Sunday, December 26, 2010
Day After Christmas
After travel like that, the best way to start the recooperation process is by kicking off your shoes (and socks) and spending some quality time with your good old choo-choos and trucks. So that's exactly what we did.
Saturday, December 25, 2010
2nd Christmas Day
Notice no photos in this Christmas Day post. Because again we were doing insane traveling on Christmas Day - this time after an exhausting, less than 48 hour total visit. Mom had zero sleep (literally) all of Christmas Eve night because she was up packing suitcases and carry-ons until 2am and then Ethan woke up at 2am and refused to go back to sleep (at all, seriously - his schedule was way off kilter and he was having nightmares and screamed hysterically every time he was put back in his pack-n-play). Then we had to be out of the house and on our way to the airport at 6:30am for a 4 hour flight back home, then get ourselves to our car and drive back to our house. I am only documenting this so that when the kids ask for photos of themselves on Christmas morning years from now, I can remember why I don't have any. I'll just tell them, "trust me, you were there, and Christmas did happen even without photographic proof."
Friday, December 24, 2010
Christmas Eve
And so the big night arrived and we knew we were going to start off the evening at a disadvantage because dinner wasn't going to be served until the time when the boys are usually getting ready for bed. We are clockwork schedule people around here for good reason. And that is because we have seen how badly things can fail for them and everyone around them when we are not on a schedule and we just "let things roll" (there is a reason they say "sh--" always rolls downhill).
So we put our heads down and pushed onward into the evening hoping for the best but expecting the worst, and doing everything in our power to appease our little men to help keep the evening going.
Christmas Eve at my family is not a small production. Every other year before the boys' arrival it did not matter how long the night lasted because we were grown-ups who didn't have (too much) trouble staying up late. But oh how that changes with little people once they are more than a few months old and do not just fall asleep anywhere, anytime.
We are amazed to say that we made it through more than half of the post-dinner festivities, until about 10:00pm (but not without major repercussions - the "sh--" rolled downhill and hit mommy right in the face that night and next day as a result), but still amazed we lasted as long as we did!
For their Christmas "act" this year for Santa, they took along their favorite wooden Melissa & Doug shapes puzzle (whose shapes have been affectionately chewed on because of all the time they have spent with it) and they showed Santa where the: circle, rectangle, square, triangle, oval, heart, star, and diamond were located. They knew how to say the names of the shapes too at that point, but a room of over 30 people and the scary Santa man was enough to keep them quiet. We were so surprised that they even held the shapes up when asked - I figured all of those people would be enough to freeze them in their tracks. Santa was mighty impressed and promised to (eventually) bring them some great new toys. :)
Their favorite things of the evening definitely included my grandparent's piano (I think that was their first exposure to a piano that wasn't plastic with only 5 huge keys) and the wooden toy tractors that my grandmother kept from when my (twin) aunt and uncle were small. We spent most of the post-dinner activities trying to keep Mason from ramming the tractor into his brother and into other people's shins, and Ethan spent almost the entire evening laying next to his tractor rolling it back and forth and back and forth mesmerized by it and it's ability to roll. I am certain that most everything on those tractors would be considered a huge hazard under today's rules for toys, but that's what made them even more fun! :)
So we put our heads down and pushed onward into the evening hoping for the best but expecting the worst, and doing everything in our power to appease our little men to help keep the evening going.
Christmas Eve at my family is not a small production. Every other year before the boys' arrival it did not matter how long the night lasted because we were grown-ups who didn't have (too much) trouble staying up late. But oh how that changes with little people once they are more than a few months old and do not just fall asleep anywhere, anytime.
We are amazed to say that we made it through more than half of the post-dinner festivities, until about 10:00pm (but not without major repercussions - the "sh--" rolled downhill and hit mommy right in the face that night and next day as a result), but still amazed we lasted as long as we did!
