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.