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!