snow & ice & everything nice

sigh... this is my life.

the kid's books & toys & even the boppy have officially stolen my spot on the couch.
but i won't be defeated so easily. i am houdini. i can fit into even the smallest spaces in order to maintain my position of keeper of the couch in this household.

and at least i had more success than libby did...she tried to hold down her spot, but eventually she had to come out for air:

okay. enough grumbling. {because in reality we actually kind of think the kid is cute and like having someone else around to lick and sniff and stare at...} onto the purpose of today's post--an update on the life of our family.

we had a whole week of snow & ice last week. being as brett is a teacher, he got three days off of school and two days of two hour delays. {who do you think gets more excited about snow days? teachers or students? TEACHERS.}

so here are the top 5 highlights of our week o' ice & snow:

1. a little tiny bit of sleep. libby & i have not allowed the kid to alter our sleep schedules. but meg & brett don't get quite as much as they used to. so now they pass out anytime they have a minute to rest. brett wins the award for most uncomfortable nap:

2. the kid is sitting up at longer and longer increments of time on her own. {okay, i can barely handle it--break in my hardened front--SHE IS ADORABLE.}

3. smiling. we did a lot of that. and laughing.
{it really is the gift that the kid brings to the house--joy in the very smallest things. like singing "skinnermerinkidinkydink skinnamereenkydoo i love you" over and over again. like "eating up" karis' feet. like pushing her nose and saying "boop!" like doing "the superman" while doing tummy time. and diaper changes, which are truly the times full of the most joy around here these days.}

4. something karis can do that libby & i can't: suck her fingers. she wins on that one.
but it seems little miss thang is going to march to her own drum and has rejected the thumb and gone for the pointer finger. you go girl.

5. pictured in the background of the above picture: NOT FOLDING LAUNDRY.
why use your time off to do something as lame as laundry? ...especially when it makes such a great background to pictures.

Gingerbread Girl

we tried to eat her up because she looked so tasty but meg & brett wouldn't let us...

(plus we found out that those were buttons, not lifesaver candies, on the gingerbread man and even though we like your unconventional types of snacks--like ketchup packets and Chick Fil A sandwhich bags and milk cartons--we still don't prefer buttons over candy)

playtime.

FINALLY. they have welcomed me into playing with their things... karis' toys and boxes christmas presents are coming in. maybe, just maybe, they do still love me.

merry christmas from SOME of the lybrands...

you might notice who is missing from this "family" picture.

i would say that we are devastated, but we are getting used to it. kind of.

we'll forgive them if we get more christmas presents than the kid. we shall see...

nativity, snow & carolina basketball usher us into december!

last week meg pulled out some christmas decorations to start celebrating karis' first christmas {sidenote: they never celebrated either libby's or my first christmas. just sayin'.}

anyway, at some point, this happened to the precious moments nativity scene:
{which libby and i may or may not have had something to do with...}

at first, we were a little nervous about our big mess up. but then meg came home from her college life small group after reading through luke 2 and she got all excited about what we'd done with the nativity scene {FINALLY, we did something right!}

the circumstances of Jesus' birth were pure chaos: a scandalous pregnancy, the first ever census called by caesar, camels breaking down as folks headed to their hometowns, booked hotels, angels singing, magi fighting the traffic to get to Jesus... and we think christmas is busy for US? but this is what Jesus was born into. His birth was one of the greatest things to happen to the world, and yet it came silently, tucked away in an indescript barn in bethlehem. such humble beginnings...that came in the midst of chaos.

anyway...meg got real excited about that and we're just thankful we're not in trouble!

we also celebrated two other firsts this past saturday:
1. karis' first ever SNOW! {again, they never celebrated this for us. but we didn't care much because we had so much fun playing in it!}
2. karis' first ever unc basketball game that she watched. which they WON!

here we all are {above}... brett & karis watching the game, libby looking at the snow, and i'm just excited to get some daggum attention.

{karis bundled up to brave the snowy cold weather}

oh...i forgot. the OTHER thing they're all excited about with karis {can you sense my jealousy?} is that she is smiling! now, i would remind you that they never celebrated that with me or libby, but alas, we dogs can't smile. oh well. she's got us beat on that one.

...and just in case you need proof that they love karis more than me, here it is:

{meg's choice for cuddling in 2010}

{meg's choice for cuddling circa 2008}

life is good. real good.

well, it was thanksgiving last week. while meg and brett and karis were off celebrating and being all ooey gooey talking about things they were thankful for and stuffing themselves with delicious food at the beach with brett's family, sam & i were stuck in the kennel.

so here's one thing i'm thankful for today: getting back at 'em for sticking us in that kennel by stealing karis' paci. it was surprisingly delightful and calming. i understand why the kid likes 'em so much.

{note the PLETHORA of leaves in this picture...i'm thinking meg & brett don't rake the leaves so it will cover up our poop in the backyard. or maybe just because they are lazy. take your pick.}

things brett and meg and karis were thankful for last week: naps. and karis sleeping 7-9 hours a night! {except for the very last night when she had a melt down and slept from 2 a.m.-6 a.m. ...all i'm saying is that's what they get for putting us in the kennel.}


another thing we are all thankful for: smiles and LIFE IS GOOD PJ's! big news at the house this week, karis smiled for the first time at the beach. meg says she smiled there because she was so glad to not have to worry about swallowing dog hair or being licked by me. also, she apparently overate on thanksgiving with the rest of them because she has gone from newborn clothes to 0-3 months {at 2 months old...she might fit into 3-6 months when she's a year old. :)} which means she got to wear these new pj's which took even me away from my jealousy to sheer joy.

{they say "buttercup" on them... HOW CUTE?!?!?}

thing we are all SO thankful for: the nap nanny. that's the pink thing karis is sleeping on. ever since we got it, little miss thang has been sleeping for 6-9 hours a night CONSISTENTLY! {note how she has worked her way out of her swaddle and how her paci now grows out of her ear...}

...and even though sam and i put up a tough front, we are most thankful {only second to Jesus :)} for this precious little girl who lets us lick her and tolerates our dog hair on everything :)

Free Gift.

Karis=Grace

Grace=Free Gift from Jesus

Here's your first Christmas gift from Jesus & the Lybrands: