Cool New Pics

A few days ago, Mary showed me this cool app that I could download to my phone. It's called Retro Camera, and it lets you choose from five cameras, each of which adds its own special effect to the picture. Here are a few of my favorites:

Soon after Canon was born, Nonna and Poppa brought a bag full of Barry's clothes to us. He's worn a few things, especially the itty-bitty articles, but for some reason tonight, I went back through some of the clothes and found some of Barry's old pajamas that Nonna made. They're still a little big for him, but he really liked them (as did Barry and I).

New Ways to Show Distress

The other day, after picking Canon up from school, I got a phone call that I really had to take. It probably only lasted about five minutes, but apparently Canon was not happy about it. While I talked, he "cleaned out" the tupperware cabinet. I didn't think much of it because he loves playing in that cabinet. It wasn't until I got off the phone that I realized he wasn't playing. Once the cabinet was completely bare and Canon climbed in, I could see how mad he was at me for ignoring him. I spent the next half hour or so trying to convince him that I really was ready to spend time with him. My high maintenance son, the Drama Queen!

Daddy Cuts Again

What better way to ring in the new year than with a new haircut. I gave up fighting over this whole hair thing several weeks ago. It's hard to argue with a bald man who has a passion to live vicariously through his son's blonde mane. To his credit, he does typically agree with me when I say that Canon at least needs a haircut. He just insists on choosing the style and, so far, actually doing the cutting himself.

We have found that the best way to keep Canon calm is to give him an iPhone and let him hunt through his favorite apps. On this particular day, he found the camera on my phone and began to take the same picture over and over. Here are a few pieces of his art work.

In the end, I reserve the right to tease Barry about how much I hate the cut. The only rule is that I am not allowed to make any changes to his masterpiece. I can't wait until the day when he will sit calmly in a chair to let a professional take over this job. This cut, as you can see below, was particularly uneven and horrid, and all baby-ish-ness that Canon used to have is now officially gone. But he's still the cutest kid I've ever seen!

Christmas: Part 3 of 2

Just a quick note to remind myself in thirty years that Barry, Canon, and I did have our own private Christmas this year. It was on our bed several days after Christmas at some random time during the day. There was no big deal made over Santa, just us and three presents for Canon. I had lots of ideas about what his big Christmas presents would be. I considered a train set, a tent, a table and chairs set, and a tricycle. None of those seemed just right when it came down to it. So instead, we stuck with the basic and the simple: pajamas, books, and a small train collection that he can use on the train set that I'm sure he'll eventually get. Sometimes low-key just fits.

My Favorite Things

Sing to the tune from The Sound of Music (if possible).

A Neutra-Grain bar with a cup full of juice.
Eating while watching my favorite cartoons.
Playing outside on the slide and the swing.
These are a few of my favorite things.


(instrumental break)

Playing with "Buzzss" and "Lot-Lot" and "Woo-y."
Falling asleep while watching Toy Story.
Coloring Dora and Diego with green.
These are a few of my favorite things.


When the book ends,
When it's nap time,
When my temper roars!
MaMa finds something to bribe me to sleep,
And then I begin . . . to snore.


(instrumental and dance break)

Yelling at Bull when he barks at the door.
Jumping and dancing around on the floor.
Stumbling around after Daddy spins me.
These are a few of my favorite things.


When it's "Time Out!"
When it's "No, No!"
When my luck runs out.
I simply find one of my favorite things,
And then I don't need . . . to pout.

Christmas: Part 2 of 2

This year's Hamilton Family Christmas felt a lot like the Christmases I remember when I was growing up. The last decade or so has been very mellow when it comes to gift-giving with my family. With eight hard-working adult siblings and a set of parents who want nothing more than for us to give to people who really need it, the pile of presents under the tree has gotten skimpy. This isn't to say that Christmas is all about presents or that the time we spend together during the holidays isn't fun. But now with growing nieces and nephews, I was reminded this December of what it felt like to be a kid at Christmas.

One of the things we were pretty good at was planning every minute of the weekend so that no one got too bored. We spent one freezing night looking at lights in the park two blocks from my parents' house. I don't think Canon knew what to do.

During the day, we spent as much time as possible outside, though the weather kept us in and out in shifts. Barry joined us on Christmas Eve, and the real fun began. If there was ever a lull in the events of the day, Barry was there to wrestle, spin, or tackle any child in sight.

