Counting by Cookies

I gave Finn a Smookie today and when he was done, he said, "I NEED another cookie. I NEED TWO!" He got points for being able to count, but, alas, still not enough to get another cookie (at least until dinnertime).

What is a Smookie, you ask? Good question. Smear melted milk chocolate on a peanut butter cookie. Smear melted marshmellow creme on another peanut butter cookie. Press together. Voila! Smookie! Pretty rad.

Steppin' Out

Scott and I went to my work's annual Christmas party. It's a pretty nice affair, so I always look forward to getting dressed up. However, this year we had a thoroughly awful time! We couldn't find the new place they were having it at, and by the time we did, I was in a pretty terrible mood. Then, we were sort of late because we looked for the place for so long, so almost all the tables were full--at least all the ones with people I knew. I had arranged to sit with a certain person, but I couldn't find him, so we ended up sitting at a completely empty table so that I could save my friend a seat in case he showed up. The waitresses were even cracking jokes to us ("What, did you tick everyone off?"--Oh yes, I nearly slapped her in my bad mood). So what did Scott and I do? We wolfed down our entrees and snuck out to the movies! We went to see Four Christmases, which really wasn't that great, but I figured it was better than sitting at our empty table being pityed! So much for my big night out!

Here's a cute pic of Kinley all bundled up to go out shopping:

And here's Finn in the little diaper "bed" that he made last night. Kids do the weirdest things!:

There is such a cold front moving in! We went to the park yesterday around noon and it was beautiful! After about 30 mins, however, a big wind came up and it instantly got 10 degrees colder. So strange! Finn's been saying the strangest things lately too, espiecially when he's mad. He got angry that we left the park, so he was yelling at me in the car and said "Mommy! Go Home! No! Go to Work!" It kind of made me laugh! He doesn't know what "work" is, but I guess he figures we are gone, so he wanted me to go there! He is always trying to boss me around about where to go. Half the time in the morning, I go into his room and he yells "NO NO NO, GO!" and wants me to shut the door so he can continue playing/reading/tearing apart his room. I need to teach him to say "Mommy, I would like to play alone a bit longer, so can you please excuse me while I shut the door?" Wouldn't that be polite? :) LOL! No doubt, Finn has definitely been acting like a 2-year-old lately.

Santa Saturday!

We went to my mom's work to see Santa today! Finn was way more excited about the candy canes than he was about the big man himself!

This is hilarious!

If you want to see how crazy my son is, click here and watch the video!

Here it is...

This is about the closest we've ever gotten to getting Kinley to smile on camera:

And here's just a funny one:

She rolled over today! I missed it because I was talking to the cable guy, but when I turned back around, she was on her face! She's been sitting up a lot in her Bumbo chair too. We got her an exersaucer for Christmas and she'll no doubt be ready for it!

I've been making Finn play outside a lot lately since the weather is still warm. He has a huge box of chalk that he loves to draw with outside (thanks Leah and Noah!). He's definitely a righty! Kinley might be a lefty though, she is ALWAYS chewing on her left hand! Anyway, I was trying to think of ways that I could teach Finn Spanish. He is just such a sponge and absorbs EVERYTHING! He already knows how to count in Spanish and I don't even know where he picked that up (Dora I guess, but we haven't even been watching it lately). I think I'm going to focus on teaching him Spanish words this winter and also on letter sounds and recognizing words. He already knows most of the letter sounds, but I thought I would start pushing the letters that words start with. It's so amazing how much he loves reading! He always has! Starting when he was about 1, he began recognizing all the letters and loves any toy or book that has to do with the alphabet. Anyway, I don't mean to go on about it, but I just wonder if it has to do with the fact that I've read like a maniac to him since birth, or if he just would have liked it anyway? It's definitely his "thing."

Here's a couple more cute pictures! I love Kinley's Christmas tree bow!:

My little elfykins!

Here's Kinley in her little elfin costume:

And here she is, sucking her thumb! I caught her doing it today:

My son, the tube-head

Today, Kinley, Finn and I were sitting around talking about how much we love each other. I said, "Bubba and I sure love Kinley." Then I turned to Finn and said, "Kinley and I sure love Bubba, too." Finn patted me on the arm and said, "I love you too Mama." Before I could even say, "Aw, thanks, Bub," he was running across the room to the television yelling, "I LOVE TV!" At least he only hugged the set rather than turning it on! LOL!