My Other Pet is a Dragon

Just a random pic from our week in PA. I've been having issues downloading and uploading on this PC (I'm a Mac), but here's one I could make work.

Merry Christmas

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas!

We hope Santa brought you everything you wanted.

Second Hair Cut

After weeks of people either commenting that Joey needed a haircut or complimenting his new haircut (which he didn't have), I figured it was time I actually took him in. We had a pretty decent experience at a Great Clips, so I figured that should work again. (Plus I had a coupon for $8.99. Spending more than $10 on a 2-year-old's haircut just seems crazy.)
Joey sat pretty well again for the stylist. I did give him a lollipop early on, as he seemed headed for a meltdown. The lolli worked as planned. Unfortunately, the haircut did not. The stylist asked what the previous sylist had used, and I said both scissors and clippers, although she only used the clippers around the ears. He took that as license to use the clippers. And between you and I, he should have lost his license for what he did to my poor boy.

Now don't get me wrong - Joey is still adorable. But the haircut is so uneven, if you look closely, it sometimes looks like he has bald spots. And if you've looked closely at any of the pictures I've posted in the past few days, you'll also notice it sticks out funny at random locations. Fortunately for him, his hair grows much faster than his mom's, so in about a month or so I should be able to take him to my stylist to get it evened out. With scissors.

PS - I had no idea my sister was also blogging about her kid's haircut. Complete coincidence. Promise.

Wordless Wednesday: Cheese Pizza!

Pierogie Maker

Choo-choo!

My in-laws dug out one of the model trains the boys have, knowing Joey would go nuts. I'm not sure he had quite the reaction they were hoping for, but he was definitely intrigued.
One of the cool things about the train is it is remote-controlled. Joey studied and studied and knew how to use that remote within five minutes.
He would hit a button, see what happened, and then hit another one. Just pressing and watching and pressing and learning.
He also realized (with a little help from Mom) that he could put his trucks in the hopper car.
We'll have to find Daddy's H-O scale trains for next year!

Mischief

This is what Joey's toy room looks like on a normal day. Most of the toys in their proper place, plenty of room to walk around.
Apparently, though, Joey has decided he really wants to redecorate. So, for the past few nights, he's done his best to get his point across.
Of course, he could just like dumping his toys out as much as actually playing with them. Although I think he realizes when he tries to walk, it's not so much fun. The good part about all of this is that he does actually play with a lot more of his toys than he used to. He loves the bristle blocks and Legos, and he will bring the entire container of transportation vehicles (planes, trains, trucks, motorcycles) into the living room to play with them. It's good to know they're not just sitting around collecting dust anymore.

Trimming the Tree

I'm a little behind on my blogging, but hopefully I'll be all caught up before Christmas. We finally got our tree last weekend. It was cold, they were calling for snow, and so of course there was no customer service rep hanging out outside waiting for us to buy. But somehow we found a way to give them money in exchange for a tree. A mighty nice one, if I do say so myself.
It's not perfect, mind you, but what tree is? It's in the corner, so we just kept rotating it until we found the best angle.
Then, of course, we had to clean up all the needles. Seriously, the second I said we had to sweep, Joey went into his toy room and got out his broom and dust pan. He is such a good helper!
After Daddy strung the lights for us the next morning, he couldn't wait to help put the ornaments on the tree.
"Mommy, I think we need more up there."
If you notice the blur underneath his hand, that's what the Scooby Gang's van looks like when it's falling. Fortunately it's plastic, so no broken bits, but it hasn't made it's way back onto the tree yet. I think Joey has confiscated it for his toy box.

A Little Present under the Tree

My dad (I think) sent me this adorable picture of my new niece!

Makayla Noele Hoole
Tuesday, December 14, 2010 at 8:50 PM ET
8 lbs., 10 oz. -- 21¼" long

Breakfast Photo Shoot

I meant to post these last weekend, when I took them, but life sort of got in the way. These were the first pictures I took of Joey with the new camera, enjoying breakfast. Amazingly enough, he actually was happy to ham it up for me.

Candy Land

Gingerbread men and candy canes and gum drops, oh my!

Filling Daddy's Shoes

After dinner tonight, Joey decided he wanted to play with Daddy's shoes. Apparently at school, they have a ton of dress-up clothes, all of the feminine persuasion. I think he would much rather pretend to be Daddy than anyone else.
Trying to tie the shoelaces.
Mommy, can you help?
Well, maybe I can figure this out on my own.
Ta-da! (Maybe Mommy helped a little.) Look how happy he is. If these weren't hiking boots that probably weigh a good 7 lbs each, he would have worn them all night.

Ohhhhhh!

Who knew shoveling could be so much fun? (And yes, this is from this past weekend. There's still snow on the ground, but nothing new.)

New Orleans

I know this blog is usually reserved for the boy, but the view from my hotel room is too amazing to pass up. Downtown New Orleans at night. That giant black swath in the middle is WATER people. We did Creole tonight and we're heading to Bourbon Street tomorrow. With some all day meetings thrown in for good measure.

Our Little Helper

Joey absolutely loves to help us, whatever we're doing. So when it snowed this weekend, he was more than excited to go out and help us shovel.
Or rake, as the case may be. He loved it!

Sneak Peek!

I wasn't going to post this yet, but since the delivery date is between December 13th and 17th, I'm not sure if they'll get out in time. (If I do everything the day I get them, they might get delivered before Christmas.) Just in case, here's a glimpse of the 2010 Burger Family Christmas card.

Retro Kaleidoscope Holiday Card

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Christmas Pageant

For those who couldn't be there, a little something from our weekend entertainment. Enjoy!

Cousins

When we met up at the Park 'n Ride before the Please Touch Museum, there was a tractor getting in the last cut of the grass. I think this was the highlight of their day. The hugging was the highlight of mine.

Hawk Mountain