Santa Hats

I am having SO much fun with my new camera! :)

Family Christmas Pictures Sneak Peek!

The Nutcracker

Anthony and I took the older boys to see The Nutcracker this weekend. To give them some idea what to expect, we borrowed some of the picture books from the library, watched a version on DVD, and of course, listened to the music. It turns out that Jackson will be going to see a puppet production of The Nutcracker on a school field trip in January, so they've been studying up in music class, too. By Saturday, both boys were ready.

Cody had a rough time waking up from nap yesterday so he wouldn't cooperate for any pictures. But both of them looked extremely handsome. :)

Anthony and I were very pleasantly surprised by how well the boys did. We half-expected to leave at intermission, but armed with Starburst and M&Ms, they made it through the second act, too (and that's the better one, so we were glad we stayed!). They sat still, watched intently, and only got a little restless at the end. Cody even hummed along with the Sugar Plum Fairy.

Jackson's favorite part: "The Snowflakes." Cody's: "The Nutcrackers." (by which he means the toy soldiers LOL). I asked Jackson if he had enjoyed it and he said yes. But when I asked if he'd want to go again some time, he shook his head. Once was enough. :)

It was a really great afternoon and we're now officially ready for the holiday season. :)

What Cody Wears to a Swordfight

Cody was chasing Jackson around the house yesterday, in the hopes that he'd be able to poke him with the sword. Jacks knew exactly what his nefarious intentions were and was too quick for Cody; Cody couldn't catch him. So Cody began shouting, "JACKSON, come HERE!" It never occurred to him to try stealth (until Daddy suggested it, that is). Love the brutal honesty you get with this age! "Jackson come HERE! I want to stab you with this sword, so come HERE!" :P

Birthday at Boomerangs!

This weekend, we had Cody's birthday party at Boomerangs, one of those indoor bounce-house places. It was complete pandemonium and Cody started off slightly overwhelmed, but he ended up having a great time.

During cake time, he got to sit in the giant inflatable throne. He felt a little too lonely up there, though, so he invited Jackson to join him. :)

It was great having one of the boys' best buddies, Z, there for the fun!
And now...2 November birthdays down, 1 to go! Daddy's big day is Thursday! :)

Friday Five

5 Things about My Boys that Make Me Smile:

1) How Cody still regularly puts on his underpants backwards so he can see the picture that's supposed to be on the butt

2) Jackson's love of reading (he has started sitting down with a chapter book, all on his own, and often doesn't move until he's finished...the other day he asked to borrow my book light because he felt it was a little dark on the couch LOL)

3) Luke's fascination with simple, household objects like Q-tips and dental floss...hours of fun, and he'll chatter away, telling us all about it

4) That they're getting to an age where they can actually all play together with the same toy (our Houston grandparents sent Cody his absolute favorite birthday present--a car with buttons that play music--and it kept all 3 of them occupied, still in the box, no less, for quite a while)

5) How, despite being a big 4 year-old now, Cody can still be found sleeping on his belly with his butt stuck up in the air

Apparently, I find Cody's rear end amusing these days. ;) And since it's his birthday this week, I decided to share 2 details that give me warm fuzzies now and will again in 20 years when I share them at his rehearsal dinner. Ha!

Happy 4th Birthday Cody!

It's hard to believe that it's been 4 years since my super-sized, 10 lbs 2 oz baby boy came into our lives. It has gone by in a blink!

Today, Cody had preschool and got to take mini-donuts in as a snack for all his friends. His teachers made him the fabulous hat above, and he wore it proudly all day. :)

This evening, we had a family birthday party for him. We got KFC (his choice) and decorated the house with green camo streamers. Here's Cody in his army helmet.

His fantastic cake (you can't tell here, but the cake itself was neon green!)

Make a wish, Birthday Boy!

Caught in the act! He snagged a candle off the top almost immediately so he could get a taste of the frosting. :)The Birthday Boy with his mama!

Fun with blowers!
The Birthday Boy making a silly face at his Daddy...who has made that exact face many times before. Seriously, it's uncanny.

Party time! Happy Birthday Cody Mac! We love you!

He Walks! and other Wonders...

Anything for candy! He's definitely a Penrose-Miller! :)

Our resident SuperBaby started walking about a week ago, just a few days before his birthday. This is groundbreaking in our family, because Jackson walked at 14 months and Cody at 13. A kiddo walking BEFORE 12 months is just unheard of. Wow!

Not to mention that he's a little chatterbox. I think I've already shared my theory about my boys: Jacks is the brain, Cody's the heart, and little Luke? Well, he's the mouth. He's a boobie monster and has quite a set of lungs on him. Now we're seeing that mouth actually start to form words and it's so incredible to watch.

At 12 months, he can say Clap-clap, Mama, Dada, Bubba, Num-Num, Pumpkin, Ball, and his newest one: DIS! (said while pointing at whatever object he wants us to obtain for him) Of course, few people outside of the 5 of us can recognize what he's saying, but the words are there for sure. Again, way ahead of where his brothers were at this age.

He's got 2 SuperDudes to catch up to, and he's off to a great start! :)

Luke vs The Cake

We had a fun birthday celebration for Mr. Lucas James yesterday. It's hard to believe he's 1!

I got him a special birthday hat, but considering his love of hats in general, and the absolute tastelessness of this one (heehee), he wasn't having any of it.

Luke's big brothers and I had a lot of fun decorating for the party.

The whole evening led up to cake time, of course. I made him his own little one in a baby bread loaf pan. Neither Jacks nor Cody was terribly excited about cake on their first birthdays, hating the mess of the frosting. So I expected a similar reticence or outright rejection from Luke. Little did I know...

Lemme at this thing! I've got this.

Yes, that's cake up my nose. What's your point?
Maybe if I just open a bit wider, I can get more cake in! Now I'll try sneaking up on it from behind....that cake will never know what hit it! Ready for my close-up! (I'm SO gonna get you for this later, Mama) I can't believe I ate the whole thing!
And here's the aftermath. :)Happy Birthday Luke!

Happy 1st Birthday Luke!

Happy Halloween!

Transformers, more than meets the eye!

Ok be honest, how impressed are you by that awesome jack-o'-lantern? Come on, it's pretty wicked! And it only took me an hour. Ha!

Jackson dressed up as Optimus Prime, Cody was Bumblebee, and Luke was *a* bumblebee (since there wasn't a 3rd recognizable Transformers character that I could think of).

This next picture really shows off the best part of Luke's costume. And all I can think of is that line from Aladdin when the Genie is flying around as a bee and asks, "Want me to sting her?"

These last 2 just make me smile. Jacks and Cody were so excited about each other's costumes, and they seemed so proud to both be "Autobots" (those are the good Transformers FYI).

Happy Halloween everyone!