2008 Goes Out with a Bang

and not the firework variety. Will woke up early this morning (much too early for me to check the time) with a horrible cough, runny nose, and a slight fever. I hurried upstairs with a bottle of milk hoping he could be coaxed back to sleep. No such luck. We must have rocked for an hour, and when I tried to put him back in his crib, he kept crying, "(I) unt (want) Daddy." So I caved and brought him to bed with us. I can't tell you how overjoyed Brent was to see him at o'dark hundred. And despite the hour, it was so cute when Will would cough and then say "sorry". Once he finally started to settle down, his very strong gag reflex went into overdrive and he started throwing up mucous....all over me. Now I am up to get cleaned and changed. Needless to say, none of us got much sleep last night.

So today the boys and I stayed home and rested. Jack declared it 'pajama day' and enjoyed being lazy in his jammies all day. And truthfully, we all need those lazy, recharge-the-battery days every once in awhile. I made quite a dent in the laundry. For some reason, the dryer decided to actually do its job and dry the clothes (if you could tune out the high-screeching noise of death it was making). It must have heard that it is getting the axe on Saturday. Will has been pitiful today, with alot of "Mommy hold you" requests, which I obliged.

We are ushering 2008 out with Chinese take out and football. Actually a nice, quiet date for us. We have never been big New Year's Eve partiers (does that actually surprise anyone?). I just don't get the attraction of standing out in the cold watching a ball or peach fall from the sky with hundreds of thousands of your closest friends.

2008 has been a nice year for our family. Brent finished up his clerkship at the Federal Court (which he considers one of his best professional experiences) and returned to the firm. His annual associate review was a much deserved pat on the back....high praise for the quality of his work as well as his other contributions to the firm (Cinco de Mayo, summer associate summer program, recruiting). Although he still has more work than one person can handle, he is thankful to be employed in this struggling economy.

It has been amazing to watch Jack change from a preschooler to a 'boy' seemingly overnight. Jack loves school and more importantly, he loves to learn. While riding in the car, he enjoys peppering me with all kinds of questions. On one particular day, I answered some (okay, most) of his questions with "I don't know" and he quickly replied, "Well, you went to college....tell me everything you learned!" Now you gotta love that enthusiasm! Jack is excited about beginning to read and he's starting to spell phonetically and with some help from us. He continues to thrive in gymnastics and loves swimming. He told me the other day that he can't wait to be on swim team again this summer.

And what a year of growth and change for Will. In 2008, he learned to talk, walk, run, jump and climb. He loves going to school and gymnastics; well really, Will likes to go anywhere. He is definitely all boy, but is also a loving, nurturing little fella. He will pat a crying Jack on the back and ask, "Okay Jack?" or sit in time out with Jack to keep him company (or maybe it's brother solidarity against Mom!). The most rewarding part for me has been watching Jack and Will's relationship deepen. They have become the best of friends and I just love watching them enjoy each other as they play together. I am so proud of all 3 of my boys and look forward to what 2009 has in store for us!

Wishing you and yours joy, health and prosperity in 2009!

Silly Goose

Well, hello there!

Now, just what can I say about this?!?!

At least they are clean...both the baby and the undies!

Merry, Merry Christmas

Welcome back! I hope your holiday was merry! We had a wonderful Christmas. Jack is at such a fun age for Christmas. Everything is magical, wonderful, and the best ever! And that is one of the fun parts of parenting; to experience life again filled with the excitement of your child! Brent and I have said many times this weekend that it was just a wonderful holiday. Jack loved all his presents, he couldn't choose a favorite because "everyone of them was his favorite". Will has traveled many miles this weekend pushing his new shopping cart. He has filled it with his 'babies' (stuffed animals), balls, or 'treasures' (this means unloading the junk drawer into the basket) and pushed it all over the house. And watch out...if you are in his way, you'll get mowed over!

