The Royal Wedding

 Adam told Imogene all about The Royal Wedding. She was so excited. I, however, was unwilling to get up before the sun to see such festivities. So, Adam DVRed the wedding for Imogene to watch once she got up. She got up and dressed herself in her princess clothing. Then she asked her Daddy to make her tea and popcorn for the big event. Of course, her did. (She really has him wrapped around her cute little finger.) Here are some actual quotes from Imogene about the wedding.

This is the Queen. Imogene saw Queen Elizabeth and said, "Oh, Mommy! I love her! Her favorite color must be yellow, too! And look! The Queen loves hats, too!" She made a hat for Cinderella and declared her Queen. 

She also made Rex a hat and scarf. She was amazed at all the fabulous hats the guests were wearing. 

"Why is Princess Kate holding that old man's hand?" 

"That is her Daddy."

"When I get married, do you think my Daddy will hold my hand?" 

"When I get married, I want a parade too." 

"When I get married, I want a choir to sing."

"When I get married, I want pretty music." 

"When I get married, I want a carriage to ride in." 

"When I grow up, can I marry a prince, too?"

"Well, in our country we don't have royalty sweetie."

"Can we go to another world then?" 

"Well, you can go to another country where they have a monarchy." 

"Well, can Jackson be a prince there?"

"Why don't we just declare him a prince?"

"Okay. And when I marry him, I'll be a princess, too."

When asked her favorite part of the wedding, she replied, "Seeing the Princess. And her crown. And her dress. And seeing them kiss."

"When I get married, someone is going to have to build me a castle to live in."

"Can we get a carriage instead of the van?"

Pin The Hat On Bob

Last week, our family devotional was about trust. We played a game called "Pin The Hat on Bob's Head."

First, we were blindfolded and had to try to put the hat on Bob's head by ourselves with no help.

That isn't even close to his head! His hat is on his mouth!

Then, we were blindfolded again. This time, Daddy helped us. We had to trust that he was telling us the right thing to do. He didn't do it for us, he just gave us directions to help us do it.

So much better! The hat is on his head this time!

Aidan trying to put the hat on Bob without help. He couldn't even find the paper!

That is so silly! The hat is on Bob's ear!

Daddy helped Aidan by telling him where to put the hat. Aidan trusted Daddy and did what he said. 

He got the hat on Bob's head, too!

Bob looks cool with his skipper hat.

Daddy told us that is what it is like to trust God. You have to listen and obey and trust that things will end up the right way. He said God always tells us the right way, we just have to listen and trust Him.

I'm A Boy!

I'm sure you've all heard the new by now, but I am a boy! 

Of course, Mom will confirm that again at our next appointment, but I think it is fairly obvious. (She just likes to "make sure" before picking a name or anything.) I don't have a real name yet, just my nickname, Charlie. Mom and Dad are having a very hard time with names. They just can't seem to find THE name for me just yet. They'll figure it out, though. 

My brothers and sister are very excited to be having another brother. Imogene will be the only princess in the house. I think Emery will be the most excited, at least when I get big enough to play with him. Aidan is very happy to have another boy in the house. He says "the more the better." 

Several people have asked Mom what I'll be needing. Being the fourth, you'd think I'd be all set, but those other three have used all my stuff! So, there are a few things that have to be replaced. I have a Kaboodle list. Mom says she marked things according to priority. They haven't quite decided which car seat just yet. They are still trying to figure out when I'll be able to take Aidan's seat from him. Apparently he is too small for a booster seat and doesn't look like he'll be big enough until he is almost 5! (That boy needs to grow!) So, they are trying to pick a seat for me that will last long enough for Aidan to grow enough to get out of his seat. They also haven't picked a crib yet. Emery won't give his up, so they're looking for a good one for me. Mom hasn't gone through any of the baby cloths yet. I assume I'll need new socks since baby socks have a tendency to disappear. Well, I'm going to do some flips now and kick Mom's bladder a few times just for fun. - Charlie

Happy Balentimes Day!

Vincent Van Gogh

We read a book this week about Vincent Van Gogh. Imogene like his Sunflowers painting. I thought it was too "yellowy." I had lots to say about every picture. One was too "beardy." One was too "cribby." One was too "dark." One was too "cowboy-ey." None that I really liked very much. Then, we got to paint like Vincent Van Gogh. But I kept my ears. He painted in dashes and swirls and sometimes put the paint straight on the canvas. So, that is what we did.

This one is Imogene's. It is a Person from 'Horton Hears A Who.' If you look carefully, you can see the person with really long eyelashes. 

This is a close-up of Imogene's use of dashes and swirls. She did a pretty good job. 

Here is my painting. It is a red monster that I saw in my dream with some white. 

Here is a close up of my swirly masterpiece. I think I did pretty well. 

I'm not usually one for art, but this one was pretty fun. Much better than when we made those Picasso paintings. - Aidan

Snow Day

According to weather.com, we got over 7" of snow last night. That is great news for the kids, who LOVE the snow and for their Dad who LOVES having little buddies to play with in the snow.

 The snow, actually has an ice like crust on top. The kids would walk on top of it for a few steps, then fall through. Made walking a bit difficult.

 They first decided to use the Bilibo as a sled. While it did slide, it was not easy to stay in.

 Yes, Dad had to try it out and see if he could make it work better.

 Clearly, he couldn't.

 Imogene gave it a try, too.

 Willoughby seems to be made for snow. He loved every minute of it.

 After giving up on using the bilibo as a sled, the kids laid down to make snow angels.

 Willoughby was having a blast exploring our snow covered neighborhood.

 They decided a laundry basket would make a much better sled.

 And it did work much better!

 Aidan didn't like it too much. He clung to the sides and hopped out as soon as it stopped moving. He didn't want another try. He was done with that.

 Dad, of course, had to try. Aidan helped and gave him a little push to get him going.

 I doubt they'll be picnicing today.

 Aidan had a very hard time standing up. 7" is up to his knee, so it was difficult to walk without falling over. He eventually took to wallowing in the snow and not try to walk.

Willoughby was creeping around, exploring everything and eating as much snow as he could. Lucas preferred to stay indoors. Emery napped.

New Year's Resolutions

On New Year's Day, over lunch, I explained to the kids about New Year's Resolutions. I had already made one for Emery, and he was not happy about it. (He is giving up bottles in 2011.) So, I tell them, "A resolution is something you resolve to do; be it giving up something you shouldn't do, doing something you should do, or just trying something new."
I first asked Aidan would he like to make a New Year's Resolution and what would it be. He responded, "I'd like to eat beans." (Aidan rarely eats beans, so I guess he was up for trying something new.)
I then asked Imogene if she would like to make a New Year's Resolution and what would it be. She responded, "I'm going to stop picking my nose. And I'm going to stop putting things in my mouth and chewing on things like a baby. And I need to exercise."