MORE Christmas fun...

This has been a busy week! Monday night we went to Christmas at the Zoo. It looked like, weatherwise, it might be the best day of the week so we decided, a little sporadically, to just go! And, of course, a good time was had by all. Seth doesn't like to loiter at the zoo exhibits. He walks up, sees the animal, and announces, "Okay, I'm ready." Normally I suggest we stand for a few and take it all in. But it was really quite windy and I was fine to play along with the quick tour of the zoo. I think his favorite (and mine too) were all the decorations set to music. These three trees changed colors and "danced" to the Christmas music. Pretty nifty!! And we even got to see real reindeer. Both were missing an antler. Seemed a little suspect to me but they didn't seem too bothered by it.

Then last night Santa paid a visit. I know Santa is not the point of Christmas! But to me there is something fun about Santa. We have our Little People nativity set up (and Mr. Particular/Seth didn't care for something about the configuration so he rearranged everyone Sunday afternoon AND informed David that Baby Jesus will stay in the tiny gift box as he's not supposed to be in the manger yet. LOVE this kid!!) and I do stress that Jesus' birthday is truly what is to be celebrated.

However, the reaction that Santa brings just makes me laugh. When he was knocking on the door, ringing the bells, yelling, "Ho ho ho," I think the blood drained from Seth's face. He looked at us and the door and we all went to answer it together. Luke too. Except the second the door was opened, Luke burst into tears and had to be picked up by Daddy to be consoled! And Seth, well, he just stood there. Funny too since we had made brownies and wrote out our Christmas list yesterday, "just in case."

Anyway, the visit went well. Seth chatted with Santa. He said, "I'm sorry for being disobedient for four days." Really? Which four days, I was wondering! Santa dutifully reminded him that those elves keep an eye on his behavior and he should try hard to be good. And Luke warmed up enough for a few photos on his lap. Both boys got books and matching stuffed animals. And Seth even walked Santa to the door. Another fun Christmas memory!

A few of my favorite things. Err, people.

I am going to digress (briefly, I promise) from my usual posts about the kiddos. For this post I want to tell you about some of my favorite people. These are my go-to girlfriends. The ones I've known forever. The ones who spent many of their oh-so-important high school functions (dances, etc.) at Olive Garden together (rather than the dance). The ones who stood in line for the Elvis stamp debut, even though we didn't really care so much about Elvis. The ones who fed bread to random ridiculous ceramic geese. Just harmless fun. Everyone started out at different colleges, although some ended up the same place eventually, but we all remained friends.



Well, we have an annual holiday gathering and we let the husbands join us. Fun side story - David's friend John who invited him to church, where we met, was already friends with one of the other husbands so Dave was actually hanging out with some of the guys without me introducing them. See how God was working all of this out - I believe David and I were supposed to meet somehow! Anyway, the guys are friends too so that makes it that much more fun.



This was our fourth (?) annual holiday gathering and this year Lynette had the BEST idea ever. Rather than bring the kids and come to my home, which is the norm, we should get sitters and go out! It was absolutely wonderful. I love getting all the kids together but at this point we are 10 adults and 10 kids, ranging from 20 months to 11 years, and, well, it's just a little loud and chaotic. So we went to Iozzo's - a new restaurant downtown - for dinner and acted like grown-ups. Well, mostly. Did I mention it was fabulous?

They are my sanity restorers, sounding boards, inspirations as moms, and just wonderful friends. Thank you all for hanging in and together for so long! Love you all!!

Jolly Days!

The Children's Museum creates a wonderful winter wonderland. David's employer is one of the sponsors of this event. So, as a perk, the Museum opens one evening and for 2 hours it's just co-workers and their kiddos taking over the Museum. I think the boys had a great time! On the way home Seth pretended to be sleeping and actually fell asleep. I don't even remember the last time he slept in the car. Luke had a good time pretending to sleep too (except he didn't really sleep, just has already learned that it's his job to mock his older brother!).

We started off petting and grooming the "reindeer." Pretty great replicas of the real things.

Then there was some ice fishing.
(Or fish stirring.)

And finally a trip down the huge slide. Amazingly, both boys really seemed to enjoy the slide. They both even went down it twice! And for the record, Seth won both times. Of course, he was on the inside lane!

Oh Christmas Tree...

