Here Comes Santa Claus...

This morning we dressed the boys up in red and headed to the mall to see Santa Claus!! I brought my camera with me, figuring we'd be in line for a long time and I would document the wait for the blog. But, there was no one there!! I think there was one kid ahead of us... Is this recession so bad that people aren't even taking their kids to see Santa?

Mitch and I were also dressed in holiday red, prepared to be in the picture in case one or both of the boys got freaked out by the man in the big beard. Alas, there was no freaking out, so Mitch and I were spared. We weren't sure Tyler was going to let us walk away after placing him on Santa's lap, but he did fine. The look on his face, however, does say a lot about how he felt:

No smile (just like last year), but at least he didn't cry! And check out how crafty Santa was in holding Evan's hand to keep his fingers out of his mouth. The guy's a pro.

Friday Night Fun

Just a little fun moment between dinner time and bath time...

Had to share that one!

Weekend Wrap-up

First things first: HAPPY BIRTHDAY SCHMOOPIE!!!! Today is my dear husband's 44th birthday. I'm reminded that it was four years ago today that we woke up for the first time in our new townhouse, sans furniture, sans children, and then we jetted off to Las Vegas for the weekend! Times have surely changed... :)

So, we traveled back to Vermont to spend Thanksgiving with my family. We drove up on Wednesday - we had wanted to leave at 4:00 a.m., so I think it goes without saying that we didn't hit the road until 6:15 a.m. It's a pattern, I'm learning to live with it. The drive was long, but uneventful and the boys did very well. This was an especially meaningful holiday because it was the first time that all of my mom's children and grandchildren were together. All six grandsons wreaking havoc at my sister's house! It was a sight to see. Also, my Aunt Wendy and Uncle Tom traveled down from Toronto to join us which was wonderful because I hadn't seen them in four years and I was thrilled to introduce them to my boys. Unfortunately, my cousins Mandy (and her husband Chad) and Tommy (and his significant other Candice) were not able to come this year. I hope to see them again before my boys are in college!

Here is the pictorial documentation of the weekend:

Evan's first reaction to Uncle Tom was to burst into tears! But he warmed up to him by the end of the first evening. Which is, by the way, the traditional night before Thanksgiving spaghetti dinner. He took to Aunt Wendy right away...

Tyler spent much of the evening pretty close to Mitch. I think he was a little overwhelmed by the amount of people that first night.

Nothing more secure than Daddy's lap and a beat-up copy of "Goodnight Gorilla"!

Thanksgiving morning brings the traditional brunch at Denny's - quite a mob at the table!

After naps at the hotel (the boys did some seriously good napping over the weekend - much better than they ever do at home!!), we headed back to my sister's house for the feast.

Here's Evan with Mimi, looking a little confused, but cute! Something about a baby in a turtleneck that cracks me up every time!

Here's me with my sibs... already feeling fine from the wine...

Good looking bird, eh? It was quite tasty too. Evan thoroughly enjoyed his ground up turkey, the squash and the mashed potatoes on his first Thanksgiving!

Tyler enjoyed his turkey too, but didn't last too long at the table. He spent much of mealtime like this:

Whatever keeps him happy!!!!

And here's some cute video of Wend playing with Evan after dinner:

Friday morning brought some lounging at the hotel -

Tyler took to lounging in our bed to watch Playhouse Disney in the mornings.

Don't know what that white glint is in his mouth - I suspect the flash hit his saliva just right. It's not a weird tooth, just so you know!

Sorry about the neck strain , Blogger is doing that weird sideways upload again...

Then we headed to the mall. What, are we crazy??? Tyler didn't think so once he discovered the Bert and Ernie fire truck ride...

I think he suckered everyone out of their quarters so he could ride it several times!

You can see Mitch in the background of the video feeding more bills into the change machine!

