Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Happy New Year!!

From all of us to all of you!

Monday, December 29, 2008

And a happy holidays was had by all!

Christmas flew by in a blur this year, but I know we all had lots of fun. Santa was good to us all, bringing family together, a new job for Jeff, and- oh yeah- some new toys for the little boys. Morgan, Rachel, and Milo flew in a week ago and we've been enjoying having them here so much. The cousins are getting along famously- Milo has even taken up some swordplay since his arrival! We've had some cold and wet weather, but with holiday lights, Hanukkah candles, and warm fireplaces, we've kept snug and cozy inside.

Holiday treat making.


Elf work on Christmas Eve.


Santa came!!
Cute cousins on Christmas morning.

The theme for this year's Christmas was undoubtedly Legos, Legos, and more Legos!


The boys also got (cloth) daggers that they like very much. Even Grannie got into the act a bit!

Thursday, December 18, 2008

Quote of the Day

Elias has been taking a class at a local farm- a fun mixture of art, animals, and just plain old getting dirty. He really enjoys it , especially feeding and caring for the farm animals. Last week, however, when I told him it was "Bizzy Barn" day he claimed he didn't want to go. (He was very busy playing with his playmobil knights at the time). I reminded him how much fun he had last week and how he likes it at the farm so much. He responded, "I don't like anything except toys that are awesome and have weapons that are awesome!"
Ahh, boys...

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Where does the time go?

Happy December and sorry for the big blog delay. My camera has been acting up and frustrating me, so I've been avoiding using it as of late. We've also been busy, with work and play and school- all the usual stuff, but everything seems to take longer and go slower with a basketball size protrusion sticking out from my mid-section! I finished up with work last week and Sam has just two more days of school until his holiday break begins. We are all looking forward to some relaxing time together before our new babe makes his entrance into this world, which is hopefully a good few weeks away still. It's been wonderful having Jeff home lately- he has been logging in lots of extra lego time with the boys and kitchen time, preparing yummy meals for all of us. I've been able to relax a bit more, even working in some yoga and naps over the past couple of weeks. While none of us are happy that Copia shut down, the unexpected bonus of having Jeff around is pretty great.

Here are a few new pictures that I managed to snap today- hopefully there will be more coming soon!

Sam is doing tons of artwork these days- mostly drawings of ninjas and knights. Here is our resident artist at work.


Elias, sporting his new favorite overalls, cooking up some tasty wooden food for us in his kitchen.


This is how I found the boys this morning when I got out of bed. Sam had gotten them each a bowl of dry cereal and they were happily reading together on the couch. So sweet!

Oh yeah- and here I am, with said protrusion.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Big Art

Sometimes bigger is definitely better!


Tortellini Fingers

A favorite game at our house.

Also, after looking impossibly shaggy, Patchie got a snazzy new haircut. (Thanks Gaj!) Doesn't he look dapper?

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Chilly mornings

It seems that fall has finally arrived in Napa. After some very late summer weather, we've now had some rain and cooler temps. It was in the upper 30s through the night last night and quite cold in the house when we awoke this morning.

Here are the boys after we finally dragged ourselves out of our warm beds. Do you think it's maybe time I turned on the heat?

Thursday, November 13, 2008

Halloween Round-Up

So, Halloween was a blast this year. Unfortunately I won't be able to show you that here, as I seemed to have neglected to take any photos pretty much the entire month of October. Sorry. This baby growing business has really gone to my head lately.

The build up to All Hallow's Eve was pretty great. We went to a few costume parties, had a fun trip to the pumpkin patch, and did lots of decorating around the house. We carved or otherwise decorated about 7 pumpkins, drank lots of apple cider, and ate a variety of pumpkin flavored treats.

Sam had picked out his Halloween costume about 8 months ago, while Patchie vacillated between a few different ideas right up to the day of. First he was going to be a firefighter, then a pirate, and then a space guy. We were excited about all of these options, but in the end, he joined Sam in being a ninja. Ninja's are very big news around these parts lately. They boys are way into weapons, fighting, and super stealth adventures. I feel sort of lost in it all, but am trying to just give them their space to be little boys and keep them from hurting each other.

