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Friday, January 14, 2011

Phone Photos

I took a quick pic with my phone of Matthew doing this yesterday:
And it made me realize that I have a handful of cute pics on my phone that never make it off of that thing...so thought I would send some to myself and share...

I rarely take both of them to the grocery store together (in fact, this may have been the only time!!) but this was so cute that it made me kinda glad I brought them along :)
We took a trip in to the city last week to go to this Children's Museum and decided to swing by the Varsity afterwards for a hot dog and milkshake.  Guess which one Nate liked better??
Babies sleeping is the hands-down sweetest thing in the world...I always wish I could take pics of it but it never fails to wake them.  So, the phone is the stealthiest way I can pull this off.  Kinda freaks me out but Matthew likes to sleep with his face covered...I used to go in his room constantly and peel lovie or Dinosaur off of his face but it always makes its way back where he wants it.
 And last but not least, I thought I would share a sneak peek of our new and improved kitchen...it's not done yet (and this isn't a great pic...it's from my phone too)...still need the backsplash tiled and hardware on cabinets is being replaced)...but the appliances, sink/fixture, countertops, and new island lighting is in!  (I will have to dig up my 'before' pics when I share pics of the finished room...but just envision white appliances and countertops to complement the white cabinets...)

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Snowed In

Anyone else feeling a little cabin fever right about now??  Three days of snow days coming off of a quiet weekend has made for a LONG 5 days!  The snow has been so pretty and fun and a rare treat (well, starting to become less rare it seems) but it has been a wee bit challenging keeping a 3 yr old and an 'on-the-go' 9 mo old entertained indoors the last few days...here is what we have been up to...

We have done a little bit of playing in the snow.  Nate still HATES bundling up...refuses to wear a coat and we tried the gloves and hat and he tore them right off.  So, he dressed himself for the cold (the green striped hoodie is back...surprise!) which means we did a lap around the front yard and called it a day.  Matthew was willing to get bundled up and do some exploring but it was so cold we didn't keep him out long either. 

Michael asked that I show you how I layered under Matthew's snow clothes...he thought I was crazy...I was wondering what to do with those crawler leg warmer things!

We broke out the art supplies...we have been doing a lot of painting and drawing and coloring.  Nate has enjoyed it.  (And yes, we have spent a lot of time in PJ's...couldn't see adding to my never ending laundry pile just to stay in the house!  Lazy?  Maybe... Practical?  Definitely!)
Painting Day #1

And Day #2...Nate tested my (lack of) drawing abilities by asking me to draw Thomas and all of his friends so that he could paint them...

We have played with every toy in the playroom.  I love that they are starting to play together now...or at least in the same space.  I love their age difference but I have discovered, mainly since the new crop of Christmas toys arrived, that the differences in their toys are concerning.  Nate has a few new toys that Matthew loves finding pieces to and putting in his mouth...namely a little Lego Airplane and I mistakenly bought Nate a Lite Brite for Christmas (one of those boards that lights up and you put the pegs in) and guess I forgot how many tiny little pegs there are...I keep finding them everywhere, including Matthew's mouth.


Speaking of Christmas toys, one of Nate's stocking stuffers was a Buzz Lightyear shave kit.  He loves it and takes his whisker removal very seriously...Dad taught him how and now he wants to shave in the bath everynight.  He has a little foam mirror that sticks to the tub and he lathers up.  Too cute...

Yesterday Nate and I built all of his tracks and connected them together...so we basically had the Island of Sodor in our living room...until Baby Godzilla came along during Nate's naptime today and destroyed the peaceful town.

Matthew's 9 mo post is overdue but he has been a crawling and standing machine the last few weeks.  Here are some of his favorite things to do now:
He is drawn to the fireplace, and especially the tools...I can't keep him off of it.  I have set up barricades and he just pushes through.  His other favorite danger spot is the dog...he plays with fire, literally and figuratively.
He pulls up on everything and this glass table is his favorite.  I call him "danger boy".

Fastest crawler in town...

He loves door stoppers

"What?  You don't like that cool sound??"

"But I do!!!"

So, while the snow has been fun, I am ready to be able to get out and about again.  We actually did venture out to a local pizza place close by last night, just to get some fresh air, but it might be another day before things start thawing out.  School is already cancelled for tomorrow, Nate doesn't go on Fridays, and Monday is a holiday....so, we've got to find fun stuff to do for the next week!  I am open to suggestions!! 

Can't wait for school to start again...or spring!!

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Christmas 2010

I learned a very valuable lesson since my last blog post....never talk about how healthy your baby is or you will certainly be cursed with a plague that will not only effect your so-called healthy baby but your entire family....

Yes...that is what occured over Christmas 2010.  Long story VERY shortened....2 days before Christmas, in the midst of mom and I working on our Christmas crafts and planning our menus, Nate gets a stomach bug (well, actually we didn't think it was a stomach bug at first and spent the night in the ER with both boys to find out for sure...but I won't go in to that or that would make this story REALLY long!)...next morning Michael gets it...later that morning Matthew gets it...and I got a milder version of it that afternoon (either it was milder or I was so busy taking care of everyone and cleaning up horrible messes to be slowed down by it).  So, needless to say, all of my planning and prepping for Christmas went out the window...and Christmas Eve was spent sanitizing and steaming carpets.  Fun times!  And to make it worse, most of our family decided not to come over on Christmas for fear of getting sick (for good reason - it was highly contagious!)...and to make it EVEN worse, those that did come over ended up sick in the days after.  So, Christmas this year was...weird and yucky!  But even though we missed having everyone here at one time it did allow us to have a low key and relaxing holiday without travel and stress...which ultimately was kinda nice.  And most importantly, I think the boys still had a great time regardless (once they were feeling better of course!)!  So, here is our Christmas in a handful pictures...
The weekend before Christmas we had a Christmas lunch at Alie's house with Uncle Stephen...she had a fun Christmas train that the boys had fun watching go round and round.....

Nate's favorite thing to do at Alie's house is raid her drawer full of reading glasses (she has a bunch!)...he likes to try them all on and make us laugh.

Alie and Matthew

Christmas Eve - thankfully we were all feeling better and could carry on our tradition of making cookies for Santa.
Nate was so happy that Santa brought him Dash and Bash and Misty Island that he didn't even pay a lick of attention to the shiny new bike and pile of gifts.  The other day he said to me "Did Santa bring me Dash & Bash?" (as opposed to someone else giving them to him), so I said "yes" and he responded with "I am so proud of Santa".

 Presents!
Neena and Matthew

Alie and Nate checking out the snow
Finally noticing the big boy bike

Sweet brothers
Who needs gifts when you've got bows??
Ready to go see some snow!
I had to drag Nate out in the snow...he HATES wearing coats, so hoodies is the best he will do...so we threw a few snowballs and headed back in!
Matthew in his very own chair
Nate in his first sleeping bag

The presents were great but that giant box was pretty fun too!