Christmas

Our Christmas morning started at 4 am when our (finally) teething toddler decided to wake up and freak out for an hour and a half. That's why at 7 am when everyone else was more ready to wake up, this is what little brother and hubby looked like! It also turns out that I didn't really take very many pictures of Christmas. Whoops. So here are the few that we actually have of our holiday.

I know I'm biased but I think they are so cute!

This year was the year of dress up. G got a knight costume that he wouldn't take off all day. We've never bought weapons for the boys before but the costume came with a sword. The boys fought over it all day and the next until we finally hid it. I'm really not sure where it is (not that I'm too sad about that).

How many times do you see a knight with a kids digital camera? Not often enough, I'd wager.

You can't tell from the picture but all E wanted on Christmas morning was to eat candy. Here he is trying to open a candy cane. He walked from person to person trying to charm them into opening candy for him. The little beggar.

Dress up pajamas from Grandpa B. G is spiderman and E has spongebob. My mom also made reversible superhero capes for G, E, and Hubby. I haven't gotten a picture yet so I'll try to post one when I do. It was pretty funny to watch all three of them running in circles around our house in capes.

All in all, we are so grateful for our family--both extended and our special little Team B. We feel so blessed to have one another. Here's to another wonderful year!

We celebrated Christmas yesterday with hubby's mom and she gave the boys these pajamas. I couldn't stop laughing last night, I thought they were so funny. What can we say? We're just animals over here. 

There's nothing sadder than...

Watching your one year sobbing and vomiting all over themselves in their car seat while you are sitting in the Target parking lot, helpless to make it stop. 

The weirdest part was that while it was gross, it wasn't as gross as I would have imagined it would be. At one point he started throwing up again in the kitchen (and I realized the moment had long past during which I could transport him to the bathroom or anywhere better) I felt so bad for him and he wanted comforting so badly that I just let him snuggle on my lap while he threw up a little bit more on me. 

That's what I call love. 

...And laundry day.

Just so you know...

We (I) decided it was finally time for our little urchin child to get a haircut. His very first. Dad was very sad because he liked to do crazy things like make mohawks in the bathtub and take pictures. 

This was probably the most difficult and consequently worst haircut ever. By the end, E was sucking on a hair covered candy cane and trying to climb out of the tub with one hand. 

This is how he sleeps every night. Notice his short hair. He is such a big kid now! 

In the meantime, G seems to be going the opposite direction in his hairstyling choices. 

Rockin' the mullet wig. Like father like son.

Finally, in case all you locals didn't notice, it snowed.  

Dad and G had a great time.

Then E woke up early from his nap so we brought him out too.

He proceeded to whine until our ears bled, so all in all it was a pretty normal day.

I do believe winter has begun.

We just spent a truckload of money and we're not even close to being done today. Blah. I hate spending money, it makes me sick inside. 

On the up side, we did get some awesome deals and now Hubby can boast his first experience with shopping at 5 am on black Friday! Woohoo!

Hubby selected and set up our thankful tree this year. You can't tell from the picture but it is ENORMOUS. As he put it, we have a lot to be thankful for.

Most especially we are thankful for our special little family, as well as our larger extended family. We love you all!

Mmm...Pie.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I finally finished making these blocks I saw on the site http://littlebirdiesecrets.blogspot.com/
It's a set of 7 blocks that have a letter on each side of the block so that you can rotate them and spell a number of different words. They were pretty easy even though they took a ridiculous amount of time because I'm super lazy. I thought they turned out pretty cute though.

I recently finished the book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I wish I would have thought of the story--I wonder how much money this guy is making by basically publishing the original with zombie parts added in. 

After I finished I decided I had to watch my Pride and Prejudice DVD's of the BBC version (you know, the one with Colin Firth). I keep finding myself waiting for the zombies, though. 

"What is she doing walking through the countryside unarmed and alone?! The zombies!" Oh wait.

"Don't talk to Charlotte Lucas, she is becoming a zombie!!" Wait again. 

I have to say, I'm kind of missing the zombies. Although gossiping women might be just as brutal.

