Boxing Day Adventures

Okay so the reason Grandma came was that this little man had to be at Riley at 6:15 am on 12/26 for a series of tests. He was SO brave and had a great time charming all of the nurses and especially his buddy Dr. Gupta. He was under for about 90 minutes, came right back out and the first thing he said was "where's Grandma!?"  He wouldn't eat or drink anything until the nurse told him he couldn't go home to Grandma until he did. Guess how long it took him to put down a popsicle after that?!
B has low fecal elastase and a zinc deficiency. That coupled with chronic diarrhea gave Dr. Gupta reason to suspect an issue with his pancreas so he had an endoscopy, colonoscopy and panc stem test done to see what was going on in there.
 The good news is that Dr. Gupta didn't find any structural issues so we can cross that off along with Cystic Fibrosis (which we tested for on 12/17 and passed with flying colors). Now we are waiting for the results from his biopsies and panc stem.  Thanks to our dearest family and friends who are family for your thoughts and prayers!

Goofing around beforehand.

The nurses were SO great. B got gifts and laughs and everybody came in to meet him and introduce themselves beforehand.

No worries whatsoever!

A quick cuddle afterwards while he was waking up and he was right back to his normal rowdy self.  Thank you Riley!!

#1 Gift!

And the best gift this Christmas was (drumroll please).......  Grandma! She drove down to spend the night and next morning with us! Of course, we put her straight in the Batman chair :)

Up (or down) you go Grandma!

B isn't afraid to try. I guess I should say "Bobo Fett" isn't afraid.

And I take as many turns as I can get. The thing is really cool!

Grandma played games with us, listened to our stories, checked out our new loot and even went to the movies with us!

I suppose making her some gourmet cupcakes was the least B could do.  Thank you so much for coming down Grandma!

Christmas Morning 2015

As you know, Christmas morning is the apex of any kid's calendar year. Of COURSE we don't sleep in!  Are you kidding? I was up at 5am eating the crumbs Santa left behind and wondering how anyone could possibly leave milk behind?

Once I got my sleepy family up, I told Mom that I did not want any present that wasn't my Santa Droshka. She tried to hand me a large weirdly shaped gift and I gave it right back.  I.want.my.droshka!

After trying to claim she wasn't sure Santa brought me a droshka, she miraculously found the box it was in and I was all set for the rest of the morning. Really. No more gifts needed. I had to be forced to open the others. What can I say? I know what I want and I know how to get it too!

Coley was for once in our lives the less chipper kid in Vandyville in the morning. He is usually up singing like he's in a musical or something. It's a little bit weird to be honest. This morning however, he was tired and sluggish like a grown up before their coffee.

In typical Coley fashion, he threw on a hat and went with the flow.

Evidence that Santa really does watch ALL year!  This is the Batman 'brella I begged for at the grocery store this summer. Mom said "absolutely not because you broke all the other umbrellas we owned" but the big man came through!

This box was a new computer for the whole family, which means a "new" computer for Coley in his room!

I got a massive talking Darth Vader helmet which Mom says is super creepy atop my skinny little body.

Better on the big man.

Later, I opened a huge container full of LEGO "cupcakes" from Daddy! JACKPOT! we spent the better part of an hour lining them up on our new base.

And Daddy spent the better part of the day upside down in his new Batman chair from Mom.

Which I thought was hilarious and Coley couldn't get enough of!

The rest of the day was pure bliss. We played games, checked out our new toys, ate a big Turkey dinner and went to see "Night At the Museum 3" which was the only thing Coley wanted for Christmas. We are simple people who are richly blessed. If that's not a recipe for a Merry Christmas, I don't know what is!

The After Party

After church we had things to do!  We loaded Santa's plate with cookies.

And plenty of carrots for the reindeer.

Santa won't leave OUR house hungry!

Next, we had to put our reindeer food on the lawn. Notice our cool new Christmas jammies?

It was NOT warm out there, but we had work to do!

Brrrrr!

Luckily Old Man Vandy's trees lit up the entire block so we had no trouble seeing where we were going.

Next, we had a fire cake to eat!  Happy Birthday to our favorite 4 year old!

Since this is the kid's 4th cake, he was a pro at the candles.

Not too bad Ma!

We like to eat cave man style around here.

Mmmm..  Good Fire Cake!

Great flame job, eh?

Last, but not least, we had to open and play with one gift each. B got a Lite Brite and I got these awesome remote control bumper cars!

We LOVE them!

When you crash into the other guy, he actually flies off his bumper car!

We spent at least an hour laughing and playing this game.

Nice work guys. You did a great job wearing us out and we went right to sleep!

Pastors We Have Heard On High

We got to church a little late due to a strange smelling candle and a full house inspection by Dad. There was no room left so we headed upstairs to the choir loft. We were thrilled to see the Knippenbergs were already there!

Seth is feeling much better but Mom and Dad almost passed out because it was SO hot up there. We didn't get to stick around long afterwards but it was a lovely service and it was great to see our good friends.

How to Take a Christmas Photo

Inform your Mother that you are very handsome and demand that she take a photo. Pose nicely right up until the last second then LOOK AWAY!

Whine when she tells you it wasn't a good shot and No you cannot see it yet.

Throw in a raspberry.

Be sure to enjoy the look of frustration on Mom's face.

If you do chose to look directly at the camera without a silly face, be sure to mess up your wardrobe.

Then quickly look away again.

Close your eyes if they get tired from being crossed so long.

Pretend to take a snooze.

When it looks as though she may give up, promise to give her a nice smile, then turn around and smile brilliantly at the wall.

Add one last almost great shot so she maintains some small semblance of hope.

Then make a break for it!

If you happen to have an angelic older brother who your parents try to use as a good influence on you, you'll have to up your game.

And be a bad influence on HIM instead!

Above all, you must take care not to assume the battle is over too early. The Momparazzi is known for her endurance and isn't likely to throw the towel in early. She may catch you off guard just when you think you've escaped without giving up a decent shot.

And if she enlists the help of her trusty wing man, you're done. Give up the shot and move on to the next battle.

 I'll get you next time Momparazzi!