Ringing in the New Year

We are ready to say good bye to 2011 as we have so much to look forward to with Jackson and Connor. Our lives have changed so much for the better with our little boys and we are so happy to be able to share the ride.

Kiddie Crussoe

With Michael having to go in to the office in the morning, Sophia and I ventured out to Kiddie Crussoe with the boys.  It was definitely an experience.  Not sure if she or I are willing to ever go back as the boys were just running around like little mad men.  Maybe, if it was 3 against 2.  The place was so big and had so much to offer that we will have to go back but just not anytime too soon and especially not when everyone is on break and probably doubling the capacity.

The first section had a small plastic climber (Jakckson did not want to leave it and little did he know that we should have probably decided to let him stay there as long as we could) dress up area, building blocks and a kitchen that made it similar to Storyville (Connor can always find books).  This section was definitely the calm before the crazy. 





  
Next up was an indoor playground with elaborate swing sets and intricate slides and Connor's most favorite part of the entire day --- swings.  He kept running back to this area as he didn't really like the bouncy/jumpy area.





After the indoor playground, we entered the bouncy area.  This was, by far, Jackson's most favorite part.  By the end, he had worked up enough courage to make his way up the ladder and head down the big slide.



I was so proud of him and the reward was the ball pit that his brother was waiting in. Unfortunately, the boys didn't want to leave the ball pit unless Connor was making a break for the swings. 



The area was so large that is was just really hard for Sophia and I to keep track of them when they would try to make a break for whatever they were more interested in at the time....  Just another example of how the boys are often times interested in two totally different things.

Happy 2nd Birthday

Michael decided to stay home on the boys' actual birthday and we planned to go to Kiddie Crussoe but unfortunately, I had the wrong free play time and since it was lunch time, we decided to take the boys to Red Robin.  The boys love it there and we do too.  The french fries are very well received and they occasionally will eat the grilled cheese but today it was all about fun so we'll just skip the lack of grilled cheese eating.

Jackson was initially shocked but then very excited about being sung the birthday song. 




Connor was a little more skeptical about the birthday singing but still enjoyed the lunch and subsequent trip to Toys R Us for a remote control choo choo to add to their gift.





After a long nap, the boys got to catch up with Sophia and open their gifts before dinner.  With Christmas only a couple days before their birthday and getting their ZooTalkers a week or so before that, we decided to go with the GeoTrax transportation system, leaptop laptops for each boy and some books.















We had an amazing day with the birthday boys and look forward to many more celebrations.  Thinking back to one year ago, I didn't realize how much our lives and the boys would have changed in a matter of 12 months.  The things that we have learned and that they have learned are just incredible.  Being a parent to twins isn't easy but we wouldn't have it any other way!! 

We look forward to making so many more memories and watching the boys grow and develop into some amazing toddlers.  They are off to a great start and I hope that we can navigate this road with as much ease as possible. 

The imaginary farm in our backyard

For some time, the boys have been looking out the window into our backyard and saying hello and good-bye to animals. Now, to be clear, we live in Rodgers Forge and we back up to a daycare center. There are no animals in our backyard other than the random dog being walked but for some reason, Jackson is adamant that we have these animals in our backyard.

It is the sweetest of things to hear and it could be the influence of the Baby MacDonald puppet shows as we say good night to the animals. Over the summer, we probably watched the puppet shows every night and they learned their animals, animal noises and in the process, started helping clean up as we said night night to their animals. Usually, it is horses, cow, sheep but today -- he added a rooster to his list. It doesn't get sweeter than this...

Christmas with the family

After the boys woke up from their nap, we were off to Gina and Tony's for dinner and more fun. They enjoyed spending time with their cousins and opening up more presents.

Thank you Uncle Tony for helping Connor open more gifts.



 Modeling his new backpack from Kim and Andrew!



Michael with his new G-Shock.  He was sooo happy!!



Playing with Aunt Gina and Cayden.



More choo choo trains for his Geo Trax set.



It was a great day and we are so thankful to have our family to celebrate holidays with. 

Christmas morning

The boys were so excited to see all of their gifts under the tree and enjoyed some Santa cookies before they started the gift opening.   We, of course, made sure that Santa got the cookies and milk that we had left out for him the night before.




  
Before we started the gift opening, the boys listened to the notes that Santa left for each of them.



It took a considerable amount of time to open their gifts. 



They stopped to play with everything and needed help with redirection to get them interested in the next thing.

Their new books "The Big Red Barn" and lift the flap Maggie books, otherwise known as Little People were almost instant favorites.   







The boys received some additions to the Animalville group of animals and Noah's ark. Michael was getting help from the boys in an effort to expedite their access. The excitement in their eyes to finally have zoo animals to accompany farm animals was awesome. 









Going through everything again after we were finally done opening...

2011 Christmas Tree (as decorated by Santa)

We set up the tree several weeks ago and added some ornaments but were cautious about putting too many of our other traditional decorations, including bows, beads and our more adult ornaments. They were super happy to see all the animal ornaments and their Toy Story ones (thank you little Fuller). We made the decision to wait until the night before and let the boys know that Santa decorated it. Michael's thoughts were that they would be less likely to do any real damage.






post script: Michael used the reminder that Santa decorated their tree when the boys would gain access to the tree and try to run off with whatever ornament that they could get their hands on. The tree came down on a day when I had enough of tracking down ornaments and the boys didn't bother with the tree again despite having to wait several days to get the tree back up to the attic.

Listening to Twas the Night before Christmas

The last book in our Countdown to Christmas books was the original Twas the Night Before Christmas. The boys knew a ton of the words as they had caught the HBO special a handful of times this year and not only during the holiday season. We may or may have not continued watching the documentary through the winter and spring after their first Christmas. They like it so who are we to keep them away.

Michael did the honors of reading the book.



And, I was able to catch the boys listening







and being all smiles or hiding from the camera.

Santa Cookies

The boys had a rough week leading up to Christmas and we weren't sure how well that things were going to go so we were a little bit behind on our holiday baking, as in the day before.

We had talked to the boys about leaving cookies and milk out for Santa and didn't want to disappoint them. Jackson woke up before Connor from his afternoon nap, which was a complete surprise, as this very rarely happens.

He was adamant about assisting and despite all of the surges in the past couple of months relating to their vocabulary, we were completely unable to get anything out of him other than help. There was a lot of lingering around the hot oven and not getting that he could take the cookies out but the tears stopped when he got a chance to lick the cookie dough.

Connor was all over the cup and they both were willing helpers in helping eat the Santa Cookies.



Gotta love the double fisted approach!!





Sneaking a cookie off the plate and hiding behind/in the tree.

For the love of the pig

After our eventful trip at Valley View Farms, we decided to take the boys to Andy Nelson for dinner. It is so good and one of our favorite places to eat. The boys have been enjoying brisket since this time last year and it is a win win for ALL when we get the opportunity to go.

Some pics of the boys enjoying some southern bbq.