Princess Party

Here are a couple of pictures from Rylie's birthday party. Though I wasn't among those in the court, my understanding is that it was fabulious.

Moving On

Thanksgiving is fast upon us. And immediately following will be Parker's birthday. For those thinking ahead, items on his wish list are:

1. A ball, a bat, and a glove (constantly asking for it in that exact order).
   
2. A tee for the above, and maybe a Longhorns or Astro's hat (no Whitesox please).
   
3. Anything musical, like a guitar, a flute, some bongo's.
   
4. Guns, swords, lasso, ect. are always a good bet.
   
5. Any Thomas the Train stuff, we're getting him this:
   

I suggest calling dibbs in the comments.

Also, feel free to use the cute white button in the right hand colum of the screen. That Thomas the Train crap aint cheap.

***UPDATE: well, that worked out well. Looks like everybody picked something, and he'll get everything he wants. This internet thing is going to be huge!***

Asher

Asher

Grandma would be so proud



***UPDATE*** Okay, Bethany sent me an email. Apparently, I was mistaken. That's not Asher, that's not what Aaron wanted, and she doesn't do that anyways. My bad.***

Annual News Letter

Rylie turned four this week, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to commemorate it with a long, reflective post; an annual newsletter, if you will. To be honest the idea is not at all original, I got it from one of my favorite sites.

The thing that strikes everyone who knows or meets young Rylie is her affinity for all things pretty, pink and princess. Now this may seem perfectly normal to the creepy people reading this site who have never meet Currie or myself. But those of you who know us understand that Currie is not particularly girlie. It's not that she's Peppermint Patty, she's just not Miss Piggy either. So this pink obsession kind of caught us by surprise.

The newest thing is the insistence on wearing only skirts and dresses, and particularly pink dresses, princess dresses or pink princess dresses. The other day Currie had coaxed her into a pair of over-all's, and called me in to reaffirm their cuteness. When she heard me coming, Rylie promptly hid herself in the closet, proclaiming that she didn't want anyone to see her in them. Currie reports that the daily battle over clothes has reached Armageddon proportions.

The other thing about Rylie is that she's strikingly articulate and thoughtful. It's nothing for her to talk to someone on the phone for five minutes. She answers the phone when she can get her hands on it, asks to call people to talk to them, you know, normal 4 year old activities. Additionally, she's strangely thoughtful. Yesterday, Currie's mother was leaving, and Rylie ran to the door and asked her to tell Poppy (Currie's dad) that the picture he gave us was beautiful. Now, Poppy has given us a couple of very nice paintings he did himself, both of which rotate through prominent placement in our living room and receive compliments from our guests. When he gave them to us I said thanks and paid him with beer, and even then only because Currie elbowed me in the kidney. But not Rylie. Four years old and she's got more social graces then most adults.

Over the last year she has also developed a case of the moodies. Now this trait may have some genetic roots, but I was surprised to see it in such a youngin. Exactly what you think of when I say moody: delightful at times, a groggy, hungry bear cub at other times, and changes back and forth with the drop of a tiara. When Rylie was younger, I remember saying something to the effect of 'You know that thing about women needing to speak 10,000 words a day to keep sane, it starts at birth.' The same is true about moods. There's not effective date. It's just part of the standard product.

I'm always telling Currie that Rylie's on her way to becoming an excellent young lady: social graces out the wazoo, can carry a pleasant conversation, and always likes to look good. Not a bad start for the 1st time parents. Not sure we can take all the credit for this freakishly smart and pretty spawn, it's kind of a crap shoot, we just hit our number.

Presents

Yesterday was Rylies 4th birthday. Here are a couple of pictures of Rylie opening some of her presents (with Parker's help).

Halloween

Just when you thought the kids on your block were the cutest ever, they're not. Click on the picture for exhibit A: