Kiddie Academy Holiday Program

Remember my blog about our crazy monkey at the holiday program. Here is evidence:

In hind sight, I guess it wasn't THAT bad. He still is adorable. So, we'll leave you with this Christmas song and say Merry Christmas to All.

Guess what!

(Cole and Caitlin)

I FOUND MY CAMERA. Actually, Cole found it in his coat pocket.

Hello camera!
Hello pictures from Skate City!

Loves

Sweet Baby Estes. She's already six and half years old. Graying on her face and a lover of belly rubs, we have concluded that she really is half human and half cat, living in a dog body. She sits like a human and lounges on the arm of the sofa chair like a cat. She is soft as silk and loves to be hugged and kissed. And she even likes her playmate Smokey.

This is Smokey. We call him Rita (code word for retarded). He's not really retarded but he is still a puppy and quite honestly, sometimes acts a little slow. But, his spirit is always happy. He likes to follow Mr. W. around and get under his feet and just bug him more often than not. But this big guy thinks he is a lap dog and well, if given the opportunity, will lay on top of you with his face right in yours and fall fast asleep if you so allow him.

Last but definitely not least is trouble. Just look at this picture. It really says it all - aren't those evil eyebrows? This is pretty much what our adorable baby boy turned into. He is 5 going on 20. A rebel, a ruler of his own world, a push-the-limits of every authority figure he knows. He basically lives in some form of being grounded, which quite honestly, I don't think he minds. Who ever stole my baby boy, I want him back. I have no money, but I bake a mean chocolate chip cookie. And how, sweet lilacs, can a demon child like this bring me to tears one minute of testing the limits of my patience and in the next, while he sleeps, bring me to tears again because he is so beauitiful and peaceful and still my baby boy? How, sweet lilacs, is that possible?

Other important news:

• Mr. W. tore out our old 1960's sliding back doors and installed beautiful new french doors yesterday. It looks marvelous. He really is my own Bob Vila.
• I didn't find my camera, but I found almost my identical one (pink and all) for a steal at Mictrocenter.
• We helped Grandma decorate her tree and get her house festive for Thursday.
• We went to see Avatar and it was AWESOME!!!
• Aunt Veronica surprised me at work today with a vanilla tea latte. She made my day.
• Cole is grounded....probably for life.
  

Skate City - Emerald Elementary Night

So, remember how I said I lost my camera. Well, it happened at Skate City and I had taken a

ba-gillion pictures of Cole and all his cute little kindergarten girlfriends, of him skating, and eating. The pit of my stomach aches knowing that I had those pictures and they are now gone. I just want to scream or cry or both...wait...I think I have done both of tonight. It's not just the camera necessarily, although it's not great timing given X-mas and it was a special gift from Mr. W., but it's the pictures that I hate to lose.

Skate City was fun. It reminds me when I was in Elementary school. We use to go to Skate City all the time. Cole loves to dance and the music is perfect for all his groovy moves.

Thanks for skating with me buddy. I had a blast.

Good-bye camera.

Good-bye pictures.

2009 Kiddie Academy Holiday Program

I had some great video footage of Cole performing at his holiday program and I would really have loved to post it here. I would have loved to watch it over and over. BUT, I forgot my camera at Skate City last night and no one turned it in. So, I'm lost. How do people survive without a digital camera. I could have used it on multiple occasions just today, but instead, I'm left with nothing but the memory that will soon fade in my little brain.

So, as for the holiday program I'll have to try to describe it. It was well organized. Each of the different classes went. I'm not sure it's gets any better than seeing those cute little one and two year olds up on stage all dressed up attempting to sing. Next up were the three year olds which was complete and utter chaos. They just ran around the stage, singing whatever they wanted and for four or five whole minutes, it was, in a strange way, entertaining. The fours were next and they did a little skit and all of them behaved perfectly. It was great. Now for Cole's class - the five year olds. They had four songs to sing. Let me back up just a bit and say that Cole's energy level in the month of December tends to go from 150% to 2,000%. It's incredible. So, needless to say, he was so excited for the holiday program and probably nervous at the same time and also being a five year old boy, somewhat of a show off, he was very enthusiastic.

