A Lump Of Coal, Please?

He doesn't really get the whole "Elf on the Shelf" concept.  Or maybe he does and he's just pretending he doesn't.  And he really does not like taking pictures with the bearded old man.  I have the photos to prove it.  I can't tell you how many times I've explained that being a bad boy means Santa won't bring any presents.  Like NONE.  Does he care?  Did he refrain from his many tantrums?  Did it help to hide most of the presents until the morning of?  Did it help that I actually called Santa and put him on speaker so he could hear for himself that only good children will get goodies?  No, not really.  W would just argue back that YES, he was getting presents and that, YES, he is a good boy, even in the midst of a fit.  Sigh.  I guess we'll try again next year.  

Having set the tone for what it was like the days leading up to Christmas, I will say that it was a great morning of opening presents and being lazy.  I wish I could say that I made some epic bread pudding and we all drank hot chocolate with homemade marshmallows.  To be honest, I'm not THAT mom.  Not yet.  We tried to make it really Norman Rockwell and put a ring of tracks around the tree so that W could come downstairs to find a train going around the gifts.  What a disaster!  First, P assembled this Disney train set we got and hid in the closet.  It's a piece of crap, made of plastic and totally ugly.  But W really wanted it in the store, so P secretly went back that night and bought it.  The last one.  What does this tell you?  That he's an awesome papa and that there were other suckers out there who bought this POS train set.  Not only was it so small that we had to place the present OUTSIDE of the tracks, the thing was so loud I wanted to kick it off the tracks and stomp all over it.  Back in the box it went.  Then P set up this other train set he got from work and tried to set that sucker up.  Not enough tracks BUT quieter than the Disney set.  One problem though.  IT WOULDN'T RUN ON THE DAMN TRACKS!  It was a nightmare.  I mean, c'mon!  We just wanted to make Christmas morning magical for our kids.  Is that so much to ask?!  We ended up just leaving the trains with no battery on the floor and putting the tracks away.   So sad.  

Moving on.  What did the boys get?  Well, little N got some baby toys and a few books and outfits.  What was his favorite?  Anything W got.  Hahaha!  Right?  And, of course, W got a bunch of trains and train oriented items.  He got a bunch of other things like pjs, books, other toys, clothes and his first stocking full of goodies.  Other than the trains, he was really fascinated with one of N's toys.  Seriously, it's like they do this on purpose.  The morning went by quickly, but I'm glad they didn't get more presents because W is getting spoiled!

W, playing with the Train That Couldn't. Ugh.

Of course, he opened the Thomas wrapped present first.

N's favorite!  Paper!!!

N's first boom box and camera.

Our tree rotates and it's a good thing because N would've brought it down with one slow grab.

He's happy.  Enough said.

Late morning sunlight.  Wonderful.

Kinetic sand.  This stuff is so cool.  Couldn't stop touching it.

Trying on my Christmas gift.

Awwww.  Those teeth.

He gets the urge to tackle and hug his baby brother all the time.

Sorry N.  Your big brother learned it from us.

Merry Christmas!

My Lazy Birthday

I saw a commercial once…. can't remember it at all, actually.  Can't remember what they were selling to save my life.  All I remember was the song that was playing.  When I grow up I wanna be an old woman.  That's the verse I remember.  It's a great line.  It's exactly what I want to be.  Every year I get a little older.  Can't stop that.  I get a little wider here and there. And I can definitely tell my body is now on the downslope of good health.  The thing is, I'm not sure I've had those "good ol' days" that everyone is always pining over as they age.  If anything, I feel like the best is yet to come.  And I wish more than anything to be able to see my boys happy and old themselves.  So I welcome each birthday with open arms and I hope God blesses me with many more.

P and I are a lazy couple.  We really are.  Don't get me wrong.  We're a far cry from those folks in that space community in Wall-E.  Not quite there yet.  But we love to just …. do nothing all day.  We used to wake up late on weekends…and then just snooze the day away.  It. Was. Awesome.  But with two little ones…well, snoozing would be sleeping in until 7am.  So when asked what I wanted to do for my birthday, I kept thinking about those lazy Saturdays I spent with my P.  How wonderful it would be to do that with my babies as well!!  Obviously they didn't let us sleep in or anything absurd like that.  But we did take turns napping and spent a good amount of time cuddling in bed.  It was the best.  I'm 36 years old and I have more than I could ever have dreamed of.  Truly.  Life is good.  God is very good.   Happy birthday to me!!!!

Awesome hair in bed.

In our house, expect your feet to get sniffed.

Daddy's turn!

