My two favorite smiles

Just got the formal photo from the Daddy Daughter Dance and wanted to share it.

Finally Single-Fanged!

Jacob tried and it didn't work. She asked me to try, and I squirmed. Grandma offered to try when we come to visit next week and said she'd even be the toothfairy for us.

I was at the point of frustration and told her to play with it tonight while she was in bed. I gave her lots of techniques, like twisting it sideways, pushing her fingernail between the tooth and the gum, and trying to pull it sideways away from the other front tooth.

Apparently one of those worked because about 10 minutes ago she came flying down the stairs yelling "It came out! It came out!"

Praise God!

I asked her if she wanted to put it under her pillow. She said "No, I want to do it at Grandma's." Fine with me.

Thank you, Lord, for small favors!
Really, I mean that.
Amen.

I am not kidding

Now, Friends, I have something to make you smile, but you're going to think I'm passing on junk. I am not an email sensation sender, I am a check-it-out-on-Snopes-and-let-the-original-sender-know-it's-spam kind of person. Some of you have even fallen victim to my party crashing sensibilities, and I don't apologize. I just never pass on emails that are chain letters or any of that kind of junk. You know me.

But this is different. I have to admit, I was skeptical, but curiosity, and the credibility of my source, got the best of me. I made the call and I followed the directions. And I laughed. And now I'm waiting for my husband to get out of the shower so I can do it again and he can laugh too. If you have little kids, you'll want to do it with them, too.

Hugs,

Petrie

Here it is...

Trust me...you need to do this...it is hilarious...Call the Nestle Hotline at 1-800-295-0051. When asked if you want to continue in English or Spanish, wait quietly for about 10 seconds and I PROMISE you will smile. Keep going and press 4. Then press 7. Don't ruin the surprise for ...others. :)

Snaggle Tooth Tells a Story

Two things going on here. Merrilee's two front teeth are STILL loose after about six months. Her left one has been hanging lower than the other, and it makes me crazy to look at it. I wish the darned thing would fall out already! I've always had this obsession about kids losing their front teeth; I think those are the ugliest months of a kids' life when those new, misproportioned adult teeth come in and the kid looks so weird. I hate my own pictures of that milestone and I've dreaded the day my own kids have to look so ugly. My sister is the only person I know who didn't look yucky during those "teething" years.

Anyway, the tooth is what caught my attention and made me take the photos while she was relaying a story to me. But I love her nutty expressions while she's telling a story. You really can't capture them on video the way you can in a still photo. Not all the photos came out clear and sharp, but I was glad to get what I got.

Valentine's Days Past

We don't usually make a big deal out of Valentine's Day at our house, but we do exchange cards and a bit of candy. I was just going back through some pictures from Valentine's Days Past since we've had kids. This is what I found....

Merrilee's first Valentine's Day in 2005. She was a couple months shy of three years old, and here she is getting her first Valentine's Day card from Aunt Jo and Uncle Frank, with a whopping $5 in it!

In 2006 we had up and down weather. We had a snow storm and warm days within one week. Jacob was two and had been home with us for about 3 1/2 months. These two photos are of the kids decorating cupcakes outside. They didn't have very good sprinkle control, so I was glad to have a warmish day to keep the mess outside.

Here are Merrilee and Jacob in 2007 (couldn't believe I didn't have any better photos for Valentine's Day that year!) This was the year Merrilee turned 4 and she really left that chubby-cheeked toddler look behind.

Here is Merrilee a couple days after Valentine's Day in 2008. That year I failed to take any pictures at all. Bummer. But we did enjoy another warm day when the crocuses were blooming.

And here is Katie Mei on the scene in 2009! This was her first Valentine's Day, and her first chocolate cupcake. Look at the archive from last year and you'll see the entire series of photos from the Big Chocolate Cupcake experience. She was 23 months old, had only been home with us for one month, and had undergone her heart catheterization with an atrial septostomy just the day before. Hard to believe this was less than 24 hours after the procedure. Big changes for such a little girl.

And here are the girls this morning in 2010. Merrilee made Katie Mei a little tiara with the words "Sweet Princess" written in the heart. Merrilee loves her little sister immensely, and we are so proud of her for being such a compassionate, mature, loving big sister.

And this is my dear husband. He is a loving father and caring husband. Last night he took Merrilee to her first Daddy Daughter Dance. It was a precious evening for Merrilee, and she came home so excited to tell me all about it.

Jay, thanks for loving all of us, and for being such a great Daddy and Husband to your family. We love you, Honey. Happy Valentine's Day.

Love, Petrie

"Powerful Snow Storm Slams Deep South!"

Ummm, yeah, right. We were slammed!







This little video just seems to get funnier the more times I watch it!

Chinese New Year Party

We braved the "snow storm" yesterday to spend a couple hours with some other families celebrating Chinese New Year. There were about six families who also have children from China, but we only knew one of the families. The Flints were with us on our trip to China last January and their daughter is four months younger than Katie Mei. Many thanks to Emily for pulling this party together!
Here are a few photos from our evening out.

The entire bunch of kiddos.

Mmmm, cake.

The power went out on the main drag, so attempts to pick up pizza didn't work out. However, the chicken wings from Zaxby's were delicious!

I ordered several Chinese crafts for the kids to do: bracelets with Chinese charms and beads, Dragon mobiles and accordion cards, and Chinese drums.

I think the kids had a great time. I know my two older ones said it was "The best day ever!"

I made traditional Almond Cookies for the occaision. These are probably one of the best tasting cookies I've had. The recipe was easy and they were the lightest, tenderest short-bread-type cookies I've made.

Wishing everyone a Happy Year of the Tiger!