I'm still unsure if I use the word enthusiastic in a good way or a bad way. I will say that as soon as he came on stage, I just knew. Knew that he was wound up, knew that he didn't care that I was giving him the "you better behave look" as I sat on the floor at the front of the stage with my camera. He was doing all sorts of dance moves (that weren't part of the choreography), talking to his neighbor during songs and so it went. And after they left the stage and I returned to my seat where Mr. W. confirmed my feelings. We were very disappointed.

It was the kind of disappoint that stayed with me until mid-way through the next day. The kind that had us meet him outside the auditorium and tell him we were leaving early. The kind that had us saying, "We expected your best and we didn't see it tonight and we're disappointed in your behavior." As a team, Mr. W. and I handled it very well. It was a tough situation. I mean, he is only five and I as laid down to bed that night I asked Chris, "We're we too hard on him?"

To the core of soul disappointment lingered for almost another 24 hours. I can still taste it if I think hard enough.

I know we will see it again, hopefully not for another 10 years or so. It was hard. It made me think of times when I disappointed my mom. Now I truly knows what it feels like....and it stinks. Even so, the video was cute and in hindsight he was still singing and doing all the choreography...but still.

2004-2009 Christmas Photos

2004 - Cole's First Christmas

2005

2006
2007 2008
2009

Santa's Letter

This pretty much sums it up:

Gilpin Cty Fair: Annual Tradition

Well, we didn't miss it again this year. 5 years running and Rachel, Sierra, me and Cole made our way to the Gilpin Cty Holiday Fair. We missed the face painter this year but they got temporary tattoos instead. It's always a blast to make the ceramic hand prints, decorate the cookie (and eat it of course) and sit on Santa's lap. We love this tradition and hope it continues for years to come.

Future Baker

Cole has been talking about making gingerbread cookies for weeks. So I brought some overpriced pans that I will only use once a year and we put our aprons on to bake us up some gin-gees. They may look delicious but in the end, they went right in the trash. So sad.

Thanksgiving Pics

Shame on me for waiting nearly three weeks to post these fun pictures from our Thanksgiving day with both sets of Pope's. Enjoy the day in photos....

SELF PORTRAITS

ACTION SHOTS

Story Time

Last weekend Cole and I went to Barnes and Noble to listen to Principal Leatherman do storytime. Emerald Elementary was having a fundraiser and we took part. First reading, then crafts.

Deep Thoughts: Venting

I’d like to write about venting. I think venting is, at a reasonable level, a healthy activity. In essence, just the mere ability to talk about things and get them off your chest can make you feel better. I vent about all sorts of things – Cole, work, family, and yes even my husband. And while I may have pet peeves about each of these things or issues, it doesn’t mean I don't love Cole or that I'm going to quit my job, or divorce my husband.

It just means that temporiraly I am conflicted or just plain aggrevated. That’s the beauty of family and friends. The ability to share, in some cases, negative thoughts or feelings and have it be ok. Because that’s the way it should work.

But, sometimes, it doesn’t work like that. Sometimes, because your family or friend loves you and wants to protect you - even though that’s not what you need, you just needed an unconditional ear – they take what you say and use it against you in a way. Maybe you vent about a friend to a family member and then that family member treats the friend you were venting about like an enemy. Your family member shouldn’t be judging your friend just because you were venting about them or because you are having a personal conflict with them.

It’s hurtful and wrong. And it betrays a level of trust in confiding in that person because of how the person or other people they told acted in return. So when someone vents to you, it’s for your ear, not your advice or judgement. Be careful how you use information that people are confiding in you. It's a personal responsibility and an unspoken oath you take as a friend.

To lighten this heavy post up a bit, here's a shout out to Rachel, who has NEVER, in our 10 years of friendship, used anything I've said against me or anyone else. It's a mark of a true friend. I love you girl.

--lighter post next time I promise, just had to get this off my chest.