Help! We're Sinking!

Well, now that we got all that new Christmas stuff out of the way, let's get back to what Crumb Crunchers really want to do. (And don't be fooled, it may look like washing dishes, but no, no, no. This is a new sport which shall hereafter be called "sinking", that is, playing in the sink. There's really no toy quite like water. It just does so much - especially when you add a few kitchen utensils and some cups. And for extra fun, try a medicine dropper. Mom: "Grant, don't throw water on the floor."
Grant: "Pffff. No! No!"
And if you run out of things to put in the water, try putting your whole body in it. On second thought, that sort of just seems like a bath.

Christmas!!!!

We'll start with Christmas Eve (the actual Eve this time).
And now for Christmas morning!
Finally, we see what happens when toddlers try Pop-Rocks for the first time:

Christmas Eve Eve Eve Eve

One of the Christmas traditions from Ma's family that I heartily embraced was the way they open presents before Christmas Day. In my family we were allowed to open a single present on Christmas Eve and woe be to the child who neglected their reconnaissance and chose unwisely. While their siblings were happily playing with some wonderful new toy, they were left holding a pair of socks or something equally horrible. In Ma's family, wrapped presents are opened on Christmas Eve and Santa basically just fills stockings during his midnight visits. At least, that's what they claim. In reality it works slightly different than that. When Ma and I were engaged I witnessed a Christmas present being opened and used on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Ma firmly believes that presents that are mailed should be opened within 24 hours of their arrival at our home. The result is this scene which occurred Friday night after packages arrived from three family members. The best part is, we've still got a couple more "Christmas Eves" to go!

'Twere the Lights Before Christmas

'Twas the week before Christmas and all through the zoo, the fishies were swimming, and the boys wanted to. And both of the boys wearing toques and warm jackets, were settling down to see snakes, apes, and parrots.
	When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter, Cole ran to the lights to see what was the matter.
The monkeys and hippos weren't making much noise, but oohs and some aahs were coming from boys.
	When what to my wondering eyes should appear, but a giant bull elephant with small Asian ears.
His bones how they sparkled, his tusks: large and pointy, Cole stood in the stroller and yelled, "ELEPHANTY!"
	'Twas frigid that night but the cure for cold fingers, is to wrap them in daddy's while everyone lingers.
And I heard Grant say as we walked to the car, "If I had a pet croc then I'm sure I'd go far."

Box Boy

My mother (from NE AZ) referred in her comment to a photo of a boy in a box. I have procured said photo and I now present it for your viewing pleasure. This is scanned in from my "baby book" (apparently an early form of blogging) with my mom's handwritten explanation and festive geometric cropping (now that's what I call a cut and paste). Now you see where my boys get their rugged good looks and keen powers of deduction.

For Sale: One Boy

Description: Stands in drawers. May be a plumber. Claims to know how to make alfredo sauce, but tends to scald the cream and overdoes the nutmeg. Cost: Priceless, OBO

Monogram Me

I've always thought the whole monogrammed apparel thing was a bit ridiculous. Unless you just LOVE your initials...no, it just doesn't make sense. Unless, of course, you're giving it as a gift, and then I suppose the receiver could feel somewhat flattered. But again, what's the point? Well, after all that, I think I know the perfect Christmas gift for Cole.



Cole is, after all, sort of "high society." He reaches for his robe (Grandma made him) first thing whenever I get him out of the tub. He likes to relax for awhile before getting dressed, sip some milk, admire the Christmas decor, etc. Well, who knew just how important his robe time was. On this particular morning, we had commitments, and I tried to go directly from bath to clothes. Here - see if you can tell how that went over:
You can see his clothes, there, on the floor. He hates his clothes. Robe! Robe!
I don't think he cried that hard when he touched my hot flat iron. So, after aggravating the situation further by taking pictures, I put his robe on and all was well. To anyone who loves to spend time in their robe like this boy, a monogrammed robe is just the thing.

Since deciding to post during the Crunchers' awake time, only minimum damages were reported: flour everywhere and a few Christmas decorations thrown off the piano. Since there was no broken glass, there were no time-outs. We just called it an even trade for allowing me a little blog time.

Michelangelo Results

Grant might be Michelangelo but people who left comments are more like Homer, the Greek epic poet, that is, they're blind and like to make stuff up. So, here again is the sculpture in question:

And here are the guesses:

	Cheeto
	Cutie Peel
	Seahorse
	Embryonic Kangaroo
	Bear
	Grub/Worm
	Slug
	Snake
	Kitty

And the winner is...

Congratulations to Dalynn.

Look Out Michelangelo

Tonight, after a bit of a tantrum (note the splotchy red face) Grant settled down and started sculpting. He showed me his creation and even named the animal he had just rendered in Play-Doh. Can you guess what it is? Here's a closer view. Take your best guess and leave a comment. Hint: It's probably not what you're thinking.

Junk O'Lanterns

Remember our Halloween Jack O'Lanterns? Scary, eh?. Well, it's amazing what six weeks of laziness in throwing them away can do.
I think next year we're going to carve 'em in September so they're scary when they really need to be.

Cuties

The Crunchers have two major loves in their lives. First of all, cuties. I'd like to personally thank the genetics genius that came up with this citrus wonder. Other companies try, but they are not the same. The boys go through 2 boxes a week, at $7/box = $56/month. (They don't give the tasty things away.) At least it's a healthy addiction. Seedless, easy peel, the wedges just fall apart in your hands, and the taste.....oh man....
Well, Cole is trying to describe it... uh huh, right, mmmmmm, so true. Maybe the rest of you didn't understand him, but what he said was, "I never want to be without a cutie the rest of my life." We all feel the same, don't we?
Well, that brings me to the second (although equal if not greater) love of their lives, also under the cutie category. They love their Hannah, one of the few names they can both say with perfect clarity.
No boy in the world loves their piano lessons like these guys. And what comfy boots she has, too. Since her parents up and went to Utah without her, she spoiled us by hanging out a couple of nights. We sure love this girl.
Fortunately, it works out well to share this cutie. But someday, they each have to go find a Hannah of their own. Good luck, boys!