Should I be worried?

Every time this kid asks me to take a picture of him he does this. Mike swears he hasn't secretly been watching "Girls Gone Wild" with the boys, but I'm not sure I believe him.

Growing up too fast

This kid is just growing up to fast. Not only is he the size of an average 7 year old (he's 5), but he is just acting older everyday. Don't get me wrong, we still have our moments, but every time I see him he just looks a little more mature -- well except here. Here he just looks like my favorite first-born. (Don't mind the mark on his face. Zander did that to him a few days ago and it just won't heal).


Some of my favorites about my first-born:

• He loves jamming to songs on the radio and will tell us to be quiet or turn it up if he "knows" a song.
• He still loves to cuddle. I take advantage of this at every chance I get. I know they are limited.
• He can be an amazing big brother --- when he wants to be.
• He has a kind soul. He loves helping his teachers at school and is the first to help out when we are at another's home.

A little more holiday cheer

Nick's second holiday concert of the season was with his real music teacher and his preschool class. Even though they only meet for 15 minutes each week I was pleasantly surprised by how well they did.

As you can see Nick is the biggest kid in his class.


Though not by much. This cute little girl is just a smidge shorter than him.


The show wasn't all holiday related. They also showcased some of their classroom songs -- like this one about fish.




And what preschool show wouldn't be complete without the chicken dance??? Isn't that part of every preschool music curriculum?

Christmas concert No. 1

Nick's daycare class put on a fun little program for the parents before school got out for winter break. I was so excited because last year's program was canceled due to weather. The kids all did a great job and I was so proud of Nick for standing up there and singing along with his class. He has grown (physically and emotionally) so much since last year!




I can't remember what song they were singing, but this kid was being a reindeer and dang near knocked Nick over. Everyone else was just doing a cute little hip bump.


As a special treat the big man himself came to visit the class. Again, Nick strode right up to him, sat on his lap (why do we encourage this????) and told him he wanted Legos, games and puzzles. Check, check and triple check (Anyone ever read Mooseltoe? It's a great holiday book).




One concert down. One to go.

Surprise ... we made cookies!

I know, I know. We always make cookies. And I always take pictures (I'll spare you all the link-ups). But, this time I was mostly just wanting to try out my new camera (that's a whole other post). I'm still getting used to it, but I am sure someday I will love it. At least that's what I keep telling myself everytime I see the receipt.

Don't they look so cute working together? That kind of brotherly love rarely lasts so it's amazing I managed to capture it as proof.


And of course, the boys had to help decorate the cookies. Look at Zander's cute little smile! He melts my heart that one (well, when he isn't throwing his famous temper tantrums).


For the record, Zander decorated exactly one cookie --- the one he is devouring in this picture.

First snow

I can't believe we made it all the way to Dec. 11 without a single snowflake! But, now that it is here, it looks like it is here to stay. The boys, well Nick at least, love to shovel and hang outside with Mike while he is clearing the driveway and raking the house (we've had problems with ice dams in the past). I love the few minutes alone inside when I can pick up a room without another being destroyed.


Zander hasn't quite figured out how this whole shoveling thing works.


Nick is always worried about poor Santa. There are some nights, usually when it's very snowy, that Santa has a few too many beverages to help him stay warm and ends up face down in the snow by morning. Nick likes to make sure this doesn't happen.


And I'm not sure what Zander thinks he's going to do with the garden hose. We tried to tell him it's a bit too cold to get out the car wash! He didn't want to listen.

We love the music!

Yep, we still love Kindermusik. (Holy cow look how little Nick is) I'm so glad we didn't stop when Zander was born. This kid really loves the class! He sings the good-bye song ALL. THE. TIME. And I love it.


Thankfully, this guy loves it too.


(By the way, I was talking about Mike) I am so happy that I married a man who wants to be involved in our childrens' activities. Nick, however, is obviously starting to outgrow the class. We gave him the option of doing something else this spring (yes, we are going back) but he opted for one more go-round.


This was one of just two little girls in our small Family Time class. Of course, Zander was just smitten with her.


And, no matter what we do that night, the highlight for the boys is always the end when they get music note stamps. Seriously? They get so excited to come back and tell us what color they got. It's the little things, right?