The happiest place in the world!

We hardly let a month go by without visiting our beloved zoo and this month was no different!

The zoo was decked out in lights,

dinosaurs,

 

carolers,

mere kats,

 

and penguins.

Apparently no other animals are willing to celebrate Christmas at 8:00 at night. Bunch of scrooges.

Even with minimal animals to see, Kyle and Avery still had a good time.

We sang around a fire with other zoo goers for awhile. We even learned some other words to shout in "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" from the Elementary School kids. Who knew that on that "foggy Christmas Eve, Santa came to say" [in his boxers]...twas a good time

Plus, we even got to attend a Christmas dolphin show.

You like the vignette effect on the picture? This is how our lovely camera takes pictures if you don't remember to manually push the shutter open. Kind of cozy, isn't it?


And with all that said, make sure you remember to hang up your stockings,

because Christmas is only 11 days away!

And odds are I won't be posting on here before then. So, Merry Christmas to everyone! And, just in case, Happy New Year as well! 

(And Happy Martin Luther King Day...y'know...just being prepared!)

Still Bleed Blue

Apparently the Super Bowl is happening in Indiana next year. Who knew? So, this past Saturday we went to a health fair that was at the Colts football stadium to scope out the joint.

We figure it will be the only time we will be in a stadium that will house the Super Bowl. Got to have some kind of "claim to fame" to tell the grand kids, right?

And being the true humanitarian Kyle is, he donated his precious O- blood. Universal donor!

(the free football may have been an extra incentive for Kyle to save lives...)

We even ventured out onto the field and got to toss the old pigskin around.

Plus, Avery caught the game winning touchdown. This girl can play football,

sit up,

 and turn on the water works with the best of them!

Kyle has since decided that we need to have enough kids to form a football team. I have since decided that we could buy a football video game that the whole family can enjoy. Ah, the beauties of compromising!

Can't Thanksgiving just expand into Christmas?

Question. Is it tough for anyone else to get back into the swing of things after Thanksgiving?

Let's be real, Christmas is only 31 days after Thanksgiving this year.

And in our case, we only spend 18 of those days in Indianapolis. And of those 18 days, we've spent more than our fair share just relaxing.

I mean, what's the point of returning to normal life when your next vacation is around the corner?

And, as you can see, we don't even bother putting on clothes for the day anymore.

Now you know why all our pictures on here are of Avery... :)

Curling

What pops into your head when you hear the word curling?

Perhaps curling your hair?

 

(Yes, this is me and I look fan-tas-tic! Having a baby is undoubtedly the best thing I've ever done to my appearance.)

Or curling your lip?

How about curling your toes?

Maybe even curling ribbons?

Wait, you said the sport? Well good for you!! Because that is exactly what I am about to talk about.

Curling is a sport that originated in Scotland, and apparently the Canadians have gone wild with it. And since Michigan is just across a lake from Canada it makes tons of sense that there would be a curling center in my hometown.

So, the day after Thanksgiving, my family and my uncle's family (who was visiting from Idaho) all learned this great sport.

Doesn't that look incredible? Wait until you see my other family members try it!

Unfortunately, Kyle was taping everyone and his wife dropped the ball and never taped him. It really is too bad because Kyle actually looked normal doing it (which would make him abnormal since sliding down ice with 44 pounds of granite in one hand and a sweeper in the other hand is about as weird as I'll get out)! Kyle told me that this curling experience was the best experience of his LIFE.

...

Sorry Avery, your birth didn't cut it girl.

But hey, you're in good company, because neither did his marriage to me.

...

Maybe things would have turned out differently if I would have remembered to tape him...

Kyle has since informed me there are no curling centers here in Indiana. Perhaps we'll one day invest in this board in attempt to satisfy his new love of the sport.

It's a much warmer version of the game! Plus, Avery didn't participate in the actual curling, so she can learn at home and wow the curlers next time we venture up to Midland!

New Talent

Avery has many a talent, but her latest is her "pterodactyl" *ahem* "pterosaur" noise.

Can't you just picture her taking off into flight? Maybe when she is 6 months old (which is next week!) she'll have more success with upward motion. In the meantime if you hear any screeching, don't worry, it's just your friends in Indianapolis.

Thankful for the little things in life

Hah! I bet from that title you thought this would be a post about all the small things (Blink 182 anyone?) I'm grateful for. Not so faithful readers! Although a great idea, it's 5 days after Thanksgiving, so clearly it'd just be inappropriate for me to whip out a gratitude list. Maybe I'll grace you with one next year...

Instead, here's a picture of Avery and me (and a cleavage full woman) at Claire's.

What are we doing at Claire's you ask? Just sitting on a chair next to a sterilized table...

And having an employee at the store come towards us with gloves...

And having that employee sterilize Avery's ears...

AND GET THOSE EARS PIERCED!!!

I know. THIS IS HUGE!

It all went really smoothly. Yes, there was some crying.

But fortunately there was a camera to distract her, and within two minutes Avery was her normal self.

Really what inspired this is that my 15 year old sister did not have her ear's pierced. She's wanted to get them done, but was nervous about the whole thing hurting. This got some wheels turning in my head.

If Kels had a buddy to get her ears done with, the whole process would be easier on her. Plus, Avery wouldn't have to ever be scared about getting hers done if we did them now. Win win right? 

And she did look extra cute on Thanksgiving making this a win win win. That's hard to beat.

Happy Thanksgiving from the girl with silver earrings (which sounds like it belongs to the series of "The girl with the dragon tattoo", no?)

Once upon a time...

Once upon a time there was a bald baby...

a very cute baby...

but a very bald baby nonetheless.

Her mother would adorn her head with bows,

 

and headbands,

and hats

in an attempt to help strangers know whether the bald baby was a she or he.

Then, one day, the baby began sprouting hair!

And one fuzz at a time,

 

a beautiful dusting of hair appeared.

And there was much rejoicing by all!




The End