No Rainy Days In Vandyville!

Mom and I have been reading a lot of Dr. Suess books lately (thanks Baba).
My favorites are "Green Eggs and Ham" and "The Cat in the Hat." 
Mom finally remembered these fun t-shirts from Papa and Nana and
we decided to re-inact the story even though we've had NO bad weather at all
around here lately.

At first, I was content to sit and be cute with B.

Then we remembered that Thing 1 and Thing 2 were agents of chaos and mayhem.
I got busy trashing the house and Mom was not happy.
Can you believe B went running to her and tried to let me take ALL the blame?

It didn't work. We got shipped outside.
Before she knew it, we'd created a chalk/juice mess on the driveway and were sitting and playing in it!

Guess who's idea it was?!  This time I had PROOF.

Okay, I may have been just as quilty.

We tried to make a run for it once we knew we were busted.

Where was that Cat when it was time to clean up?
We are writing a sternly worded letter to the good Dr. Seuss.

Opposite O'Vandys

Happy St. Patty's Day! 
We began our day by building a Leprechaun trap in Mom and Dad's bed.

One of us LOVES playing with others and wants nothing more than
for everyone to get along.  The same little Vandy cries very easily and
hates getting in trouble.  The other one wants things
all to himself, loves nothing better than conflict, and thinks it's hysterical
when Mom or Dad say "No NO!"

Okay, we're both pretty stinkin cute.
One of us wanted the trap to be just so..
The other one wanted to demolish it.

And we both do love each other even though we've started acting
more like siblings lately.  One of us like hugging and kissing while the
other likes kicking and scratching.

We didn't catch a leprechaun, but we did have some fun.

Until the one of us who like conflict got a little upset that the other
one of us was getting attention and playing in his zone.

One of us is quite the little stinker but variety is the spice of life, right?!

Name That Vandy

Here we are side by side yet again.  This game is getting easier and easier!

Upgrade!

Mom left us again this week.  It's never tough to say goodbye when
a certain SUPER Mom comes to take her place for a few days.  We
couldn't have been happier to cuddle with Grandma for a few days.

B is getting REALLY big and talking up a storm.
We think Grandma was pretty impressed with his
girth and gabbing :)  He's also become a champion hugger
which is a definite Vandygriff family must.

Here's a nice action shot of our little bruiser.

Thanks for taking such great care of us Grandma!
Of course, there are no pictures after you left. 
Some things, like "guys week" are best left to the imagination.

Vandyville - Under Construction!

This week Vandyville has had lots of visitors.  We had a crew working UNDER the house installing new beams and lifting the house an inch, a plumber to fix the outside pipe and the gas lines and Daddy tore up half the kitchen to finally put the tile in.  One of us decided he hated the new floor and snuck in to remove ALL the spacers when Daddy was in the garage making cuts.  He also tried to pry up the tile and scribbled all over it with a green sharpie (which thankfully washed off).  One of us came dangerously close to being shipped off to Military School this week.

In the end we both decided the new tiles are a ton of fun and have
really been having fun playing on them.

And since the window man was unable to come on Friday and Cole's
room is freezing cold, he's been camping out in this awesome fort at night.

Daddy is the KING of fort building. 
Thanks Pops for working so hard getting Vandyville in ship shape.
We promise not to sabotage your efforts anymore.
Okay, maybe we should make promises which are clearly impossible to keep.

2011 Year in Review

Already time for another Year In Review Post!  As usual, we like to run through the highlights of our year.
Cole:

• I mastered the art of big brothering.  It's hard work, but so much fun.
• I had lots of sleepovers with my friends Vann and Parker and my cousin Owen.
• I became a really good artist who loves to make pictures.
• I spent alot of time with my pretty girls Sydney and KK.
• I learned to recognize, sound out and write all of my letters.
• I learned to count to 30!
• We got two gorgeous new cousins and a beautiful new Aunt!  Nice work Uncle Scott.
• I had an awesome 2.5 day birthday party at the Waterpark with my friends.
• I spent another summer outside playing, swimming and helping Daddy work.
• I joined a soccer team.  I'm still not sure what the purpose was, but it was kinda fun... I think.
• I met new friends Will, Keegan, Hayden, Jackson, Wyatt and Cain and spent lots of time with my old friends Vann, Stella, Parker, Alyssa, KK, Sydney, Braylon and Seth.

Bryce:

• I tackled my dairy, soy and birch pollen allergies.
• I learned how to roll, sit, crawl, walk, climb and run!  Thanks for the lessons big bro.
• I met my amazing (and really big) family.
• I met my fantastic neighbors.
• I learned to say "look, uh-oh, hi, Mama, Dada and Ooooooooooooh."  I also meow like Boots :)
• I learned to clap.
• I relished my naps, my bedtime and all of my many many meals.
• I graduated to the big bathtub and LOVE taking baths.
• I had an awesome first birthday party.
• I learned about Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, Halloween, the Fourth of July and New Years Eve.  WOW! :)
• I learned how to hug and kiss and share.  I love doing all three, but only with very special people.
• I learned how to dance.  I have awesome moves!

