Ringing in the new year!

The one benefit to Mike's delayed departure was we got to spend New Year's Eve together as a family! Though our New Year's Eve celebrations are far from the late-nights we used to indulge in, we still had some fun! It's just a different kind of fun these days. It was too cold and icy to go anywhere (and Mike had to get up too early Saturday morning to do much) so we holed up inside the house and spent a great night hanging with the boys.

Mike and the boys played games while I cleaned the kitchen.

Then we settled in for a little movie enjoyment. I'd like to say our family snuggled up like this to enjoy "Mary Poppins."


But, really, we looked more like this by the time the opening credits started. I swear, Mike can't sit on the couch without the computer in his lap. It might be a medical condition.


And I will share more on this cute little thing tomorrow!


Happy New Year everyone!

Mike's leaving: Take 3

We really thought the third time would be a charm. Mike managed to get a flight out of our local airport (which is usually exponentially more expensive) without having to pay a dime more. We once again had the boys say good-bye in the morning so as to avoid any airport tears later in the day. Seriously, by this point we were just ready to have him go. Not that we don't love him and all, but the back and forth was getting a bit ridiculous. See, everyone was smiling for these good-byes.




And Nick was still very worried about the iPad. See, he's telling Mike "It better be here when I get home."



I left work a little early to drop him off so his car wouldn't be sitting in the parking lot for what now amounted to two and a half weeks. He was going to have to spend a little extra time waiting around in the terminal, but it was worth it to get the tears/good-byes out of the way in the morning. He called me while I was at Target to say the plane had left Minneapolis a little late, but it was in the air. We all took this for a good sign. I had just picked up the boys, put on my PJs (my permanent at home pregnant wear) when the phone rang. They had turned the plane around. His flight was cancelled. I needed to come get him. Seriously? Yep. I guess the third time wasn't a charm this time around.

Mike's leaving: Take 2

This is going to be a rare pictureless post but it has to be done. You see, Mike left again for the second try at making it to Poughkeepsie. Those sad faced Nick pictures I posted the other day. Imagine them again. That's what it looked like. But this time there was a small smile on his face. The reason: the iPad. Nick's compromise for not crying too much was that Mike would leave the iPad behind. It seemed to work. There were tears, but nothing too extreme. Not that it mattered anyway.

Mike left for the airport before we came home from work/school. About 5 p.m. I called him to let him know that flights were being canceled due to fog. He didn't seem too worried but about an hour later I got a call back. He was just texted that his early morning flight had been cancelled. He was coming home. Again.

He's back

Remember all these tears? Yeah, they were all for naught. Little did we know that the snow storm brewing on the eastern seaboard would turn into "Snowmageddon." No, seriously. That's what they called it. By this morning Mike's flight out was canceled. He was able to get a seat on an early Thursday flight but that meant he was coming back home and we were going to have to do this all over again. Yeah for snow!

The up side to all of this was he got one more night to play with Nick and all the new Christmas toys. They built a Lego police station.


But, more importantly, at least to Nick, they played on the iPad. Nick was so excited to play air hockey and hear a Toy Story 3 book he almost forgot about the fact that Mike was going to have to leave again and we would have to say good-bye tomorrow morning.

Mike's leaving: Take 1

Mike left today for a three week business trip in Poughkeepsie, New York. I had about two weeks to prepare for the tears (Nick and Zander's) and the weeks of "I want Dad." But, what I wasn't prepared for was the week of coming and going.

Mike was originally supposed to fly out today but the cost of flights was too expensive so his company opted to lose a day in NY and send him out bright and early Tuesday morning (like 6 a.m. from an airport an hour away). He said good-bye to the boys in the morning before we headed off for work and school. Here's what that looked like. See, it started out with smiles and hugs.


Then Nick started to realize what was going on and got a little clingy.


Then he told Mike he wasn't going anywhere. He did his best to hold him down, too.


And finally it was just outright tears.


See you in three weeks dad! Maybe ...

A glimpse at my future

I have a feeling this is only the beginning. Nick got a Vtech MobiGo for Christmas and has been enjoying it frequently since then. I've had to lay down the law a few times and he's done well with playing in moderation, but I don't know how much longer I can keep this up. At some point, Mike's desire to "bond" with the boys over video games will trump my desire to limit playtime!

Christmas: Round 4

Our fourth and final Christmas started late Christmas Day morning at my parents' house. We headed over there before the rest of the family showed up for lunch so we could get presents opened and the mess cleaned up. Once again, the boys and Mike and I were spoiled rotten! My mom filled my need for a little pink in the house and Zander's sudden infatuation with baby dolls. He was excited and wanted to get everything out before the rest of the presents were even opened.




Nick got tickets to a hockey game, a new hockey sweatshirt and skads of other things. I don't know why this is about the only picture I have of him opening gifts. I think it's because he tore through them so fast he didn't even see what he was getting!