After a Christmas Eve service at church and a trip around some of the shadier areas of town to view some Christmas lights, we made it back to the house for dinner. Of course, we couldn't end the night without first making cookies for Santa. Amelia and Kaden were definitely the most productive cookie makers. Canon showed absolutely no interest, and Ceil's energy was focused on sneaking spoonfuls of icing to eat. By the end of the night, I'd say Santa was able to get his sugar-fix at our house.

Because my little brother's family recently moved to Kentucky, and his work schedule did not afford them the time to travel to and from Greenville, we made the most of their absence on Skype. They "called" us Christmas Eve night, and we were all able to see and talk to the Robert Hamilton's during their family Christmas. It kind of felt like one of those holiday commercials where long-distance families chat through the computer. Technology truly is amazing!

Christmas morning was as exciting as I remember it as a child. Just like when I was a little girl, I was the first person awake, or at least out of bed. Kaden, in the room next door, was the perfect little boy as he sat in his bed talking to himself until someone came to get him. To relive some childhood moments, I got up and went to wake up my big brother on Christmas morning. He was as happy as I remember him being back then! Once the present-opening began, I remembered that I was a parent, not a participant. Canon was only interested in the presents that other people were opening and spent the first part of the morning fussing - quite obnoxiously - about wanting to take his cousins' toys. At one point, we had Ceil open his presents for him in the hopes that he would try to steal his own gifts.

We eventually got him to enjoy some of his own things. This is a Rody that MyGoo and doc gave him. He had more fun falling off of it than bouncing on it!

By the end of the weekend, everyone was friends again, and the parents were more relaxed. This is a typical scene during dinner time. While the adults ate at the dining room table, the kids watched various Christmas movies in the den. Don't worry . . . Amelia was in charge. She's a very responsible six-year-old.

Merry Christmas!

Just for Fun

Now that I've got a few extra hours each day, and we had an unusually warm day in Dothan, I picked Canon up from school a little early to go to the Rotary Miracle Park. The Miracle Park was built so that every child could have a place to play. Kids with walkers, wheelchairs, and none of the above can access the many slides, swings, musical gadgets, and sensory toys throughout the park. It is one of Canon's favorite places in town. I'll just let the pictures show you.

I love seeing him this happy!

Christmas: Part 1 of 2

Christmas: Part 1 took place in Winfield this year the weekend before Christmas. It really was like being a kid again. The massive pile of gifts stacked under the Christmas tree made all of us giddy with excitement . . . and greed!

The fun started Saturday morning when we all woke up. Since neither Xan nor Canon are quite old enough to understand the whole Santa Claus thing, no one got up any earlier than normal. We ate a good breakfast, then headed to the Living Room to see what jolly old Saint Nick had delivered. Barry and I got tons of great stuff (mostly money for a new bed), but of course, our focus was on The Can Man. The pictures illustrate much better than my limited vocabulary can.

Though Canon is into lots of things right now, Toy Story is definitely his favorite. "Woo-y" and "Buzzss" are said multiple times each hour. So you can imagine his excitement when he opened these gifts. Not sure if you can tell, but the shirt he's wearing in the first picture is a Toy Story 3 t-shirt. We had to put it on immediately. He wouldn't even give me time to take off his pajamas first. Aunt Lydia gave him the Woody doll, and he carried it around the rest of the day.

These are some other great gifts - a dog that follows his bone, and an IXL by Fisher Price. The IXL comes with interactive coloring pages, games, stories, music and pictures with each downloadable game. Canon loves playing with Barry's iPhone, so Nonna and Poppa thought this would be more age-appropriate. Of course, he loves it!

Canon loved everything Xan, and Xan loved everything Canon. Ever since the whole New Baby thing has entered our lives again, Canon has been very interested in babies. In fact, no matter how many times we tell him to say "Xan," he responds with "Baby."

Besides opening presents and obsessing over cousins, we spent the rest of the weekend just relaxing. We put in Toy Story 3 to subdue Canon for awhile, but the adults were more into it than he was. Barry suggested several times, whenever he snapped out of his Woody-induced coma, that we turn the movie off because Canon was not even watching it. Then Buzz would appear, and we wouldn't hear from him for another twenty minutes or so.

The long ride home was broken up by a visit to Big Mom. What did we do the rest of the way home? Watch Toy Story 3, of course!

It's a Girl

See, I told you!