Our visit from "Ho! Ho!"

We had an amazing Christmas! The boys were so much fun. I really didn't think they would get it, but the moment they saw Santa (they call him "Ho Ho") they knew the drill. For our big family party on Christmas Eve, Kevin dressed as Santa for his final year. (Next year the boys might figure out it's him...so the torch will be passed.) They were so cute watching Santa come down the dock and they were terrified when he actually came in the house. They watched everyone get presents from a distance and clung to me like glue...but when they got their gifts...they started to really like "Ho Ho"!

It's "Ho Ho!"

Tommy would only look at him from a distance.

I think the funniest part of the night had to be Cole. Every few minutes you'd hear his deep little voice yelling above the noise of the party, "Joe Joe! (his cousin Joseph)..."Sean!" His two favorite play mates of the night. Tommy definitely bonded with Uncle Jimmy...the two of them were giggling while playing with his new play set. The boys had a ball.

Thank you Jack, Lisa, Melissa and Megan! We are eating lots of ice cream!

Thank you Jill and Ethan! The boys love their cutting board!

We spent the night at Nana and Papa's and Santa made his visit. The boys got their tractors and trucks...a new play kitchen and SO much more. Every time anyone would open a gift, the boys would be there helping out and rooting for a truck. When it wouldn't be one...they would say, "Oh no!" and look at you with pity. :) It was so funny! Here is some video of when they first came downstairs...trucks and M&M's were the hit of the morning... I had so much trouble uploading this video here so ended up hosting it on YouTube.

We got home around 2pm and the boys were so tired that they actually took a nap. Kevin and I had lots to do in preparation for our holiday dinner that night, so it was perfect. When they woke up...it was Christmas all over again as we still had lots of presents under the tree. Auntie Meredith's gifts were the biggest hit. I don't think we've stopped playing with our airport since it came out of the box.

On Christmas night when I put the boys to sleep, we talked about our day and all the exciting things that had happened. As usual, we said our good nights to everyone. When we were done, Cole paused and then added, "Bye bye Ho Ho!" Thank you to everyone for helping to make our holiday so special. We were just as excited as the boys... and sharing it with them was nothing short of magical!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is a big holiday for our family. Ever since I was a little girl, the whole family would gather together on Christmas Eve to celebrate the holiday and my grandfather's birthday. Part of our tradition involves Santa Claus showing up to hand out gifts to everyone in the family. It is a night we all look forward to all year....and we can't wait to see how the boys react to it all.

Christmas Day is all about relaxing and letting the kids have their fun. This year, we'll be spending the night at Nana and Papa's. Santa already knows to bring half of their toys there. :) We'll head home early afternoon to open our gifts and prepare for our annual holiday dinner with close friends. This year it is themed, "A Crachit Christmas". We'll be cooking a goose, parsnips, roasted potatoes, homemade cranberry sauce and even a traditional Christmas pudding!

Happy holidays to all!

Our Christmas List

So many moments that I wish were caught on video. This morning was one of them. I asked the boys what Santa Claus was going to bring them for Christmas. Here is what they said:

Cole: "Trucks."

Tommy: "BIG trucks!"

Cole: "Garbage trucks and tractors"

Tommy: "BIG BIG garbage trucks"

Cole: "TWO garbage trucks and TWO tractors"

Tommy: "a BIG train"

Mom: "Wow! Really? What else do you think he'll bring? Do you think he'll bring you a kitchen to play in?"

Tommy: "Kitchen...yay! (then very serious) Cook...HOT."

Cole: "Eggs! Crack eggs! Cooking cake..."

Mom: "Yes! You can cook cake in your kitchen. That will be fun! What else will Santa bring?"

Cole: (in a hushed tone) "a cup of chips..."

Tommy: "oooh...chocle. Emmys! Boo emmys!" (translation: chocolate, m&m's, blue m&m's)

Cole: "TWO cups of chips... and tookies" (cookies)

Tommy: "oreo tookies!"

Cole: "cup of pretzels AND cup of chips"

Tommy: "BIG BIG truck!"

They are too funny! No surprise that immediately following this conversation Cole asked for a cup of chips for breakfast. :)

Blizzard of 2009!!

