I'm a Gummy Bear...

Alex's new favorite song/video: I'm a Gummy Bear

Lost Tooth!

Aurora lost her first tooth yesterday!  It has been wiggly for a few weeks.  She's been very patient about it and yesterday at lunch it started bleeding and when she put a tissue on it, it came right out!  She was so excited!

Several years ago I picked up a special tooth fairy box for her to put her teeth in.  It's been sitting in my jewelry box just waiting for this moment!  So we cleaned up her tooth and put in the box and under her pillow.  When she woke up this morning she had $8 covered in sparkly tooth fairy dust!  I explained that the tooth fairy gives a lot for the first tooth and a little for all the rest.  She didn't seem to mind!

Brother and Sister Forever and Ever

Actual conversation overheard this morning:

Alex:  You're not my friend anymore!

Aurora:  I'm not supposed to be your friend, I'm your sister!

Alex:  You're not my sister anymore!

Aurora: Sorry, I'm gonna be your sister forever and ever and there's nothing you can do about it!

Dinner Out

I'll be frank - Josh and I are not big fans of taking children to restaurants.  There's the constant dropping of utensils and other objects, keeping them occupied until the food comes, and attempting to keep them somewhat quiet and the least disruptive as possible.  When we are both out on a kid-free date, the last thing we want is to be bothered by loud and unruly children, and want to show that same respect for others.  Not to mention paying up to $10 for a kids meal in which they take three bites!

So going out to eat is very rare for us.  When we do go, it is usually to Cracker Barrel, because it is noisy, there are lots of distractions, the service is fast, and the kids always eat breakfast.  However, a couple of weeks ago while on a date, we went to Texas Roadhouse for the first time.  The food was great and I really thought the kids would get a kick out of eating peanuts and throwing the shells on the floor.  So when we received a gift card there as a Christmas gift, we thought it was the perfect opportunity.

To prepare, I did not allow the kids to have an afternoon snack (hoping they would eat well at the restaurant), and we had a talk about restaurant manners.  When we got there, they immediately found the huge barrel of peanuts in the waiting area and had a blast shelling them and throwing it on the floor!

We were seated at a table, and within thirty seconds, 2 forks and 3 crayons were promptly dropped on the floor.  That aside, the kids did fantastic.  The peanuts kept them busy for awhile, they were reasonably quiet, and they ate really well - I've never seen them eat so much chicken.  It was a success and a real treat for them.  Maybe we'll start going a little more often!

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year!  We told the kids they could stay up as long as they wanted (or were able to).  Alex lasted about an hour past bedtime before he was begging me to go to bed.  Aurora stayed up a little longer and had some apple juice while we had wine.  She passed out on the couch about 9:30.  I didn't last much longer than that!  Here's to the new year!