Cookies 2010

I believe I have mentioned in years past that I am the worlds worst cookie decorator. THE WORST! I swore I would never again attempt sugar cookies however.....I have made an ammendment to that rule. I will now make sugar cookies when I have assistants. :) Amanda and Andrew, Nani and Papa all came over and helped decorate the tree and we made cookies.

I don't have pics of the finished product but they were pretty and delicious. It was my first time "baking" (refrigerated cookie dough) in my new kitchen. It was an adventure and all went well once I remembered how to use the oven. I definitely think this will have to be a yearly tradition.

I was feeling cocky due to the pretty cookies and attempted them again for the boys Cubby Christmas party. They did NOT look the same. I am definitely the problem. :) I am o.k. with that.

Remember this....

I remember as a child when the Christmas catalog came in. Now it is a flimsy toy catalog but Jared and I both remember it being a thick whopper of a book. My sister Mindy thinks it was a Sears catalog. She is probably right. My grandma would sit us down with a marker and tell us to circle the things we wanted for Chrismas. I remember as a little girl circling a ton of toys thinking for sure that I would get every.single.one of course. The funny thing is I was never disappointed after Christmas that I didn't. I am pretty sure I forgot what I'd circled and was just thrilled to have shiny presents in front of me.

We received the toy catalog in the mail last week. Eli was drawn to it like a moth to a flame. He has "read" it every day since. This series of picture was of him telling me a story about what he was looking at. He thinks it is a book. :)

Don't worry Nani and Grandma Lores we are getting his bangs cut tonight! :)

I LOVE THIS PICTURE. Believe it or not he is not scowling at me he was actuallly asking me a question about his book. :)

Apple Orchard 2010

Special Delivery

I have no idea how to condense the holidays into a single post so rather than force myself into being the minimalist that I wish I were but, probably never will be,I decided multiple posts would be the way to go. On Christmas Eve we made our deliveries of cookies to neighbors and the NICU. Jared and the boys handled the neighbor part of it because, well, I wanted to stay in my robe and finish all of my cooking/baking for that evening. I did however manage to poke the camera out the front door and get a picture of my delivery guys. It was really precious to watch them pass out the cookies. It warms a mother's heart that is for sure. I commended them when they got back that it was very nice of them to share their cookies with others and gave them big hugs and kisses to which Alex responded "where's my cookie?" He was rewarded with a cookie, little stinker.

Then I got dressed and we went to the NICU. I read about a family that delivers cookies every Christmas Eve to those who have to work (ie policemen, fireman, hospital employees, etc. etc.). For me it was the NICU staff. We loved our NICU and we usually visit them at least yearly. I have to say that this visit was my absolute favorite and I am so glad that we went. We spent a long time talking to the nurses who were on their lunch and they were so excited to see how well the boys were doing. The boys even showed off and pointed out the triangles and squares in the floor tiles. They also carried on full conversations and didn't' play the shy game. It was amazing. Jared said they must have a special bond. :) One of the nurses actually said that it was very rewarding to see them. On a side note: I encourage anyone NICU parents to re-visit their child's first home. Even if you don't think that they will remember you it may just bless them on a day when they need it. It is a difficult job and they deserve to see those sweet smiles that you enjoy daily. Anyways, one of the most rewarding parts was when we ran into a couple who had a 26 wk old daughter who was born yesterday. They were curious about the boys and the fact that they were NICU graduates of course. We were able to encourage them a bit and felt like God had crossed our paths in order to give them a little strength.

While I am speaking of giving we have been BEYOND blessed by so many individuals this year. I truly cannot express the love that we receive from those around us who not only seek to meet physical needs but spiritual and emotional as well. We are ridiculously spoiled by those who love us and are so grateful for that. It inspires us to do for others like they have for us. It is a beautiful thing!

Trimming the Tree: Part 2/The Outtakes

This is what happens when your two year old gets a hold of your camera and you don't care because it gives you a bit of peace while you decorate the tree.

