Around Here

I believe we have a case of the post-Christmas cabin fever. We have been mainly at home for the past few days, as the boys are playing with their new toys and the weather has been uninviting to say the least. Although I long for the great outdoors, I have enjoyed watching and playing with the boys. Unfortunately, I have also enjoyed far too much sugar from that cake I made and the stocking stuffer candy (both grandmothers seem quite fond of this approach). I think we will even polish off the Egg Nog tonight.


Evan's birthday is quickly approaching. This is the first time we are experiencing the immediate post-holiday birthday since Evan wasn't even born yet last year. I must say that I do not feel ready to buy birthday gifts and plan a party so soon after Christmas. I am excited about Evan's birthday, and feeling particularly nostalgic about this time last year right before he was born. I fondly recall the excitement leading up to that moment when my water broke, shortly after we went to bed on January 3rd, 2010. I remember a quiet New Year's Eve in 2009, one that was full of anticipation about the joy awaiting us.


As I'm sure many babies do, Evan is ramping up his repertoire of skills as he approaches his birthday. He is standing by himself for longer periods, walks freely while his hand is held, throws a ball, giggle snorts, and says several words. Just the past few days, as I frequently found myself in the kitchen, Evan has said "cook" on more than one occasion. It is likely no coincidence that he has also improved his eating skills and has pretty much mastered the art of eating with two teeth. By the way, where are those other teeth?! Most of all there's that noticeable change of a child who is just more aware of human interaction and the world around him. I love the way he looks over at me whenever he tries or experiences something new.


Benjamin has also developed some new skills. The coolest is his newfound understanding of humor. The latest joke around here is the one where you ask someone, "hey, you know what?", they then say, "what?", and you say, "nothing". We do this back and forth for a while, and Benjamin also enjoys saying, "you got me", or "I got you" afterward. He is also a very sweet boy. Today he accidentally knocked Evan over and made him cry. He then apologized to Evan and, when Evan didn't stop crying, Benjamin spontaneously sang "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" to him to ease the pain. It was precious, and it worked.


We have had some good times over the past week, and we are looking forward to another year of fun with these awesome boys.

Christmas!

I realize that Hawaii has come and gone and there is no post. Rest assured that Hawaii will be covered, but I had to post on Christmas first. For the first time in my life, I understand the idea that Christmastime can be quite tiring and stressful. Maybe it is having two kids, having just gotten back from Hawaii one week before, or a combination of the two. We have gone non-stop since we got back and I am just now feeling like I can take a breath. We always have such expectations of all that can be accomplished during this holiday, and it is hard to live up to them. When I saw the cover of Bon Apetite, I just HAD to make the cake. I knew, but did not know, that it would usurp the small amount of free time that I had. Somehow, the sense of accomplishment and the incredible taste made it worth the extra energy and stress.


This was the first Christmas that Benjamin really began to grasp the idea of Santa and the specialness of this day. He couldn't stop asking questions about Santa. "Why does he come down the Chimney?", "How does he get out of the chimney", "Why does he use a sleigh?". It was also our first Christmas to uphold the myth of Santa with real consistency. I was not ready for this.


This was Evan's first Christmas! It has been about as long as anyone has ever had to wait for one. Although he does not understand the magnitude yet, he has been game for it. Christmas is right up his alley. Evan loves food, loves being together, loves toys, and loves sharing laughter. I found out tonight that he loves prime rib and has an affinity for the kitchen. I was holding him for a bit as I was cooking and he spontaneously said, "cook". I couldn't believe it. I do believe this child has eating/cooking in his bones. He has a good life in store!


Most important of all, I have been ever aware of the true reason behind this holiday. Despite the stress, Christ has been at the forefront of my mind. He is the end all, the be all, the ONE who makes life meaningful and gives up hope for eternity. I pray for all of my friends and loved ones, that they can experience this most awesome gift.

