Christmas 2011

I can't believe it's come and gone all ready!!!  Christmas 2011 is officially "on the books"... well, at least "on the blog!" 

We, of course need to start out with Christmas Eve pictures... but first, a note on the boys' Christmas outfits this year.  I did not... I repeat, DID NOT try to make them match this year!  They did that themselves.  I originally bought Zachary's outfit in November before the Christmas Show.  A couple of weeks later, I let Evan pick out his from a different store.  He had about 5 combos to choose from, and he said he wanted to look just like his brother.  Zachary agreed that they would both look cool, and that they should BOTH wear ties  so they would look just like Daddy.

Look at my handsome guys!!

Once I snapped this picture, I knew our photo time was over...
Totally funny picture, though!!

In our house, we carry on a tradition Marcus had growing up in his.  After church on Christmas Eve, the boys get to open one present, and it is always a new pair of PJ's.  I usually go Christmasy, but while shopping for PJ's for cousin Niki, the boys made it clear which ones they liked.  So, I went back later and picked them up.  It took a while to get used to Mr. Sunshine in his BRIGHT yellow SpongeBob number!

Our other Christmas Eve tradition in our house is our "Christmas Stromboli."  We order it from the town pizza place that day, and then heat it up for dinner after church.  Don't ask me how that started, but now Christmas Eve just doesn't seem complete without Stromboli...

Eating dinner, prepping the cookies and carrots for our late-night visitors, and Zach writing a note to Santa...
It's a good thing Santa can read 5-year-old!

We had two early risers on Christmas morning, of course... here are a few shots of the morning chaos!

The "big" gift from Santa to the boys...
A stunt track from Cars 2

Gift from Mommy & Daddy
Little Angry Bird piggies!!

 I'm going to stop at the picture above for a moment.  Almost immediately following this shot, Marcus put on Evan's hat and started oinking.  Evan noticed from across the room... His eyes got huge, and his smile even huge-er!  He tucked his arms across his chest, lowered his head, and charged Marcus, all the while shouting, "AAAAANGRY BIIIIIIRDS!!!"  He jumped in the air, and landed on Marcus with a triumphant, "I popped you!!!"

A Mater Operation game from Julie & Dan.  They LOVED it!!

"Helping" to make sure Grandpa D opens his gift correctly.

 While Julie and I worked on lunch, Evan took over camera duty.  There were tons of pictures of toys, feet, fingers... but this is by far my favorite shot....



"Hold it right there, Uncle Dan!!  We caught you red-handed!!
Hand over our Nerf gun niiiiiice and slow..."

 We had a great time, and were able to schedule an on-line conversation with Danny and Jenn that night too.  It was just an all-around relaxing, low-key Christmas this year!  Thanks for sharing it with us; Julie, Dan & Grandpa!

Air hockey table from Grandpa D!!!!

I still have no idea where I'm gonna put that thing...!

Quite Puzzling

The boys got so many great gifts again this year for Christmas... but I wanted to share this one because it turned out better than I imagined!!

My boys (Evan in particular), are jigsaw puzzle fiends, so in November, I ordered 54-piece puzzles for each of the boys from a company called Printer's Studio. They specialize in photo gifts, and they were one of the more affordable companies I found. I uploaded photos from the Jedi photo shoot and done! Easy-peasy!  



I didn't have high hopes for the quality of the pieces... but when my order came, not only did each puzzle one come in a personalized, sturdy box, but they are the thickest jigsaw pieces I've ever seen! The finish was glossy and the image was clear as day!! I was SO EXCITED! 



I think the boys thought it was pretty darn cool putting puzzles of themselves together, and Zachary is actually doing his again as I type this... I have also done them myself quite a few times when the boys aren't around!  I definitely want to use this company again when the opportunity presents itself!  Definitely check them out if you want a great gift for your kids!!!  ...End plug... ;)  Other Christmas pictures to follow soon!  Have a great weekend!

So, so, so, SO Far Behind!

Do I have one handsome date, or what?!!?

The days are getting away with me and I am totally neglecting my blog and my camera!!  Backtracking to the first weekend in December, my dear, dear friend Karla and I went on a double-date to the PMO Christmas Show.  It brought back so many memories and was a little surreal watching it with our very handsome (and very young) dates.

We decided to take our oldest sons this year, and we started off at one of their favorite places -- dinner at Cracker Barrel.  After dinner, we took them over to my office for some photo ops with the Christmas-i-fied Boilermaker Special...

Next stop, the Union to see the huge gingerbread house (the tree wasn't up yet... boo!)

Finally, off to Elliot Hall of Music to watch the Christmas Show!  The boys were so well behaved, and we had a wonderful time!  Thanks for coming with us, Karla and Nathan!  Hope we can do it again next year!!

Making it Work

Evan is our fearless one.  Nothing phases him... not the dark, traffic, loud noises... or even the anticipation of getting into BIG trouble.  Nothing.  Zachary is the exact opposite.  Very fearful of the unknown, and does not like loud noises or dark rooms.  It makes him VERY sweet, but can be problematic at bedtime... forget about bedtime during a storm!!!

Two night lights, the light on in the closet and out in the hall just doesn't cut it for Zachary sometimes.  He and I had a heart-to-heart the other night after a very frustrating episode.  I told him that I can't do anything else for him (except actually turning ON the light, of course), and that he needs to figure out what he needs to do to not be afraid.  He said okay and I went back downstairs.

I checked back at midnight, and Zachary had moved his bed over to his brother's, and slept at the foot of the bed so he could see Evan.  The next morning, he told me if he can see his brother, he isn't scared... that Evan makes him feel better.  He's done it a couple more nights since (these pictures are from last night).

Way to go Zach, for figuring out what works for you - and way to go Evan, for being a great little brother and best friend!!

The Rhine Treatment

I finally got a chance to sit down and pull together some of the fantastic photos that Julie and Dan did for us last month.  There were so many great ones that it was a small miracle that I could whittle it down this far! 

As always, they did a great job, and we had tons of fun!  Thanks for the memories, Julie and Dan... you guys are the BEST!!