Jeff made it home early on Halloween night, and after a hasty dinner with Grannie and Grandpa we set out with the other 4 little boys in our neighborhood. It had been a rainy day, but we lucked out and had a dry evening. Sam was SO into it and focused on the mass accumulation of candy. He essentially ran from house to house and was always about 3 houses ahead of Patch and I. Elias was happy to take it slow and really check out all the decorations. After about two blocks he turned to me and said, "I"m ready to go home now Mom. I have enough candy." He powered through a few more houses and then he, Grannie, and I broke off from the group and headed home. We had a few groups of trick-or-treaters come to the door, which was very enjoyable for Elias. He loved seeing the kids in their costumes and giving them fist fulls of candy.

It was a great night and the boys raked in TONS of candy. Luckily there is a dentist in town that buys candy by the pound from kids after Halloween and sends it to the troops in Iraq. So, a few days ago we brought in our loot and sold eight, yes eight!!, pounds of candy to the dentist. Then we went straight to the toy store and the boys each got to pick out a small new toy to buy. And everyone went home happy!

Jeff snapped a couple of shots after he, Sam, and Grandpa got back- unfortunately Patch was already in his pjs, but the boys like to dress up on pretty much a daily basis, so I will try to get some shots of him in his costume soon.

Here is a shot of Patchie in his space guy costume. It didn't make the final cut for the big night, but he does look pretty cute in it, don't you think?


Checking out the loot.


Negotiating.

The all important stage of categorizing the candy.

Sleeping off the Halloween excitment.

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

The Big Day

Hey all you out there--

Please Vote!

Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Quote of the Day

This is a dual quote of the day. Together they pretty much sum up what life is like with Patchie these days- endearing, funny, and exasperating all at the same time.

The first comes from the wee hours of the day after Patch appeared at my bedside for some early morning snuggling, as is his routine. I pretended to go back to sleep for a little bit before actually acknowledging his existence there in the bed. When I rolled over and said good morning to him, he responded with a big smile and, "Oh, Mama, I wuv you all day long!" What a great way to start my day!

The second quote comes from just a few minutes ago when I thought it would be nice to try and get a photo of Patchie and I together to accompany the above post. He, however, had many other ideas of what he would like to be doing- none of which involved holding still for the two seconds it would take for me to snap a pic. I finally just grabbed him and held him to my side for the photo. As he wriggled free he says, "Mom! You're making me cwazy!"

Sunday, October 26, 2008

Pumpkin Patch

This year marks our fifth annual visit to the Napa Pumpkin Patch. While it's hard to believe that many years have passed since we moved, all I have to do is look at these pictures from our first year here to know it must be true!



Now our little boy sitting on a pumpkin looks like this,

and this,


and that little blond guy is not so little anymore.



A good time was had by all.



Thursday, October 16, 2008

Sam-o-lantern

Sammy has lost some more teeth, just to really get into the spirit of Halloween!

Sweet boy

Patchie can be one willful, stubborn, and feisty boy- as unreasonable and cranky as the next two year old. But when he looks at me with his adorable little face...what can I say? I'm putty in his hands!


Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Quote of the Day

Today we were getting out our Halloween decorations and starting to make the house look festive for this first holiday of the season.
Sam looked up at me as we dragged the Halloween box out of the garage, with shining eyes, saying "I love Halloween, I just love it!"

It is that sweetness and simple joy of childhood that I so treasure as a parent. I remember how excited I was as a kid when fall would roll around and we would finally be allowed to hang up our Halloween decorations. I love sharing and experiencing that excitement and magic with my own boys- that is what I now love about the holidays!

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Wow!

When did THAT happen??


Saturday, September 27, 2008

Blackberry picking

Our neighbors have some wild blackberry bushes that grow alongside our fence and hang tantalizingly into our back yard. One of favorite summer activities is propping up ladder and picking as many luscious berries that can be reached from "our side". I thought the season was pretty much over when I came outside last night and found Sam had scaled the fence on his own for a newly discovered bunch of ripe berries. They are so delicious freshly picked- warm, juicy, and sweet. I couldn't blame him for going after them, but had to curtail to the scavenging due to risk of bodily harm!

Sam wanted me to add here that he actually picked a lot more, but that this was all that was left from the bounty by the time I had gotten the camera out!

Friday, September 26, 2008

Spiderman pops

An ice cream truck drove down our street the other day. We could not resist flagging him down for a treat. The calender may say that it is fall, but with 85 degree weather and dripping ice cream pops, it certainly doesn't feel like it!



The scooter has landed!

Sam loves Grandpa Mustache's scooter and has been waiting anxiously for it to arrive from Florida and get charged up. He hops on it for rides around our street anytime he can get. Patchie is less sure about it- mostly he just likes to honk the horn.