A Party that is Out of This World!

Today we celebrated Calvin's birthday with a space-themed birthday party. He has been totally into space ships & all things space-related for the last couple of months. It made for a fun party!

The cake table:

One of my favorite Grandma Cheryl cakes of all time (if you look closely, you'll see a really cute captain of this ship peering through the window):
Isn't she good?!?

We planned his party in conjuction with the Chief's game, since the Chief's FINALLY made the play-offs. . .

Unfortunately, it was a pretty pathetic performance by the men in red.

Maybe if these guys had shown up, the outcome would have been a little different?

As usual, the boys wasted no time getting downstairs to play follow-the-leader on their riding toys.

When we called that it was present time, though, they hurried back up.

Sydney drew Calvin this cute Spaceship card:

Grandma Jo & Grandpa Denny got Calvin his very own work boots.

He cleaned up! (Although not literally as you can see.)

After the presents were torn through, it was time for cake. Just what is Grandma Cheryl doing to my cake??

Whoa! That's what she was doing! I have a feeling plain ol' candles will never be good enough again.

Grandma Jo also got Calvin a very cool candy bouquet. Hopefully, he'll be sharing with the rest of us!

Calvin had one more present downstairs from Grandma Cheryl & Grandpa Kermit. . . What a handsome little astronaut I have!

Can you believe they made this spaceship out of a refrigerator box? Calvin was SO excited!

He immediately was showing me how cool his light-up top looked from inside his spaceship.

In case you haven't seen Calvin's new room, it fits right in with his birthday theme of the day.

Once our guests had left, Violet decided she would help clean up by pulling on the streamers.

I found several red pieces of paper in her cheeks. They DID say we needed to increase her fiber. . .

What a great day! Calvin is so blessed to have such wonderful family to celebrate these special occasions with!

Going on a Diet

With a new year comes the infamous New Year's Resolutions. Topping the list of most popular every year seems to be "going on a diet". . . well, it looks like Violet is going to be joining the ranks of those dieters out there. We went to see the OT and dietician this week, and they weren't overly pleased with her current weight. She is currently tipping the scales at 8.52 kg (or 18 lbs 12 oz), which places her at the 2.7%-ile. Just as a friendly reminder, this is what my Super-Vi looks like in all her naked glory (appearing just a bit sad that the doctors weren't happy with her growth):


So. . . who out there thinks she looks just terribly malnourished? Anyone thinking, "Someone feed that child already!" or "That girl is skin & bones!"??? I didn't think so. Anyway, so the diet prescribed by Children's Mercy (and this is verbatim, I kid you not) is: "Add these items liberally to food: butter, margarine, gravy, whipped cream, sour cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise, cream soups, and cheese sauce. Bread meats and vegetables. Saute and fry foods. Add sauces and gravies to foods." As you can see, Violet is excited about the doctor's orders!

I'm afraid that if we abide by this diet, she may end up needing open heart surgery after all -- to clean out all of the cholesterol we poured into her blood vessels! I don't consider myself a health nut by any means, but I like to think I eat relatively healthy. Those recommendations about make me sick! Not to mention, Did you see the above picture?? She may not be walking, but we'd probably be able to roll her along if we fed her all of those things! I think we'll just stick to the whole milk for now and let the chips fall where they may. My Violet is a petite little thing, and I'm not sure spooning her Cheese Whiz is going to make her shoot up 3 inches over night.

The really good part of the appointment was when the OT watched Violet eat, she was amazed by how well she is doing. She said that less than 10% of kiddos transition to oral feeds as well as Violet has. . . Finally, something POSITIVE where Violet falls in the minority! For the last 3-4 weeks, we really haven't used the feeding tube at all, which has been awesome. The tube probably won't come out for a while, though, as it serves as a sort of "safety net" in case of emergency. All-in-all, I've been very encouraged by how well Violet is eating. And boy does she love to eat!

This is what it looks like when she is "in the zone" drinking Pediasure out of her 'nosey cup' -- don't even try to bother her when she's eating! She can down 8 ounces in about 8 minutes flat.

12 Dresses of Christmas

(**Tip: For full enjoyment of this post, it is recommended to sing along. . . I need to record Oliver singing it -- it is adorable! )

For her first dress of Christmas, my Violet Joy did wear. . . (1) A Pink Curduroy with a Bear.

For her second dress of Christmas, my Violet Joy did wear. . .(2) A Brynnie hand-me-down, and (1) a Pink curdoroy with a bear.
For her third dress of Christmas, my Violet Joy did wear. . .(3) Red one with a stocking, (2)Brynnie hand-me-down, and (1) a Pink curdoroy with a bear.
For her fourth dress of Christmas, my Violet Joy did wear. . .(4) Ella's purple velvet, (3) Red one with a stocking, (2) Brynnie hand-me-down, and (1) a Pink curdoroy with a bear.

For her fifth dress of Christmas, my Violet Joy did wear. . . (5) Reeeeeeeeeed Santa Suit!, (4) Ella's purple velvet, (3) Red one with a stocking, (2) Brynnie hand-me-down, and (1) a Pink curdoroy with a bear.
For her sixth dress of Christmas, my Violet Joy did wear. . . (6) Creme with silver snowflakes, (5) Reeeeeeeeeed Santa Suit!, (4) Ella's purple velvet, (3) Red one with a stocking, (2) Brynnie hand-me-down, and (1) a Pink curdoroy with a bear.