Some motor skill practice while we're at it.

He just can't sit still anymore.

No more pictures.  More tickling!!!

  

Love these guys to death.

Daddy is King Tickler, for sure.

So handsome.

 Hi baby.

  

  

No instruction needed.  W is all kisses.

  

  

 Quick!  Take the picture before they move!

My version of heaven.

  

I copy you.

Busting Out

These are from a little while back, but I had to post them anyway.  Just some fun we have while the rest of the fam is away.  

Notice the drool.

Just like W, he loves flopping around on the bed.

Check out that nose flare.  Doesn't he look like a Japanses anime here?

N.  With a good hair day.

Aww.  Sure.  I'll kiss you now.

Peek-a-boo!

 

I think we need to lower that mattress soon.

Rock. Star. Hair.

I'm A Big Boy Now

Sigh.  I keep typing and deleting what I write.  There's no way to express how much joy this little baby has brought to this family.  He's just that awesome.  W has this 4-piece puzzle of his favorite Thomas the Tank Engine.  It's only 4 pieces because it's meant for toddlers.  But everytime I look at it, I see our family.  It's simple and complete and all the pieces fit perfectly.  That is our family.



He was quiet at first.  Then it seemed he wouldn't sleep or stop crying.  Eventually, he fixed all that and decided not to do anything at all, content to watch our chaotic daily opera with not so much as a grin on his face.  He became the cool one of the group.  Silent but ever present.  What is our little man now?

Well, he's full of giggles and smiles now.  Much more expressive than before.  But what's really admirable (and I truly envy this) is how he is able to completely block out W when he loses his shit.  And if he's feeling any anxiety at all about that scary loud noise or stranger talking to him while waiting in line, you would never know.  He just takes it all in, as if saying to himself, "I'm just going to wait and see where this goes."  Such a cool customer.

Having fun with daddy at mealtime.  Those hands. 

I know time flies when you're having fun, but this is just plain ridiculous.  N is a year old.  ONE YEAR!!! I always had a hunch that someone was actually physically messing with time.  You know just sitting there with the "master" clock and just speeding up all the good stuff.  But now I REALLY do think that is a possibility.  I look at N's sweet little face and it doesn't seem like it's changed much since he was a newborn.  I remember W changed so much that first year.  I could literally put a dozen photos of him next to each other and you would swear they were different babies.  But not my N.  He has that same knowing smile and sweet eyes that he had a year ago.   So you see, there's no way it's been a year.  Unh-unh.  Nope.  His cheeks are shamelessly big, even though my mom swears that he's losing weight.  Sigh.  And his thighs.  Don't get me started on his thighs.  Glorious.  If it weren't so cold in our house, I'd have him hang out in diapers all day.  Just so I could stare at those HoneyBaked hams.

I'm loving life!!!!

Makes me do this.

My hair?  Awesome?  What's that mean?

Oh stop!  I don't have any hair regimen!

Why do I always lift my arms up?  Cause it shows off my belly. Yeah, baby!

That's all I got.

One thing is also insists on persisting is his damn eczema.  It is awful.  It looks just like W's did on his ankles.  But unlike W, this just won't go away.  It all over his beautiful body.  Poor little N isn't as tolerant either.  All the things that didn't bother W, like teething, fevers, rashes....makes N crazy.  And rightfully so, of course.

Though N wasn't too sure about his big brother at first, I have witnessed with my own eyes how much he has grown to love him.  And it's a good thing, too, because W LOVES his baby brother.  Like please-stop-hugging-your brother-because-he's-suffocating kind of love.  It's the most amazing thing I get to see.  Here I spend most of my life, wishing I had a sibling.  And I get to see this impossible dream come true everyday.  No words.  Just pure joy.

W works so hard to make N laugh.  Makes me so proud.

Watching TV together.  Bonding and they don't even know it.

N is finally trying to do something other than just sit there.  Honestly, I was starting to get worried.  He's "delayed" but happily so.  I would say right after his first birthday, he decided to start rocking, bringing food to his mouth and go back to sitting position all within 2 weeks.  Crazy.  This kid is full of surprises.

More rad hair.

I can't stop looking at it.

Baby toes!!!!

Oh, hi mom!

Wait, let me get up for this shot.

I don't know why, but he looks like a baby thug with his hair all slicked back.

I'm more than excited about this coming year.  God willing, we're going to try and stay healthy this time around.  Maybe squeeze in a few trips.  Go on a few more hikes.  Eat less (yes, I'm talking about myself).  Eat more (I'm talking about W).  Lots more memories to be made!!!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!