I love the annual downtown tree lighting. David and I actually got engaged 7 years ago, downtown, after the tree lighting. We never miss the fun. However, this year, we were putting up decorations and things got confusing and it was cold and we just didn't go. But what we did was even better. In my opinion anyway. We went the next night. We started the evening by going out for pizza. Eating out had been put on hiatus but Luke seems to be chilling out a little so we're trying to brave it again! Then we headed downtown. Not much crowd to fight, a very short line for hot chocolate, and we could walk right up to the monument and check out the tree and lights. An added bonus for Seth - the horses that pull the carriages were hanging out on the circle AND there was a fire truck parked on the circle that we got to walk all around and ooh and ahh over. He definitely loved his "warm chocolate." Thanks to a much smaller crowd than Friday I was able to ask them to cool it down and go light on the chocolate. I needed him to sleep eventually that night!A group shot of my guys. We tried some with me, but I've discovered we always take Dave and the boys first and then they are done with pictures before it's my turn. Oh well, every group seems to have a designated photographer.

Funny sidenote: We drove downtown, paid to park, loaded everyone into coats, Luke into the stroller, got out of the parking garage and Luke screamed, "moon" and Seth screamed, "fire hydrant." Ummm, yes, but we could've seen both of these things outside our front window!! You have to love the simplicity of children!

Wednesday's belated thanks...

The day before Thanksgiving, in my head I was posting about how thankful I was that my house was clean, my Toll House pies (without Toll House chips as they are possibly 'contaminated' with Lukey allergens, but with Hershey's chips instead) were made, the deviled eggs were done, and even the mashed potatoes were mashed and waiting patiently to be reheated for lunch the next day. Ahhhh, this would've been a very thankful post! Had it all happened before about 11pm when my bed started to beckon to me!!

Oops (and belated Tuesday thanks)

Well, I guess I failed quite miserably at sharing what I was thankful for each day last week. I got caught up in the cleaning and cooking. This is NOT to say that I wasn't thankful, for I composed blogs in my head each day. It's just to say that my fingers and the keyboard neglected to bond. So, I will pick up where I left off....

Tuesday I was going to share that Seth is thankful for horses. I asked him at breakfast and this was his response. And I believe him. The highlight of nearly any outing is driving by the horses on the way home. He has named them - Chocolate and Chip and Cookie. Or maybe Dave named them. Either way, Seth calls them by name. If they are not out, he likes to come up with reasons why not. Maybe they are napping? Maybe it's bathtime? And he often yells 'Merry Christmas' when we drive by. Even in July. [He doesn't tell anyone else 'Merry Christmas' in the middle of summer so I'm not sure why the horses, but that's okay.] And that's Tuesday's belated thanks!

Thanksgiving, really?

I cannot believe Thanksgiving is already here. In honor of this week I am going to try and post each day something that I (or my boys) are thankful for. We have celebrated Thanksgiving at our home for the last few years. That means a lot of cleaning. And with my messy little boys, it also means a lot of frustration! Add a food allergy to a day that is traditionally a pitch-in and it's nearly a freak out festival for me. BUT I am vowing to stay positive and thankful this week. That's not to say I won't have my moments. But I'm putting it out there for all the world to read that I am going to try really really hard to be good!

So, today I am thankful for two sweet little boys and the fact that I get to spend my days with them. Oh, they are not without their issues (nor am I), but we'll save that for another post! But today, I am especially thankful for Lukey, who brought me his blanket and asked me to cuddle with him this morning. How can you not be thankful for that, even if it only lasted 2 minutes!

What's that you say?

Luke has recently decided to dazzle us with a glimpse at his growing vocabulary. I have long said that Luke is a doer, not a talker. Meaning, he just wants to watch what we do and copy it. Whether it's turning on a light or wiping his own face or brushing his own teeth or trying to climb into his crib (okay, tempting as it might be he hasn't seen me do that). But he hasn't had much to say. He had sounds, but not words. And with his facial expressions the sounds were enough for me to know what he wanted. But recently he has decided it's time to unleash a few 'real' words on us. He is quite the character:

*I walked into the closet to find him and Seth sitting on the floor while Dave picked out a shirt to wear to church. It was cute to see them all there so I stood for a minute watching. Luke waved his hands in the air and yelled "Go!" Finally he got mad at me and walked over and shoved me out of the room. Then ran back to his spot on the floor and continued hanging out with Daddy and Seth.

*I got his juice cup ready and he came running from the other room screaming "Pwease, pwease, pwease." He also told Seth 'Tank eww" for giving him something at dinner. I'm sure the politeness will pass.

*Now when I ask for a kiss I get 'No" and he shakes his head to go along with it. Or sometimes I just get a kiss.

*Recently at bedtime he came to me and said, "Eat, eat!" But since he took nearly 45 minutes finishing his spaghetti and meatballs not that long before I knew he couldn't be that hungry. But it sure does get easier when they can give you better clues as to what they want!