For their Christmas "act" this year for Santa, they took along their favorite wooden Melissa & Doug shapes puzzle (whose shapes have been affectionately chewed on because of all the time they have spent with it) and they showed Santa where the: circle, rectangle, square, triangle, oval, heart, star, and diamond were located. They knew how to say the names of the shapes too at that point, but a room of over 30 people and the scary Santa man was enough to keep them quiet. We were so surprised that they even held the shapes up when asked - I figured all of those people would be enough to freeze them in their tracks. Santa was mighty impressed and promised to (eventually) bring them some great new toys. :)
Their favorite things of the evening definitely included my grandparent's piano (I think that was their first exposure to a piano that wasn't plastic with only 5 huge keys) and the wooden toy tractors that my grandmother kept from when my (twin) aunt and uncle were small. We spent most of the post-dinner activities trying to keep Mason from ramming the tractor into his brother and into other people's shins, and Ethan spent almost the entire evening laying next to his tractor rolling it back and forth and back and forth mesmerized by it and it's ability to roll. I am certain that most everything on those tractors would be considered a huge hazard under today's rules for toys, but that's what made them even more fun! :)
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
2nd Plane Ride
Our 2nd time on a plane. But this time there was no sleeping ... not for a moment! Made it that much more fun for mom and dad as they tried to entertain for 4 hours straight after waking the boys up at 4am to start the journey.
A few in-air photos of the boys enjoying some Baby Einstein's Baby Noah (their favorite) from 40,000-some-odd-feet in the air, with their Panda Bear kid-size headphones we got them, which Mason wore for about 20 minutes and Ethan wore for about 5 minutes.
Notice Mason has socks on in the last photo and Ethan does not. Generally they both take their socks off, but Ethan especially cannot stand to have his socks on if he doesn't have shoes on too. He takes them off immediately when the shoes come off. And this is probably where I should mention that he is also quite good at disrobing in general. I have gone to get him up from nap on several occasions and he has taken his shirt off - and a few times his pants as well! He just does not like the restrictions of clothing I guess.
A few in-air photos of the boys enjoying some Baby Einstein's Baby Noah (their favorite) from 40,000-some-odd-feet in the air, with their Panda Bear kid-size headphones we got them, which Mason wore for about 20 minutes and Ethan wore for about 5 minutes.
Notice Mason has socks on in the last photo and Ethan does not. Generally they both take their socks off, but Ethan especially cannot stand to have his socks on if he doesn't have shoes on too. He takes them off immediately when the shoes come off. And this is probably where I should mention that he is also quite good at disrobing in general. I have gone to get him up from nap on several occasions and he has taken his shirt off - and a few times his pants as well! He just does not like the restrictions of clothing I guess.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
ABCs, E-I-E-I-O, and O Christmas Tree!
A few videos:
Not Mason's best rendition of the ABCs, but he makes it very difficult to get video of his best singing since he always clams up when I pull out the camera or when he is asked to sing in front of someone he is not used to being around. He does his best singing in the evening and it is generally spontaneous. But here's an attempt!
Old MacDonald had a farm...and the rest speaks for itself. Please excuse my voice here...I do not sing. I have not yet captured our rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star yet, but that is another huge favorite right now.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree! We do our best to protect you. And with this play yard, we hope that you, will not have broken lights next year. O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree! These boys think you're the greatest.
And now when we go for nap time or go to bed at night we say "bye-bye" and "night-night" to the "tee." Notice how there are no ornaments? We think we're going to just keep it that way this year!
Not Mason's best rendition of the ABCs, but he makes it very difficult to get video of his best singing since he always clams up when I pull out the camera or when he is asked to sing in front of someone he is not used to being around. He does his best singing in the evening and it is generally spontaneous. But here's an attempt!
Old MacDonald had a farm...and the rest speaks for itself. Please excuse my voice here...I do not sing. I have not yet captured our rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star yet, but that is another huge favorite right now.
O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree! We do our best to protect you. And with this play yard, we hope that you, will not have broken lights next year. O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree! These boys think you're the greatest.
And now when we go for nap time or go to bed at night we say "bye-bye" and "night-night" to the "tee." Notice how there are no ornaments? We think we're going to just keep it that way this year!
Lawn Service
Need 2 neighborhood boys to keep your lawn well manicured? Check in with us in another 10-12 years...we are already in training!
2nd set of deadbolts
And this my friends, is why we installed a 2nd set of deadbolt locks at the top of our garage and both exterior doors before the boys could even start to crawl... This is Mason pictured below, but Ethan was the first one to master this, though I guess it was a team effort that first time since Mason held the push toy in place, while Ethan climbed up and unlocked the door. I just happened to have my camera handy the other day when I caught Mason in the act.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Cookies with Santa - Year 2
If you want a quick look back to last year for comparison sake click here...
Cookies with Santa
And here we are this year wanting NOTHING to do with that man in red (again)...would much rather color...but Ethan did manage to give a High-5 to the man in red even after being traumatized.
Cookies with Santa
And here we are this year wanting NOTHING to do with that man in red (again)...would much rather color...but Ethan did manage to give a High-5 to the man in red even after being traumatized.
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Our 2nd Thanksgiving
Last year I cooked all day and we had to wrap everything up because afternoon naps had failed and the evening was full of tantrums. This year I cooked all day and we all managed to sit down and eat, but the boys proceeded to not want to eat anything at all on their plate (and can I mention they usually love turkey any other day?)
Here is a photo before they decided to eat nothing. We even gave them an actual cup of juice which we never do. Granted it was V8 Splash, so it was also an effort to get some vegetables in, but the stuff still tastes fruity and they love fruit. They didn't drink the juice or eat the food. But at least we were able to eat our meal so we're moving in the right direction.
Maybe 3 is the charm and next year will be the successful dinner year! However, we still had tons to be thankful for and still had a great day together which is what really counts.
Here is a photo before they decided to eat nothing. We even gave them an actual cup of juice which we never do. Granted it was V8 Splash, so it was also an effort to get some vegetables in, but the stuff still tastes fruity and they love fruit. They didn't drink the juice or eat the food. But at least we were able to eat our meal so we're moving in the right direction.
Maybe 3 is the charm and next year will be the successful dinner year! However, we still had tons to be thankful for and still had a great day together which is what really counts.
Sunday, November 7, 2010
A few things to jot down at 18 months (plus videos)
I want to remember some of the things these guys are doing right now because they just seem to be doing so many new things every day. I realize I am not writing them down enough, so I am using this post to get a few down "on paper"...
As luck would have it, they decided to also demonstrate (show off) on camera as well, so I have videos to accompany a few of my notes below!
The boys both have an annoying habit of pushing their chairs (with boosters) back away from the table and trying to put their feet on the table. Yeah, I know, gross right? So we first do a "Feet...Down" warning and if there is no compliance, they are removed from the table. But when Brett gave them lunch a few weeks ago, Mason pushed back and put his feet on the table, and Brett said "Feet"...and before he could finish - Mason looked at him and said "Down". We have a little wise guy on our hands...
Ethan is fairly obsessed with peek-a-boo lately and will try to hide behind anything and everything he can find and jump out to "boo" you. He gets himself into a giggly fit very often playing this game. But he still thinks that if he can't see you (but his body isn't totally hidden) that you definitely can't see him either. So he really thinks he's surprising you. We let him think he is surprising us for now, because he'll find out the sad truth soon enough :)
Both boys like to say "i did it" now, it was previously just a favorite of Ethan's, but now they both like to say it (and actually said it back and forth all the way home from the store last week)...
Mason has been counting to 10 now for a few weeks. He has a bit of a number obsession actually. And an alphabet obsession. His favorite books are based on numbers and the alphabet. One night when I was feeding them dinner (Brett was not yet home), he started counting the green beans on his plate. There were 5 and at first he counted 6. Then went back and counted just to 5. He took one green bean away and put it on the table and then counted to 4 for the remaining green beans on his plate. Here he is just counting to 10 a few times (which he seems to do nonstop these days - you can be in the other room and just hear him bust out with counting time and time again)
And just in the last few days he has started providing some of the letters in the alphabet when I start reading one of his alphabet books. I start with A, and he (so far) provides me with B, C, D, and E. He also likes to recite the last bit of the alphabet starting with Q. There are a lot more letters to go, but we can already hear him trying to sing some parts of the alphabet song.
Mason also says 'I love you' which Brett taught him to say while I was away for two nights recently - what a great thing to hear when I got home! He also says 'i did it', 'thank you', 'ready set go' and the other day when I sneezed he said 'bless you'!!
Every day Ethan is adding more and more words. Many are not perfectly clear but we know what he is trying to say. He now says, cookie, cheese, shoes, eat, car, help...he can say ears, nose, mouth, eyes and can point to all parts plus his head, his feet, his hands and his belly button.
He still likes sign language and can sign 'i love you' now as well (thanks to grandma!). If you ask him where something is he can point at it with no problem - he knows what tons of objects are, but just can't pronounce all of them yet. If he hears "What begins with E?" when I read from one of their alphabet books, he points to himself. He likes to High-5 (both of them do)
Animals don't have names in Ethan's eyes, they only have sounds - so when you point to a horse and ask what does (fill in the blank animal) say?, it's a "neigh" and or a "baa" etc. - he actually does an excellent job at making his animal sounds and loves his animals - and sheep especially! (Mason is partial to elephants right now)
About a month ago, Ethan started saying "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" several times in a row. Brett decided to give it a name. He called it "Super Yeah!" When you ask Ethan to do his Super Yeah - he will do this on command as well.
Something else funny that Ethan does in the car - he is often putting his hands behind his head in his "chill" position. Just loving life apparently when he's being chauffeured around.
When we tell the boys to "do the ferocious beast" they will both growl. For some reason we find this hilarious. They do this on command at any time and they think it's pretty hilarious too.
If you get out their shoes and socks the boys will come over, sit down, and say "shoes" - because they know this means they get to do something (usually) fun.
And they still LOVE to dance - and Jack's Big Music show is a big favorite. When they hear the opening sequence they stop whatever they are doing and run over. When it says "Come on every body give your foot a tap" they will stomp and, "Come on every body give your hands a clap" (they will clap). They get a kick out of it every time.
As luck would have it, they decided to also demonstrate (show off) on camera as well, so I have videos to accompany a few of my notes below!
The boys both have an annoying habit of pushing their chairs (with boosters) back away from the table and trying to put their feet on the table. Yeah, I know, gross right? So we first do a "Feet...Down" warning and if there is no compliance, they are removed from the table. But when Brett gave them lunch a few weeks ago, Mason pushed back and put his feet on the table, and Brett said "Feet"...and before he could finish - Mason looked at him and said "Down". We have a little wise guy on our hands...
Ethan is fairly obsessed with peek-a-boo lately and will try to hide behind anything and everything he can find and jump out to "boo" you. He gets himself into a giggly fit very often playing this game. But he still thinks that if he can't see you (but his body isn't totally hidden) that you definitely can't see him either. So he really thinks he's surprising you. We let him think he is surprising us for now, because he'll find out the sad truth soon enough :)
Both boys like to say "i did it" now, it was previously just a favorite of Ethan's, but now they both like to say it (and actually said it back and forth all the way home from the store last week)...
Mason has been counting to 10 now for a few weeks. He has a bit of a number obsession actually. And an alphabet obsession. His favorite books are based on numbers and the alphabet. One night when I was feeding them dinner (Brett was not yet home), he started counting the green beans on his plate. There were 5 and at first he counted 6. Then went back and counted just to 5. He took one green bean away and put it on the table and then counted to 4 for the remaining green beans on his plate. Here he is just counting to 10 a few times (which he seems to do nonstop these days - you can be in the other room and just hear him bust out with counting time and time again)
And just in the last few days he has started providing some of the letters in the alphabet when I start reading one of his alphabet books. I start with A, and he (so far) provides me with B, C, D, and E. He also likes to recite the last bit of the alphabet starting with Q. There are a lot more letters to go, but we can already hear him trying to sing some parts of the alphabet song.
Mason also says 'I love you' which Brett taught him to say while I was away for two nights recently - what a great thing to hear when I got home! He also says 'i did it', 'thank you', 'ready set go' and the other day when I sneezed he said 'bless you'!!
Every day Ethan is adding more and more words. Many are not perfectly clear but we know what he is trying to say. He now says, cookie, cheese, shoes, eat, car, help...he can say ears, nose, mouth, eyes and can point to all parts plus his head, his feet, his hands and his belly button.
He still likes sign language and can sign 'i love you' now as well (thanks to grandma!). If you ask him where something is he can point at it with no problem - he knows what tons of objects are, but just can't pronounce all of them yet. If he hears "What begins with E?" when I read from one of their alphabet books, he points to himself. He likes to High-5 (both of them do)
Animals don't have names in Ethan's eyes, they only have sounds - so when you point to a horse and ask what does (fill in the blank animal) say?, it's a "neigh" and or a "baa" etc. - he actually does an excellent job at making his animal sounds and loves his animals - and sheep especially! (Mason is partial to elephants right now)
About a month ago, Ethan started saying "yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah" several times in a row. Brett decided to give it a name. He called it "Super Yeah!" When you ask Ethan to do his Super Yeah - he will do this on command as well.
Something else funny that Ethan does in the car - he is often putting his hands behind his head in his "chill" position. Just loving life apparently when he's being chauffeured around.
When we tell the boys to "do the ferocious beast" they will both growl. For some reason we find this hilarious. They do this on command at any time and they think it's pretty hilarious too.
If you get out their shoes and socks the boys will come over, sit down, and say "shoes" - because they know this means they get to do something (usually) fun.
And they still LOVE to dance - and Jack's Big Music show is a big favorite. When they hear the opening sequence they stop whatever they are doing and run over. When it says "Come on every body give your foot a tap" they will stomp and, "Come on every body give your hands a clap" (they will clap). They get a kick out of it every time.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Happy Halloween! (and Trick-or-Treat!)
Our first night of pounding the pavement for candy!! We thought we'd just walk down the street, knock on a few doors to show off our costumes, and then head home - all within 15-20 minutes. The boys, however, quickly picked up on what was going on and they wanted to knock on the door of every house we walked by. Mason literally knocked (okay, pounded) on the door of one of the houses. He always said "bye-bye" and "thank you" so at least he didn't forget his manners :) Ethan waited for Mason to do the knocking and to get his treat first (just to make sure it was all on the 'up and up'.)
When we got back home they had their very first piece of candy ever (they split a fun-size Kit-Kat - one piece each) and WOW did they like it (who wouldn't?)! But neither of them gave me a hard time about having another one once they finished (because they're saving that tantrum for next year) :)
Here are some photos of the evening!
Doctor Mason (or as his coat reads "Dr. Q. T. Patootie") who did not want to keep on his stethoscope or carry his doctor bag and syringe.
And
Business Tycoon Ethan (anyone need a good investment tip?) who did not mind wearing his Baby Rolex, but did not want to carry his briefcase with today's copy of The Baby Journal (he claimed he read it first thing this morning so it's old news).
When we got back home they had their very first piece of candy ever (they split a fun-size Kit-Kat - one piece each) and WOW did they like it (who wouldn't?)! But neither of them gave me a hard time about having another one once they finished (because they're saving that tantrum for next year) :)
Here are some photos of the evening!
Doctor Mason (or as his coat reads "Dr. Q. T. Patootie") who did not want to keep on his stethoscope or carry his doctor bag and syringe.
And
Business Tycoon Ethan (anyone need a good investment tip?) who did not mind wearing his Baby Rolex, but did not want to carry his briefcase with today's copy of The Baby Journal (he claimed he read it first thing this morning so it's old news).
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Pumpkins - Take 2
We went back to Sweet Berry Farm again today (see last year's post here for reference: Pumpkins)
Last year the boys were still puking all over us (reflux), but they were also able to sleep in the car so we had more time to spend wandering about. This year they aren't puking on us (well, okay, except for that stomach virus we all had a while back), but they don't really sleep in the car anymore so we had to get back in time for afternoon nap which didn't give us all that long.
They were WAY too busy today to sit still for any really good photos. I did get pics of Ethan kissing the pumpkins (for some reason he tried to kiss almost every pumpkin he encountered) and I did get pics of each of them in the same pumpkin cut-out as last year. They got to pet and feed the goats which they thoroughly enjoyed.
Here is what we ended up with (no family shots though, no time for that! And we didn't make it to the other side of the farm for the flower field this time either):
Last year the boys were still puking all over us (reflux), but they were also able to sleep in the car so we had more time to spend wandering about. This year they aren't puking on us (well, okay, except for that stomach virus we all had a while back), but they don't really sleep in the car anymore so we had to get back in time for afternoon nap which didn't give us all that long.
They were WAY too busy today to sit still for any really good photos. I did get pics of Ethan kissing the pumpkins (for some reason he tried to kiss almost every pumpkin he encountered) and I did get pics of each of them in the same pumpkin cut-out as last year. They got to pet and feed the goats which they thoroughly enjoyed.
Here is what we ended up with (no family shots though, no time for that! And we didn't make it to the other side of the farm for the flower field this time either):
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