Snow and More Snow!

We got hit with a ton of snow! We did extreme prepartion for about 30 minutes before heading out to enjoy over a foot of fallen snow on Monday. And Jude spent about the same amount of time actually out in the snow before deciding it wasn't really his thing.
He wore this face the whole time until calling it a day.
Callum, however, was ready to go. This is probably the first year that he was really into it. He's read enough books about snow to be eager for all the snow experiences like making snow angels and having snowball fights. Though, in the end, he wanted only mama to make a snow angel and our 'snowball fight' was throwing snowballs onto the ground. Always a practical kid!

Our Holiday Festivities

We did our best to match the holiday enthusiasm of a 3.5 year old this year. We had gingerbread house making both at home and with friends. And, we also took a trip with friends into New York City to see Rockefeller Center. How is that for holiday magic?


Jude didn't take the trip into the city (this year) but Callum and Mama did. He wasn't too impressed by the tree but was thrilled to see a Santa Clause ice skating!
He was also impressed by the tall buildings...
but wasn't excited to be pulled from the action in order to take a picture! Bahumbug, mom.
The best part, however, was running into Elmo and Grover. Who could ask for more?

Merry Christmast to All!

2 & 3-Word Sentences and 1 Huge Crush

Oh Boy! There has been a lot happening and fast with our little man. His personality is really shining through and it has become clear that he is a little feisty Irishmen! He has no fear and will say NO! to anyone, even older kids. He regularly gets so upset that he ends up flailing on the ground but just as quickly picks himself up and is running around laughing. Oh, the mood swings!

He's started talking in two and three word sentences. One of his favorite games is to say to mama "Mama. Sad" which is followed by quick pats on my back to 'comfort' me and then he says "Shhh. Mama" while putting his finger over my mouth. He is also a great cuddler and lover...full of hugs and kisses and quick with a joke.

Some of that passion is directed at a younger classmate at his daycare. He talks about her all the time! If we mention her name he tilts his head to the side and slowly drawls out her name. When we are driving somewhere he will talk and talk and talk about the cars and trucks we see and then suddenly slip in her name. He often expresses concern for her discussing how she fell and is sad or is happy. She is a truly adorable girl and we often spend time with her and her family. At which point, of course, our little guy gets extremely shy and mostly ignores her. Ah, the mystery of love.

Trimming the Tree

We got our tree! Last week we headed to a nearby tree farm and Callum ran around saying "I wonder how many Christmas trees there are!", which is a line from a Curious George book that he loves.

Jude enjoyed and was simultaneously scared to death of the farm chicken that, for some reason, still wanted to be outside.

We brought it home and had a blast decorating it. For the most part, Cal parked his step stool in one spot and brought ornament after ornament up to the tree...it gives the tree a pretty inconsistent cover of decoration. In fact, some parts of the tree of completely void of ornaments at all and other branches are perfectly packed. Welcome holidays!

Let's Go Fly a Kite!

And why not? Papa has been on a dedicated search for a kite for months so when we finally stumbled across one, some kite flying was in order. Pronto. Thankfully, Grandpa Steve was here to help out.
Never mind that it was pretty cold. Of course, for Jude who doesn't really understand the kite flying appeal, the cold weather was a greater concern.

Callum, on the other hand, was so excited he could hardly stand still!
And, as you can see, Papa was pretty thrilled too.

Happy Thanksgiving!

We certainly have a lot to be thankful for! Good food, laughter, family from near and far, and a warm house full of love.



Mama even has her amazing little helper...he is quite the carrot peeler!
We know that Jude is thankful for a grandpa willing to read a million books about trucks! Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Getting to know you...

It's hard to believe but our little J is over a year and a half old. There is a lot going on, here is a sampling:

1. Word, words, words: I can say airplane, oatmeal, tractor, purple, yellow, MORE, bird, and car,car, car and well, basically anything! It might be in my own semi-mumbled version of the word but I'm a talker.

2. I can also say NO! and I always accompany it with an emphatic head shake. I have very particular preferences, which means I do the head-shake-and-say-NO move a lot.

3. I'm a pretty likable guy and while I can't say yes, I do a great nod, but it's a little harder for me to do so it comes out as a big and dramatic movement. It's awfully cute.

4. I love music and dancing, particularly songs about cars, trains, and puppies (no joke!) but I will pretty much dance to anything. I have a great knee-bend move and LOVE spinning around in circles until I fall down. Row, Row, Row Your Boat is one of my favorites.