The boys experienced their first official blizzard!! The Blizzard of 2009 dumped close 20 inches of snow in our yard with wind gusts high enough to even topple our 20 ft. flag pole! While we were bummed about the flag pole, we are SO grateful for our snow blower. It worked like a champ cleaning up the driveway in no time.

The boys had a blast crashing their Tonka trucks into the snow banks and digging holes. They had rosy cheeks and runny noses! After a good 45 minutes of playing hard, Tommy finally had enough. Time for cookies and cocoa!

Time for hot cocoa - STAT!!!!

"When Nap Time Ends"

I feel like words are not necessary here. Happy Wednesday!

Christmas Crafts

Now that the boys are not napping (that's right NOT NAPPING) our days have become pretty busy. Yesterday, we decided to have a craft afternoon. We made wreaths using paper plates and green tissue paper...salt & flour ornaments for the holidays...and colored christmas trees, mommy's countertop and each other using markers. Here are my little men in action:

Tommy would stop in between pasting to remove all the glue from his fingers. Cole on the other hand found that a good hand wiping on your shirt did the trick just fine.

Coloring trees...

Tommy started hoarding markers half-way through. Hey, sometimes twins get tired of sharing!

Here are our ornaments baking away....this was a MESSY project so there aren't any photos of the actual process. Hmmm...what next?

Tommy the Hair Stylist

Tommy is my personal hair stylist. Depending on the day, he will demand that I put my hair up or leave it down. I have no idea how he makes this decision...but everyday he has an opinion. :)

Today is an "hair up" day. We were wrestling this afternoon when some strands of hair came loose from my pony tail. He stopped everything and demanded that I put it back 'up" before continuing to play. It's so funny!

Wake-up Cole!

Cole drifted off while watching Dora this afternoon. When Tommy discovered him asleep, he tried everything in his power to wake him up. He put on his fire hat and made fire truck sounds and even put a fire hat on sleeping Cole and yelled, "Cole! Fire!"

When I walked in with the camera, Tommy started wiggling Cole's nose and he thought it was hysterical. This video cracks me up. Enjoy!

Christmas Card Olympics

Does anyone understand how HARD it is to wrangle two-yeard olds to sit still for a photo? This should be an olympic sport! We spent two days sweating in front of the tree to try and get a good shot. There were tears, broken ornaments and plenty of laughs for Kevin and I. Here are some out-takes.

"Cole gone." Tommy said.

"Hey stop crowding me!"

Umm...

Tommy...people want to see your face please.

We're baaack!!!

After a short hiatus of no posting...I'm happy to report that we are back up and running here on the blog. Several computer issues, a change of operating systems, reorganization of photos, a holiday, one trip to New York and two toddlers had things backed up a bit. But that's okay...the good news is we have LOTS of catching up to do.

First off, let me start by saying that the boys are at the BEST age right now. They are talking up a storm and saying the funniest things. Yesterday, I asked Cole, "Hey pal? Do you have a poop in your pants?" To which he replied, "No. Tommy pooped." (This was not true...I was talking to the culprit.) Before I could respond he opened his arms really wide and said, "Tommy did a BIG poo poo."

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family in Connecticut and the boys had a blast. Grandma's house has a LONG hallway that quickly turned into their speedway. Uncle Tom and Auntie Vicki showed up with Tonka trucks which thankfully kept them very busy. Other highlights for the boys would be: Auntie Meredith hid M&M's (emmy's) in her pocket for their enjoyment, Uncle Steve gave them a ride on his mini excavator and their cousins spoiled them with lots of attention. The weather was beautiful...just a great day!

Ready to dig in! This isn't even the whole family. Missing are three aunts, 2 uncles and even more cousins. These little guys are so lucky to be a part of the Riordan clan. :)

Auntie Meredith and Grandma. The lump in Auntie Meredith's coat are hidden M&M's. She knows all the secret tricks!

Cousin Kelly teaching Cole how to play the Ukulele.

Hmmm...turkey is pretty good!!

Daddy and the boys relaxing after a big meal

Uncle Steve takes Cole for a ride on his "BIG TRACTOR"

I still can't believe he actually got up on this. Cole is becoming more and more fearless. Yikes!

