New Years Day...

You know it's gunna be a good year AND a good trip to the zoo when the very first thing you do on New Year's is ride a carousal! Gram, Belle Belle, Auntie Whit, Papa, Libby and I all took a spin... Adventurous Addie decided that she likes to stay on steady ground... so she stayed back with the parents....

Matty Moo (who is afraid of elevators AND being on the second floor of a shopping mall) LOVED it! We were all a little shocked!

Our zoo has a new dragon exhibit! It is super cool... Belle Belle made fast friends with this dragon....

This is "Hollywood" ... aka Libby.... she rocked the zoo in Super Star style!

And THIS is Reba! She's a funny, furry girl who loves to dance back and forth... I just love to visit Reba!

A little sister love! Belle Belle and Libby were in Phoenix for a whole 3 weeks... but sickness kept us apart more than we wanted!

The older three with the Gram....

Sissy bug and Matty Moo... they get jipped and have to view the zoo from the stroller.... there just isn't enough of us to keep up with them!

There was an Ostrich that was going CRAZY..... All the animals stopped to watch her temper tantrum... she must have learned some of it from our own Matty Moo!

I loved Libby's jacket... she's like a pink Elmo!

Here's Jay... he was lazy on this visit... the last couple of times he's been up in a tree!

WOW! These animals are super cool!

Yes, I am quite a ladies man.... I just hope when I grow up that I will be "in" with the ladies who are NOT in my family!

Matty Moo finally busted out of the stroller... he had a BLAST hangin with dad!

Sissy broke free too - but she likes to have her puppy "leash" on her... it's the only way mom can ever let us all out of the stroller at one time!

Christmas at Gram & Papa's...

Christmas at Gram & Papa's was really fun because my Libby and Belle Belle were in town! I am 2 days older than Libby - so it's kinda like having 2 sets of twins in the family!

Sissy and I sat down to play some Christmas carols on the piano before opening gifts.... well, we tried to play some carols anyways.

Here are all us grand kids TRYING to get organized for a group shot.... yah, right!

Even with the help of Gram & Papa... it's close to impossible to get everyone looking at the camera at the same time! For 3 out of 5 of the kids isn't a bad ratio.

Let's just say when Belle Belle and Libby are around... I feel like a rock star! I hope I have this kind of effect on the ladies when I get to high school. Well, with the ladies that are NOT in my family....

Mom says this reminds her of some of dad's prom pictures... she told me there is nothing worse than a clingy guy! I just love my Libby!

Think she loves me too! We had the BEST (but crazy) Christmas with each of our families this year! I think EVERY ONE was in need of some rest after these fun two days!

Christmas Morning...

This is the site we came down to on Christmas morning!!!! Man were we excited to see what was in all those packages! But I was also wondering where our stockings went...

Ahhhhh! They were all filled and on our couch! Looks like mine was filled all the way to the top!

Matty Moo figured out mom's system really quick... if you look close in the bottom right hand of the picture - you can see that mom made picture tags... this way I was able to help pass out gifts!

But, who wants to pass out gifts when the ONLY thing I wanted (Firetruck Mater) I got!!!

Matty Moo was pretty excited about his new toothbrush that was in his stocking.... we are gunna need to brush our teeth after all the fruit snacks and chocolate we got!

Here's Moo Moo digging into a gift! He got a really cool ABC thing.... Matty LOVES to sing his ABC song.

I could hear sissy making some noise - so I had to check out what she got! Addie got a Little Einsteins Piano! This girl loves AND kind of instrument!

Here I am between my Stunt Mater track and my Rocky the talking Dump Truck! This was a great Christmas... I still can't believe that WE get gifts on Jesus' birthday... I don't think I would be as nice as to share my birthday with every one.

Looks like mom and dad will have their hands full for a while... they've got a LOT of paper to clean up and it looks like a fight they need to break up... as for me... well, I have a ton of playing to do!

Christmas at Nana & Papa's

Now, this is the way to start Christmas!!!! As soon as we got to Nana and Papa's house we had special presents to open from our friends Linda, John and Alaina! We were so excited to rip into them!

And then we played with the cool etch a sketch books until dinner was ready! My book showed you step by step how to draw Lighting McQueen and Tow Mater! My dad is a really, really good drawer and showed me how to do it!

Sissy's princess book showed her how to draw her ABC's ... and as you can tell by this look... she was NOT letting go of the pen to let anyone show her how to do it... mom calls her Lil Miss Independent!

Matty and I are more alike I guess... he was soooo excited to have dad help him draw his Toy Story guys.

After dinner and a BIG surprise all the kids had for Nana and Papa... we opened presents... Dad got these cool Bongos and a stand but Sissy thought they were for her!

She even let dad show her how to do it! We couldn't pull her away from them for a very long time! She would open a present... toss it aside and head back to the drums! I think mom is a little worried that we have another drummer in the family!

Ummmmmm, sissy.... I hate to tell you but they are NOT yours!

This was the ONLY pic mom could get of her favorite four... and after the craziness of opening she realized that she didn't get any pics of the rest of the family either! Maybe next year!

Pulmonologists...

I know.... that is a BIG word for a guy my size.... but Addie's doctor decided that she needed to see a special lung doctor to see if we could find out why she has such a hard time with her lungs... technically they are calling it reactive airway disease...but they are trying to find out why it is so hard on her...

So sissy has a new doctor... Dr "C". He's really nice and has a really nice office with TONS of stickers... sissy even gets to pick out a treasure from a real treasure chest when she leaves.... she ALWAYS gives the prize to me...which I think is pretty cool....as you can tell sissy is busy even in a doctor's appointment... she takes after mom and like to rearrange things to make the room look pretty.

After a long appointment with lots of tests... sissy and her sassy boots and shirt full of stickers were ready to leave... good news... no allergies.... now if we could just keep her breathing easy!

Our Third Annual Zoo Lights Trip

Sissy didn't remember getting all bundled up last year to look at Christmas Lights at the Phoenix Zoo and it looks like she is a little unsure of what we are about to do...

But Matty Moo has his crackers and is ALL ready to enjoy the show! Of course it was the COLDEST night of the season thus far... it was 42 degrees at 6pm! That is COLD for AZ... we had layers and layers of clothes on!

Matt and Addie got to ride on their very first carousal ride! Matt wasn't too happy that he had to sit on the seat reserved for girls.... but Addie LOVED riding on the Princess sleigh...

Big guys like me get to ride on the TALL rides! I picked the shark... it's one of my favorites!

After walking around and having a great time for almost 2 hours... we piled back in the truck and had a little snack.... it was a great night! Now, every time we leave the house at night ... Matty and Addie ask if we can see Christmas lights with dad!