Christmas in Tennessee

Well we just made it back from our Christmas trek to Tennessee! We had a great visit with Kevin's parents in Illinois on our way and then on to east Tennessee for the rest of the trip.
Since Ethan is really into dressing up these days, he got several costumes this year which were a huge hit. He must have changed 25 times from Spiderman, pirate, Superman and Zoro--too funny!

Here are Ethan and his Mi-mi decorating their annual gumball tree- I think more may have gone into the mouth than onto the tree :)

Here are the guys having fun- unwrapping gifts ended up in a fun game of paper ball war---

Here we are in our Christmas pj's- a fun tradition!

We had a fun trip although the drive yesterday was a bit long--Ethan is sick with a 104+ temp. and Andrew was getting a new tooth. The highlight of the day though was getting to see my dear friend Cindy in Knoxville. It is always a blessing to get to spend time with her and her family. We hope you all had a wonderful holiday as well.

Christmas Play

Ethan was a wiseman in his Christmas play at school - his first on stage performance. He really captured the essence of the role. This was clear in the delivery of his one line: "Wow, I want to bring a gift!" He had even been practicing at home using a box of wet wipes for his gold. Seriously, it was pretty cute- even though you didn't really understand much of what was said. The line of 15 parents with video cameras (myself included) was the laugh of the morning.

A Little Snow

This morning we woke up to Ethan screaming "Wake up guys- it snowed!" Even though we only had about an inch and we tried explaining that there might not be enough to make a snowman- he was determined that we were wrong. What we ended up with was a miniature version of Frosty on the front porch (complete with coffee bean eyes and a petite carrot compliments of Kevin). Pretty funny. We are expecting even more snow this evening-it kind of puts you in the Christmas mood :)

Can't think of a title...

We had a family photo shoot a few weeks ago and thought you might enjoy seeing a few pictures of the boys. They had a good time playing and goofing off together. We will reserve the ones of the family because you may be getting one in your Christmas card :) We have been busy with all kinds of Christmas activities these days and getting ready for our long trip (usually takes us 12 hours) to Tennessee. Thank goodness for DVD players and two relatively good travelers. We are looking forward to seeing all our friends and family over the next several weeks.

Christmas Season Begins!

My Christmas Season was kicked off last night with an Advent Tea at our church. I hosted a table with my dear friend Catherine. We had a fun time decorating and spending time with the ladies at our table. I don't think any of us went away hungry- or will be craving anything sweet for a while-ha! It was a fun evening and a great time of fellowship.

Brothers

Little Pilgrim

We had a fun day celebrating Thanksgiving at Ethan's school today. I was able to help out with his class "feast" and he was so excited when Kevin and I came to his chapel as evidenced by the expression on his face in this video:



We look forward to spending time with family tomorrow and having a long relaxing weekend. We have so much to be thankful for this year! Happy Thanksgiving!

Dropping Benjamins on a Plastic Tree

The following is editorial commentary from Kevin:

This is our Christmas tree this year. Took us two stores and roughly 75 miles to find it at the Garden Ridge in Bridgeton, after an unsuccessful scouting mission to the store in Fenton. Bin 83: "Round Rock Pine" with pre-strung electric lights.

It's been a while since I've been in the market for a plastic tree. Not one to buy plastic anything...flooring, shoes, clothing, I hesitantly ceded the need for this product this year, what with a new baby in the house and a spotty family history of pine tree allergies. Floored...floored was I upon entering Garden Ridge, "the place with the cheapest trees" as Allison described it, to find artificial, plastic trees anywhere from $100-$600. $600. For a plastic tree. A plastic tree. And that was after the 25%-50% off "sale". We got the $100 tree, after some unsuccessful lobbying for the $40 "Charlie Brown" model.

Tagged--With Not Much to Say

Ok, so I've been "tagged" by a couple of people who'll never let me not do this. So, here are the eight "interesting facts" about me, if you can call them that:

1. I'm torn between Rudy and Mitt. I'm leaning towards Mitt.
2. Yes, I sang at Dollywood. With Dolly, on rare occasion. (She's really a nice person.)
3. Never thought I would like St. Louis, but now I love it.
4. My heart melts when our oldest boy looks at me at some random time and says, "Mommy, I love spending time with you".
5. I'm a Food Network junkie. I love to cook.
6. Kona coffee. 100% Kona coffee. On a Saturday morning, with Nancy's "Great Grandma's Thin Pancakes" from the CPC cookbook. 'Nuff said.
7. I like watching the Tour de France and also tennis on TV, but can someone please tell Federer to quit playing with his hair?
8. The Sound of Music=Best Movie Ever Made.

