Tyler and Ella's game

Tyler and Ella are quite the little buds. They play really well together, and their games are usually some variation of "house." This past weekend they were playing a nice game of "boat," when I decided to stealthily record the events. Tyler and Ella were with their kids (stuffed cat and frog) and were riding along on their boat (couch). Ella, who really just likes to hear herself talk, goes on for some time about the need to put things in drawers, while Tyler shows some impressive exasperation about the solicitor who keeps calling him. Next, Ella takes a dip in the sea in search of a napkin, while Tyler talks about their son's (frog's) upcoming birthday (he's turning either 8 or 1, depending on who you ask). The game culminates with froggy coming down with a bout of throwing up, wherein the doctor is called. Tyler then doubles as the concerned father and the helpful doctor, who prescribes the quick remedy of 5 cups of hot chocolate. I'm so glad I recorded this little gem!

Look who's crawling!

Darling little Ruby has learned to crawl! Up until just a week or so ago I wasn't sure if she'd ever find a reason to crawl. I mean really...if she wants something, chances are that somebody will just bring it to her! Plus the fact that she's just so darn happy all the time. She was honestly so content to sit and play with the toys within her reach, that I wondered what might possible motivate her to move. Well, we figured it out! Lately we've been playing board games with the older kids on the floor in the toy room or the family room. Playing on the floor was just easier, because Ruby could sit right by us and play with her toys and everybody was happy. Until recently. The game we were playing soon became much more interesting that her boring toys! Thus the crawling adventure began! Monday night, the day she hit 10 months, Ruby made her move across the floor and right into the deck of Apples to Apples cards. We were all so excited - the kids especially - that she probably learned a really bad lesson that night: throwing handfuls of cards in the air gets a BIG response! But who cares. Have you ever seen anything cuter??!!

I'm famous!

So I guess I'm famous now. Word on the street is that Wednesday night on American Idol there was a singer named "Casey Carlson" who rocked the house. Well, I don't know about "rocked," but she was evidently quite good. And cute, too! So that's a relief. How horrible would it be if somebody with your same name was the laughing stock of America? That would not be cool. But then again, I'll be extremely annoyed if she ends up winning the whole thing. How terrible would that be?? I'd always be saying, "Yes I know...", "No, it's not me...", "Yes, I hear that we do look and sound alike, but I promise it's not me!" That would really be a drag. I could always start up a side business of doing tours - like the Peterman reality tour. "The REAL Kacee Carlson tour." It may not be real profitable, however, so I guess I'll keep my day job. Wait...I don't have one.

Underbog

Yes, you read that right. Meet Underbog - Tyler's new friend. Here is the story behind this unusual name. (Those of you with two or more kids may have already guessed.) Santa brought both of the boys a stuffed dog for Christmas, which they promptly began to name. Spencer immediately named his dog Shoe Shine, after the dog in the movie Underdog. Tyler then thought it would be a great idea to name his Underdog. This, however, didn't go over too well with Spencer because Shoe Shine has the secret identity of Underdog and so they are really the same dog with two names. Hmmmm, thinks Tyler. Then I'll just name mine UNDERBOG! I can't even type this without laughing at poor Tyler. Such is the life of a second child, I'm afraid! Where Spencer is now a little annoyed, because really Underbog sounds just like Underdog, he still gets the real name. And although I want to feel sorry for Tyler - having to have a dog named Underbog - he is just as happy as can be, playing Underdog with his brother.

Spencer's First Football Game

Today was the big day! Spencer's long awaited first football game. He was a little nervous this morning, but he was mostly excited about wearing all his gear and his new jersey. He looked very cool! Once he got to the game, the anxiety of what was about to happen started to overpower the excitement, and he was in a bit of a panic. And it didn't help that the team they were playing were serious diehards who have played together as a team for the last three years. They were good! And Spencer's team was just getting whooped! Spencer started out on the sidelines, and his coaches told me later that he was NOT ready to go in yet. But since he was their only player on the bench, he had no choice but to go in when his teammate got hurt. So in he went! He played hard, did his best, and felt good about it afterward. But he just kept talking about the "thunder guy," who was evidently very fast and ferocious (thus the reason why Spencer named him the thunder guy) and might have even been talking some smack. That freaked Spencer out a bit, but he hung in there and did a great job. His own words are the best, though, so I've included the video I took of him after the game. Way to go Spencer!

Ella's Shenanigans

A couple of days ago Ruby and Ella were awfully quiet, and so I set off to investigate. As you can see if the pictures, Ella has carried Ruby over to the corner of the family room, on the side of a chair, and she is WASHING HER HAIR WITH BABY WIPES! What the??? These types of shenanigans just crack me up. And Ruby is fine with it! She's got her own little baby wipe that she's shredding on the floor, so she doesn't mind her little morning scrub down. But seriously Ella...there will come a day when she DOES! I'd like to be far from here when that happens.

The Alamo Bowl

Santa is a hero this year! He brought Spencer 4 tickets to the Alamo Bowl for Christmas, which took place this past Monday night. It's a good thing Spencer only had 4 days after Christmas to wait, because it would have been torture (for all of us!) to have to wait any longer. So the Carlson boys - Spencer, Tyler, Bryan, and Bryan's dad - headed down to the Alamodome on Monday night. Spencer and Tyler decided that they were going to cheer for Missouri, since they are the Tigers, and they felt like Tigers were much cooler than Wildcats. And it was a good choice, since Missouri ended up winning by a touchdown in overtime! Very exciting. Of course the boys didn't find this out until the next morning. Santa may be really cool, be we evidently are not - since we didn't let the boys stay until MIDNIGHT, which is when the game ended. I don't think so! So anyway, it was a great night for the kids, as well as Bryan. The boys loved the game, and Bryan loved being there with them and his dad. Two funny things about this whole event: first, Spencer said that he KNOWS there is a Santa now, because his mom and dad never buy tickets to games! Ouch. And then he also warned us all in advance that he wouldn't be talking the entire day on Monday, because he was saving his voice for the game. Evidently he was quite the fan! No face painting, or bare chest painting, but crazy fan-cheering nonetheless!