little tree

little tree
little silent Christmas tree
you are so little
you are more like a flower

who found you in the green forest
and were you very sorry to come away?
see i will comfort you
because you smell so sweetly

i will kiss your cool bark
and hug you safe and tight
just as your mother would,
only don't be afraid

look the spangles
that sleep all the year in a dark box
dreaming of being taken out and allowed to shine,
the balls the chains red and gold the fluffy threads,

put up your little arms
and i'll give them all to you to hold
every finger shall have its ring
and there won't be a single place dark or unhappy

then when you're quite dressed
you'll stand in the window for everyone to see
and how they'll stare!
oh but you'll be very proud

and my little sister and i will take hands
and looking up at our beautiful tree
we'll dance and sing
"Noel Noel"

--e. e. cummings

This is Elli's 'trying not to laugh' face.
That is one of my favorite poems. It is so sweet that it makes tears come to my eyes every time I read it. I know, it's silly, but I just love it that much.

Concert week

On Saturday I went to the Coldplay concert with Sinika, Adam, and Adams sister Megan and her boyfriend. I just have 3 words for it:

It was AMAZING!

Thanks for the pictures Sini!

I also have 66 more words for it: (Ha, ha, I'm a nerd!)

I loved the huge video screens. Even though we were up way high we could still see everything. I loved the confetti and the lasers and all the lighting and I loved when they came into the audience and sang a few songs, and I loved when the whole audience sang parts. I also loved that there were seats to sit on when I got tired.

It was so fun, I couldn't believe when it was over that 2 hours had passed. It went by so fast. The only bad part, and it wasn't really even that bad, but the lady next to me at one point was standing and I was sitting and she was airing out her sweater (it was pretty warm in there) and so I was wafted with warm sweater air right in my face. Eww!

Also, last Monday, we went to the Of Montreal concert and it was quite a show too. They also had confetti, oh wait, it was feathers that were shot out over the audience, and they had costume changes and actors on stage and don't forget the fantastic songs! Even though 85% of the people there were little teenagers, it was still so good and I loved it. The whole time I just kept thinking, this must be what it was like to see a David Bowie concert back in the day. Not that I'm a big fan of him but he just reminds me of him a little.

I don't go to as many concerts as I used to when I was younger so this was a bit out of the ordinary to have 2 in 1 week! I guess I'll need to have a long break from it all.

Men and their facial hair

A few months ago Brian let his beard grow out. It got pretty bushy before he shaved it. I asked him why men want to grow their beards out long sometimes and he said, "Just cause we can."
Well now he is telling me he wants to try out this here mustache:
I think he is serious.

HELP!

I peeked in Elli's room and found Addie playing house...

More like playing IN the house.

The Tooth Fairy is very busy at our house

Natural gas

My sweet, well-mannered son, Ben, just informed me that his gas smells like "joy and flowers... and sometimes macaroni and cheese".
(Joy and flowers said while laughing and mac and cheese said with serious wonderment.)

Here come the chompers!

Addie's top 2 front teeth have finally broken through! Yay!!! She's been a little behind in the teeth department. Now she can bite into things. By that I mean food things. Not really fingers or other things that I don't want her to bite. That's not what I'm cheering for. Before she could only just mush things up with her gums (and bottom teeth). Look out food! By the way this picture was taken a few weeks ago so she did not have the top teeth yet. She was just pretty much sucking on the carrot. Also, don't mind her dirty shirt, it was evening and close to the time of taking off the dirty clothes.

Her doctor said at her 1 year appt. that from 12 months to 18 months they go from saying 0 words to about 10! One month ago (at her 1 year appt.) she could only say, "Dada". She has already picked up a few more since then. So far she says:

Dada

ball

turtle

boo

Mama

uh-oh

and in sign language she says "moon" and "milk"

This is seriously such a fun time when they start saying things. I love it! Their teeny little voices are just music to my ears!

Halloween '08

Gummy teeth

This year Elli was a fairy, Tinkerbell to be exact Ben was a Jedi Knight (young Ben Kenobi)And Addie was a little bee

This is Tanner, Ben, Elli, Addie and Kadee peeking out from behind Addie.

My flash wasn't working in some of these so sorry for the darkness. Elli and Ben's cousins came over to go trick or treating with them. It rained a little but it wasn't too cold like in years past.

I love this action sequence:

So serious.

Me and Addie hung out at home and passed out candy at the door. Addie just laughed at all the kids at the door. Not at their costumes but that there were so many kids coming to her house.

This year the kids drew what they wanted their faces to be and I cut them out.