Tagging:
Everyone I know who blogs has already been "tagged"! What do I do?

The rules:1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.2. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules.3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they are tagged, and to read your blog.

So Big!

I have been finding Andrew standing up a lot this week--first in his crib and now doing it every time he gets a chance. He thinks he is big stuff! Again, the constant stream of drool seems to make it in every picture-sorry. Those teeth just keep coming...

Happy Birthday Grandma!

Happy Halloween

Check out the cow and cowboy we had at our house last night-they had a great time dressing up and Ethan probably won't come down from his sugar high for days. Happy Halloween!

Fall Fun

The last couple of weeks have been pretty busy. We just got back yesterday from a trip to Tennessee where I attended my 10 year college reunion. It sure doesn't feel like it has been that long. It was a great visit with many friends-several of which I had not seen since graduation. Ethan and Andrew had a great time staying with their grandparents.

Today we headed out to the pumpkin patch- here are few pictures from our outing.

Fun and Free Things to Do in St. Louis

Here are a few pictures from a fun day we had today. We started out at the zoo and ended up taking a tour at Anheuser Busch (we can now say that we've been "beechwood aged"). Very neat place- Ethan loved seeing the Clydesdale horses.

Allison and I were amused to find in the A-B museum that beer played an integral part in the pilgrims' decision to stay at Plymouth Rock. Their leader wrote in his journal that by the time they landed they were not inclined to try for a better place, because "our victuals are much spent, especially the beer".

We know the feeling.

Andrew spent most of the day chewing on whatever he could find as he is beginning to get those first two teeth. Needless to say, as seen in the last picture, the boys were totally wiped out by the end of the adventure.

Afternoon at the park

We had a fun afternoon at the park yesterday-lovin' the cooler weather!

Like Father, Like Son

We found Ethan reading the paper last night...the obvious humor being that he doesn't even know how to write his own name yet. I guess he figures if it's important enough for Dad to do every day then he might be missing something. Andrew is now getting into everything and yesterday pulled a vacumn cleaner over on his head. No permanent damage done---YET!

Little Davey Crocketts

Kevin had to go to San Antonio for business this past week, and decided to bring back something for the boys to enjoy. Not one to indulge in knick-knacks, he gave in and got Ethan and Andrew matching Davy Crockett racoon-skin hats. Instant hit.

In a couple of years, we're sure they'll enjoy learning about Davy Crockett and the band of brave patriots who courageously fought the battle of the Alamo against the forces of General Santa Anna's invading army. Likewise, their visions of this shrine to freedom will likely be dashed, as was Kevin's, when at some point they visit the Alamo only to find it surrounded by a mall, a CVS pharmacy and, best of all, a Fuddrucker's. Perhaps, by the time they are old enough to travel on their own, Wal-Mart will actually build a Supercenter to completely encase the Alamo, so that shoppers can walk through it to go from the Mexican baked-beans aisle to the shoe department.

On the move

Andrew has officially become mobile. Once he found out that he can scoot-crawl, there is no stopping him. We have instituted a new task force in our home known as the "choke patrol". Ethan is doing a good job pointing out choking "haz-a-ruts" as he calls them. It also looks like those first teeth aren't far away as evidenced by the constant stream of drool in every picture.

"Just Us Guys"-

Here are the guys-recently it is clear that both boys are totally into Dad. Ethan plans his outfit each morning based on what Kevin wears to work and Andrew puts on his big grin every time he gets home. Can't blame them--I'm crazy about him too! Whenever I have to leave them Ethan will say -It's gonna be "just us guys"!! This has been a serious change from the past 4 years of "Mommy do it".

Only cute when you're 5 months old...

We have recently been reminded that there are some things that are only cute when you are a baby- such as spitting food out of your mouth and sucking your big toe. And yes, in case you're wondering, baby baths have become a daily occurrence since the introduction of rice cereal.

Pepper...and Salt

Labor Day

We had a good Labor Day weekend- not much on our agenda and it was nice to just relax. The weather was beautiful and we got to go to the park- something we haven't done much lately while it has been so hot.

In a display of four-year-old obsessive compulsiveness, the red hat that Ethan is sporting hasn't left his head for the better part of the past two months. It is the first thing he puts on in the morning, and the last thing he takes off--literally. Thank you, Grandpa, for the most-used present ever. Ethan thinks that the Nautica-branded cap is a "Cardinal hat". We're not dispelling that myth.

The obsession has opened the opportunity for several "teachable moments", such as learning to take the cap off and place it over his heart during the national anthem at Busch Stadium and our house rule that we don't wear caps at the dinner table unless we have "a truck running outside".