Happy Halloween!

It was simply an amazing night.  I have so many photos and videos to post.  Kevin and I are just sitting in front of the fire, relaxing and warming up and relishing the great night we just shared as a family.  The boys were perfection.  They laughed...crunched through leaves...marched in a parade...explored a haunted house... rang doorbells (some repeatedly) and proudly said "Trick or Treat!"  They returned from each house with their eyes beaming.  They couldn't get over what was happening.

We missed it all last year as the boys were sick.  But no matter.  Nothing could have prepared us for how cute they would be this year.  To say that they *got it* would be an understatement.  We've got pumpkin buckets spilling over with candy and two little firemen tucked into their beds that are warm and happy.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween!  As I mentioned, pictures and video will be coming soon.  xo

Halloween Begins!!!

Today was our first Halloween party of the weekend...and we have plenty ahead!!  The boys were so cute dressed up in their Fireman outfits.  As fate would have it, Cole decided to be a fireman tonight.  So relieved we had two outfits!!  Tomorrow he claims he will be a surgeon...his original pick.  We'll see...  One thing is for sure, they are ready for candy.  Tonight's party was at their school and the treats were pizza, apples and water.  Tommy was NOT impressed and Cole wanted to go home after an hour and have a "Tizzler".  :)

Let the trick-or-treating and fun begin!!

Mousecapades!

This story had to be written down for posterity.  It is just too funny!  My poor mom...  Today I went into the hospital for some monitoring on the baby.  Everything was fine, but since they decided to keep me for awhile longer, I called my mom to check-in on her and the boys.

"Everything is okay."  She replied.  "Although we're just recovering from a little *incident*."  Apparently, the boys wanted to play downstairs in the ball pitt, so down the basement they all went.  Tommy picked something up and started swinging it around yelling, "look at me!"  First she thought it was a toy...but then realized...it was a MOUSE!!!  He had the mouse by the tail!  She yelled for him to let go of it...and he did...and it flew in the air and landed in the ball pitt where Cole was playing.

Can you even imagine the chaos that ensued?  She said in the process of getting the mouse, sterilizing the ball pitt and both boys...Tommy was screaming crying "my mouse!  my mouse!"

Mind you...she is relaying this story to me while I was hooked up to monitors.  I was laughing so hard I almost peed my pants and had to hang up before the alarm on my monitors went off.  Only boys!!!!

Happy 97th birthday GG!

Today was my grandfather's 97th birthday.  This man is truly amazing.  He is in great health, great spirits and every time I see him, he looks better than he did the last time!!  I wish everyone the same health and happiness in life that this gentleman has at 97 years of age.  He has had a fascinating life...and anyone who knows him can attest to his GREAT wit and sense of humor.

My parents hosted a birthday party at their house and unfortunately, the boys were both too sick to go.  They woke up on Saturday with terrible colds and despite their stuffy nose assurances that they were feeling better, I decided they would stay home with dad.  They were really sad as they had been looking forward to the party all week.  They made a cute little video singing Happy Birthday to GG (great grandpa) which I brought along to share with my grandfather.  Here it is.

Happy birthday Gramps/GG!!!  We love you!!!  And thank you GG Margaret for the amazing food and Irish Soda Bread!!  It was a fun afternoon.  xoxo

The Cover-Up!

Both boys awoke with pretty bad colds yesterday, so we've been housebound all weekend.  This morning they were starting to get a little stir-crazy, so I set them up with an art project then used that opportunity to run upstairs and jump in the shower.

Moments later, Cole burst into the bathroom.  "MOMMY!!!  Tommy making a BIG mess and water is everywhere."  In my stern voice I warned, "There better not be!  You tell Tommy mommy is on her way downstairs and he is in trouble."  Cole hesitated...looked at me...then ran downstairs.

Within a few minutes, I had rinsed off the soap, grabbed a towel and made my way downstairs.  As I turned the corner into the kitchen, the bathroom door slammed shut and I heard whispers.  "What is going on down here?"  I inquired.  "Nuffin Mommy!"  Tommy replied through the closed door as I heard a toilet flush.  When I opened the door, both boys were standing innocently beside the toilet.  "Mommy, I have to go the bathroom."  Cole informed me.

At first glance all appeared normal...but with closer inspection I noticed smears of paint around the sink along with globs of wet toilet paper here and there on the floor and sink.  The toilet paper roll had wet fingerprints and the floor was still glistening from being wet.  "It's okay Mommy."  Tommy said.  "Everything is all fine."