Brent says Will is practicing being homeless...we're so proud =).
And with his dirty face, he does look like a little orphan child. Have I mentioned that the boy has a terrible sweet tooth?!?!? He found the chocolate!








And would you believe it?!?! Not only did Jack get a letter in the mail from Santa, but Santa Claus called our house Christmas afternoon! Jack was so excited to hear that he had been a good boy! Whew, we were sweating it out after Christmas Eve mass!







Friday, we continued with Will's birthday celebration. We went to Monkey Joe's, one of those indoor inflatable places, with our cousins C and B and their cousin K. Everyone had a great time. The giant slides were a hit! Just look at all of those smiles at the bottom of the slide!

And the cutest thing was watching B, 20 months old, scaling the steps of the slide like nobody's business and sliding down all by himself! He is just a little monkey and will be quite the little athlete one day soon.








C and K having fun in the toddler play area. C really is having fun! Seems I caught him in between expressions.








Will loved the slides and the firetruck ride, which Gammomma kept well supplied with quarters.






After everyone was sufficiently worn out, we went home for lunch and monkey cupcakes. And I have to brag on myself...I made these cupcakes! I am no Martha Stewart nor a natural in the kitchen, so I was proud of how cute they turned out =).

Saturday, we just hung out at home. I was absolutely worthless! I didn't do a single thing, except maybe unload the dishwasher. The boys played with their toys. Will got a Little Tykes firetruck and has loved riding in that. Even big brother thinks it is fun...check out the knees at the chin. Brent was productive, and prunned most of our crepe myrtles. (Brent is always productive! Just like my grandmother, he cannot stand to be idle.)

Today, we bought a new washer and dryer. Our set is 14 years old and has been dying a slow death for the past 3-5 years. Over the past year, I have been telling Brent, "I think we need a new washer and dryer." And each time he answered, "Well, go buy a new set!" Of course, I have been dragging my feet because I have such a tight grip on the money and hate to part with it easily. But the dryer is taking FOREVER to dry a single load, so long in fact that I can only do about 1 load a day, so I am always woefully behind on laundry. Home Depot was having a pretty good sale on their appliances so we bought a GE front loading washer and dryer set. I have never had a front loader washing machine so I am excited to see if all the positives I have heard about them ring true. Brent is pretty excited today because he officially won his Fantasy Football league! This was his first year to ever play, too. And probably his last in this league, I bet they don't invite him to join next year ;-).

So that is it for us! We have all enjoyed hanging out as a family. My house is a complete wreck and I feel like I have been picking up stuff for 3 days straight. But there is always tomorrow, right?

Christmas Eve

Do Brent and I look a little battle weary?!?! We have just returned from the Children's Mass for Christmas Eve service. I do believe we earned some stars in our crowns tonight. We get to church and there is not a seat to be found...standing room only! Now personally, I want to go to my usual Sunday morning pew and ask the new faces who are sitting in my seat if they would please move. Don't they know this is my seat...every Sunday morning? But since that is so totally un-Christian and I think Jesus might have something to say about that, I didn't. However, some very nice Christian family slid over giving us two spots for all four of us to sit in. And we were grateful for that little room; beats standing any day!

The boys were doing great behavior-wise until about midway through the mass. That's when they broke out the coloring book and crayons. And I'll never take coloring books and crayons to church again! "He's coloring on my page!" "MINE! MINE!" (Yes, Will did yell so that the entire congregation now knew that those crayons were his.) "I want to color!" "MINE! MINE!" Brent tried the ole "Santa is watching," which was met by a very quick retort from Jack about this being church, and Santa did not go to church. Brent, being the quick thinker that he is, said, "Well, Jesus is watching." Jack, being a quicker thinker than Brent, pointed to the crucifix above the alter and said "Jesus can't see me, he is dead. Look, he is up there, dead." Yes, we definitely need to do a little work on our religious teachings, but how do you even respond to that?

