lay them in a neat little row after cleaning off her table, so whenever I see her with the container I usually confiscate it immediately.

 She proceeded to toddle over to the table and lay Elmo down. She then opened the wipes and took one out. Spread his little legs and wiped him down saying "Poo, E-mo. I o-ay" (It's okay.) It melted my heart. I never taught her that. I'm sure after watching me change Duke and obviously her a million times she would have obviously picked it up, but it made me smile to see how much she loved her Elmo. She has such a  sweet and tender heart and loves to take care of everyone. She shares her snacks with Elmo, makes sure he has a blanket when they nap, and she's always giving him hugs and kisses.

I sure do love our sweet girl and I'm thankful for the joy that she brings into our lives!

Santa

 Having children this age is a bit difficult. I have every intention of doing fun festive things but for the most part E still doesn't understand what's going on and while my intentions are good most of the time it's just easier to play and cuddle, instead of strapping everyone in the car to look at Christmas lights and listening to them scream. :)

On my side of the family we have a tradition of taking yearly Santa photos. I have to got admit this is one of my favorites. I get all excited to coordinate outfits and I have images of the perfect television family sitting happily on Santa's lap. Obviously I wasn't thinking about my daughter. Ethnie is TERRIFED Santa. So we elected to go to see Santa Lou (a dear friend of mine, it pays to have hook ups) and take our family photo instead of listening to her scream in the shopping mall. Ethnie clung to Jakob for dear life. There was NO WAY she was letting go and really it wasn't worth it.

So Duke took a solo photo with Santa and it was perfect. I know I'll look back at these pictures and smile, they may not be perfect, we don't match and the background is too busy but they are mine and I treasure every one of them. Plus, that is one good looking Santa.

Our Christmas Card

2013 - Ethnie's 1^st Bee-Day - Lots of Holiday Fun - Several Family Visits - New Callings - Loving Vegas - Welcomed Duke Manfred with Love - Ethnie's Elmo Obsession -  Many Pictures & Crafts - Loving our Precious Family - Eternally Blessed 

We hope that this year is filled with love, laughter and joy. 

Merry Christmas!  

Love the Toblers

Just Another Day at the Office

 I love that I get to make someone's birthday just that much better by doing something I love. Even though I do do the same thing at every party, every event is different because every child is different and I love meeting every single one of them. At this particular party, I walked in and one of the girls started to cry she was so happy. It's moments like that that make this the greatest job ever!

 

We face paint, dance, do treasure hunts, magic and balloons. The life of a princess is a busy one. 

Greatest job ever!

Meet Eli

 Santa was kind enough to sned us an Elf this year. Violet (Ethnie's cousin) said that if we got an Elf we should name him Eli. I loved it!

 Eli isn't as chipper as most elves. He usually stays in the same spot for a few days before he decides that it's time to find a new place to sit. 

 He likes to bring Ethnie little gifts but I'm not sure that she realizes they are from him. He's a little more active while he's at Gramma's house. (We moved in for a few days while Jakob was in Boston for work.) He rode a sled. 

.. and tried out the little bike. It sure is fun having an elf. Thanks for being ours Eli!

Cousins

There is something about the innocence of children that just makes my heart happy. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful nieces and nephews. It was amazing to see how much Ethnie matured over the 10 days were were in Houston! Her vocabulary, her eating habits and her confidence blossomed while watching other little people. Here are some of my favorite cousin shots. 

Lucia was saying "Duke the Puke" and Duke was just laughing like crazy. Lucia was especially fond of Duke's nickname. 

Benicio likes other people's Sue's and loved stealing Duke's. Aunt Janet enjoyed capturing some loving abuse. 

Don't worry Duke, we'll get him back ;)

I think this is my favorite picture of the entire trip. 

Gramma was sweet enough to make Duke another Sailor outfit since he out grew the one he was blessed in the following week. Ben and Duke looked so spiffy!

Plugged in. It was such a wonderful vacation! Thank you to Chad and Janet for hosting and to Jeff and Amy for driving down! I can't wait until our next gathering!