Tommy preferred it when the tractor was not moving. He got very brave then. :)

It's not easy saying goodbye to big tractors!

On Friday, Auntie Meredith and I stole away for our annual Black Friday shopping trip. We have certain stores that we like to go to, but when Target opened last year it quickly made the list for toy buying. Last year, she sent us home with the Little People Farm for Christmas. This year, the boys scored the Little People Airport, the Fisher Price Doctor Kit and a big Play-Dough play pack. They are going to freak out on Christmas morning. Every Black Friday shopping excursion is capped off with a seasonal latte from Starbucks. Actually, I think this is really the sole reason for the shopping trip!

Thank you to Grandma, Vicki, Patti and Meredith for an amazing Thanksgiving dinner! It was a great couple of days and we had a blast.

Potty Champ No. 2!

Today, Cole followed Tommy's lead and informed me he needed to poop on the potty. He sat there for a good 15 minutes kicking his feet and talking about how he was going to get TWO "emmy's". Tommy cheered him on and handed him unecessarily large amounts of toilet paper. :)

After Cole and I must have high-fived ten times. He is so cute and VERY proud!!!

Recently heard around the house....

- "Boys!!! Don't drive your trucks through your toast!"
- "Tommy, mommy wants you to keep your clothes on."
- "No honey...you can't have chips. It's only 8:30 in the morning. Why? Because we don't have chips for breakfast! You can cry all you want, but you're still not getting any."
- "Who ate the tips off all these crayons?!?"
- "Is that water or pee?"
- "What the...?!? WHO ATE MY CHAPSTICK???"
- "Look at me. We don't pull keys off mommy's computer keyboard. See these? They are now broken. Forever. Okay? Now mommy loves you. Go be a good boy."
- "Cole...eat your chicken. Mommy is not making cake for dinner. You can say please all you want...still not happening."
- "Don't touch the tree. Don't touch it! What did mommy say? Don't touch the tree. Put that down!!! Good boy. That was a very good decision."
- "Tommy where are your socks? What do you mean gone?"
- "Honey, can mommy see those scissors? Can you give those to mommy please? Oh thank you!"
- "Where did that play-doh go? Open your mouth. Did you eat it? Where is the play-doh?"

Potty news!

Okay, so this is our life now. Poops make us want to celebrate. :) Today, Tommy walked up to me and said, "Mama? Potty?" Surprised, I brought him into the bathroom where he happily sat for 15 minutes and pooped. After, he wanted an "emmy" (m&m) and to flush. "Bye bye poo poos!" He shouted as the toilet flushed.

BIG day! We told daddy, called Nana...and now of course everyone knows who is reading this. Tommy is very proud of himself. He's been showing signs of readiness for a few months, but never enough to make me think we should pursue training. (Boys are usually late anyway.) Now, I think we may gently try to nudge him in that direction. Luckily, he got some pretty cool pirate underwear for his birthday!

Swine Flu Halloween

Well we had a pretty miserable week here. First, my computer (just over a year old) had a complete melt down and I lost a lot of stuff. No fun. Then we all came down with swine flu! Just not our week...

The boys were scheduled to get their H1N1 shots last Friday. On Wednesday, I started getting sick. I tried to keep away from the boys and assumed it was just a cold, but it kept getting worse. When Friday rolled around, Kevin took the boys to get their shots and Tommy couldn't get it as he had a fever of 103, but Cole was able to get his. In the end, it didn't even matter. The shots take two weeks to take effect and we were all sick - including Cole - within a few days. I went to the doctor and they said it was the H1N1 flu. Then the boys went to the pedi and got the same diagnosis.

I was first...Tommy second (he ended up in the hospital Wednesday night getting a chest x-ray due to his wheezing which scared the crap out of me), then Cole and Kevin. They put Cole on that Tamiflu stuff and it seems to be working. He is MUCH better today than he was yesterday. Overall? It was pretty miserable! It lasted about a week total. The coughing and chest congestion was just the worst. Fevers were on average around 102. Really nothing you could do to help the kids, you know?

We're all on the mend this week. I can't believe...after ALL my worrying...that we got it!!!! I was being a maniac about hand sanitizing and stuff. At least we've got it behind us now. I'm still going to complete the vaccination for both boys just so I'm SURE we're 100% immune. But according to all sources, once you've gotten it...you're done.