Brent finally had to take both of them out (and don't tell Santa, but I think I heard him take God's name in vain under his breath. Can you do that in Church? I mean, I was literally waiting for the lightening strike. Seriously!!!). I am sure the family next to us was regretting the decision to slide over. So, Brent and the boys spent the rest of the mass in the back. But on the bright side, we were in good company....there were alot of parents hauling their children out of mass, too!

Off to wrap a few stocking stuffers...Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Love,
Amy

Happy Birthday, Will!

Two years old! WOW! Already? How did that happen?

We had such a fun day today. Will woke up this morning to a chorus of Happy Birthdays from Mommy, Daddy, and Jack. Then he got to open his presents from us, Jack, and Honey & Happy. He got a GeoTrax train set, a Geo Trax remote control train, Disney's Cars DVD, and a very handsome outfit that he wore today (thanks Honey!). We had a leisurely morning...the boys watched Cars and played with the train set. Then around noon we headed to the mall for some birthday fun!

First, we went to Build a Bear Workshop. Jack made a koala bear named Bamboo and Will made a puppy named Starbucks. Last year, we went to Build a Bear for Will's first birthday party; Will had no idea what was going on, but Jack and cousin C had a great time. This year Jack was an old pro and Will caught on quickly to the whole thing.

I just love this! Jack is making a wish on Bamboo's heart before he puts the heart in Bamboo. Isn't the innocence of childhood just precious?!?!


Will adds his heart to Starbucks.


Will gives Starbucks his first bath. He loved this part! What fun to press the pedal and have the air blow on the puppy. And Starbucks looked quite handsome after his grooming!


We got our animals dressed and are waiting to check out. Build a Bear is so much fun! Jack is already planning what animal he wants to make at Will's next birthday, so Build a Bear might become a birthday tradition =).

Next, we headed to the food court for Will's favorite...Chik-fil-A nuggets and chocolate milk!

Finally, we took a couple of turns on the carousel. For the first ride, Jack picked out a deer and Will rode a giraffe. This was Will's first time on the carousel and he loved it. What fun to go up & down, up & down, up & down. After we finished the first ride, Will said, "Again! Again!" So we decided to ride just one more time. For the second ride, Will chose a pretty horse and Jack rode an aggressive lion. The lion was hunting the prey just ahead of us...a cute little guy wearing a Santa hat. And Jack's lion almost caught him!


We spent 3 hours at the mall and the boys were wonderful! No fighting, no whining, waiting patiently in line. Just the model children. I had to keep checking to see if these were indeed my children. Once we got home, everyone was tired. So we recharged our batteries during a second viewing of Cars.

What could be better than lying next to your brother & best friend holding your favorite monkey and your new puppy? It's great being 2!

Tonight for dinner we had Will's favorite...spaghetti and meatballs. And then of course, CAKE!

Singing Happy Birthday!


What a big bite of cake! And he ate the whole piece =)!


Yummy!


Who loves cake?!?! ME!!!!!

So this was just round one in the birthday celebration. On Friday, we will celebrate with our cousins C and B at Monkey Joe's. So stay tuned....

Christmas Questionnaire

1. Fresh Tree or Fake Tree
Fresh tree, although I grew up with a fake tree, so really I could go either way.

2. Favorite Ornament
This ornament was given to me by my grandmother. As a child, I would save this as my last ornament to hang and would always find a special place of honor for it on the tree. You can tell how much I love it...it has to be 30 years old and look at its pristine condition!







I just had to share this ornament because it makes me chuckle every time I look at it. One of the many art projects Jack brought home this Christmas season. Notice the look on his face...someone is not happy about dressing up as a fireman! Priceless!






3. Favorite Christmas Song
O Holy Night. But please, just sing it in its original arrangement; don't go and try to jazz it up. You are just "ruining Christmas" as my grandmother would say!

4. Favorite Tradition
Going to the Christmas Eve service at church, but more specifically, singing Silent Night in the dark by candlelight. This is the official start of Christmas for me.

