holiday review

we had a good holiday. we followed an advent calendar. this is the first year we have done it and it made life more festive. it helped that the girls can't read and i could easily change "make gingerbread houses" to "watch a movie". we did a lot of fun things. and some not-so-great things, like zoo lights. lame. most of the animals were asleep or closed up. and it was too dark to see the nocturnal ones. the lights were cool though. here are some pictures:

zoo lights:

santa at chloe's preschool:

family party in st. g:

preschool program: enchanted nativity:
Christmas eve:
Christmas morn:
click here for more pictures. you know you wanna.

family photos

my brother jordan took some pictures of us in an effort to get a photo for a Christmas card. this was the winner: fred just wants more ^

bah hum bug

this was taken as we were headed to the car. it wasn't posed.

Merry Christmas from the LaRiviere's

Merry Christmas from the LaRiviere elf family.

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1265600260

(www.elfyourself.com)

news clip

12/7/07 - Alpine family performs 'Living Nativity' to benefit cancer research

Holy Family

our neighbor's mother died of cancer 5 years ago. every year in her honor they put on a live nativity. it is very cool. they have blacksmiths, weavers, games, camel, sheep, a choir...we always go to it but this year got to be in it. we were even on the news! fred, aka baby Jesus, slept the first half hour and was pretty good for the next hour or so. dan had to hold him at the end but overall he performed well. better than the donkey (he had to be taken out).

How to Cook a Thanksgiving Turkey

by: Chloe LaRiviere

get a turkey at the store. cook it at your house. cook it for ten minutes. get it out of the oven. put a little bit of salt on it. eat the turkey and dip it in barbeque sauce.



chloe believes the flavor of all food is enhanced (and disgusting food made tolerable) by dipping it in something. she is a picky and fickle eater. yesterday she decided to try my butternut squash soup. i asked her how she liked it.
"pretty disgusting but kinda good."
i tried to get her to clarify.
"it's gross but i kinda like it."
"so you like gross things?"
"kinda."

knock knock

chloe's introduction to knock knock jokes was through the book

"cowboy and octopus."

“Knock knock,” says Octopus.
Cowboy opens the door. “Nobody there.”
“No, no,” says Octopus. “You say, ‘Who’s there?’”
“Ain’t nobody there!” says Cowboy.
“I know,” says Octopus. “It’s a joke.”
Cowboy thinks for a second. “Well, dang. It’s not a very funny joke.”
Octopus laughs. “No, cowboy. The joke comes after you say, ‘Who’s there?’”
“Okay,” says cowboy. “Who’s there?”
Octopus says, “Lettuce.”
“Lettuce?” says cowboy. “That’s crazy talk. Lettuce can’t knock on a door.” Cowboy laughs. “That is a great joke, Octopus.”
Octopus laughs, too. Telling Cowboy a knock knock joke didn’t work out so well. But a lettuce knocking on a door is pretty dang funny.

so chloe thought the punch line was having something funny at the door. i tried to explain it to her but she doesn't get it.

stella, knock knock.

who day?

orange

(stella laughs)

no, stella. you have to say, 'orange who?'

oyenge who

orange skinny garbage face

(lots of laughing from chloe)

they usually have something to do with garbage and face.

chloe, tell me one without saying face.

...apple who?

apple leaf face--oh! it's too hard!

another favorite:

olive you glad i knocked on your door?

tagged

i was tagged by em-cat. i'm supposed to list 7 things you may not know about me. i already did this on another blog so this tag will be about the family.

1. when i got to the hospital to deliver chloe i was dilated to a 9+. after 5ish hours of pushing with no epidural she was delivered by c-section. i hated it.

2. stella was a vbac* delivery. i consider this a big accomplishment.

3. fred was a vbac delivery with the help of forceps.

4. we currently own 13 bikes:

2 bmx bikes for dan

1 bmx bike for katie

1 bmx bike for chloe

1 mountain bike for dan

1 mountain bike for katie

1 time-trial bike for dan

1 road bike for dan

1 road bike for katie

1 specialized bike for chloe

1 bike with training wheels for stella

1 tricycle

1 like-a-bike

(we used to have a tandem road bike. and i'm thinking i would like a cruiser.)

5. anyone who knows dan knows that he likes to buy-sell-buy-sell-buy-sell-buy-sell.....but you may not know the exact number of cars he's owned. here is a list:

84 Subaru wagon
86 Audi 4000S
87 Honda Crx
87 Nissan Truck
86 VW GTI
88 Ford Mustang GT
86 Subaru Brat
68 Ford Mustang
86 VW GTI
90 Acura Integra LS
87 Nissan Pathfinder
90 Subaru Legacy L Wagon (Silver)
93 Jeep Cherroke Lorado
91 Subaru Legacy L Wagon (Maroon)
97 Subaru Legacy GT Limited
97 Saturn SW2
97 Subaru Legacy Outback
91 Honda Civic HB
93 toyota land cruiser
96 Saab 900 SE

05 Toyota 4 Runner
97 Subaru Legacy GT
02 BMW 330 XI
90 Honda Civic
2005 Subaru Outback

that is 25 cars in 16 years. right after we got married he sold the only car i had ever owned, my escort that i had just paid off. i wonder if dan will ever pay off a car. i have very little--usually nothing to do with the purchase of these cars. once i came home from a trip and he said, "go look in the garage." that's when we got the 4-runner, which is considered my car and i won't let him sell it even though he got really anxious as the mileage went up. i was really embarrassed when he got the bmw. but then i started to like driving it. and usually i'm all for buying a cheaper car but i didn't like driving the civic while prego with no a/c and grumpy, sweaty kids. plus, you had to duck under the seatbelt attached to the door.

