Christmas Photos

I know you've all been dying to see our families' Christmas photos from my amazing Nikon, and I finally got around to uploading it this afternoon.  I've been busting my tail all week unpacking 7 pieces of luggage, washing countless loads of laundry, organizing a multitude of toys, grocery shopping and of course, trying to feed my family.  There are times the blog has to take a backseat, I know you understand.  Without further ado, in no particular order, here are a few of the 250+ pics:

Uncle A teaches the boys to play "Don't Break the Ice"

N eating a piece of candy, I'm sure, from the look on M's face!

M cuddling with Papa Santa

As close as N would get!

Fun snuggles with Mommy

S teaches the boys how to use a remote control car

Aunt M was very excited about the New Year's lobsters!

N thought they were cool

M was terrified!!

Group shot of our New Year's "feast!"  Look at the boys' smiles!

N is a pretty pretty princess

We tried forever to get a cute family shot in front of the tree, and this is as good as it gets.

Yeah, a harmonica and a recorder.  I'm totally getting paid back for buying my nephew a marshmallow shooter.

I'm going to make you crazy with this, mom!

N and M helping cousin E open some adult's gift!

M was thrilled with these "Cars" cars!

Another shot of the boys opening someone else's gift - grandma's TV.

They spent a lot of time driving their new cars together.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas, my friends, from the great green state of Michigan.  We did not have a white Christmas this year, but that's okay.  It's actually in the 40's and quite nice! 

We are having a grand old time with our families and the boys are in love with all of their presents.  In fact, M has a favorite and insists on schlepping it back and forth between the grandparents' homes.  We could barely pry the die cast metal Charger out of his hands for bedtime last night!  They hardly quit playing to eat, sleep, or allow us to change their diapers. It's fun to see them so "into" Christmas for the first time.

Because Hubs' family and my family live just 11 miles apart, we have multiple celebrations to attend on Christmas Eve and Day.  At the first party (below), the boys were digging into the gifts while we were all still eating, despite being allowed to open one of their own to keep them busy.   They had a blast helping pass out the presents, then as we all opened our exchange gifts one at a time, they moved from person to person "helping" them open it up! 

Grandpa and Grandma S. with the grandkids and the greats who are LOOKING at the CAMERA and SMILING!!

I supposed we inadvertently trained them that that's just what you do at Christmas - because they decided to continue passing out gifts and opening them for everyone at the remaining 3 parties!  Fortunately, no one seemed to mind, probably because the boys didn't care what the gift was once it was opened...it was time to move onto the next!

I warned you that my blogging was only going be as good as my technology this week, so I must tell you that my Nikon's memory card doesn't fit into my mom's laptop, so all of my beautiful pictures (once Hubs changed the shutter speed for me) will remain there until we get home, so you'll have to make do with what I can pilfer from Aunt L's facebook page! 

On a side note, I have to tell you a funny story.  I spent an hour or so on Thursday cleaning out and meticulously repacking the boys' Thomas the Train backpacks, each with diapers, wipes, snacks, DVDs and a player and its charger.  There was going to be a chance that Hubs and I would have to separate and each take a boy on a flight alone.  We fly standby and every now and then, especially at the holidays, the flights inexplicably fill up and we have to change plans at the last second.  As we unloaded at the airport, I disconneced a DVD player from the van, and asked, "Where's the Thomas the Train bag?" (to put it in). 

A look of horror of recognition flashed between us as we both instantaneously realized

WE LEFT THE TRAIN BAGS AT HOME.

The fellas know now that the train bags are for flying and that there are special treats and toys in them.  They were half packed and sitting on the kitchen counter charging the DVDs most of the day, but the boys have learned since our last flight that it's possible to drag the dining room chairs across the floor (eek!), so after hollering at them to get out of there several times, one of us who shall remain nameless, removed the bags and put them up high on a shelf.  Where they remain, perfectly packed, for our next flight. 

Those snacks are gonna be stale.

The good news is that our iphones were fully charged with "Lunchbox" aka Monkey Dance and we had one DVD player with one video and most of a charge, and we all made it on the same flight just fine.  Whew!

Merry Christmas, my friend.  May you find much love and peace enjoying Christmas with the ones you love.