5. Favorite Part of Christmas
The christmas cards! My favorites are the ones with pictures or update letters or both!

6. Favorite Gift Ever Received
As a child, my most memorable gift was a pair of GUESS jeans. I didn't think I would get a pair because Mom said she would never pay $50 for jeans; but lo and behold, Santa put a pair under the tree! Woo Hoo!

As an adult, it would have to be Christmas 2006. We celebrated Christmas that year with our 3 day old son in our arms.

7. Favorite Christmas Cookie
Oreo bon bons. (Technically not a cookie, but it's my blog so I can break the rules!) They are divine! I gave these as teachers' gifts this year and one of Will's teachers called me at home to get the recipe. She said they were the best dessert she has ever had =).

8. Favorite Holiday Dish (excluding dessert)
Sausage balls and cheese grits casserole. We always had them at advent breakfasts when I was in youth group. So good!

9. Favorite Christmas Movie
A Christmas Story. I saw this movie for the first time with a good friend when we were in junior high. We laughed so hard we were rolling on the floor, literally.

10. Favorite Memory
I was 5 years old and Santa Claus came to my house! I was dancing around Santa with excitement, but my 2 year old brother...not so much! And no, he wasn't a relative or friend dressed up. One of the local service clubs was sending Santas to homes for a donation, so my grandmother secretly arranged it. My parents were just as surprised as I was, especially when Santa asked how my Aunt Julie was doing (seems Santa and Julie went to high school together).

MIA

Well, let me dust off the blog page and try to post an update...ya know it is bad when your husband, who visits the blog infrequently, says "When are you going to update it?!?!" Thanks to my 3 faithful readers who haven't given up on me =).

It has been a busy week...yesterday was the boys' last day of school until after the new year. All 3 of us are still sad about this. So between Will's party last Tuesday and Jack's Christmas program yesterday, I was one busy little elf trying to get everything done. And I am finished with all the Christmas shopping! This has to be a record for me, which actually makes me a wee bit worried that I have forgotten something so important and obvious; I'm usually down to the wire. I guess we'll see on Christmas morning if in fact I was really done!

Brent thought it would be fun to take the boys to see some Christmas lights on Saturday night and assigned me the task of finding this extravaganza! Well, short of driving from neighborhood to neighborhood to see the same ole lighted deer from Home Depot (I can say this because we have 2 of them in our front yard), I was kinda at a loss. And then I happened upon a wonderful light display at a local college. And it was a pretty good show! For $5 a carload, you can drive around campus to see the light displays, pet the goats at the petting zoo, ride the ponies around in a circle, see some cute Christmas vignettes (and Will was quick to point out that they were actually on trucks!), visit with Santa, and roast marshmallows & sip hot chocolate around a campfire. I was pretty proud of myself for discovering this little gem. I think it will become a new family tradition!





Jack's preschool Christmas program was yesterday and it was precious! Mom and I were brought to tears at the look of pride, excitement, and joy on Jack's face. The program, which included the Young 5s class and all of the 4 year old classes, lasted about half an hour with the children singing 8 songs for parents, grandparents and friends. Jack's favorite song was Ring the Bells, Sing Noel and my favorite was God Bless All. I am posting a few pics of him singing with his class, but I'm irritated because the red eye correction tool isn't working correctly so all of the children look like little devils. Oh well, you get the idea.

After the program, we went back to Jack's classroom so that the children could give the parents their Christmas gifts. I was so excited about the hand print wreath! How cute is that! And I am just a sucker for anything with their little hand prints on them. This wreath and Will's angel plate will be treasures for years to come. And a bonus picture of Jack with his ladies, M (in black) and E (in red). He says that E is his girlfriend! E loves animals just as much as Jack does (if that is even possible)!



Well, I guess that is all for now. I promise I will be around more now that school is out...in fact, I'm sure I'll have lots more of the boys' antics/trouble making to share now that they have so much free time on their hands. And believe me, Jack and Will are the best of friends and definitely partners in crime!