Well, the gifts they just keep on a comin ... for some reason December has felt like the Month 'O Pierce.
No sooner were we back from Denmark than we moved on to the Miller Christmas. Tuesday Mom and I headed to Grandma Maggy's to get Aunt Emily and I hung with Uncle Matt, Chaco and Blue for bit. I hadn't seen the dogs since my Austin trip over the summer and it was good to catch up.
Uncle Matt was great as always. He and Aunt Emily run marathons, but I don't know why.
Not long after arriving Mom, Aunt Emily and I loaded up and headed off for lunch. I took this opportunity to teach this visiting Texan about farming and how the responsible use of agricultural chemicals helps American farmers feed the world!
In return the Texan read to me when we went to the library ...
... and assisted with my cookie decorating project. (Though, just between us she upstaged me with her straight lines, good use of sprinkles and mastery of the baking sparkle gel.)
Later that day, once Dad got home from work we all headed back to Grandma Maggy's. There was one snag though ...
... I fell asleep in the car on the way over. Nobody seemed too upset and, for some reason, the party went on without me.
Folks were nice and waited for me to wake up before opening presents. I took a moment to survey things from Mom's lap ...
... and pronounced it good before digging in.
Not long after starting someone suggested that we needed a trash bag for the wrapping paper. Luckily Uncle Chris hadn't sold his prize from the birthday quiz yet (although I hear rumors of an eBay listing) and was able to help. Crisis averted.
He got a really cool gift, an ant farm! It was acutally pretty educational for me as I learned that one can actually grow ants but that there wasn't much of a market and for many it was simply a labor of love.
Grandma Maggy went way overboard this Christmas. Just by the size of this I knew it was going to be a great gift! (More on it later.)
Due to popular demand I took time out to pose for a photo ... I give you, the Miller men!
As the night wore down and defenses were softening I convinced Uncle Chris that we should try and recreate the lift scene from Dirty Dancing (well, at least the first half of it). He actually fell for it and, after many attempts, success!
Don't tell me that this wasn't meant to be. Two uncles. Two feet. Two shoes. To0 much.
Once I was done with the Christmas celebrations for the year I took a couple of days to settle down and catch up. First thing to do? Get my amaryliss in the dirt so it could start growing. (Great-Grandma Margaret and I are racing to see who gets the first bloom.)
Next up? Getting my new easel set up! This was the big gift by Grandma Maggy and I had a lot of fun putting it together and working up a couple of pieces. (My goal is to earn a commission from Uncle Matt and be the foundation piece in his collection.)
Hey, Grandma Kathy - look, the dolphin grew to 3.75 times it's packaged size after a full week in the water!
Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011 ... the last day of the year. What to do?! What to do?! Well, how about spending 6 hours fighting over clipping toenails then heading off to bouncy house land. Sound good? Well, I lived it and after surving a forced toenail clipping, an hour with 20 bouncy houses and teeming masses of unwashed youth from the greater Des Moines metro sounded pretty darn good!
Bounce. Bounce. Bounce.
Climb. Climb. Climb.
Okay, Mom ... time to go home. Bed for me and a rented movie for Mom and Dad. Happy New Year!
2012 dawned bright and guests were aplenty! Grandma Maggy stopped by as did my favorite couple from Atlantic Steve ...
... and Sue! Yeah! It was sooooo good to see them!
They even gave us all a much needed break from taking down Christmas decorations. As you can see, Mom was starting to get a bit silly.
Later that day Mom's cousin Jodie, her husband and kids stopped by. Sorry all, this was the best photo we had of the visit. (I'd like to think everyone was moving and I was still but pictures don't lie.)
To cap off the night Dad made a break for the neighborhood Mexican restaurant (that has dinosaur-shaped chicken nuggets and french fries on the menu) to grab dinner so Mom and I took the opportunity to do start a messy, space-hogging art project.
Monday? Trash day!
This afternoon the family loaded up and headed out to catch the noon showing of The Muppets. After 20 minutes of previews it finally started and I got through most of it. Dad laughed a lot and I can see Mom taking the hint and getting him the DVD for his birthday. Mom and Dad both seemed to get nostalgic and all blubbery over those puppets, that's for sure!
The final act in this week's production was dinner. Dad and I worked together to make burgers for Mom. It was nice to have some relaxing family time today.
Now, for my final trick ... watch me practice for my next job as a hot dog (I actually prefer to call them weiners because I don't like my food very hot)
shooter for a Major League Baseball team!
Until next time ...
Pierce
Ta-dah ...
Saturday mom and dad were one of the houses on the Allison Avenue progressive party so I hung out with Grandma Maggy. She had my favorite toys ready for me!
Then Grandma took me to play at the Jordan Creek play area - a popular place on a Saturday night.
It was such a good visit that even Steve and Sue showed up! 
Example three. January 2011. Please note the background. Florida. (Okay, not the best example of Iowa weather but a great picture nonetheless.)
Example four. January 2012. Please note the background. Leaves. (Mom, Dad and I were outside working in the yard in January. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?!) 