That was enough for me.  I didn't even question them further and praised them for being so good.  Will I ever know what really happened in there?  No.   Do I need to?  No.  Am I proud of them?  IMMENSELY!!!  They worked together quickly to fix the mess and I could never fault that.  It was their first great cover-up.  And it deserves to be documented!!!  :)

Bond of brothers

Yesterday, I took the boys to a birthday party at one of those McDonald's that has a HUGE indoor play area.  The play area mainly consists of a climbing structure that has tunnels, slides, multi-levels and LOTS of chaos.  It was fun...but crazy. As usual, the boys were inseparable.  Tommy waited patiently until Cole finished his meal to return to the play area, despite his friends telling him, "Come on Tommy!"  He didn't budge until Cole was ready.  Inside the play zone, it was pretty easy to spot them both...as they are always within 5 feet of each other.

Apparently, though...they must have separated at one point.  On our way home, Cole said to me, "Mom...I was in the big play building and crying and crying, but then Tommy found me and saved me."  Immediately, I was worried.  "What happened?" I asked.  Cole replied, "I was scared and all alone, but Tommy found me and then I was all better."  Then Tommy piped in.  "Yeah mom!  I rescued him, then Cole was not scared anymore!"  Hearing that of course, warmed my heart.

Tommy may be older by a minute, but the role of big brother falls naturally on his sweet, empathetic shoulders.  On the days that Cole goes to school, he encourages his brother telling him "not to worry!" and "school is fun!"  Then while Cole is actually at school, he confides to me that he "misses Cole."

I love watching the beautiful bond they share...and love the way they love each other.  This little baby is so lucky to grow up with such amazing big brothers as role models.

Just something cute...

I'm so afraid I'm going to forget all of the cute things they say.  Cole came up to me tonight with an apple.  "Mom?  Can you take off it's wrappers?  I don't like these kind of wrappers."

One of my favorite things Tommy does is put his hand on his chin in his thinking pose...then shout, "I know!"  Followed by whatever his latest bright idea might be.   Tonight it was, "Let's make a nest (take all cushions off couch and pile them with pillows and blankets) have chocolate milk AND watch Fireman Sam!"

Eagle-Bats are the new Ligers

Tonight, Tommy came running into the kitchen, "Mommy look!  It's an eagle-bat!"  A what?!?  He was pointing to a rather large picture of a bat on his pre-school Halloween party invitation.  "It's an EAGLE-BAT...see?  It has big, big, big wings with the ends pointing down like an eagle...but it's a black, scary bat!!"  His imagination never ceases to amaze me.  Today we were at the store (while Cole was at school) and the clerk gave him a lollipop.  In the car, he took a bite out of the pop, looked at the remaining piece and exclaimed, "Mom!  I just made a mountain!"

Random Tuesday Update

Just a little random update on the boys.  Today the boys were having lunch and watching TV while I cleaned the kitchen.  At one point, I was apparently being too noisy as Cole looked at me with a very serious face and asked me to "Please keep it down."

Tommy had his second day of school today.  He was teary-eyed and scared going in...and full of smiles and joy coming out.  I couldn't be happier.  Seeing them settling into school so well...making new friends...talking to each other about what they've learned...I swear they've matured more in the past two weeks than they have in months.  For fun, I treated them to a donut after school today.  Here is a snippet from our conversation:

"What kind of donut would you like?" I ask.  

Cole replies, "BIG HUGE, GUY-GANTIC MONSTER TRUCK WHEELS!"  

Tommy pipes in, "YEAH!  BIG, BIG, BIG, 'NORMOUS AND CHOCOLATE!!"  

This is what they call chocolate donuts.  I don't want to forget little things like that.  :)

This afternoon as I was putting them down for naps, Cole was NOT happy about it and yelled "NO NAPS!" in an overtired, cranky voice.  Tommy immediately jumped to my defense and said, "Cole...that is not nice.  Mommy buys you toys and gives you treats and donuts.  See mommy?  I am a good boy!  I am taking a nap!"  Cole felt so bad he started to cry.  *sigh*  Too funny.  I clearly have two little protectors watching over me for the rest of my life.  :)

Happy Birthday Nana!!!!!

Today is Nana's birthday and the boys are VERY excited.  We've been baking a cake *from scratch* all afternoon (yes, go ahead...be impressed...but know that we have NEVER done this before) and Tommy has been practicing his Happy Birthday song for her birthday party tomorrow.  It has been so cute listening to him.  I finally co-erced him into doing it on the computer.  So here you go Nana!!  Happy birthday from one of your biggest fans - Tommy!!

Bye, bye Grandma!!

The boys JUST stopped crying.  Grandma left a few moments ago and this is how the boys looked at she drove away.  Tommy had his famous parting line, "Grandma's GONE!!"  Said through tears with a large emphasis on the GONE.  (Sad...but so funny at the same time.)  They really had a hard time saying goodbye and only calmed down after I promised she would be back again soon for another visit.

It was so great having her here for the boys first days of school.  She provided mommy with much needed counseling and emotional support, while encouraging and cheering on the boys.  In fact, during her visit -- the boys made the leap to being 95% potty trained!  The other 5% is staying dry overnight, but they are getting there.  Having the support and love of so many people around them this week - without a doubt - made these big transitions so much easier.