As for Seth, he loves to talk and I think he has forever! I was trying to get Luke to use the potty and he ran out of the bathroom without his clothes on. Seth looked at me and said, "This is terrible!" I didn't think it was so tragic, but Seth made me laugh.

He has a new favorite phrase. "Are you KIDDING me?" It cracks me up! He uses it completely appropriately. "We have to do THAT tonight? Are you KIDDING me??"

And at church they hung up pictures of the kids and what the kids are thankful for. What is Seth thankful for? I was so interested (scared?) to see what he told them. But he is thankful for God and the new fire truck at the fire station! Schwoo! I can live with that.

Dearest Lukey,

You are NOT this big...

Mom, phone...

Devouring a whole apple.

Did I mention "devouring?"

Pulling your own big chair up to the little table for a snack.

Helping Daddy and Seth make brownies for Mommy's birthday.

Loving the brownie batter!

Roasting marshmallows for s'mores.

And curling up in the big bed with the remote.

Please, slow down just a little bit!

Brrr....

Forecasted high - 47.
Windchill - 34.
Hey - let's go to the pumpkin patch! Somehow, we just hadn't made it there yet and we HAD to have pumpkins so we bundled up and off we went.
I think the pictures tell most of the story...

There's a huge pumpkin eating dinosaur. Luke was not even phased by all the roaring and pumpkin smooshing.
Seth, on the other hand, needed to be convinced this was okay. He looks pretty upset in this picture. He wasn't really. Just having a spirited conversation with Daddy.This was the most favorite activity. These silly plastic tractors in sand. My boys would've stayed there all day in the cold.
Luke rode the pony. I could not convince Seth to join him. Well, really at $3 a ride (and the ride lasted about a minute) I didn't try all that hard. But we were more than willing to let him ride also. And, before you all think I've lost my mind (or my overprotective nature), Dave just stepped away for the photo. He walked the whole little ride by Luke's side.
Again, my wild child climbing to the top of the pile of hay. Seth stood beside me. He'll make an awesome photographer one day!

This was the tractor that pulled our wagon out to the pumpkin patch. Definitely a highlight of Seth's day. "It's a REAL John Deere!!"

I have no wonderfully posed pumpkin patch photo this year. Notice the puddles of water and the pumpkin guts smashed everywhere. We took about 5 minutes to pick pumpkins out in the patch. But each of the boys picked their own, including David. And in the end, we left with 30.3 pounds of pumpkins - 3 in all. Two small and one large for carving. Guess we should get that done pretty soon, huh?

Aaahhh, vacation...

On Friday, August 28th we set out on an adventure - a vacation. Twelve hours away by car. But we are getting smarter with experience. We did not try to drive straight through this year. We would've quickly changed our minds anyway! We arrived Saturday evening at Fort Walton Beach, Okaloosa Island, Florida. Basically Destin for those familiar with the area. After a quick dinner mom and I headed to the grocery store and the older boys went home to put the little boys to bed. So, Sunday started out refreshed, with stocked cupboards, and a trip to the beach. Here's what I learned on our trip (in no particular order!):

1. Packing for an 18 month old is much simpler than packing for a 7 month old (skip the formula, baby food, bottles, bottle brush, bathtub and go straight for sippy cup and snacks). Not that that means there's not a lot of stuff still.

2. If Luke (my excellent car sleeper) should be exhausted but has napped for only 1 1/2 hours AND it's past his bedtime, he is exhausted. He's also freezing cold. Give the child his blanket and watch him snuggle to sleep (okay, so I didn't figure it out until the next morning - bad mommy!). Duh! I was freezing with the A/C on, why wouldn't he be? Snug as a bug in a rug he slept like a log - and covered himself back up when he got cold!

3. Local attractions are overpriced but amusing for the children. Example: $50 for a family of 4 was way too much to pay to see a dolphin eat a fish out of the trainer's mouth. But the kids thought it was good fun. [Okay, there was more to see than just that, but with my love of fish - ewww - it kinda stuck with me!]Engrossed in the "multi-species show." One sea lion, two dolphins, a little kissing amongst the 3 animals and whammo - multi-species show.

(touch tank, aka ewww - one touched, one did not. See #5)

Ewwww, ewwww, ewwww, ewwwww.

4. The peace and quiet of the condo wasn't because it was a greatly constructed sound proof structure. The place was apparently empty, as in no neighbors most of the week! But on the Friday before Labor Day people started pouring in and I realized how fortunate we had been all week to have such a quiet, and deserted, vacation retreat!

5. My children are polar opposites. We first took Seth to the beach at 13 months. He hated the sand touching his feet. Luke, at 19 months, couldn't get enough of it. (Thankfully Seth has progressed, but only with the sand).

