Hartung House: Cousin Christmas . . . a little belated

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Cousin Christmas . . . a little belated

Every year we celebrate Christmas with our California cousins by going to a crazy neighborhood decked out with a zillion lights. It's a great tradition that our kids look forward to every year. Afterward we enjoy exchanging gifts and eating yummy dessert. These are just a couple of pics from our time together this year.

This one's not from our Christmas celebration, but I just couldn't resist how cute it was.

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Kid Quotes

17. This morning Nicole was up early, and she and Jason were both enjoying a bowl of Lucky Charms. (We really like sugar cereal at our house; healthy, schmealthy. :) ) When Cara woke up, she walked out to the kitchen. She complemented Jason, telling him he smelled good. Nicole replied, "It's not him; it's the Lucky Charms he's eating."

16. Over spring break we took the kids to Disneyland. Late in the evening Nicole and Ty and I were walking to meet Jason and the girls at a ride. Nicole explained to me, "Mommy, I can't walk anymore. My feet have runned out."

15. Yesterday Nicole was getting ready for the day, and she said to me, "Mommy, you know what I like best about necklaces?" I asked her what was the best thing about necklaces. She answered, "Wearing them." :)

14. Cara is my little fashion police. She's always the first one to notice if I change my necklace or wear a new shirt. She's also painfully honest about what she thinks of anything I wear. So, she's very sweet with complements but doesn't really mince words when she disapproves. Last summer my mom had her hair colored and it was more red than usual. Cara asked her in her most shocked and horrified voice, "Grandma, what happened to your hair?!" My mom replied, "I had it colored. Do you like it?" Cara says to her without missing a breath, "Not so much. It's not permanent, right!" Gotta love kids. :)

13. This morning I was getting Nicole and Ty in the car to go to physical therapy. Ty was especially chatty. Nicole said to me, "Mommy, I think Ty-Ty speaks Spanish." I asked her why she thought that. She explained, " I can't understand anything he says; it must be Spanish." There you have it.

12. This morning Jason was brushing his teeth, and he didn't have a shirt on. Cara walked into our bathroom, and said very sweetly, "Daddy, did you know your body shakes when you brush your teeth?" Real nice.

11. When Jason's parents were down visiting, Nicole especially enjoyed wrestling with and climbing on Opa. One morning she wanted him to come play with her. She told him, "Come on, big fella; it's time to play." It just made me laugh -

10. Megan has always enjoyed more fruits and veggies than the average kid. When she was 3 years old, we told her we were going to go out to dinner. We asked her if there was anywhere special she'd like to go. She answered, "Can we can go someplace that serves kale as a garnish?"

9. I was reading through a book of my kids' quotes, and I found this story from when Cara was 4 years old. I was taking Cara and her cousin Jaden to a field trip for preschool. The two of them were sitting in the back of the van chatting. We pulled up to a stop light and there was an older lady in the car next to us. Cara asked Jaden, "Why do all grandmas have poofy hair?" Jaden answered, "I think it must be a rule or something."

8. I've been working really hard at training my kids to complete a couple of simple tasks every morning when they wake up. They're supposed to make their beds and then brush their teeth before they come out to the family room. Yesterday Megan woke up a little early and was laying in her bed reading a book. As Nicole woke up, Megan greeted her with a sweet, "Good morning, Nicole." Coley said, "You're going to have to save your good morning for later; I have to make my bed and brush my teeth." :) Maybe I'm pushing too hard?

7. We recently decided to get rid of cable at our house, and I was explaining to my girls that they could still watch movies; we just wouldn't have regular cable. Nicole was clearly not understanding, so I told her it would be just like it is at our cousins' house. She seemed to understand. The next day we had a babysitter come and she told her, "We're not going to have TV anymore; we're going to keep the television at our cousins' house." So much for understanding.

6. My girls love playing charades. We were playing a few nights ago and Jason was acting out the word "shower." After a couple of minutes, Cara guessed, "Turning on the TV naked." (I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard.)

5. Nicole has been full of questions lately. 4 is such a fun age. Last night she asked me, "Mommy, how old were you when you were my age?"

4. Last Tuesday Nicole and I took a field trip to Olvera Street with Grace Kids. While we were there I bought some Mexican Jumping Beans. Megan was showing them to Nicole and explained that they were called jumping beans. Nicole asked, "So you eat them, and then you jump?"

3. When Cara was about 3, she and her cousin Jaden were playing super heroes. Jaden asked her if she was ready to go capture the bad guys and save the world. She answered, "Yes, but do you think we should stop and get a mocha on the way?"

2. Nicole and I were chatting a couple days ago about all the beautiful flowers and plants. Nicole was perplexed that all the plants didn't get flowers. After a long explanation on my part, she finally said, "I think the plants that didn't get flowers should have at least gotten purple sparkles."

1. Earlier this summer Jason and Megan were out running errands. On the way home Jason commented that the gas light was on and he had forgotten to stop and get gas. Megan reassured him, "It's okay, Dad. You gotta see what she's capable of?"