camera confident

penny hams it up...

arborcidal

some of you may remember the series of  bad decisions which led to last year's christmas tree disaster, in the wake of which kelley swore never to be part of another "traditional" christmas tree hunt. although eli and i tossed around the idea of leaving the ladies at home and finding a wild tree, that evolved into finding a local choose and cut tree farm, which eventually became a stop at home depot on the way home from the grocery store. as much as i felt like a sellout, there were no fights, no temper tantrums, and no near death encounters. the kids loved "picking out" the tree, and kelley even commented how pleased she was for the first time in our marriage to have a "normal" christmas tree.

not quite.

in order to bolster the precariously balanced tree against the tugging, prodding, climbing, falling into, and all other molestation it was sure to receive in our living room, i fashioned and affixed to its base a crude wooden buttress which lodged firmly within our christmas tree's stand. although a good idea for inanimate structures, not so it turns out for living organisms. it would be comparable, i suppose, to bolting a two by four over your mouth. after spending a couple of weeks on a steady diet of nothing, the now anemic shrub is beginning to look frail haggard, and for lack of a better word, well... crispy. i've had to dial the heater back a bit, as i'm afraid if the temperature inside peaks above about 68 degrees the poor thing will burst into flames. it'll be a real christmas miracle if this bush is still standing on the 25th.

eli starts in with the ornaments. as one might expect, the fragile stuff is all hanging up at the top, although i continue to be amazed at how many otherwise sturdy ornaments can be considered "fragile" in the presence of these two...

kelley was looking for the perfect tree topper to celebrate our "real" tree. i put this together with one of eli's back yard toys. i found it to be a good fit for our family, if slightly non-traditional. although there is some variance of opinion among the family, i can tell you that eli is definitely in my camp on this one. 

snowman

penny wanted to use the video camera, so i told her she could make a movie of eli. the problem is, i don't actually trust her to get within swinging distance of the device, so her responsibility in "making" the movie was to prompt eli. i told her she could tell him to speak, sing, jump, play, etc. she directed him to "make a poem". quite surprisingly, eli gathered himself for a moment, stood up, and proceeded to recite this winter themed children's rhyme which none of us had ever heard, and which we can only assume was the subject of a recent school activity. what can i say? pen gets the best out of her actors.

pony poetry

a couple of readings from penny's new favorite book, the poetry of "my little pony"...

minty:

minty sees things from her own point of view

in everything old, she brings out the new.

her friends say her logic is a bit upside down, 

but she'll make you smile when you're wearing a frown.

she has a mint green body and pink and white locks

she loves to collect things, especially socks.

rainbow dash:

rainbow dash loves riding on rainbows

she's an adventurous pony, everyone knows.

she always believes that bigger is better

she'll try anything, if only you let her.

if she hasn't done it, it's never been done

that's what makes rainbow dash so much fun!

i especially like how the writers of these poems pass on the easy rhymes in order to touch on the specific qualities integral to the development of each character- like minty's deep rooted appreciation for sock collection.