A Big Weekend... Big....

The anticipation was almost too much to bear. He waited so patiently on the stairs - knowing his stocking was stuffed and waiting! He so enjoyed stuffing Uma and Upa's stockings, pretending to be Santa for the night. I think he was almost as excited to see them open their as he was to open his...

Lucas was somewhat oblivious, still not really getting what was happening, until he watched his big brother. He caught on quick.

Ethan is really good about being enthusiastic about his gifts - lots of "What the heck?!" and "Just what I always wanted!".

However, the best line? (to Upa): "You have to say thanks cuz I filled your sock. We got that at the dollar store!"

When Lucas found not one, but two chocolate Santas in his stocking, he exclaimed, "One, one, is two!" and then promptly tried to give one away, "Here go." A mathematician and generous.

Poor Upa spent the morning putting all the toys together... Aye-yi-yi the packaging... We had a great time and Uma, Upa, and Nana spoiled us all rotten!

After that, it was off to Seattle for me for a girls' night out. We were celebrating Jessica coming into town and Missy's birthday. The 4 of us roomed together in college and had so much fun catching up and being crazy. We took a lot of ridiculous self-portraits.

We ate a ton of food - even discovered a bar in the ladies' rooms, with a guy manning it! Weird...

It was so beautiful downtown with all the lights! What a magical place! We laughed and laughed and sang and danced (well, that might have just been me....).

Missy's brothers got us a fabulous hotel room and we stayed up late hot-tubbing, watching cheesy movies, and talking. Today we hit Pike Place and then Pioneer Square, admiring all te craziness that is Seattle before Jessica and I ferried back to meet the boys. Lunch out with "Schnookie" and lots more laughs at Ethan and Lucas' antics, and it was time to say good-bye.

I think it was just what I needed before being locked on an airplane with the 2 boys tomorrow! And now I'll get back to packing! EEk!!!

Excitement

"What the heck?! Cars! I love cars! These are my very special cars!"

I love watching little kids open presents - before they care about brands or anything like that. It's just exciting to open a gift and see what's inside. We exchanged with Nadia on Thursday and had great fun watching them ooh and ahh over their dollar-store gifts. Lucas was most thrilled with his chocolate Santa - that he ate before even opening the rest of his present - in very few bites. He wsn't waiting to ask for permission.

My favorite gift that the boys picked out for Nadia was the purple hat. Lucas wore it in the store for a good 20 minutes. It's stylish! I need one.
I was responsible for dessert. So I did what any self-respecting teacher does this time of year; I stole leftover cupcakes from the teacher's lounge. It did not faze the kids at all that they were neon. Or that they had birthday decorations. We just made up holiday sayings for them. Good thing they can't read yet!

So good to have good friends!

Tomorrow's Christmas and this little elf needs to get some sleep! This little elf also needs to pack the basement in the next 48 hours or so, but that might be a little unrealistic.

The Lights of Christmas!!!

I have no words for this picture.

So I'll start here. We headed up north for a very special Christmas weekend, making a stop on the way at an awesome children's museum. There was just about everything there. We all had fun running around. I think Lucas most of all. He just happily ran from one room to the next - driving the bus, milking the cow, driving the ferry, all of it!

The rooftop garden would have been very cool had it not been 40 degrees and rainy.

We had fun. Then we met up with our friend to head out to the magic Christmas place - filled with lights!!! It was beautiful. There were amazing lights everywhere.

It was rainy, so very rainy. And cold and windy. But we did not let it stop us. We trudged through the puddles, ate donuts, made toys....

And even saw the big guy himself. Ethan made his apologies for being naughty at school and Lucas just held me tight and whispered his with list to Santa.

My camera was dying, so I really didn't get many good pictures. This one captures the mood by the end of the train ride, quite well.

By then they were begging to go back to our "hotel room" to go to bed. Did they go to sleep? Not for hours. They did end up watching part of a movie, but then they got their second wind (or sugar high from the kettlecorn?) and were jumping around screaming, so off to bed we went.

Lucas ended up in bed with us, kicking and sweating all over us, but all in all, it was great! We had a fabulous breakfast and headed back to the real world. We are all tired. So tired. But we had such a great time. A new tradition is born.

Only next time I order no rain. Or at least rain boots.

Just keeps coming...

"Ethan, why were you fighting?"

"It's just in my heart mom."

Oh brother. He's full of it, I tell you. Both boys went to the doctor this morning. All was well until the shots. What a heart-breaker. The tears. The limping. The fierce anger.

"I HATE SHOTS!!!!!"

Lucas is a giant, Ethan is pretty darn average. Ethan's tubes have fallen out and lo and behold he's on the cusp of an ear infection. Of course.