 It certainly has been a fantastic year here in Vandyville.  Life truly is sweet and we're looking forward to another wonderful year together in 2012.   All our best to our friends and family in the coming year!

Party Animals

Because Dad wasn't with us, Mom got away with dressing us like twins for the party.

We had a blast playing with all of our Uncles (esp. Uncle Scott).

One of us spent a considerable amount of time flirting with a certain
special Aunty.

We took full advantage of the play room and time with our many many
cousins.

B was getting along great with Maisie until he stuck his finger in her eye.
She sure did tell him off!

He also took a gash out of Shayla's neck, but Shayla still
loves him.

Those two are pretty much joined at the hip :)

and can you believe Santa made an appearance!? 
A few kids were a little skeptical and there were even
some conspiracy theorists out there who mumbled that he
looked and sounded a lot like Uncle Adam who was strangely
without an alibi during the time in question, but B and I were not
fazed.  We sat right down on his lap and handed out hugs.

Merry Christmas!  We hope you're enjoying the season as much
as we are.

Make It STOP!

Mom is always and forever trying to slow our growth down.
She begs and pleads with us to stop getting bigger all the time, but
we just can't!  12 days until the little man is a year old.  How did that happen?!

And... here's Cole at exactly 11 months and 2 weeks - which was last week
wasn't it?! 

Test Monkey

Much like they do at NASA, here in Vandyville we often like to put our smallest family member to the test.
Here B is trying out the awesome new toy Didi and Baba gave him.  It works much better when Mommy rides it with him.

That sure doesn't stop him from trying though! 

We're having a ton of fun while Mom is taking one last trip down South before Christmas.
Here's to having REAL fun when Mom is away.

4th Annual "I am Thankful" post

Cole:

"Thank you God for Mommy, Daddy, Bryce, Boots, Bella, Sydney and Uncle Scott. (he adds Grandma, Bugga, KK, Dad, Julie, Papa, Nana, Aunty Stephanie, Shayla, Sue, Izzy, Oli, Aunty Heather, Uncle Gavin, baba, Didi, Aunty Kat, Uncle Mike, Uncle Adam, Kyle, Dylan, Aunty Heather and Gene and Pam with a reminder).  Thanks for my friends at school and my house and my toys.  Thanks for, I mean please don't let Bryce knock my stuff over and help me to be good so I get presents." 

Bryce:
"Thanks for good food, my brother, my cats (especially the fat slow one), the girls, my parents, my family, thanks for letting me get up off my knees and walk.  Thanks for blessing my family and I with good health."

Cuddles Cure All

Mom brought home a nasty bug from Texas so we've both been pretty sick this week.
Fevers and ear infections, sniffles and coughs - the whole bit.
Thankfully, Dad's been here to hold B non-stop and cuddle Cole too.
He even stays up through the night with us.
There's nothing our Dad can't fix!
Thanks Pop.  You're the greatest

Vandyville Spooks

As you know, we have quite the posse here in Vandyville.  This year, we took the neighborhood by storm!

Here's the gang:  Bryce the Bat, Alyssa the Peacock, Sydney the gorgeous (and good) witch, KK the creepy scream skeleton (with blood dripping down her mask!), Cole "night spiderman" who gives presents and has a cape, and Parker "War Machine.  We were a FORCE this year!

Oh and our shining star Sammy!  He loves getting dressed up too!

Bryce was really excited to Trick or Treat for the first time this year.

Some houses gave out candy AND treats.  We sure are a well loved crew.
Thanks neighbors!  Happy Halloween!

The Big Oh Five!

Sunday was a very important day for me as a Best Bud... It was Vann's Birthday!

I planned an awesome night of partying with older women, games, prizes and tons of fun.
Of course, we brought B along!  He's part of the gang!

We were the talk of the Fall Festival at KK's school this year. 
Everybody thought we were the  cutest, happiest best buds they'd ever seen.

Okay, B got his fair share of praise as well.  He had a blast hanging out with us cool kids.

We played every game there was to play.

We were inseperable.

In case you doubted me...  Check out these older women we hung out with ALL night!

Of course we got our faces painted.

Vann was Lightning Boy and I was Human Torch. 
How odd that they didn't have stencils for those...

We hung out with my buds the firemen and scored hats.

I showed Vann the Spidey Training School I go to all the time.  He was a natural.

And.. the highlight of the night!  Despite Mom's wishes to the contrary, we BOTH won fish! 
What parent doesn't want their kid to come home from a sleepover with a new pet?!
Here are "Bats" and "Batty."  The names are a testament to our great friendship as we both
wanted to name our fish Batty, but of course we couldn't have TWO fish with the same name
so we worked out a compromise, which is what best buds do.

Then it was time for fun at MY house.  We were pretty beat, but never to beat for a good bed bouncing.

Oh yeah, we have the same pjs!

This is what we'd look like if we were skeleton ghosts.

Yes, the little man hung around for the afterparty too!

We didn't exclude him even once.

Happy Birthday Vann!
I can't wait to have you over again.