Christmas 2011 was great.

 Tyler got these Kre-o blocks (lego wannabe's) and Heidi ended up assembling most of the piece.

 Kira accessorizing her dollies

 Sometimes Scott is so endearing as an older brother.  Here, he is showing Kira how to assemble her dollies.

 The kiddos working on their Christmas projects.  You can't tell, but E-maxx is on the table and I was replacing the chassis, skid plate, steering turnbuckles and posts.  

 Scott got a huge lot of hot wheels track from craigslist and I showed him what my cousins and I used to do.  We used to hang out at Grandpa McMillan's on conference Saturday and run the cars down the stairs.  The best was the bus, because it could launch all the way to the fireplace.

 I'm proud of Scott's piano progress.

 Kira has been talking a lot lately.  And we can understand her.  Today, she asked for "leche."  Yessss!

Tyler got a razor from Craigslist and he's stoked!  Also, he's off the binky and his open bite is already beginning to close.

Heidi and I got this dope brass piano lamp from craigslist.  It's super heavy--probably from the 1960's, back when "Made in America" meant something.

I am happy to be able to walk on my own two feet without my cane.  Today I didn't have much back pain and I was able to enjoy my day at work.  My legs are getting stronger and I can maintain higher speeds on my bicycle.  The kids were extra fussy today, though.  Heidi had a doctor's appointment and I guess it was pretty stressful because of the kids' attitudes.  So for FHE, we had a lesson on respect.  I spoke to the kids in English (I thought of Ben Wiederhold and his lessons) and said, "I am not too stoked about your whining.  We ask you to do things and you whine or cry.  We are trying to raise you to be responsible people.  When you're older and you have a job, if your boss asks you to do something and you whine, you'll get fired.  I'm also not happy about how you have been treating Mommy.  You need to be respectful of adults.  I don't give you everything you want because everything you want is not always good for you.  I don't let you drink soda all day because you'll rot your teeth.

Tyler said, "I want soda."

"No."

He persists:  "Sodaaaaaaaaa."

"Tyler, I said no, and if you ask again, you're going right to bed."

Then Tyler says, a little more quietly, "soda."

So I took him to bed.  Looks like he didn't learn anything from my spiel.

Back in the day, I thought I gave a pretty effective speech to the freshmen academy chem 105 class in college.  They had done poorly on their test because they had stayed up until 3:00 most nights and were sleeping through my class.  I said, "How many of you are less than happy about your grades?"

Most of the hands went up.

"Why do you think this is?  Am I not teaching you the right material?"

One of the brighter students, but who also had a talking problem, said, "It's because we're not listening to you."

"Yes, that's right.  Some of you think you're smarter than I am.  Some of you probably are.  That doesn't give you any reason to talk when I'm talking.  It is disrespectful and prevents others from learning."

Then, during my speech, students were talking!  Good grief!  I started talking really loudly to drown them out.  One of the students said, "Why are you yelling?"

Freshmen.

So here I am, trying to give my kids lessons on how to succeed, and they're not listening.  I was a great parent until I had kids, and I was mostly prepared for kids pushing my buttons, but I was a little disheartened that my speech had no immediate effects.

Eh, whatever.  Night night.

Some 50 mm lens pictures

Kira looking cute in her Christmas dress

 Mr. T showing us his open bite.  Heidi decided it was time to give up the binky.

 Scott at his first piano recital at Eskaton lodge.  He played Jolly Old St. Nicholas and We Three Kings. I was pleased. 

His piano teacher, Trish

Heidi making friends with the residents

 Classic Tyler.  You better watch out, man, a bird's gonna land on that lower lip!

A vid of half of Scott's performance

I'm free!

I got my post-op x-ray yesterday, after 10.5 weeks of recovery.  I have been using a cane and I felt good about my progress, so I was pretty confident the x-ray would look good.  Since I read x-rays, I asked to see my own.  The tech refused, and I was like, "I gotta see it."  Finally, she relented and I had a look.  I said, "See?  No evidence of heterotopic ossification.  It looks good." 

So I emailed my doctor, and I almost told him what my findings were.  But I just said that I was pleased.  He concurred.  So I am free to do full weight-bearing!  Yesssssss!  Eh, I pretty much already knew that.  I'm still a little wobbly, so I might use the cane here and there.  When I ride my bike, though, the leg feels good.  Solid. 

Six minutes

Upon cleaning the van with Heidi, Scott and Kira:

Tyler:  Daddy, can I come inside?  Because the garage is really freaking me out.
Me:  Oh?
Tyler:  Yeah.  It's freaking me out.  So can I come inside a little bit, for six minutes?
Me:  Yes, sir.

Suzuki

Scott has been taking piano lessons for a few months and is doing quite well.  My mom brought me the old Suzuki books from which I studied as a youth, and today, Scott had his first Suzuki lesson with me.  We did "Pepperoni Pizza," as I remember Rick teaching me 28 years ago.  Scott did well and I was pleased.  When we were done, he said with a scowl, "Now can I play with your iPhone?"