As you can tell it was pointed in the wrong direction (towards him) the entire time he was shooting. I was a bit concerned that the flash may cause some permanent eye damage but he seems fine. :) This is 4 of about 20 pictures that he took with my camera not to mention the fact that my nieces camera has several of these also.

This is what happens when two year old boys discover Christmas lights.

Lots of fascination and blurry pictures from all the shaking.

Another funny outtake that is not pictured was when Amanda started walking away from the tree with a string of lights attached to her. It was comical to say the least. Thankfully, we realized it was happening soon enough to save the tree. :)

So all was well despite the fact that Eli through 4 tantrums in around 3 hours which was a first. He decided not to nap on this particular day and WE ALL paid for it. Amanda may never have children as a result of his behavior but the important thing was we all survived hurricane ELI!!!

Fa La La La La La La La LA!

Halloween 2009

We ended up going to my sister's Halloween Party and had a great time. Alex wasn't freaked out although he refused to get dressed up. Thankfully my friend Steph brought extra costumes in case the boys changed their minds because Eli decided to dress up.

So here is our Halloween in a nutshell:

Eli wore this~

Alex wore this and wasn't scared of the mask behing him, shocking!

Kayla girl looked like this~

I brought these (seen here)~

and this is the gang~

There were a few funny moments that I want to remember. First of all Alex refusing an entire bin of costumes was pretty comical. It went like this: "This one?" (hold up costume) to which Alex responds "No, I NOT!" Repeat this over and over and you get the picture. He was emphatic in his response and VERY consistent.

Eli had a few moments. First of all I was trying to follow him up to a house and wait for Alex to get out of the wagon at the same time and Eli got ahead. I heard the lady giving out candy say "oh no, honey, you CAN'T come in". Yeah, he tried to squeeze past her as she was giving out candy. Another man was eating his dinner and had a slice of pizza in one hand and a bag of candy in another. Eli went for the pizza! Pretty Funny! And last but not least he tried to trade his candy that he already had in his hand with the next person giving out candy. Hey, at least he was sharing, kind of.

Flashback Friday: Pumpkin Pics

My little pumpkins 2007 (6 months old)

I had to add the picture of Jared looking all annoyed. We were definitely having a "marriage moment" as I like to call them. The boys were 6 months old and hadn't been out much not to mention we were approaching cold and flu season and it was incredibly windy out. We were still settling into the parenting thing. He still tells the boys each year how I almost impaled them with pumpkins (his words not mine) while trying to get pictures! :) We laugh about it now.

2008

2009

This year went much better!

Our Week

The Good, The Bad and The Random

My beautiful niece, Kayla Morgan, was born last Wednesday. Seriously isn't she precious?

The boys discovered that our bookshelf was for a lot more than holding books. This of course got ugly when they both wanted to climb through at the same time.

The boys discovered "dipping". Anything dipped in ketchup or chocolate sauce tastes better. The first pic displays their reaction when Daddy and I decided that they had had enough ketchup. The second pic is Eli sporting a "stache". Very "Tom Selleck" don't you think?

We took the boys to the museum and let them walk around (rather than be in the stroller). They were in toddler heaven. They also raced cars down the track but soon discovered that is worked better as a slide. Jared enjoyed watching the boys run around because he and his older brother used to go to this museum and one of his favorite memories is of his brother and him taking off their shoes, running as fast as they could and sliding down the empty corridors in their socks. I plan to let Jared re-live this with the boys when they get older. I will be NOWHERE in sight :)

And last but not least...Sunday Morning while getting ready for church Alex decided why take off your clothes before you get into the tub??

It's only Tuesday but it has been a great week. The weather here in Michigan is so nice. Today is actually supposed to reach 60 degrees and I have been able to walk outside the past 2 days. It really does a lot to lift the spirits. My window is open as I type and a lovely breeze is drifting in while the boys sleep. I love my life!! This is definitely one of those days that I feel spoiled.