A new story and an old one

At around dinner time today (you know--4:00) our family decided we wanted to go out to eat. We chose Wingers for two reasons, 1) all you can eat sticky fingers, and 2) popcorn to eat while you wait. One of five groups in the restaurant, we were seated in a section all by ourselves (I'm guessing due to our two messy/loud little bundles of joy). We ordered and waited for our popcorn...which didn't seem to be coming. We started to wonder if they still gave out popcorn. G became a man on a mission. 

"Mom, you stay here with E. Dad and I are going to go find out about the popcorn." he explained as he stood up from his seat and headed for the front. 

We talked him down and said we would get a server to talk to us about it. Pretty soon I noticed that he was beckoning over every person he could see wearing a "Wingers" shirt. Before we knew it, a man (who we think was a manager) was at our table asking if everything was alright. 

"Where is the popcorn?" G asked. 

He proceeded to explain that the popcorn machine was broken. The kids were sad but got over it. The rest of the meal went pretty much according to plan until G realized that his root beer had been forgotten. Again he waved down every server he could until the situation was rectified. 

Hubby and I just had to laugh. We couldn't help but admire his moxie. He stands up for himself and we dig it.

Now for an old story. 

When we were first married, Hubby bought a pair of Adidas athletic pants at the outlet one year. These have stood as his favorite lounge pants for the past 6+ years. They are typical basketball style sweats; wide elastic waistband and soft silky fabric. About 6 months ago Hubby started putting the pants on and complaining.

"I don't get what is going on with these pants." he said, "the waistband keeps shrinking. I mean, what's up with that? They are way old. Why would they shrink now?"

I looked at him dumbfounded. "Are you serious?" I asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Why do they keep shrinking?"

Trying to hold back uncontrollable laughter I patted his tummy. "Did it ever occur to you that your pants aren't getting smaller, you are just getting bigger?"

He looked at me with a shocked expression. "What? No they are getting smaller."

I couldn't even answer I was laughing so hard. 

We started laughing about it again today as I put on some sweatpants. 

"It really hadn't occurred to me that I might be the one getting bigger." he said. 

Of course it didn't dear. Of course. 

In case you haven't seen it, E is turning into quite the little walker. He still prefers crawling, but we'll convert him yet!

Happy Halloween!

Almost makes you wish you were in preschool again

G got to dress up for preschool today. He had so much fun! It almost made me wish I could stay and play.

More halloween posts to come. There is nothing cuter than kids in costumes!

Celebration part II

We had a celebration for G's real birthday and I thought I'd share some highlights.

It unexpectedly snowed--which kids always find to be the most fabulous birthday present. 

I made the BEST pizza I've ever made. EVER. Seriously, I thought I had ordered out. If you are interested, the recipe was pepperoni pan pizza from America's Test Kitchen click here for the link. 

We didn't make another cake, but we put candles in all of our food (a tradition stolen from our awesome friends). This was G's dessert. 

G got a bop-it which he and E promptly began fighting over.

Also not pictured--G received a box of fruit by the foot from our friends. He ate one immediately. He also discovered the joy of silly string which everyone enjoyed the privilege of getting sprayed with.

Finally, we have taken pictures of both boys next to this bear to document their growth since we brought them home from the hospital. I can't believe how huge this kid is. He truly is a child and not a baby or toddler anymore. 

Tonight he asked when he would turn 18.

Too soon.

E is a little climber and is constantly looking for something new and naughty to do. These pictures were all taken within 5 minutes of each other. The child never stops.

With this one, I kept hearing thuds and finding him on his bum in between the chair and the wall. We finally just moved the chairs because he couldn't resist them. 

He loves the fireplace so I finally relented and told him he could climb on it if he sat. He spent the next 5 minutes climbing up, sitting on his bum, and swinging his little legs. Then he would climb back down and start all over again. It was one of the cutest things I've ever seen. 

Then brother decided he wanted to be part of it. You can see how that went over. 

Finally, here's a little preview of Halloween. Love this kid!

Apparently so

So in regard to my last post, apparently I am the only person who isn't in love with the fall. (Except for my mom--hmm...). It's not that I hate this time of year, it's just that I don't get why everyone else loves it so much. My reasons are threefold. 

