christmas 2013 {before 2013 is over!}

I was a horrible photographer this year, so I don't have much to show for it (except really I do because Ben took lots of video of the morning), but Christmas was lovely.

On Christmas Eve we baked cookies for Santa, wrapped some presents, went out for Chinese and to the first half of the Christmas Eve service (before Owen and Bob started getting too unruly), then home for some carols by candlelight before stories (The Night Before Christmas, The Spirit of Christmas, and the Jesus Storybook Bible) and bedtime.  Bob had been telling us for days that he was going to stay up all night and see Santa, or at the very least he'd hear footsteps and sneak downstairs in time to see him pop out of the fireplace, but by the time he was to his bed he was too exhausted to think about it.  There was a quick attempt at grabbing A Christmas Story (a super sweet book about Mary and Joseph's donkey's baby with gorgeous illustrations, by Brian Wildsmith) off the shelf after I left his room, but I caught him and he went straight to sleep.

our little elf left a couple of small gifts at the breakfast table on Christmas Eve...

 Owen kept tearing the paper into little bits even after the present had fallen out...

 Bob could use an entire roll of tape and bag of bows on a single gift if left to his own devices...

 play doh and pizza...

 baking cookies for santa...

Owen reading his fortune out loud (he likes to copy Bob and pretend he can read too)...

 our makeshift candlelight service, since we didn't last through until the lighting of the candles at church...

And then we had our traditional late night cousin Christmas Eve with Nate and Erica, where we eat and drink and play games and half-watch Elf and finish off the kids' gifts and set them up all cutely.  This year's game was a masterpiece made by yours truly for Bob and O's cardboard gift of the year - and it was a hit, for adults and littles alike.  (See pics at the end of the post.)  We painted a chalkboard race track on the coffee table, wrapped up the new hockey goals and sticks and balls, filled the stockings.  Stuck bows to the new step stools (red for Mario-Bob and green for Luigi-O), and set everything up just so under and around the Christmas tree.

We finally wrapped things up and said goodnight around 2:30am or so, and I was so exhausted I didn't even take a single photo of the scene.  But as tired as I was, I couldn't resist snapshots of my babes with visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads.  (Owen had already awoken and was nestled in our bed by now.)

I forget whether Bobby or Owen woke first, but much too early and not a moment too soon they were both climbing over and between us on the bed, and pulling presents and goodies out of their stockings on the "puppy bed" on the floor.

Eventually we lugged ourselves downstairs and started slowly picking through the present pile.  The boys were so sweet, wanting to play with each toy for a while before remembering there was more to open.  Us parent folk actually had to hurry things along a bit so we could get the turkey in the oven on time.  Yep, we hosted Christmas dinner in the log cabin.  What could be cuter?  The rest of the day is a blur of cooking, playing, relatives arriving and more presents, eating, chatting, and later on watching The Sing Off with Ben's mom and bro, in town for a Christmas visit.

my cousin jake picked up my camera and snagged this lovely shot of me climbing on the island trying to get the turkey out of the roasting pan...

 as promised, the mario bros game pics...

And then suddenly the next day I was back to scooping mac and cheese and portioning out nuggets.  But nonetheless, it was a beautiful holiday with so much to be thankful for.

Thankful {for four year olds and four month youngs}

It's the day after Thanksgiving.  We're not off seeking deals, because there really isn't anything we want deals on.  We have everything we need.  (Except a king sized bed.  But that's not in the cards at the moment.)  I'm sitting here because I'm thankful.  And I want to take a minute.

There's pretty much one single reason why I haven't been here lately: Downton Abbey.  I finally went for it and ended up watching all three seasons in three weeks, or however long it's been since I last wrote.  Plus the past week where I was just-- busy.  So, now I'm back in the 21st century and I can take a little memory stroll back to Bob's fourth birthday.

waking from his nap on his 4th birthday

Ben and I share one car, so if the kids and I need it for the day we have to get up at 6am and drive him to work.  Hence, we are a stay at home trio most of the time.  But on the big Friday I purposely scheduled an appointment so that we could do something different.  We did mostly boring errands but with some fun twists.  Dad gave Bob a $20 bill to spend, so that was exciting.

We got donuts for breakfast.  Went to Walmart (one of the few places open at 7am), where Bob spent about half of his money on foam swords for the whole family.  Then to Home Depot to get supplies for making bows and arrows at the birthday party, where Bob spent the other half of his birthday cash on a singing penguin for Owen.  Went on a hunt for a snowball maker, with no luck (but no worries, we've since found one).  Went to a playground, even though it was rainy and cold.



And then for the big event: my third first OB appointment to "meet" baby "Tiki" as Bobby has named "her."  Yeppers-- we're expecting number three, due in May, and we're excited!  The doctor did a quick ultrasound; Owen sat beside me on the table-bed and Bob sat on the doctor's lap, and we all stared at that little flicker that is her heartbeat, and we watched her little legs kick around.  Craziness; and a really special day.  We are all so thankful.

We stopped at the Old Forge to grab some chili and brought it to Gram's for lunch (B+O ate pb&j, actually), then went home for nap time.  Later we took the back mountain roads on our way to pick up Dad from work.  We had breakfast for dinner per Bob's request -- eggs with cheese, sausage, sweet potatoes and onions, and waffles with strawberries and whipped cream.  Yum.

Big Gram and Grandmother came over for cheesecake, California Gram and Grandma joined us via Skype, and Bob got to open a few gifts.

"Bob, why don't you use your fork?"
"Oh, yeah, thanks."

All day I kept asking my little Bobby, "Wait, how old are you?" or, "Are there any four year olds around?"  The proud slow smile that spread across his face each time: priceless.  So thankful for this precious little firstborn son of mine.

On Saturday we went out to Red Hook so I could take photos at little Shea's christening and Bob and Owen got to spend the afternoon with their buddy Lincoln -- a super special treat!

Sunday we had a little birthday party.  Oh, was that boy excited about all of his "friends" (mostly his cousins) coming over!  We painted rocks, swapped books, played with bows and arrows (instructions for a preschooler-friendly bow here), and ate.  Oh, and the kids spent a good amount of time climbing on dirt and rock and wood piles and hiding in the hideout.  A great, sweet time that made Bob feel very special.  Thanks so much to everyone who came!

So that's the story of our Pupper turning four.  He is one awesome dude, and I'm sure he'll only become more awesome as the next year unfolds.  A little Pupper parting gift, from a week or so after his birthday playing in the tent set up in our living room by the fire, because when I come back after a monthlong absence I have to go all out.