Thank you Grandma for all of your help!!  We miss you already.  Come back SOON!  xoxo

Cole's First Day of School

Today it was Cole's turn for his first day of pre-school.  Last night, I looked over at Cole and noticed he seemed a little *off*.  His eyes were watery and he was daydreaming a bit.  I asked him, "You okay, pal?" His response, "I'm nervous about school tomorrow."  It broke my heart.  We talked about it all night and Tommy piped in telling him "School is fun Cole!  You will like school!"  But this morning, Cole was dragging his feet and begging me not to go.

I explained how every little boy and girl gets nervous...that it was okay to be nervous, etc. etc.  And along he went.  Our photo shoot was adorable.  He proudly sat beside his brother on the front stairs.  We caught glimpses of his nerves peeking through.  Then, when it was time to go, he waved goodbye...climbed into the car...and off we went.

He was so scared by the time we arrived, that the teacher actually allowed me to walk him down to the classroom.  When the time seemed right, she told me to leave.  I never heard him cry, so I assumed all went well.

Tommy and I went to pick him up and waited outside the door so we would be the first faces he would see.  As he turned the corner out of the classroom and saw us outside waiting, he broke down in tears and didn't stop crying until we made it into the car.  The teacher said he spent a good part of class in tears, but did participate in snack time and played a little bit.  I just hope tomorrow is a bit easier.  My poor pal...it breaks my heart to think he feels scared or nervous.  I know this is all a part of growing up...but still...just typing this is making me well up!

So proud of both of my guys.  They did such an amazing job this week...brave little buddies...venturing off without mom... and without their brother for the first time since their actual birth three years ago.  Pretty big stuff!

Birthday cupcakes

Things were so crazy at their birthday party, that the boys didn't really *blow* out their candles - everyone else did!  Then on their actual birthday, they were so exhausted by dinnertime that we decided to postpone the singing one more day.

So...here we are...  Birthday celebrations officially ended tonight with monster cupcakes, an appropriate "Happy Birthday" song and blowing out the candles.  A perfect ending to a perfectly wonderful third birthday.  :)

Cole

Tommy

Happy birthday Tommy and Cole!!!!

Oh my...what a day we have had!!!  My babies turned three and Tommy started his first day of pre-school. It was such an emotional day for me!  I kept remembering those tiny sweet little faces...that newborn smell and all of the *events* leading up to their birth.  And just couldn't reconcile all of that with these independent, handsome and funny boys before my eyes.  Time flew.  I think my childhood friend summed it up best when she said, "the days are long, but the years are fast."  So very true.

I can't tell you how proud I am of both of them.  They are the most beautiful little men - such sweet souls...so loving...so funny...so smart.  Words just can't express the mix of emotions I am experiencing today.  Here are some pictures and a little video.

Happy birthday Thomas and Cole.  Mommy and Daddy love you so VERY much!!!

October 5, 2007

Three years ago... Cole (L), Tommy (R)

Today... Tommy (L), Cole (R)

Tommy's first day of pre-school

Tommy ready to head out...

Cole missing his buddy already...

Tommy ready for the day...

just before the teacher came to take him in and the tears started (for both of us!)

Cole in the parking lot...waiting to pick up Tommy.

One more day....

One more day until my best pals turn THREE.  Eeek!  What a big birthday!  So much has changed in these little guys over the past year...heck even the past 6 months.  Everyday they say or do something new...  It sounds crazy, but Kevin and I feel like we've *survived*.  The first three years were crazy, but now?  They are thriving, happy, funny little boys who are fearless and love to learn.

Over the weekend, we had the boys birthday party with their friends.  Thirty-two children under the age of 4 came to play and meet "Fireman Mike".  We found a local firefighter who actually owns his own firetruck and teaches fire safety.  He arrived at the party with lights flashing - it was awesome!  He played games with the kids and taught them to stop, drop and roll.  He also suited up in gear and showed them what a firefighter would look like when they come to save them so the kids wouldn't be scared and hide.  The kids really learned a lot.  And so did I!  It was really great.

After learning about fire safety, we went back out to the truck and explored.  They learned all the parts of the truck and then came the finale....fire hoses.  This was when the things went from cool to REALLY awesome.  Fireman Mike rolled out two hoses and the kids lined up to take turns shooting the water.  After about 5 minutes, the water started shooting straight up in the air and then all bets were off.  The kids were running through the spray -- getting SOAKED -- and laughing their butts off.  We were so lucky to have such a gorgeous day.  And lucky the pool towels hadn't been put away for the winter yet!

The boys really had a great day and couldn't believe it was all for them.  Thank you to all our little friends for coming and making it so much fun!!