1. Fall signifies the end to me. The end of summer and freedom and trips and warm weather. It seems sort of like an annoying messenger bringing the sad news of winter. Fall hits and all I can hear is, "The end! It will soon be so cold you can't leave your house for 6 months and you will go crazy with your two little children bored out of their minds every day!" 

2. In a similar vein, it reminds me that the holidays are coming and that after all of those months of preparations and anticipation, after all of the family has come and the house is so full, there will be an end. The holidays are so fast. I love that time of year and it is so fun, but it is also so fleeting. Before I know it my plans that I have had in store for 5 months are over. The presents are opened, the decorations are packed, and the house is empty again. And then the waiting game begins with nothing to do between January 1st and April/Easter. So in this way, fall just seems...lonely. 

3. I honestly just like other times of the year better. I LOVE SPRING. After being stuck in my house forever trapped by snow and ice and freezing cold the spring feels like hope. We can play again!! We can leave the house without 40 layers! Spring colors are beautiful. The flowers appear and everything smells so good and fresh. Then summer creeps in and it is so hot that all you want to do is go to the pool...so you do. You can ride your bike and play outside. You go on trips and visit family. There are parades and carnivals and street vendors. You can make a giant slip and slide down Grandma's hill that the grown ups play on longer than the kids. I loved the fourth of July this year. We saw the balloons and watched part of the parade. We had home made root beer and I wore a cute summer skirt while we ate outside. Then we all laughed at hubby while he slowly gathered a flock of neighborhood kids around him in front of our house as he pulled out 8 year old illegal fireworks and we sat in lawn chairs enjoying his show until the sun went down. 

So, no. I don't love fall. It's fine. But Christmas and carols are wonderful. And warm summer nights are fabulous. Sigh. If only California wasn't going to the dogs. I think I could live with spring/summer year round. 

Am I the only one?

Fine, I'll just say it. Am I the only person who doesn't love fall, halloween, and candy corn? 

 

Five minutes ago:

Me: "Ok G, you need to change into your pajamas and brush your teeth and get ready for bed."

G: "Uhhh. Mom, I like my freedom. Why don't you just leave me alone?"

Me: "What? Where did that come from?"

G: "The Book of Mormon."

When I stopped laughing I asked hubby about this and he said that they had recently read about Captain Moroni and the title of liberty. If you think about it he's really got a point. Your mom telling you to put on your pajamas vs. trying to free your people--it's basically the same thing. 

Here are a few things we have been doing lately:

Enjoying burritos

Getting my dissertation in the mail. 

When I got this and my diploma it made me feel so relieved. I still have dreams that I forgot to go to a class all semester and now have to take the final exam. Last week it was Spanish. (By the way--I blurred out my name. It doesn't really look weird like that.)

Making our "BOO" blocks. Power tools make you feel so...powerful!

And last, but not least, driving Mom up the wall! Have I mentioned yet that I love preschool? Bless those people!!!

They Say It's Your Birthday!

We celebrated the boys' birthdays on Friday with a big family party. It was a lot of work, but I really love trying to make their birthdays special for them. Here are a few pictures of what we did:

My parents came into town to celebrate with us and help with the party. Here's Grandma with the two little crazies.

E didn't get much of a choice for his cake. I made him a chocolate one in the shape of a basketball jersey. G wanted a strawberry flavored cake so I shaped it like a strawberry. It was actually quite good (if I do say so myself). (The names are blurred out--they didn't look all crazy like that in real life.)

Here's the food--which featured 3 types of pizza and watermelon from our own garden! 

Grandma and Grandpa H

Grandpa B enjoying cake

E having some of his birthday cake. He was actually so enthralled with the birthday plate he started to ignore the cake. A problem--I can assure you--I have never had!

This was G's present to E. He picked it out and wrapped it all by himself. 

Aunts and Uncles

My sister and her husband.

Here's E eating m&m's off the carpet.

About 2 hours past his bedtime, E was thoroughly partied out. I guess you know you are 1 when you are the first to leave your own birthday party.