A Few Pics

This summer has just been crazy!  I remember I hadn't uploaded the Handycam pics for a couple of weeks, so here are some you haven't seen.  This little camera just hangs out in my purse or diaper backpack for quick pics of whatnot.  A few from last weekend's NC trip:

Our first morning - look who slept between us all night.  It was not a good night.

Saying good bye to Grandma and Papa K. M is sad to go (actually, he's sad to be held.  He wants to run around like a mountain goat).

Everyone on the deck!

Cousin L, me and M hug good bye.  L was sad to see us go.

Darn Picasa!  How do I 'save' the pic once I 'turn' it?  Here's why I don't know: I never get a single minute to look it up.  Now that I've uploaded a couple pics and started writing, guess what?  The fellas are stirring from their naps, and I need to hustle to get a snack ready before I get them up because they wake up CRABBY!  I have time for just a couple more:

Cobb Salad with Classic French Viniagrette and Sourdough bread, today's lunch.  It was fabulous.  The boys hated it.  But I am determined to eat real adult food every now and then.

Daddy and the boys wearing their specs at MBS

M driving the playset at a friend's house on Tuesday

As for the Cobb Salad, I took a pic because it turned out so beautifully.  I'm not going to toot my own horn, but it was seriously delicious.  My cooking experiments is another blog post altogether, something along the lines of me discovering that I'm not the only college-educated-professional-turned-stay-at-home-mom who needs a creative outlet. 

As for the specs, it was too cute.  I keep them in their 'flying' bags with books, so they can be all studious while reading on the plane. 

And if you recognize the swim diaper M's wearing in the last photo, thank you. I was unprepared for the swimming party Tuesday (remember the flying debacle on Sunday and Monday) and you saved my sanity by giving me two swimmy diapers at the playdate.

Happy Fourth Tomorrow!  Enjoy spending it with family or friends, which is what I hope you're doing!

Choo! Choo! Now we're TWO!

"Choo-Choo is coming!  WHAAAAHHH!  WHAAAAAH!"
That was how Hubs and I woke up at 5:30 this morning.  Think the boys were excited for their Thomas the Train themed birthday party?  The "WHAAAHHH!" sound is my sons imitating the noise the REAL trains make as they blast the horn going through our new town.  They already know trains don't say "chugga-chugga" or "choo-choo" - they know they are LOUD and startling!

Our two families gathered at a nearby park and shared a picnic together this afternoon.  Despite threatening weather, the rain held off until the chicken, salads, baked beans, and three delicious cakes were eaten and all the presents were opened.

What cracks me up about toddlers is that really, they just need ONE toy for a holiday or birthday.  They simply aren't interested in the clothes (that I'm THRILLED they're receiving)!  Or they just need some dirt and sticks, like they found at the park! 

Thank you to our parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins who braved the storm clouds to celebrate our sons' lives.  We love you and are grateful that you can be a part of their special day!  Enjoy a few of the lovely photos taken by our amateur photographer auntie:

M is all smiles, welcoming our guests.

3 fantastic cakes!

"I'll help you, brother."

Thanks for the presents!

Make a wish!

Best Friends Forever

Yummy!

Up, up and away!

For You!

Our son, Goldilocks

Happy Birthday, boys!  You are the answer to our prayers.  We love you and are proud to be your parents.  So please sleep in tomorrow.

Family Christmas Pics

Merry Christmas 2010

Hubs' Parents and Sibs, minus...

Uncle A (who had to work Christmas Eve) with N playing "On/Off"

 

 

My family: Parents, sibs, spouses, neices and nephews: 16 in all!

Merry Christmas!  We've been packing so much fun into our days that it's impossible to post it all today.  Hum the tune "12 Days of Christmas" as you read our week in summary:

• 4 Family Christmas parties in 24 hours
• 6 grandchildren composed of one 7 year old, three 3 year olds, and my twin 19 month olds
• 1 waterpark double birthday party
• 1 Sunday morning spent worshipping the Lord at Urgent Care
• 2 toddlers with ear infections
• an untold number of gifts, treats, hugs, kisses, and massive quantities of food
• 1 incredibly fun morning spent at the Mid Michigan Children's Museum

Exhausting, yes, but it's all worth it to be able to spend time with our families. Now to pack the van with all of our goodies.  We've got a long drive ahead of us tomorrow morning.