That, and Zander was just so dang cute opening his presents. He acted like everything was the best thing he'd ever seen! This face was quite common both Christmas Eve and Christmas day.


My sisters got both boys a huge fleece tie blanket. My dad had to help Nick open the huge bag.


Then he tried to push Nick in as he was pulling the blanket out!


My sisters had fun playing with the boys and their new toys. And it gave me a few minutes to relax and chat with the rest of the family.




As soon as lunch was over much of the family indulged in another Christmas Day tradition -- the after-meal nap! Don't they all look so cute.

Christmas: Round 3

Merry Christmas everyone! Our crazy day started with Nick waking up at 5:15 ready to open presents. I think the kid has finally figured out Christmas (given that most days I can't wake him up to get ready at 6:30). We managed to keep him in bed until 6, but the only one who benefited from this was Zander, who didn't want to get up even at the mention of Santa!

When Nick was finally able to make it to the living room he was greeted by quite a display from Santa. I didn't get a full-on shot, but this Lego table was the highlight!


Mostly because he also opened up this brand new police station Lego set! And we can't forget the two that Grandma and Grandpa got him yesterday. Or the big fire station surprise from his birthday. Or the thousands upon thousands of Legos his father has accumulated through the years and now passed down to his boys.


Zander was excited about the new Jessie and Bullseye figures poking out of the top of his stocking.


Which when it was emptied he promptly tried to wear!


I bought the boys Pillow Pets, mostly because I liked them, and Nick was absolutely infatuated with his from the get go. Zander still couldn't care less.


As soon as the presents were opened Nick was ready to get started on his new police station. He checked it out with Mike ...


... and then promptly got to work. I was amazed how much he finished before we had to leave for my parents' house.


Zander liked his new pirate dress-up outfit. And as you can see in the background Mike snuck in a few minutes to play his new PS3 game.


The boys even played together for a few minutes as we tried to figure out Zander's new Cars Ramone's House of Body Art Color Change playset. Looks like we should have read the reviews first. It's cute in theory, but the cars didn't change color using the cold water sprayer. So the boys improvised and just dunked them in cold and warm buckets of water.


And the best thing about the morning. I actually managed to get a decent picture of our family in front of the tree!!! Even better ... it was the first try!

Christmas: Round 2

Editor's Note: The next posts are going to be picture heavy. I resolve, in 2011, to do more collages and less epic picture posts! Now, on with the photos.

We celebrated Christmas number two on Christmas Eve with Mike's mom and dad. They are known for spoiling us all rotten this time of year and this year didn't disappoint. The boys started asking to open presents just a few minutes after we got there. Grandma obliged and let them open just a couple before lunch, but they had to wait for the rest of the bounty until after we ate.

Zander really wanted to help pass out the presents. He's just still a little bit too small to easily carry some of them.




I think Nick liked his new RC crane.


I think Zander did, too.


And Zander had no clue what this was (it's a Bilibo chair and I think it's awesome), but he was excited anyway.


You'll get to see more about our fun family gift in the next couple of posts!

I think it's time

To get Mike some new slippers.


He knows they are coming. But, he still has to wait until Christmas to get them. So, he used packing tape to keep them from completely falling apart. I guess it's better than duct tape, right?

I think he likes dogs

Nick cried when we left my Mema and Papa's house the other night. Not because he was going to miss them. Not because he was going to miss Papa (my dad), which is the usual reason he cries. He was going to miss Karly --- the little black chihuahua he loved on all night.

Then, there are these pictures, taken with my parents' dog Bailey.




Really kid -- I'm not ready for an animal in the house. I may never be ready for a dog in the house. So, I hope that for now these animals will do the trick.

It's killing me

I have a manilla envelope sitting underneath my tree right now. Inside is a slip of paper that will tell us if we are having a boy or a girl ... and Mike won't let me open it until Christmas morning. Stay tuned!

Gag and swoon

These pictures make me GAG (I hate animal kisses):


And SWOON (I love seeing my boys love on their Big Mema):

Christmas: Round 1

Nearly every year my grandparents (Mema and Papa) head south to visit their oldest daughter for Christmas. Aunt Mel can rarely get the time off work to come here, so they take the party to her. It's great for them, not so much for us. But, we have our own little celebration with them the weekend before they leave. This year, we ordered pizza, they opened gifts and everyone had a great time.

The evening started with a little coloring.


Then Mema and Papa opened their gifts. They love having all that attention on them (insert sarcasm here).


Everyone thought Mema's new overnight bag (it came with some perfume) would be a perfect dog tote. Well, everyone except the dog.


Speaking of the dog. Everyone loved the dog.


Well, everyone except Zander.


Though he did warm up to her just a little by the end of the night.


And these are my two favorite pictures from the whole night. I love that my boys love their Big Mema and Big Papa.