Here are some pictures of the boys from Halloween. You can see that Tommy is feeling better and Cole looks miserable. Poor baby...


Tommy, Cole


Tommy, Cole


Tommy

Poor Cole - Feeling crummy....

Guess what?!?

The GREAT thing about being so tall is that we can reach all kinds of things we shouldn't. Today we learned how to reach the water dispenser in the fridge. Mom said that we must have been very thirsty as there was water everywhere. Water dispensers are fun!

Paper bag pumpkins...

When my brothers and I were small, we all made these paper bag pumpkins. Every year my mom would pull them out at Halloween for decorations. They always cracked us up as our pumpkin faces were just a bunch of black lines.

So carrying on the tradition, we stuffed brown shopping bags with newspaper and we painted pumpkins with our friends Gavin and Megan last week. Here are the finished works of art. The boys are so proud of them!

Two year olds are BUSY!

I know...it's been awhile since I last posted. But having two-year olds is busy. Hmmm...that statement doesn't do it justice. Suffice it to say that while these two boys are sweet and loving...they are also VERY mischievous and smart. They work as a team...and have given me more gray hairs in the past two weeks than I'd like to admit.

Funny moments:

- After two weeks worth of birthdays (we have LOTS of fall birthday's around here) one morning when I asked Cole what he wanted for breakfast, he asked me to "Cook cake."

- "GONE." This is Tommy's new favorite word. We'll be driving in the car and he'll spot a truck. "Truck mommy! Truck! BIG Truck!" then seconds later "GONE. Truck GONE mama. GONE." The drive to my parents is on a highway, so you can imagine what the car ride is like.

- For their birthday, my parents gave the boys a train table. I decided to glue all the tracks down and even put the trees and little houses all around so they could enjoy it more. I decided to use liquid nails to really ensure that everything stuck. Well the train table now has white polka dots all over it where the trees used to stand - each one snapped off. Cole...holding an apple tree in his hand...looked at me when I caught him red handed and innocently said, "Oh no!" Tommy of course chimes in..."Tree GONE mommy."

- Our refrigerator (brilliantly) has an alarm that sounds if the door is left open too long. Well the other day I ran up to get my sneakers and heard the infamous beeping sound. When I got into the kitchen, Tommy heard my footsteps and RAN over to the alphabet stickers on the window - leaving the door open - and starting innocently reciting, "A, B, EEEE!" He appeared to be shocked over the open door when I asked about it.

- As we are getting ready to leave the house, I walked into the kitchen to find that Cole has literally dumped an entire bottle of cornstarch baby powder ALL over the kitchen floor. Not a small bottle...the big one. The funny part? He also opened an entire package of baby wipes which he was desperately using to try and clean up the mess before I found it. The mess required a broom, vacuum, mop, sponge (love grout) and two outfit changes (his and mine) before we were finally able to make our play date.

This list could go on and on. Of course, there are moments that are not funny. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that they are only two and testing the limits. How far can we push mommy before she cracks? How many tantrums should we have today? I feel like this is the topic of conversation every morning as they babble away in their beds.

Everyday is a challenge, a joy, a new discovery and an opportunity to learn. Life with two-year olds is crazy. But we wouldn't want it any other way.

Our Two Year Stats

When they say identical....they mean it! Thought this was interesting enough to share. The boys had their two year check-ups and here are their stats. Their appointments were one week apart. Cole's was first...

Cole: Height: 35 1/2 inches | Weight 30 pounds

Head Circumference: 19 3/8

Tommy: Height: 35 7/8 inches | Weight: 30.5 pounds

Head Circumference: 19 3/8

Painting Pumpkins!

The boys took a few moments out of their VERY busy schedule to paint pumpkins with mommy and Auntie Meredith Friday afternoon. It was literally like a drive-by painting. They were running in the yard...one at a time they stopped...painted their pumpkin...then kept on going!

Blueberries, Apples and Pumpkins!

Here are some highlights from our amazing birthday weekend! It all started with the arrival of Auntie Meredith and Grandma. We took advantage of a crisp fall day and went to an orchard for apples, blueberries and pumpkins!