6. (See beginning of number 5.) Luke had to be watched constantly so he didn't wander into the water. He didn't even mind (too much) a large wave that smacked him in the face. Seth went into the ocean twice. Because I staged a sneak attack, grabbed him, and assured him the whole way to the water (while he was screaming to be put down) that 'Mommy loves you and wouldn't do anything to hurt you.'

7. (See beginning of number 5.) My children's skin reacts completely differently to Florida sun and SPF 50 sunscreen. Luke looks like he's been to the beach. Seth looks like he's just stumbling out of his igloo after a long winter's hibernation. Although, in Seth's defense, he does have a nice tan line. But, unless you are looking at that tan line, you don't notice the tan.

8. Luke decided this was the week to start the "I will not eat calmly in a restaurant phase." NOT a good time. I think my mom took the brunt of it. I think she was generally on the side that the food went flying toward when he decided to just send it flying. Usually, he just looked like I had ordered the completely wrong thing off the menu. Then about Wednesday we figured out that he thought he needed to dip his food into something. We went for Mexican and he looked like he'd been swimming in sour cream by the end. But he was full and so was I. Yeah!! The next morning we went to breakfast and he ate pancakes and butter. But mostly just butter.

9. My need for a semi-clean (is there such a thing?) gas station bathroom is second to the need to have some safe, preferably grassy area where the boys can stretch their legs and eat goldfish crackers and grapes. I'm still trying to block out the incident on the way home where I walked into the clearly labeled 'Women's' restroom to find it being used by a man, who I believe had converted the sink into a urinal. Let's just say that I calmly closed the door, walked briskly but unsuspiciously through the gas station convenience store, got into my van and said to my waiting hubby, 'please take me somewhere else NOW.'

10. A king sized bed is not enough room for 3 of us (this was only at the hotel on the way to Florida and on the way home from Florida. The boys each had their own rooms at the condo and slept great!). Especially when one of us is boney Seth jabbing elbows and knees into my back. OR sleeping on top of the covers (like Daddy) and pulling all the covers off of me. OR snuggling down into the middle of the bed so I have to move my pillow down to the middle of the bed so I don't cover his head once he decides blankets are acceptable. Luke's little pack and play all to himself was making me jealous!

11. DVD players in the car are great. Headphones for the DVD players are even better. I know all I need to know about the pirates who don't do anything! And my little guys look kinda cute in headphones. But really, Seth - looking like you're "over" the pictures an hour into the trip? We took 583 after this one. Get used to it Lovey!

12. On days when the purple beach flag flies (purple flag means "pesky marine life present"), the pool is a splended option! Throw in a splash area for the little guys and all is well!

13. Seth talks with his hands. On the phone. It's genetic.

14. Seth, alone with Daddy, does things that Mommy might not always approve of. Okay, it was actually the Air Force Armament Museum and I am sure Seth loved every minute of it. This picture was a just a little frightening to me!

15. Staying very near an Air Force base provides some awesome fly overs. It was really neat to see so many people stop what they were doing to watch, I hoped respectfully, as the planes and helicopters flew overheard. Sorry, I missed the planes but the expressions of these two were too much!

16. Dates are wonderful, but throw in a little local ambience and they are even better! Well, unless the local ambience is the little white, blend in with the sand crabs that ruined my moonlit walk on the beach! Those things are just creepy.

17. A little afternoon storm doesn't ruin the day. It's actually nice to watch from the porch.

18. My kids cannot get enough of Grammy and Grampy! Every morning began nearly the same, "Are G & G up? Where are G & G?" And while constantly hearing "I don't want YOU to do it" gets a little old, there were times when not cleaning up another mess or doling out another goldfish cracker was a welcome break for me! (sorry Mom)

19. Once Luke bloodies his nose in a full on flailing on the floor tantrum 15 minutes after arrival at the condo, expect many many more nosebleeds throughout the week. Of course, most likely as soon as you dress them both in their little matchy-matchy outfits that you bought specifically to take precious vacation photos. So that Luke, currently wearing 18 or 24 month apparel, then ends up in his brother's (not really matching) size 3T shirt. But kudos to Angel at the Greenwood Penney's Portrait Studio and the awesome job she did with the boys' photos in the matchy-matchy clothes (after the yellow shirt was peroxided and laundered) once we got home.

20. And finally, leaving stinks!

I asked Seth on Friday what he wanted to do for his last day in Florida. He said, "nuffin!" I knew then that Saturday morning would not be fun. And I was right. After about 4 hours of driving on Saturday Seth announced he did not want to go home, but rather "back to the condo!" I feel your pain babe. I feel your pain.