Oh When the Saints Go Marching In!

Super Bowl parties are always fun! Good food (this year I was particularly proud of my veggie bars), fun decorations (see the cool Colt/Saints sign my nephew Jackson made out of legos), and great folks (note all the happy men on the couch).

But these parties are best when the game is good and ultimately your team wins! Of course, we'd have preferred that the Cardinals were there. But I was happy when the underdogs - The New Orleans Saints - played tricky in the second half and took a trophy home.

The game still cost us though. Since we were at Marc and Karen's - home of the best bike/scooter/anything-with-wheels collection ever - Bridgette insisted on hanging out in their garage (where aforementioned collection is kept). Kevin and I had to bribe her older cousins to keep an eye on her and make sure she didn't roll down the driveway and into the street.

My Little Sunbeam

The other day in the car I was signing Primary songs to Bridgette, including such timeless classics as "Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam." Out of the blue, Bridgette said, "I like Jesus."

It just made me think that Bridgette is indeed a Sunbeam. She makes me so happy and she is a shining example of all that is good.

Amen, Brother!

The latest evidence that Bridgette is watching everything we do -- and then imitating it -- is that she keeps saying "damn it!" But, I'm not supposed to tell you that. So, instead, I'm going tell you how she's started folding her arms, bowing her head, and (kind of) closing her little eyes during prayers. We never even had to try to teach her. She just started doing it at the appropriate times. She's so smart.

Apparently, she's got a little evangelical in her also, because the other night she kept yelling "Amen!" during Grandpa Tobler's blessing on dinner. After the prayer, several people speculated that she was trying to encourage Grandpa to finish the prayer in a more timely way. Nicer elements suggested that Bridgette was just voicing her agreement. To which she replied, "Amen, Brother!" (She really said that)

That reminds me that I need to share the story about how I ruined the Tobler evangelical tradition of holding hands during prayers -- before we were even married...

Do You Like My Hat?

Around our house, Kevin often quotes his favorite line from the children's classic Go Dog Go...

Bridgette took this to quote to heart this winter, and tried out many fashionable head pieces. We pretend it is to keep her head warm, but really we live in Arizona and the hats are all about lookin' good.

Photo Frenzy

Once again the extended Tobler clan embraced the photo frenzy. Please note that Bridgette pulled the bright look together by wearing the striped dress (the colors of which we all were to match) with the polka dot tights (the pattern you’ll also find on Charlotte’s skirt).

December Moments

Before the year ends, I must blog about all the wonderful moments we’ve enjoyed this December.

Decorating the Tree:
As we pulled out our ornament bins this year, I worried about the poor combination of small hands and glass globes. My fears weren’t needless (shards of pink glass graced our tiled floor before the day was done), but the general decorating experience was actually pretty wonderful.

Under our direction, Bridgette eagerly plucked ornaments from our bins and carried them to the tree. Some she shoved into the low branches, but most she offered up to her dad. “Up high. Up high!” she directed. We loved it.

Though we frequently reminded Bridgette to touch the ornaments with just “one finger,” we lost a few more before the season was done. They were just too tempting. Still, I discovered that the joy of watching Bridgette appreciate the beauty of them, far outweighed any angst at losing them.

Treats, Treats, and More Treats:
We seriously live in the most cooking crazy or just plain generous neighborhood. I came home one night from work and found four different sets of goodies on our front porch. I started keeping a list (for future thank you notes – should I be industrious enough to be that polite), and it quickly hit the double digits. Thank you one and all for all the scrumptious stuff – but quite frankly I’m just feeling guilty about all the people I didn’t get around to making deliveries to.

Candy:
Ever since the gingerbread houses – Bridgette has been gaga for “handy!” That’s candy without the “k” sound. Pictured here - she stole and stashed all the Hershey Kisses that I had out to stuff in the gift bags for my office staff.

The Office Party:
I can’t remember a more fun office party! After the perfunctory lunch and passing out of gifts (Flip video cameras which were mighty cool but still not the highlight), the staff was instructed to open a large envelope marked: Santa’s Helpers. Inside, a letter informed the staff that Santa had been in a collision (the Easter Bunny had failed to yield the right of way), and because Santa was so busy dealing with the property damage issues, the Tobler Team was being called upon to help get Christmas gifts. With a fistful of money and a time limit, the staff rushed off to shop. They returned to our office with hordes of toys, which ultimately were delivered to kids in need.

The Nativity:
Bridgette simply refused to participate in the live Tobler nativity this year. That’s ok. I figure there will be plenty of Christmas’s to come where she’ll fight with her plethora of female cousins for the opportunity to be an Angel or the coveted Mary. So, as long as she was content as an audience member – so was I.

It was classic fun this year. Little Lorin – a happy shepherd if there ever was one - danced joyously in front of the manger scene. We all could only marvel at Mary’s/Caroline’s ability to keep a straight face as she sang her lullaby to Baby Jesus aka Landon.


The Presents:
We thought we would have until Bridgette was older before we’d have to get up at the crack of dawn to see what Santa brought. Unfortunately, Bridgette was up with a horrible ear ache all of Christmas Eve. So finally at 5:00 a.m. we wandered down to the family room. Fortunately, Santa had brought many distractions for Bridgette’s pain.

Bridgette loved her “push” toys this year. The buggy from Santa and the stroller from Grandma have already seen many miles. Other big hits were the plasma cars (gifts to the uncles that the toddlers immediately took over), the penguin-on-a-stick (an homage to watching March of the Penguins with Grandma and Grandpa Hanson), and the individual suitcases. Lorin was heard asking Ellison, “Will you play suitcase with me?”

The only gift that actually brought tears of joy though was one to Grandma and Grandpa. Marc and Karen put together a picture book of my parent’s early years. It was beautiful. And hopefully each family will get a copy in the future to pass down to posterity. (Side note – the parents were quite the stylish hotties in their day)


Landon’s Blessing/Bridgette’s Christmas Dress:
The Sunday after Christmas, Nicholas blessed little Landon. My favorite part was the blessing of a joyful heart. I think Landon has also got a lot of missionary work in his future.

We used the occasion to dress Bridgette up in her Christmas dress – which she hadn’t gotten to previously wear for a hodgepodge of reasons. Thus, we finally got a pretty Christmas picture in front of Grandma’s red and gold tree.

Merry Christmas