6. dan got lasik surgery. it didn't work that well. he also got surgery done on his pinky toes because they curled under. it didn't work that well either.

7. chloe got dan's toes--short and stubby (like the flintstones) with crooked pinkies. stella got mine--long and skinny (like a model). i think our genes combined evenly to make normal toes for fred.

*look it up, we don't say the 'v' word on this blog.

super heroes

wonder woman

deflecting bullets
bat girl
i woke her up from her nap. after telling her,
"smile for the picture then we'll go to dad's work and get lots of candy"
i got this:

supermanfaster than a speeding bullet

pumpkin carving

last night we went to a corn maze (not as fun as last year with the logandale goodriches). then we each designed a pumpkin...

stella's:

she's getting better, last year it was just scribbles (very hard to carve)

dan's:

chloe's:

katie's:

time-out

stella's time out is on top of the piano because she won't stay on a chair. she likes it when i come back to get her and i ask her what she did. she thinks its fun. chloe never remembers what she did but stella has everytime except last night.
stella, why did i put you in time-out?
um..i hit choe.
no, why did i put you in time-out?
um, i hit choe.
no, stella. why are you in time out?
i hit you.
you didn't hit me. what did you do that was naughty?
um, i hit you.
no. what did you do on the counter that was naughty?
um, i hit da counto.
NO, STELLA! you DREW on the counter. is it ok to draw on the counter?
uh-huh.

this is what happens...

when you tell the stylist she can do whatever she wants. and there is no mirror. you end up with a posh hair-do. and what part of i-don't-want-it-boy-short did she not understand? cuz the back is boy short. and in the below picture its straight. that is because it was straight when it was long. before she cut it. now that its short, i can't get it to go straight. it just flips and waves in all different directions and its too short to round brush. my hair takes FOREVER to grow out so i told her not too short so i could try something different in a few months. but i don't think i'll be going shorter than this.

and to distance myself from the posh look i dyed it dark.

its not a horrible haircut. its just not what i would have picked. so next time i'll "tell her what i want what i really, really want. "

*pictures taken by chloe

5 Years Old

chloe turned 5 on the 15th. she had requested a princess party but i suggested a horse-themed party. (every girl in our neighborhood has a princess party.) i knocked on someone"s door who had a pony in their pasture and asked them if they would give rides. it was a hit. all the girls loved it. and nobody got kicked or bucked off. we had 13 girls, counting stella. so there were a lot of presents. each time she unwrapped one she would say, "awesome!" "i love it!" until she opened a bratt doll. she gave me this look like, "uh-oh, what are we going to do about this?" i told her it was ok and to say thank you. chloe knows that i don't like bratt dolls. she has seen them in the store and asked for them. when i told her she couldn't have one. ever. she wanted to know why. i told her they were slutty. "what's that mean?" "um, it means they wear too much make up and dress immodestly." well, the bratt doll she received is named cloe, and fortunately, doesn't have a lot of make up or provocative clothes. so i let her keep it. dan made the cake. it was awesome. i had bought some horses to decorate it with-- the expensive ones. but when it came time to put them on they were no where to be found. the kids had already eaten their ice cream and were chanting for cake. not really. but they were anxious. so we ended up with a foal that is bigger than the adult horse and a square stream flowing out of...astroturf? it was tasty though.

chloe has grown up a lot in the past year. she learned to ride a bike. she has friends and likes to play with them (and try to control them) every day. she is a helpful and sometimes pesky older sister. we've introduced grounding. she has discovered the internet. and disney channel via the internet. she's transitioning from princess to hanna montana and highschool musical. she is even learning to read.

we think she is a beautiful, smart, goofy, talented girl. we love her and glad she's ours.

Two Months Old

Fred is two months old. he laughed for the first time a couple of weeks ago. so cute. he has also rolled over from front to back a couple of times. a few people have asked me if he is a good baby or a bad baby. what makes a baby bad? he cries when he has a dirty diaper, and when he spits up all over himself, and when he's hungry, or tired, or gassy. that makes for a lot of crying. but i don't blame him. and he settles down quickly and easily. he doesn't sleep through the night either. 4 hours is the most he's slept at one time. and never back to back. usually, its four, then three, then one. but i'm not worried. we'll do some sleep training when i feel he's ready. for now he can sleep (and spit up) in my bed. just because he's so cute.

Birthday time

stella's new thing is to say, "i want dat my burday." she says this about toys in the store, things she sees on t.v. or in magazines, or even something she is already playing with at home.
but this isn't about stella--its about chloe. she will be five on the 15th. and here are somethings i'm thinking she will like for her bday:

this looks fun

and this:


she likes games:

this is what i'm getting her (mostly because i think it looks fun). i'm hoping to find one on ebay. she'll need furniture:

this is what she asked for:

and a barbie (ugh) laptop like ashton's.

she recently went through a box of envelopes. licking and sealing and stuffing and coloring. so, since you work in a bookstore, grandma goodrich, maybe you could get her some office supplies. ( i could use a box of envelopes.)

and we always like books.

we have received a lot of really cool and thoughtful gifts in the past. she is really looking forward to present time.

and don't forget stella's burday in may.