2007...the highlights

today i sat down to pick out my favorite pictures from 2007. i decided to just pick one picture from each month that would capture what that month was like for us.

so here you go... 2007, as lived by the lees...

and for one last picture...
goodbye 2007, hello 2008 from "the ladies"
(yes, they chose the name and yes, i will show this picture at garrett's wedding some day!)

the prayer of a 3 yr old (in december)

life can be confusing when you're 3. then when you throw in a month of non-stop talk of baby jesus, santa & wish lists here's what you get...

garrett's prayer last night:

dear god,
thank you for sissy & daddy & mommy & ryan.
thank you for my table.
thank you for my chair.
thank you for baby jesus.
thank you for santa.
and santa, i would like a leapster and a guitar.
thank you for my food.
thank you for my house.
amen.

last minute request

santa i want a leapster.
garrett wants a leapster too.

(chocolate smudges, courtesy of ryan)

dream date is here!

a big THANK YOU from giant giraffe to everyone who voted
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congratulations to the lucky winners of a free shirt...
Holly & Danyelle :)
if you haven't already, just let me with your size & address

all voters should check their email for a special code...
save $10 on your next order!!
(if you can't find the email, check your spam folder and be sure to add us to your contacts so you get more coupons on the future)

and for all those silly people who forgot to vote,
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Dream Date is available in the following sizes:
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what happens when...

i fall alseep and leave a fully dressed garrett playing by himself?


what happens when olivia gets home from school and sees garrett's fashion choice?

ok, that question is pretty easy...

don't ask why

it's no secret that garrett is our "why" child.

the other day garrett was working on the computer. and by "working" i mean watching a diego video. olivia came over to the computer to get some paper out of the printer for one of her letters to her friends. and by "letter" i mean a paper with the following things written many times: her name, her phone number, the words "i love you", "boo" and "zoo", plus a few princesses.

here's their conversation as she got some more paper:

garrett: sissy, what are you doing?

olivia: garrett, i'm just getting paper for a letter to kayla...and don't ask why!!!

the next rachel ray?

"popcorn balls"

need an idea for your next holiday party?
just ask olivia.

her magazine & tv show are in the works.

top secret

last night while saying good night to the kids...

garrett: "mom, i'm NOT going to tell you about the purse we got you for your birthday."

olivia: "garrett!!!!!! i'm going tell daddy!!!!"

garrett: "livy, i'm NOT going to tell her about the purse!" (said in a super slow voice)

olivia: "ahhhhhhhhhh, garrett!!!"

brightest bulbs on the tree??

i've decided my kids miss the most obvious clues.

here's what we have at our house to count down to christmas...

1. the paper link chain that counts down till christmas
2. the advent calendar on the fridge that we do every morning
3. the advent tree that we add a new ornament to each day
4. christmas placemats with days 1-25

so you'd think it would be fairly obvious WHEN christmas arrives, right?

nope, every day since we got our tree up the kids walk down stairs and are totally bummed that santa didn't come yet.

don't worry sherlock, you've got no competition coming from our house :)

she needs wide open spaces

here's olivia's excuse last night why she couldn't sleep in her room...

"ahhhh, when i look around i see my walls and my ceiling. i just can't stand that. so i can't sleep in my room."

deja vu

long, long ago when i was in 6th grade at jefferson elementary i used to "work" during my lunch hour in the secretary's office. i would answer the phone so she could take her lunch.

fast forward to today. i was volunteering at olivia's school...the very same school i used to go to. they needed a last minute sub for the secretary. yup, there i was about a zillion years later answering "hello, jefferson elementary" and transferring calls.

the office was very different and the phone was way more high tech than when i was there (no more bisque colored handset with the row of flashing buttons on the top of the square phone). but i still felt like the 6th grader who was nervous about messing up the call transfers :)

i was only need for about 20 minutes, but i was amazed at how many calls came through. it's a wonder that school secretary ever get anything done!!!

pictures

here's garrett post-stitches
gifts from the er staff included the dinosaur & the hulk sticker
they definitely know what 3yr old boys like :)

(and even though he's 3, he loves eating in ryan's high chair)

garrett was so proud to wear this sticker to preschool today

here's the letter olivia made for garrett while we were at the hospital
right before we left for the hospital she said "mom, i said a little prayer for garrett"

the red guys are spiderman (garrett's favorite character)
the spoon-thingy is the medicine spoon that the kids use to take their medicine

question: what's the opposite of subtle?

answer: garrett

tonight right before bed, garrett jumped off the couch and hit his head on the coffee table. the hitting of the coffee table is a daily occurrence. but tonight, he thought he'd spice things up a bit and get a nice gash by his eyebrow.

by the time we got him to the er, he was back to his normal garrett self.
and by normal, i mean loud.

every time a doctor/nurse walked past us, garrett would say in his super loud voice "what's the doctor doing? why are they not helping me?"

any non-medical person who walked by got "what is that person doing in my hospital?"

to the group of policemen down the hall, garrett said "those policeman have guns to shoot bad people."

all of his talking got him noticed by the woman behind the curtain next to us. we never saw her, but she chatted with garrett. when the time came for his stitches and they brought out the little cart of supplies, garrett said "those not for me. give it to that lady." (meaning the lady behind the curtain who was being so nice to him.)

garrett in an er...pretty entertaining.
and as for his stiches, let's just say everyone heard him getting them.