SUNDAY NEWS
December 21, 2008
Shelby and Brittney Arrive in Arizona!! They are happy to be in Arizona and could not wait to get to warmer weather so they could wear flip flops. They wanted everyone to know that the weather in Michigan City, Indiana last week was getting pretty fierce. Last Sunday night everything froze so it was difficult getting their car doors open.
Meanwhile here in Arizona we have been having a very strange month. It has been cloudy for several weeks now. In our experience, and Karl has been living here for over 10 years, this never happens. It is nice to have a break from eternal sunshine though. (I know, we are spoiled) It has put us in the Christmas spirit. It actually feels like winter here. The good news is that the cloud cover has kept it from getting really cold at night or very warm in the day time. The highs and lows both stay in the 50’s. We have also had a lot of rain this week. It never rains for days at time either. The rain shorted out our Christmas lights. We weren’t the only ones with that problem. I guess we here in Arizona usually do not worry about the problems a lot of precipitation can bring. It is all Sunshine today though.
Our air and heat have not been working, so we have resorted to bundling, blankets and snuggling. We are thinking about turning the heat off every year because it has been so much fun.
Very Vayden
The night before Lori’s birthday, Vayden slept through the night for the first time. Now Lori is convinced that the pink pajamas she wore that night are magic. The next night, as soon as we put them on her she got sleepy and went to bed right away. We are doing frequent loads of laundry to keep the magic pajamas clean and ready to wear. Apparently however our particular brand of laundry detergent is very good at washing out magic. Vayden has however made it through a couple other nights.
Vayden is spending more time awake now. She demands attention and entertainment. So we have done what all parents in the 21st century eventually resort to . . . we put her in her chair in front of the T.V. I don’t know if it is the better quality of picture these days or what, but she is not even three months old and she likes to watch cartoons on Noggin. Seriously. We are not joking. There is one problem though. How do you teach a 2 month old to be patient during the commercials? Every time a commercial comes on and the big screen takes away the bright colors and funny sounds she likes, she pitches a fit and throws a tantrum.
This was Lori’s last week of maternity leave. Karl had a little anxiety about going 14 hours one on one with the Vaydenmeister without the soothing magic of Lori’s mammaliary glands to save the day. Today is Lori’s first day back. It was very hard for her to leave Vayden this morning. Karl is grateful that the Shelby and Brittney are here to help out. Both Brittney and Shelby took turns feeding Vayden today and all went very well. Christian wants it reported that he was able to rock Vayden to sleep twice today when others failed. He takes his big brother role very seriously and we are proud of him. We actually ended up taking Vayden to Lori’s work and having dinner with her in the hospital’s cafeteria.
Completely Christian
Christian is excited about Christmas. He really wanted to sing in the choir at church for the Christmas program. We went out and got him a jacket and dark red bow tie so he looks the part. At school Christian’s school Christmas party this week they had a contest to see who could draw the best snowman with their eyes closed. Christian won and was awarded the prize. The only problem was that Christian did not keep his eyes closed and came home racked with guilt. Christian has decided he is going to confess and give the prize back when he goes back to school.
I know this is not news to any of you, but Christian is a special kid. Christian wanted to sing in the choir for the Christmas program. Now you have to understand that the choir is composed of adults. Karl told the choir director about Christian really wanting to sing, and the choir director said, “Why not.” Because of Christian, Karl had no excuse, and for the first time in his 40 years also sang in the choir this year. Karl also took Christian to a performance of George Frideric Handel’s Messiah tonight while the girls baked and decorated cookies. Christian was so impressed, that he immediately asked if he could go again next year. Not many 9 year olds would appreciate a 17th century oratorio on the life of Christ, even if it is a masterpiece.
Sooooo Shelby
Before Shelby even arrived, an entourage of her friends had assembled to see her. She didn’t even make it inside the front door for about 45 minutes. Shelby is doing well in Pom and Dance. Shelby also had the opportunity to teach Pom and Dance to some little 5th grade girls. Her vacation started early because they closed her school on Friday due to an ice storm. Shelby wants to warn everyone that she will be getting her learners permit this next month.
All Alyssa
Baby Manners
When Alyssa was little she had this baby doll that would burp. When she was old enough to talk she named it Baby Burp. Eventually it broke and stopped burping and became Baby Manners. Alyssa loved that doll. She would carry it around everywhere and go to sleep with it. Now you are probably picturing her sleeping holding the baby close in her arms, right? Well . . . Alyssa liked to sleep with her baby between her feet. And that is not all. She preferred to have her baby colder than room temperature and took to putting her baby in the freezer to get her cold.
Being Brittney
Our Brittney lives a very busy life. Both Lori and Karl remember what it is like to work and go to school. It is a challenge and we are proud of Brittney. She works part time 6 days a week, at Carson’s and is a full time student in college. Brittney spends most of her time at work and school, but when she does have free time she enjoys going out to eat with her boyfriend Josh and hanging out with the girls. Brittney and Josh (who by the way we really like), celebrated one year together this October.
Although very busy, another thing to be proud of Brittney for is the fact that she makes sure to take the time to keep in touch with family. Every Wednesday night Brittney has dinner with her Dad, Misty, Shelby and Kennedy.
Brittney has been busy this past week with school finals. She also had a lot of last minute things she needed to take care of before she headed off to Arizona for Christmas with us. Brittney has been very excited to meet her little sister and see everyone in her family that she has not seen since this past August. We admire Brittney for also finding the time to get all her Christmas shopping done weeks in advance.
Really Roxy
Roxy is enjoying the season chewing the rawhide candy canes that Lori got her. She went to the dog spa for a beauty appointment last night in anticipation for the girl’s arrival. She wanted to look her fluffy best.
Family Stories
The Glass with the Bubble
When we got married we received as one of our wedding gifts a set of glassware. In the base of each glass where the glass is thick these particular glasses each have one bubble that was purposely created when the glass was fired as some kind of artistic signature. After about 6 months of eating at the dinner table using these glasses, Brittney says, “Why do I always get the glass with the bubble in it?” This might give you a little insight in to how often Brittney did the dishes.
Jealousy
Karl and Lori go to Outback Steak House one night after Lori gets home from work. Lori is trying to tell Karl about her day and some of the things that are going on at work. Karl’s keeps saying things like “Mmmmm, this steak is fantastic.” “Wow, this steak is really good.” “This is one of the best steaks I have ever had here.” “Lori, you should taste this steak.” After she has finished her dinner, Lori stands up and throws her napkin on the table and says, “I remember when you used to pay attention to me, now all you care about is that steak! Why don’t you marry it!”, and then walks out. Karl is left there with a Homer Simpson looks on his face. He shrugs his shoulders and finishes his steak.
