High Five, Eli

As you know, this blog is usually reserved for all things Finley and Mabel, hence the name of the blog. But when Eli turned five a few days ago and we went to his birthday party, it was big news.

This party was awesome from the word "go." When we got there Aunt Tasha took the bunnies out so we could hold them.

And then a little while later it was on to the cards and presents. He got some matchbox cars and some hockey pants.

And then the funniest gift of the night was that Luke got Eli some hair gel. Eli loves when Luke does his hair up with gel so Luke decided to get him some of his own. Nice work, Luke.

And then I gave him my card. Oh man, oh man, if there's one thing Eli loves, it's birthday cards, sometimes we think he loves them more than his presents. So I decided to make him a really nice one with lots of colors and stickers and stuff. Check out the look on his face - see what I mean?

After cards and presents the three "little kids," as I call us, snagged a photo opp and then Nana and Papa wanted in on the action.

Oh, and by the look on my face with my tongue wagging out can you guess what it was time for next? Yeah, you go ahead and smile for the camera, Nana, I've got my eye on that chocolate birthday cake.

We Can Dance If We Want To

So about a week ago was my last dance class for the session and the teacher let us bring someone along to dance with us. Naturally, I brought my fellow dancing sensation, Mabel Jane, who loved it so much she made Mom and Dad sign her up in her own class.

It started out with some pre-dance stretching; Lord knows you don't want to pull a calf muscle or you'll find yourselves on the sidelines watching.

We were the second group to go so we got a little glimpse of what was to come, though Mae found herself a little anxious to get on the floor.

Here you can see me in the background doing a move called, "And the World Was Watching." I do not have even remotely have a clue as to what that just meant... in all honesty, I just made that up (but looking back on it, that sounded pretty legit).

Take a look at that picture again - check out Mae's sparkly tutu (too-too? to-to? sorry, Dad here - absolutely no idea what the correct spelling of that would be). She was born to wear that thing.

And finally, this move is called "The Sunrise" and I'm not kidding about that one.

All in all Mae and I had a great time and even more fun is that one of my best friends, Corinne, is going to be in my class starting next session in a couple weeks!

Pablo Ames Skertich

Some people might look and see the side of a box of crackers attached to some toilet paper rolls.

My more sophisticated audience, though, sees art.

Yep, learning about Picasso in school, thought I'd give him a run for his money.

Well, I know My Name Is Simon

Remember the Saturday Night Live skit where the guy sang, "Well, I know my name is Simon, and I like to do drawings." Well, I like to do drawings, too, and with the window markers we got from Santa, we're all about it in this house.

So every couple days I draw a new scene on the front door window and then I tell Stace to text my Dad and tell him to make sure he goes in through the front door. And when he gets home from work - SURPRISE!!!

Check out some of my work.

Here's a close up of the awesome turtle drawings. This scene was titled, "Dreams from the bottom of the abyss at the Shedd Aquarium from a front row seat." Yep, I'm into long titles for my work.

The Cats In Their Hats

So here in Chicago it has been unseasonably warm so far this winter. And last Sunday didn't disappoint. It was in the upper 40s so we got our gear on and headed for the park.

But first, we had to get our coats and hats on, which was really fun because we wanted to wear our new hats from Aunt Erica.

Mae's is sweet - it's like a little French beret, or as I like to call her when she wears it - "Cupcake Head," because it also looks like the frosting and little sprinkle part on top of a cupcake.

Mine? Well, I don't want to get into it too much because I'm sure there are some animal lovers that read this blog, but I had to go deep into the heart of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago to get my hat. But don't worry, I didn't hurt the polar bear - I just asked him to sit down and join me for a snack (peanut butter and crackers), after which he agreed I could just cut some of his extra hair off and make a hat with it... Voila.

Roommates

Well, whatdoyaknow, after four nearly four years of having my own gig, I've got myself a roommate. A few days ago Mabel Jane moved in.

First, we put up Mae's crib and then brought her in the room to get used to it... a little bit of monkeys jumping on the bed never hurt anyone (well, except those five little monkeys, but whatever).

After seeing that things were going swimmingly, we moved the rest of her crew in - Charlie the Bear, Johnny the Giraffe, Turtle Time. I knew Mae was coming but I guess I didn't realize there was half of a zoo moving in as well.

So Finley, how did Mabel's first sleep in your room go?

I'll let you be the judge.

Christmas Morning, 2011

So the creatures all started to stir, and down the stairs we came.

Santa left me a note on the picture I drew for him. I told Dad the reindeer must've licked off the corner area so Santa could write on there.

Looks like somebody's been a good girl...

We kept needing to remind Mae that it was Christmas morning...

That is, until the sandwich set and the window markers were opened.

Apparently the glare from the sun through the windows got to Mae because she went downstairs and came back up with her Elton John shades so she could continue coloring.

I also got a really cool remote control car from Grandma.

Oh, and I'm not just a getter, I got Mom a new mug with an F on it, and Mae got her one with an M on it so she's covered for her morning coffees.

Mae got herself a new tutu from Nana and, as is her staple, wore that sucker high and tight.

Later on, we went to Nana and Papa's for dinner and Christmas night festivities. Needless to say, a very merry Christmas.