Amazing Apple Orchard

I love that even though the boys are over a year old, we still have plenty of "firsts" to go!  On Saturday, we attended an MVMOM event, an orchard outing, and the boys took their first hayride.  And it keeps getting better: first, the orchard was just a couple miles away, and second, HONEYCRISP APPLES ARE IN SEASON!

(Forgive me, but there are a few reasons I love fall, and this is one of them.  Be prepared for some more excited blog posts because two more are coming up in the next week: my birthday and The Amazing Race premier.)

If you have never eaten a honeycrisp apple, you just haven't lived.  You absolutely MUST find an orchard or grocery store near you that carries them and buy them up because the season is only a few weeks long...during which my birthday occurs and the Amazing Race premiers.  Does life get better?

Yes!  We took the boys on their First Ever Hayride! (Okay, I know I'm a little excited, but I had a lot of coffee and a great morning with some fab women at Mom's Group, AND the boys are sleeping and the sun is shining!)

Back to the hayride!

Here we are, gettin' ready to go...

This one is my favorite, taken just a second before the tractor took off, M kicked off a Croc, and Mr. J., the man next to me, jumped off the wagon to retrieve it!  The boys did seem to enjoy the ride, something I conclude by the fact they basically didn't try to jump off our laps.

There was also a "maze" for the kids to explore and M and N did what I expect them to do the rest of their lives: divide and conquer!  Daddy had the camera and M duties, so we got these cute shots of M exploring the labyrinth:

Follow me!

Look, a plane!

Yeah, planes have nothing to do with the orchard, but the boys point and call out every time they see one.  Which is All. The. Time.

Great fun was had by all and we'll go back again because we'll need some more honeycrisp and some adorable pumpkin/football shots when they're in.

Lovely Long Weekend

We traveled so much in May and June that the 4th of July weekend was the first one we spent at home as a family of four in months!  How fun and relaxing it is to just enjoy time spent together in your own house. 

We also got to do something else we enjoy - have friends over!  It's crazy, but now that the boys sleep at bedtime and the weather is good, it's like we've emerged from some kind of year-long baby-hibernation and we can host our friends again.  Last month, we bought a little fire pit so we can have a fire outside, so we've spent several nights sitting around our "campfire," making s'mores, and just talking.  Strange, isn't it, how one can actually talk to one's spouse when the computer, TV, and other electronic gadgets are out of sight - except the baby monitor!

That being said, did I take any photos of the friends, fire, or s'mores?  No, of course not!  I was having fun and didn't even think of the camera.  Hopefully, though, N will come through with of some great shots he took of the fireworks we could see from our driveway on Sunday night and I'll post them here.  (He said I could use them as long as they were not for profit!  So, please, don't send money.)

What you all really want are pictures of the boys, anyhow, so we did take a few.

Nathan's shirt says, "Diaper loading, 72% complete," Matthew's says "Barf Vader!"  These are baby shower gifts from one of Steve's co-workers that finally fit.  They crack me up!

I'm nearly losing my mind with their new game, throw-food-on-the-floor, so we move them outside sometimes so we can feed the birds, too.

Corn-on-the-cob, grilled chicken, and an American flag cookie for our Fourth of July dinner.  (A homemade gesture, since there was no way I was baking my grandma's red, white, and blue pie.  Maybe someday when I grow up.)

Steve had Monday off, so we made it "family fun day," and visited the zoo, stopping at their new African animals exhibit. The boys wore their monkey outfits just for this occasion- greeting the new Colobus Monkeys.

  We always stop at the fish tank to watch the tropical fish and catch a glimpse of the leopard shark - our favorite part of the zoo.

We have some fun stuff planned for this week, too, since our city's annual summer festival started Sunday and goes all week.  Hopefully we'll do a better job taking photos (and the boys will cooperate with their naps - we're missing the baby crawl-a-thon as I type!) and you can see us visiting our orchestra in the park, antique cars cruise night, and WWII bombers!