Visit to Santa at Work Kids Party

Say Uncle, pt. 2

T Fish got his revenge from this [part 1].

 

Precious Sleep

We are having a heck of a time getting T Fish to sleep, let alone through the night. He almost always wakes up screaming and upset, and the longest he'll go is about 4 or 5 hours. That's even after we started him on formula. Really making him Mom's life hard, which affects us all. Just got keep after it with him.

JoJo tries to show her Mom how it's done. Thankfully the other three are sleeping just fine. Booch especially. He'll go for 13 hours at night no problem.
 

MM's Recital

We all schlep'd out to Mesa one Wed. night for MM's big ballet recital. It was held at the main church that runs the classes, and it was one big recital for all the kids programs. So it wasn't just girls ballet but acting, dancing, singing, etc. Thankfully MM was in the first hour, so we could leave at intermission, which was at 8pm. It was a little too modern and hip-hoppy for my taste, but MM did great on the big stage and had fun.
V I D E O      [https://youtu.be/dmaW7jcrjhI]

With her partner and family friend Sienna afterward. They loved wearing the make-up!

Electric Light Parade

We joined Bobbins' friend Mary and her kids for the APS Electric Light Parade in downtown Phoenix again this year. We had to make a quick, difficult (because of traffic) run to get Karin from school, but we made it to Mary's father's house on time. It was pretty crowded on the street, but I had gone out early to reserve a spot. MM and JoJo are getting old enough that they enjoyed it on their own with Mary's son Gus. T Fish and Booch got the warmth of Mom & Dad. Karin experienced the parade via phone, as she photo'd and video'd every float, like a typical teen.

He's Ready for Yale

He's reading Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, which is the coolest idea for a book. Although he's already ripped a few of the pages out and mostly ruined it for his brother.

 This is his 'in-trouble' corner, where he goes when he has bad behavior.

Shooting Date

For our date night recently, I took Bobbins to an indoor shooting range on ladies night, which meant she shot for free. We rented a gun and squeezed off about 100 rounds. Bobbins likes the 9mm I got for my birthday in August. We didn't like the rented gun. I'm still pretty interested in getting one of those little Ruger .380's, even though it's too small for Bobbins.

 

Like Father, Like Son

It's really cool (and a bit scary) how much Booch likes to imitate me. Lot of fun ... and responsibility.

The Laughter of Fish

It seems like he cries more than he laughs, but when he does chuckle, it's the sound of Heaven, with those steely blue eyes.  Here's a 1min19sec V I D E O.    [https://youtu.be/8F6e2-0ApXI]

 

Glasses and Gun

Claire's Baptism

The daughter of Bobbins' brother, Paul, was baptized back in November at our parish. Bobbins' other brother Mark and his wife Jessica were the godparents, so they came over from California. Bobbins and Jessica were due about the same time, and T Fish and their daughter, Georgia, were born almost two weeks apart. Of course, she's got some weight on our skinny kid. Mark and Jessica's oldest, Will, our godson, came over to spend the night, his first away from mom and dad. He did great and only called his mom once.

Fountain Hills Visit

Bobbins had to take her mom to the doctor in Fountain Hills back in November and made a little outing of it.

Karin and Basketball

To make friends and do something extra at school, Karin joined the girls basketball team. The sport doesn't come naturally to her, but she's trying and working to improve, which is admirable. We've had a few communication mis-steps as far as practices and locations, and I've had to pick her up late at night a few times, but she's found some rides and seems to be enjoying it. She was excited to receive her own new ball for Christmas. That's her on the far right, number 12.