Merry Christmas!

Christmas does not, in fact, come but once a year. At least, not this year. Christmas with the Lammers family came mid-January. And I was SO excited for one particular gift for Xander. It was a train table that I bought for him used. I had told mom in the months before Christmas that I wanted to get him one, but that I wasn't real crazy about the paintings on the table tops of several that I'd seen, but it seemed a shame for it to be plain and boring. . . her solution: ask Tara to paint something for him. (Tara is Uncle Mason's girlfriend...) Brilliant!

So, she kindly agreed to take on the task and I anxiously, anxiously awaited our second, no, third Christmas. . .

The evening the family arrived we unwrapped (unveiled) her work, plopped the panels into the table, set up the display and eagerly anticipated the kids' coming out to the living room the following (fake Christmas) morning.

The close up pictures show you some of the amazing detail work that Tara did - I am almost teary eyed every time I look at it, it's just so phenomenal. Each time you look at the table you are likely to notice something new, a local landmark, an animal, a mountain range, a big X in the alphabet. . . a landing strip. . . anyway, you get the idea.

I took a couple so you could see some of what I mean, but I should devote some more time to more and better pics. Needless to say, the whole family has really enjoyed the train table, which is made so much more special by Tara's incredible talent. When the kids have long outgrown this piece of furniture, the art will remain a special family heirloom. Thank you, Tara!!

(you can't necessarily see from this pic, unless you click it for a closeup, but she has marked Paxton, and Omaha on the map, and then drawn the dotted line down to Bonita Springs, Florida, where Aunt Brett is soaking in the sun as we count down the days to spring. . .

there are many good reasons to have this guy as a dad. one of them, is that he will use your track to build a ramp for your trains. pretty sweet.

sitting up

okay, so it was a few weeks ago. and i'm behind (but see how i'm trying?!). but phoebe pie is sitting up in her bumbo seat, which provides a whole wealth of new entertainment for her. one evening, she was introduced to xander's trains. he was thrilled and she didn't seem to mind one bit.

big brother

if phoebe pie ever wants a moment to herself, a moment alone, bless her heart... SOMEONE will have to totally redefine how he expresses love. . . :)

love letters

most of you probably know about my lovely libby and how she loves to write. and draw. naturally, one of her favorite pastimes is writing books, cards and letters. One morning, i found her in the den and she had illustrated a "book" for aunt brett. she dictated to me and asked me to write it for her. (often, she writes them herself, but this day she said she would take to long to write it all out, and she knew i'd be faster.) SO, here it is. it was so heartbreakingly sweet that i had to photograph it page by page before we put it together and mailed it to brett.

and, it's in reverse order. twice i have tried to correct this and start the post over and i'll just suffice to say that blogger is not cooperating with me and/or i am not understanding what it wants from me - so, dear readers, you need to scroll down a bit and read up. :) sorry.

1. Aunt Brett, I will always love you. I will love you indoors and I will love you outdoors.

2. I will love you by a butterfly's wings flapping by.

3. I will love you in the sunshine, I will love you in the moonshine, I will love you when it's raining, I will love you when it's foggy.

4. I will always love you, bunches and bunches. Love, Libby

If there's one thing we are pretty good at in this family, it's expressing our love for one another. :) It's a skill, and we work on it, and we enjoy it. "bunches and bunches" is an expression libby borrowed from xander and i, as we express our love in bunches. libby, on the other hand, has a more sophisticated expression of her love --- each night as i kiss her for bed, she tells me, "mom, i love you sooooooooooooo much. i love you all the way to heaven and back, counted by eyelashes, laying sideways, three hundred and fifty sixty nine times." (the number can change, but is not aaaalways sensical. :)

she's precious.

i am my beloveds...

WEEKS ago I started this post with pictures and charming captions from our time in Birmingham, and in between, which is where we went over the New Year to celebrate the marriage of Uncle Daniel and now-Aunt Victoria. Well, I got some urging from dear sister Brett to get some new material on the blog. So, I'm leaving this as it is. Here are some photos, certainly not all but better than none, which is what I've provided you over the past few weeks. Lord willing, there will be more to come. As I wrap this up, my dear Phoebe Pie is waking from her nap and my blogging moment is o-ver.

Who's Who?

here are some babies. they happen to be ours. they happen to be right about the same age. see any similarities?

City Museum :: the.coolest.

so what we're thinking is this: if you are 10 years old, St. Louis's CITY MUSEUM is .the.coolest. place to be. And if you're two, or four, or late 20s, it's pretty ill too. (shout out to Matt P for turning me on to ill this week.) If you're 2 months, you don't much care, as long as you're fed and cuddled. Anywho, on our way to Birmingham for the New Year's wedding of Daniel and Victoria (posts to come) we spent a night and a day in St. Louis, almost the whole day at CITY MUSEUM. Here's what we knew before we went:

a) many of you dear facebook friends recommended it.

b) Housed in the 600,000 square-foot former International Shoe Company, the museum is an eclectic mixture of children's playground, funhouse, surrealistic pavilion, and architectural marvel made out of unique, found objects. The brainchild of internationally acclaimed artist Bob Cassilly, a classically trained sculptor and serial entrepreneur, the museum opened for visitors in 1997 to the riotous approval of young and old alike. Cassilly and his longtime crew of 20 artisans have constructed the museum from the very stuff of the city; and, as a result, it has urban roots deeper than any other institutions'. Reaching no farther than the municipal borders for its reclaimed building materials, CITY MUSEUM boasts features such as old chimneys, salvaged bridges, construction cranes, miles of tile, and even two abandoned planes! (taken from citymuseum.org)

Suffice it to say, we were thankful for the recommendations and glad to know some of the history, but still blown away by this unusual and incredible place to be a kid!

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So, here are some photos I swiped from the City Museum website. Because it was a gloomy day outside and challenging lighting inside - and their pics just look way better. :) And, I want you to be as impressed with City Museum as you can!

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okay... now these are mine...

xander is looking over his shoulder at his "coach" who is telling him, "keep walking! keep walking! keep walking!!"



someone recognized the photo op in the huge ball pit...

okay... so this wasn't taken at City Museum. it was taken 2 days before, and i like my smiley girls, so i'm posting it. :) it's my perogative.

s.n.o.w.

if you haven't heard, let me be the one to tell ya: we have snow. and more snow. it seems almost silly to post this picture now, but at the time, we were impressed with the mountain of snow in our front yard. this was taken december 26th. as of now, we have more. in the next couple of weeks... more? that's what i'm hearing. can't wait! ;)