On Friday evening, we headed to the Gilwee "Afterglow" party. The Gilwees, for those of you that don't know, or who aren't Gilwees, are the cousins on my father's side. Their mother is my father's sister, Lynda. She has three sons (Brian, John, and Todd), who are all married (Brian to Vicki, John to Jennifer, and Todd to Wendy) with two kids each. So there were A LOT of kids running around! But these pictures don't really show that...

I wish I'd gotten more pictures of everyone there, but I guess I was too busy talking!!

On Saturday morning, we headed back to the mall to have a family portrait done, since who knows when we'll all be together again. Then after napping, we headed back to Kathy's for another evening of hanging out and eating!

Tyler really dug the tractor toy.... and Isabelle the dog, who was quite tolerant of him...

He took a shine to Uncle Andy too.

And reading books with Daddy.

Evan took some turns on the tractor too, when Tyler wasn't looking of course!

And here's Tyler with cousin Max, trying on the size goodness knows what sneakers of either cousin Jared or Jordan!

At the close of the trip, I think it is safe to say that a good time was had by all!

We decided to head home on Sunday afternoon instead of waiting until Monday morning. It was a loooooooooooooooooong trip! We hit a bad weather patch on the New York thruway that tried my nerves pretty good. It used to be a way of life to drive in weather like that, but now it happens so infrequently that it makes me nervous - especially with such precious cargo on board! But we made it through, and got home at about 2:15 a.m. this morning.

And what a day it has been. So much for the napping trend the boys have been on! Tyler took one very short nap, and Evan didn't take any! Guess there was too much playing to be done - I think they were happy to be home.

Note the crocs and socks again - but at least this time he kept his pants on!!!

When evening finally arrived, we learned what happens to tired little boys when they don't take naps during the day....

They fall asleep in their chicken and veggies!!!

By the way, the weird sounds in the video are from the Baby Einstein DVD playing on the TV. What can I say - it's the only way to get Tyler to sit long enough to eat his dinner!!

So that's it in a not so small nutshell. Now it is time for rest. Right. If only!!!

Phew!!!

Today Mitch had to go into work so I was flying solo with the boys. The good news is, I survived!! The day started early with the boys deciding 4:30 a.m. was a good time to get up (after a restless night).


The day's activities included a photo shoot. I wanted to get some more shots of the boys to add to the Xmas card. It wasn't easy - they weren't exactly interested in sitting still, let alone posing. Here are some of the shots I got:


After that, and after Tyler took a very brief nap (um, about 20 minutes), we bundled up and headed to the mall. Here's how Evan feels about his new winter hat:


But doesn't he look cute???


Our goal for the mall was to find snow suits and boots. We're expecting (hoping!) for some snow when we get to Vermont this week. We're excited to pull the boys around in a sled!! And even if there isn't snow there, the Farmer's Almanac is predicting a bad winter, so there is bound to be snow at some point!! I'm happy to report that we were successful and the boys are ready for some winter time fun!


Then it was back home for some lunch, some more play, and finally, a decent nap for Tyler (2 hours!). Evan, on the other hand, saw no need to nap today. Save for the snooze in the car on the way to the mall, and about 10 minutes in my arms late this afternoon, he was awake all day. It was much more important to practice his walking!!

Mitch arrived home at about 5:15, at which time I fled upstairs to finally take a shower! Then it was a normal evening - dinner, baths, and off to bed! Evan fell asleep quickly which was no surprise. I just hope he will stay asleep for a while.... I've started to forget what it feels like to sleep with just two of us in the bed. Our big king sized bed seems to be getting smaller every night!

Short work week ahead - we head to Vermont on Wednesday for Thanksgiving. I was supposed to get everything planned and prepared this weekend.... didn't exactly happen. Guess the next couple of evenings will be more hectic than usual. Oh well. Can't wait to get there, but not looking forward to the drive. Just hoping the weather cooperates!

My son???

Were it not for the fact that I remember giving birth to him, I might not believe Evan was my son given the evidence....

The kid loves his peas!!! Guess he must take after Mitch!

Tyler? Not so much....

Who says blood is the only tie that binds???