Eyebrows

At first glance, doesn't it look like I am missing eyebrows? I guess Marky's are hard to compete with.

You may, or may not, be surprised to hear that almost all of the pictures taken of Marky and I look something like this. I think that we have learned from experience that we are not very photogenic people. I guess we can't have everything. At least we are cool, fun, funny, talented, intelligent (hee hee), and fabulous. Obviously, if I am showing these pictures, I am showing the end of our photo shoot with Becky. Thanks, Becky. It is so nice to have some high-quality photos---like this one here.

Ginger Fantastic

Ginger is 2 1/2. I love this age. It is so fun to see her personality grow stronger and hear the new things she says each day. The other day, I told her to stop eating m & m's after I had already asked her not to a couple of times. She replied by pointing her finger at me and saying, "Mom, go to yours room".

This picture speaks for itself.

Ginger's Top Ten Favorites (as of today)

1. Princesses.
2. Singing (she is always singing).
3. Hannah, Eddie, and Leo.
4. Shopping at the DI (When people say she has a pretty dress on, she shows it off and says, "Mom, DI.").
5. Elmo.
6. Chocolate Milk and Juice (she tries to live off of them).
7. Yelling at Our Cats (Sister and Puppy).
8. Telling Jokes (Her personal favorite---"knock, knock-----who's there?----make a silly face." That is the end of the joke. Leo made it up and taught it to her).
9. Laughing at Jokes (She always knows when to laugh even though she has no idea what is funny).
10. Kissing the Family Goodnight. Don't you love those little teeth? I love kissing her little mouth. I love my little Ginger Fantastic.

Leo Broderick

It is amazing that we got three pictures of Leo, without him doing a Kung Fu Panda stance. Just take a look in his eyes for a minute and know that behind these cute expressions he is trying to figure out how he can make Aunt Becky click the camera when he goes back into his Kung Fu moves. This kid is a handful. Leo is a great kid, but he is a handful!!!

Leo is 6 1/2 and in the first grade. He is a very young first grader and has struggled a bit, but he has made a lot of progress in the past year. We receive several notes from Leo's teacher that let us know specific things that he needs to improve on. I volunteer in Leo's class once a week and I can see that he can be frustrating for his teacher, but I can also tell that she loves him and thinks he is an incredibly cute kid. I think that anyone who has spent any time with Leo probably feels the same. Leo plays soccer and wants his mom to "finally" put him in swimming lessons.

Leo's Top Ten Favorites (as of today)

1. Race cars (He wants to be a race car driver when he grows up).
2. McDonald's (not the food, just the Happy Meal Toy).
3. Soccer (I'm his coach this year).
4. Sammy, Anna, and Audrey.
5. Grandma.
6. Hamburgers and French Fries.
7. Speed Racer.
8. Christmas.
9. Getting a good score on a spelling test.
10. Pajama Day (These occur frequently in our house. My kids used to make fun of the fact that I often wear pajamas all day long, now they have joined me).

Edgar Marcus (Eddie)

I love these pictures of Eddie. Eddie is 8 1/2 and in the third grade. He is obsessed with sports. Eddie's teachers say he is quiet at school, which I can't imagine. No one in our house is ever quiet. Eddie does well in school---except handwriting---which is a constant struggle. He is in his school choir, plays basketball and soccer, and is enjoying his first year of scouts. I am Eddie's scout leader, which is an adventure.

I have always called Eddie my sweet boy. He is very sensitive. My friend, Lisa, not-so-secretly hopes that one of her daughters will marry Eddie one day, but he is very honest in saying that Melanie, from school, is his current "crush". I am just hoping he will be my sweet little boy for as long as possible. Eddie's Top Ten Favorites (as of today)

1. Sports (every single one of them).
2. Building things with his own set of tools.
3. Running on Wii Fit.
4. "All star", by Smash mouth.
5. Listening to his iPod.
6. Fettuccine Alfredo and Chips & Salsa.
7. Playing princesses with Ginger.
8. Reading (Harry Potter, Travel Team, and Ricky Ricotta).
9. Watching Jazz games.
10. Days when Mom is too lazy to make him do his chores.

Hannah Lillie

Can you believe how pretty Hannah is getting??? When Marcus and I got married, I was a little worried about what our kids would look like, but we got lucky. Hannah is 10 1/2 and in the fifth grade. She is in her school choir, plays soccer, takes piano lessons, enjoys being in musicals, is a wonderful student, and an avid reader. She is constantly reminding me that she isn't "little" anymore and she proves herself to be responsible and capable at everything she sets her mind to. I have so much fun going on dates with Hannah. We enjoy being together and it is fun to watch the faces of our servers when she orders at a restaurant. I think they can hardly believe that a kid can be so polite and also so adventurous in their food choices. I think she likes trying new food as much as I do. (Sorry, Hannah, I have cursed you with a love for food).

I like this picture because it shows what a funky dresser Hannah is. She likes to save her money and buy herself clothes. She always tells me her opinion about clothing, but she doesn't mind my recent obsession with the DI. Marcus doesn't understand this, because shopping at the DI as a kid still haunts him. I think the difference is that my kids don't have to shop at the DI. I'll buy them new stuff, but why not thrift shop?

No matter how "big" Hannah gets, she thinks her dad needs to do all of the same stunts with her as he does with the younger kids. Marcus looks like he is just fine, but I know that he is about to burst a blood vessel in his brain.

Hannah's Top Ten Favorites (as of today)

1. Making people laugh.
2. Crab and Shrimp.
3. Colbie Caillat.
4. Reading (J.K. Rowling, Jerry Spinneli, Shannon Hale, Brandon Mule, Dan Gutman).
5. The Brady Bunch (plays on PBS everyday at 5:30).
6. The Suite Life of Zack and Cody.
7. Pink.
8. Soccer.
9. "Hairspray" and "My Big Fat Greek Wedding".
10. Guitar Hero, Wii Fit, and Dance Dance Revolution.
    

fun photos

My sister-in-law, Becky Neville, took some pictures of our family over Thanksgiving. These pictures make me happy. I'm so happy about them that I'm making my first post on a blog that I set up almost a year ago. It will probably take several posts before I have shown off all of my favorites.