Life lately

 We took the tree down, but apparently it didn't get watered too well during it's short life because by New Year's it was shedding leaves like crazy. We opted for the less traditional method of tree disposal due to the mess it was going to make (note the floor - we have wood floors, not green carpet):

 

Documentation of the kids' special ornaments:

 Ben's is a red telephone booth

We were walking through the alleys of Richmond one day and Rob spotted an Argentine empanada place. Here he is showing off his mad Spanish skills with the Argentine owner. They were delicious!

 Ruby apparently felt like she needed a little change and chopped a chunk of hair off by her ear. I think she must have been chewing on her bangs at the time because miraculously they didn't get cut and the cover the boo boo part. She'll probably be getting a haircut after the chopped part grows out a bit.

 There's a theater here in Richmond that has all sorts of shows and once a year puts on a pantomime of a fairy tale complete with audience participation and pop songs throughout. This year it was Peter Pan. We took the girls and they loved it. They even had a little fun with Henry Winkler (the Fonz) and sang the Happy Days theme song.

Benji has been super cranky recently and crying whether he's being held or put down, so here's how we've been rolling cooking dinner and cleaning. Poor boy, I hope he feels better soon so we can have our sweet boy back!