Tonight we hung out downtown, ate pizza, bought cookies at the bakery, and drove all over town to look at Christmas lights. A nice end to the week, except then their legs were all stiff and sore. Poor boys! I suppose one gets sympathy for 4 shots at once.

This weekend is Christmas fun all around!

Oh my boys....

"Ethan, why is it not okay to wrestle with your friends at school?"

"Because it's innapopiate"

On the wall at daycare - a poster showing that they asked the kids to finish the sentence: "When I got off the spaceship I saw...."

Ethan's answer: 180 aliens wearing blue, red, black and purple."

I call that some serious detail! Very proud mama!

Lucas' favorite song? "Be-bo bell, be-bo bell, HEY!"

Busy week, but all is well. They never cease to entertain.

Bright Lights... No Animals...

What do teachers do on the weekend? We sit kids around a table and make them do projects of course! These were fun though, I promise! 5 kids under 5 doing 5 or so different art projects for Christmas gifts. So fun! Ethan just loved having all these girls playing with him. Lucas LOVED it when they started chasing him. And the art was magnifique! The perfectionism was all left at the door and they just got messy. My favorite was the lunch - we used cookie cutters to cut Christmas shapes out of PB&J sandwiches - Nice idea Sonia! I just ate dip. A. lot. of. dip.

After that we napped and were off to zoolights! Beautiful!

Ethan kept asking where were all the animals. We tried to explain that they weren't the attraction, but that was hard. HE WANTED THE SHARKS. Lucas just wanted to be held, but was otherwise thrilled with it all.

Pure magic - thanks Uma and Upa!

We ended the night with a trip around the carousel. Ethan and Upa giddy-upped and Lucas and Uma opted for the carriage. Lucas so wanted to ride in Uma's lap, so when she told him he had to sit next to her like a big boy, he threw his leg up on her lap - just to make a statement. That's my boy.

On the way home we stopped and got "foffees" and cookies. Because they weren't hyped up enough.

I love this time of year. Family time becomes so meaningful. My heart just gets really full. Tonight we got to have Nana for dinner. In the middle of dinner (in the middle of another conversation) Ethan looks over at Nana and says, "Nana, I really like you." He and Lucas couldn't stay out of her lap tonight. Everyone wanted a snuggle. It's just that time of year. Snuggles all around.

May your week be merry and bright!

A Week?

My apologies for the week old pictures. It's report card week, Lucas had tummy issues all week, Christmas cards needed to be finished, etc., etc. No excuses, right?
When last we left you, we were immersed in a super fun weekend! Well, it continued when our friend Nadia came to hang out for the evening on Saturday. We played, sang songs colored and then there was the building of the huge fort. I thought Brian and I did a very nice job of it. They played in it for a long time - my favorite part was when Ethan or Nadia would sit outside and "bark" and then the other would yell "NONO DOGS! QUIET!" Very true-to-life.

After we spent a bit cleaning it up and putting everything away, I came back in to discover they had made their own fort. A slightly smaller, but somewhat sturdier model. They even upgraded to add doors and a welcome mat.

By the end of it all, they were exhausted. A happy exhausted. First time the boys have slept past 6:30 am in a loooong time!

The next day, we were running late, dinking around with Christmas decor and trying to help Lucas with his tummy troubles. We decided to hit the Festival of Trees, where the boys made all sorts of great crafts, and then, since we were missing Uncle Kevin and family so badly - we went to his favorite restaurant.

"This is Uncle Kevin's FAVORITE. You better tell him I went here."

After all that fun, out came the Elf on the Shelf. Yep, Tok showed up for another year of spying on the boys. We're hoping he hasn't lost his magical powers, since Lucas keeps pulling him down from wherever he lands, but we think we're alright.

The boys handstamped all the Christmas cards - a chore, but they were troopers! And now, I'm happy to say they are all ready to go in the mail! I figured people will need our address, so the sooner the better!

All (or most anyway) of the decorations are out and Lucas is in love with the snowmen - though I think he calls them "rabbits".

The musical toys from my Aunt Chris are a favorite. Brian's favorite is the hat - Ethan's favorite the behind-shaking snowman, and Lucas' favorite - the dancing flamingo "Mine baby!" My favorite? When the batteries die. Just Kidding - they're fun - not so much at 6 am, but the during the day...

And that's about when I got sucked into school and grades, and projects, and all. Lucas had a trip to a new doctor that we really like and will be going to for a follow-up and the boys' well-child checks next week. He seems to be doing much better now that things are moving again.

This weekend is going to be full of magical Christmas fun and we're excited!