For her seventh dress of Christmas, my Violet Joy did wear. . . (7) Black one with the hat, (6) Creme with silver snowflakes, (5) Reeeeeeeeeed Santa Suit!, (4) Ella's purple velvet, (3) Red one with a stocking, (2) Brynnie hand-me-down, and (1) a Pink curdoroy with a bear.

For her eighth dress of Christmas, my Violet Joy did wear. . .(8) Pink and green with snowman, (7) Black one with the hat, (6) Creme with silver snowflakes, (5) Reeeeeeeeeed Santa Suit!, (4) Ella's purple velvet, (3) Red one with a stocking, (2) Brynnie hand-me-down, and (1) a Pink curdoroy with a bear.

For her ninth dress of Christmas, my Violet Joy did wear. . . (9) Red gigantic flower, (8) Pink and green with snowman, (7) Black one with the hat, (6) Creme with silver snowflakes, (5) Reeeeeeeeeed Santa Suit!, (4) Ella's purple velvet, (3) Red one with a stocking, (2) Brynnie hand-me-down, and (1) a Pink curdoroy with a bear.

For her tenth dress of Christmas, my Violet Joy did wear. . .(10) Black and white with slippers, (9) Red gigantic flower, (8) Pink and green with snowman, (7) Black one with the hat, (6) Creme with silver snowflakes, (5) Reeeeeeeeeed Santa Suit!, (4) Ella's purple velvet, (3) Red one with a stocking, (2) Brynnie hand-me-down, and (1) a Pink curdoroy with a bear.
For her eleventh dress of Christmas, my Violet Joy did wear. . .(11) Fuzzy white and red, (10)Black and white with slippers, (9) Red gigantic flower, (8) Pink and green with snowman, (7)Black one with the hat, (6) Creme with silver snowflakes, (5) Reeeeeeeeeed Santa Suit!, (4) Ella's purple velvet, (3) Red one with a stocking, (2) Brynnie hand-me-down, and (1) a Pink curdoroy with a bear.
For her twelfth dress of Christmas, my Violet Joy did wear. . .(12) Red and black with jacket, (11) Fuzzy white and red, (10) Black and white with slippers, (9) Red gigantic flower, (8) Pink and green with snowman, (7) Black one with the hat, (6) Creme with silver snowflakes, (5)Reeeeeeeeeed Santa Suit!, (4) Ella's purple velvet, (3) Red one with a stocking, (2) Brynnie hand-me-down, and (1) a Pink curdoroy with a bear.

(There was actually one more dress that didn't make the "cut", so 13 in all. Meanwhile, we found ZERO Christmas outfits for the boys. . .Thankfully, Joy saved all of Jackson's sweaters from years' past!)

A Basketball Experience

Over the Christmas break, Uncle Kyle & Grandpa Kermit have started a tradition (whether they intended to or not; 2 years in a row constitutes tradition when it comes to Calvin) of taking the boys to the Sprint Center to the "College Basketball Experience." Calvin, Tyler, and Jackson had a great time, and Uncle John got to go along this year, too. First, the pop-a-shot -- Calvin (on the right) has some serious form, don't you think?

Grandpa Kermit joined to show them how it's really done.

Who are these high-flyers??

Then they tried their hand at sports-casting. Apparently, Calvin is no Dick Vitale. . .baby.

Check out that wingspan!

Thank goodness Calvin picked the right team to play for!

Just how big is that foot?

I'm no Nostradamus, but my prediction is that Tyler won't end up as tall as the dude he's standing in front of.

Thanks, Kyle & Grandpa, for a great day!

Ringing in 2011 !

We brought in the New Year with family and, as always, had a great time! We started out the evening playing "Just Dance" on the Wii. Jackson was the reigning champ (it IS his game, after all), although Sara briefly held the title. Kyle was brave enough to challenge the champion on his favorite, 'Cotton-Eyed Joe'.

The kids were SO funny to watch! I was actually pretty impressed with how well they did.

Even Oliver and Brynnie got in on the action! I think Miss Brynn is going to have some serious moves someday. . . Oliver, not so much.

Of course, the fun wasn't limited to the kids, though. It just so happened that Mom & Dad were coming up the drive while Russ and I were up. They said it was pretty good entertainment watching from the road. Kyle says it may be time to buy some blinds. . .

Kyle & Sara had a lot of back-up dancers when it was their turn. . .

It didn't take mom long to jump right in. (For the record, the lady on the screen has only one arm up. . .)

When we were done dancing, we realized Oliver & Brynn hadn't been seen in a while. After a little looking, we discovered them in the pantry, with the door closed, trying to finish off a bag of chips.

After a few riveting rounds of Taboo, Mom brought out the sparklers for the kids to play with. Sparklers are always a treat, but even more so in the winter time.

Watching the dropping of the ball LIVE. Okay, so not even close to live, because (1) it's in New York, where the ball drops an hour earlier, and (2) Joy & Scott were coming from another party and told us to pause the TV so they could do the countdown with us. Probably more like 12:03 when we began our celebration, but with ALL of the family, so totally worth it!

My favorite New Year's Kiss (for the past 15 years!).

The kids toasting with their sparkling cider (and perhaps looking a bit sleepy).

A couple of my toasts:

You haven't seen Miss Violet in awhile because, although she gave it a valiant effort, she finally gave in to sleep at about 11:50 p.m.
The boys lasted about an hour longer. . .

I'm not sure how 2011 can compare to 2010, but I think I say that every year! Here's to a happy and healthy year filled with the love of family and friends and many wonderful memories being made!