Way Behind

Wow! I guess I am way behind on this blog thing. I've gotten caught up in doing. Doing, doing, doing. We are getting ready for our trip to Hawaii and then Christmas. We were shocked to realize that by the time we get back from our trip, Evan's birthday will only be a couple of weeks away! Speaking of Evan, his advances are very rapid these days. He seems to have grown considerably in just the past month. I was saving some of his 12-month outfits, assuming that they would be too big. Since I've put some of them on him now, it seems as though he has already outgrown them. Evan is also very proud of himself for opening cabinets, and this is now his favorite activity. He makes sure to pull everything out of the cabinet, especially if it might hurt him or be dangerous in any way. We did not seem to have this occur with Benjamin, as I never recall considering cabinet locks. Other recent accomplishments include getting a new tooth (2 now), throwing objects, cruising, dancing, playing with cars, and various new words such as "track" and "doggie". The thing that has really come through in Evan is his persistence. Despite efforts of many to thwart him from his goal, Evan keeps going. I think this is a good sign for his life.


Benjamin is as charming as always, and is now wearing "big boy" underwear. His thought processes and speech abilities are continuing to astound me. I must say, he has been quite a challenge lately, but I think this represents his intense personality. He is getting very busy with pretend play and his frequent requests for our participation in the pretend scenarios can be tiring. The amazing thing is that Benjamin provides so much joy and laughter that we are often just beside ourselves with love. He is looking forward to Hawaii, although he doesn't really grasp the concept of our trip. He does realize that we will be going on an airplane, a boat, AND a submarine! We are all looking forward to the adventure.

10 Months!

Our Little E turned 10 months old yesterday! He keeps racing toward the one year mark. So much has changed in just the last month. He is such a little explorer, always investigating everything in his surroundings. He is also a little chatterbox, babbling all the time and even saying words like "duck" and "doggie" already! He has a sense of humor, and loves when Benjamin plays Peeka Boo with him. Quite the outdoorsman, Evan loves getting close to nature, as you can see he is about to put rocks in his mouth in the above photo. He has a persistent personality, and is not easily thwarted by Benjamin's attempts to reclaim any toy that Evan borrows. We love our little baby moose. Happy 10 months Evan!

Baby Boy Growing Up

Evan's growth and development seems to be on hyper drive lately. Just last week he was saying his first word, now he is saying several words, crawling so fast, starting to cruise, getting a tooth, turning pages in books, and learning to "throw" a ball. It is beautiful to see. What makes it all the sweeter is how much fun he seems to be having. He is so pleased with himself for each milestone, letting out little squeals of joy and precious baby babbles. Through it all, Evan remains a easy going, calm baby. I think we can now say with some confidence that Evan is an "easy" baby. He is also just as precious and loving as can be.

Birthday Boy

After weeks of anticipation, Benjamin turned 3 years old today! We had his party on Saturday at My Gym. I don't think it could have been any more fun, and I'm not sure how we are going to top this one. It was a fun crowd of folks including Carly, Phil, Juliana, Sarah, Bryn, Juily, Katherine, Roman, Pranit, R.J., William, Gavin, Mamaw, and many others. Benjamin did an excellent job at playing the birthday boy. The games included a puppet tent, bubbles, and the roller coaster ride. I'm pretty sure that most people were having a great time, and it was so much fun that I think we were all exhausted from laughing.

Benjaminisms

Benjamin has been hilarious lately. The other day he made up a game and had me try it. I clearly wasn't doing very well and he said, "I'm better than you". Trying to teach him appropriate social skills I said, "Well, that's not a very nice thing to say". He then said, "I'm better than you, please". I had a good chuckle and he later seemed to realize that this was pretty funny.


Ok, this one is pretty hard to describe in words, but I will give it my best. Benjamin was showing me with his arms that he loved me very much. He opened them so wide and said, "mommy, I love you this much, I love you around the whole world". Then he opened his arms up just a wee little bit and said, "Evan I love you this much". Clearly, love is quantifiable for a 2 year-old.


He is such an amazing child, and I am NOT biased!