Our latest obsession...

The kids are really loving the new Wii party game. Yes, it is a video game but I totally love that the kids can all play together. Jackson is totally hooked. I caught him up at 5am with the sound down playing "Match Up." Guess we have to hide the remotes before we got to bed:). Totally a fun game for the whole family. Love the second video where Grant hugs Liam and says that they both "winned" when in reality they both lost. Such a cute moment.

Willy Wonka

Liam and Grant love the Oompa Loompa song from Willy Wonka (they totally scared me as a kid, but I guess not them!) Here is video of both of them singing.

Grant

Liam

Too much love?

Poor little Kate! Not sure that she will have much hearing left as she grows in this noisy house! She is most definitely loved, though!

Ohio Picnic

Here are some pictures from awhile ago when Kathy and Jim took all the kids to Ohio for a visit. Matt was on a canoe trip with a friend and I had to work. It looks like they had a great time visiting with everyone and didn't miss us a bit! Below is a video of Mia singing "Where is thumbkin?" to GiGi. It isn't the full song, but you get the idea. Love how she is talking about the thumbkin, but putting her first finger up!

Cheeto Phones

We let Grant and Liam have Cheetos the other day and caught them pretending they were telephones. I guess they are kind of shaped like a phone. Thought this was a cute video. Total goofballs!

Swing Concert

Matt took the kids to see an outdoor swing concert Saturday night with his parents. Looks like they had a great time! Too bad I had to work!

Jackson's Piano Playing

Our little "Smooth Criminals"

Matt took this video of the kids dancing while I was working last night. Since Michael Jackson's death, Matt and I have been reminiscing and playing the old MJ videos (brought to us by AT&T U-verse). Jackson and Mia love "Bad" and "Smooth Criminal" the best and LOVE to dance to his music. I thought this video was hilarious, but I am their mother. I love that they all start dancing right when the music starts. We need to get Miss Amelia signed up for dancing lessons...she is a dancing maniac! They have definitely been enjoying the MJ throwbacks, well, all except "Thriller." Bad idea to show that to a 3 year old. We will not be winning any "Parent of the Year" awards for that one. I forgot how scary it was. Somehow I don't think she will be scarred for life, but she definitely doesn't want to see "the werewolf" video ever again. Ever.

Laughing Liam

Here is a short video of Liam laughing while my Dad was swinging them at their birthday party. He had Grant laughing harder, but I missed it. Seems like Grandpa always gets them laughing!

Spring Musical

This one is definitely for the grandparents. Here is a video of Jackson's Spring Musical for preschool. He was in the front row again so I could get him on video. Wish I would have taped a little longer after this song, because he told his teacher (in front of the other kids and the audience) that he did his own hair that day! He completely cracks me up sometimes. One of the other mom's told me that she got Jackson's "stand up routine" on video because this was not the only time he decided to share more about himself throughout the program. Another highlight of the concert was that I was holding Grant during the program and he pointed to Jackson and said, "Dere's Jax!" So cute.

Parenting Song

I love this youtube video so much. I haven't heard it for over a year now probably, but I think about it often. It just so perfectly describes life with children. If you haven't seen it before, try to stick it out until the very end. It always makes my eyes fill with happy tears.

Bike Sound Effects

Jackson discovered that if you put a stick in the spokes of your bike, you get some really cool sound effects. You have to turn the sound up pretty high to hear it, but the look on his face is priceless. That sound brought back some great memories of Chris and I riding bikes as a kid. I definitely remember the cool sound of the stick hitting the bike spokes. So much fun to see my kids making these memories.

Dance Moves

We have been putting the music channels on at night and letting the kids dance. They love to shake it. I question where they are getting their dance moves though. I mean, I haven't seen Mickey Mouse or The Wiggles grooving like this. Is Daddy putting on MTV when I'm at work? Just kidding, honey.

This first video is of the twins. Liam still has some skills.

This next video is of all of them dancing. Matt even makes a debut in this one. I am still laughing when I watch it. You all may not find it so amusing, but I think it is hilarious!

Oh, and please ignore the annoying "mom speak" in the video. I hate to hear myself on camera.

Pretzel Dance

This is a little dance Miss Amelia has been doing lately. Mia says my mom taught it to her (my mother does not remember this at all). She is saying "I'm a little pretzel, ba boom, ba boom." Oh, the things they come up with!

Silly Grandpa

Seriously, is there anything better than babies laughter??

Throwback Thursday

This video was taken when Mia was 8 days old and Jackson was 17 months. Mia was a very fussy baby for the first 6 months of life, but she was very quick to smile. I love how "gentle" Jackson is with her-hilarious. I also love videos taken by Matt and his commentary in the background. Since I am usually behind the camera, it is nice to get Matt's impression of things and see him interact with the kids when I'm not around. Enjoy!

The United States

Ok, so I am going to be a bragging mom for a second. I figure it is ok since most of the people that read this blog are family who would be equally proud of little Jackson. Santa gave Jackson this puzzle map for Christmas (Jackson even told me that he thought the elves did a great job carving all of the states!) He has picked up on this so well, I cannot believe it. He is seriously a little sponge; he knows almost all of the states by shape and location. Now he will be eating something and compare the shape of it with Louisiana or some other state. He is also recognizing the words of the states. Yesterday he saw the words "New York" in a book and knew what it said because of this map. Santa got this on Lillian Vernon in case anyone is interested. My Dad got him a globe earlier this year and he knows where Sri Lanka and Madagascar are as well. Great way for him to learn!

Unique dance moves

This video isn't the best, but I wanted to show Liam's funny dance moves. I really need to get both of the little boys dancing on video. It is quite hilarious and they have their own unique moves already. Liam's signature move is this curved hand/arm thing. I really can't even describe it, but he does it all the time when you ask him to dance. You can see it towards the end of the video. They really crack me up sometimes.

Baby Talk

I am so glad I got this video. The twins are trying to talk so hard. Grant is saying more than Liam right now, but I think Liam will catch up soon. This is Grant talking to my mom one night last week. I love the age of the twins. Now that they are over the sickies they are at this great age where their personalities really start to come out. Grant says quite a few things and it sounds like he tries to repeat us often, but doesn't quite get it right. They both frequently ask for "Caca's" daily which means either cookie or cracker, depending on the situation. They grow so fast...glad I am catching it on video and photo.

Dress Up

Jackson and Mia received a dress up box from Santa filled with girl and boy dress up clothes. They have really been enjoying it. This video cracks me up. I may be able to use it as blackmail for Jackson later in life. This song is from one of their favorite shows Hi-5. Enjoy.