5. I like to eat crackers, lots and lots of crackers. Fruit and eggs are pretty good, too but I could subsist on crackers.

6. I'm pretty funny. I like a good tickle and I like to wrestle (as long everyone is gentle with me, of course!) but I find silly facial expressions pretty funny. I also find throwing food on the floor pretty funny...the funniest part is how seriously everyone else is about this.

7. I almost always say BYE when leaving a room and even say THANK YOU quite alot, though it comes out as 'dat do'. I even say this to my daycare teachers after a diaper change! (I'm not as nice to my parents for some mysterious reason).

8. I don't really like bath time, and only just started in the 'big' bathtub instead of the baby tub.

9. I reallly want to be around my big brother AT ALL TIMES, even when he is driving me crazy. I can't seem to peel myself away from his side, and often resort to pushing my head against his body and leaning into him just to show him that I love him...and sort of try to hurt him at the same time. I don't understand it either.

10. I love to play outside, I don't understand why we ever need to go inside. But, if we do go inside, can we please, please, please watch the Thomas the tank engine movie? If you say no, I'm going to have have a meltdown. I know what that black box is for, you can't fool me anymore...I'm nearly two.

Is there anything better than Autumn?

I think not.
(Wondering about the mysterious ladders in these pictures? We are painting the house!)

Belated Halloween post

The day before Halloween we went to a little church party with kid-friendly activities. Little J was sick so stayed, uncharacteristically, out of the limelight. But, big brother got into the festivities. Trying out the donut eating game and the art project and just enjoying some Halloween fun. He's getting old enough to understand these crazy festivities...it's going to make Christmas extra sweet.

Happy Halloween

We ended up being a kitty cat and a (sick) stop sign. Cal insisted he wanted to be a cat but mama thought that, for sure, he would want to be a school bus...and he kind of thought about it. So, both options were made and the school bus was fun...but in the end we went with cat. Now, when the older brother is a school bus it is kind of cute for the younger brother to be a stop sign! But, when older brother opts for a cat costume, the stop sign becomes a little perplexing. That's ok, we rolled with it.

Really, it didn't matter all that much because our little stop sign was sick and cranky and would just rather stay where it is warm inside. Poor little stop sign.

Visit to the Pumpkin Patch

October is always our favorite month. The trees are beautiful and the weather is so cozy that it is nice to be outside and nice to cuddle up inside. We wish it would never end. One of the best parts is pumpkin picking (and apple picking, too.). We got to a great pumpkin patch recently with some buddies and had a great time picking pumpkins, riding a hay ride, ogling the tractors, and visiting with the farm animals.
Jude knows exactly which pumpkin he wants, Cal needs a little more time to decide.



As you can see below, little J is always interested in animals and quite bold about approaching them.

Cal on the hay ride with his buddy. They were so excited to sit together and giggling and wiggling on the hay bale when she said : "I really like you, Callum" and he said: "I really like you too."

It was so sweet and sincere. It took great strength for all the adults to keep from bursting into tears.

Touch A Truck!

This was an event made for us! It's simple. A parking lot filled with parked vehicles...mail truck, go-kart, garbage truck, cement mixer...you name it. The boys were so thrilled it was almost too much to handle. It was near impossible to get them to look at the camera, they were so busy looking at the steering wheel and plethora of buttons and knobs. Yippee!

Cal on the side of the garbage truck, pretending to be a 'garbage guy'.

What a Weekend!

This weekend we were doubly blessed with fantastic, fall weather and a visit from Grandma Pat and Grandpa Bill from Minnesota. The boys are both fully saturated and glowing from all the love and attention they got. Can you tell?
Callum spent the whole weekend introducing Grandma and Grandpa to his songs, his dance moves, his silly faces, his stories, and well, his world. Jude to the opportunity to show off his I NEED ATTENTION NOW scream as well as his charming smile, his independent nature, and his adorable knee-bend dancing style.
It was so nice out, we were able to venture out for an amazing hike collecting acorns, pine cones and leaves. In fact, there was so much exploration that it took three hours to hike what is probably a 1.5 mile loop. Jude is officially done with the hiking backpack and insisted on walking almost the entire time even climbing the hills so steep he had to lunge up steps reaching to his hips.

Fall Festival Time

Our local arts festival was on Sunday and capped off a great weekend of enjoying the fresh, fall weather that finally blew in.