Merry!

Merry Christmas to everyone! What a wonderful year. We have so much to be thankful for.

This month has been packed with holiday fun - long walks to see "Big Eyes Frosty," playing with good friends and neighbors, baking cookies, singing songs, eating too much, relaxing and watching our all-time favorite Christmas movies.

The Christmas Eve church service was memorable this year...memorable and short. We couldn't contain Henry, who decided to play hide-n-seek and peek-a-boo between the pews. He and Cohen were talking up a storm as loudly as possible. Cohen kept asking if "Baby Jesus comin' on now? On the TV?" (the big screen in the church). We tried to keep them quiet with candy canes, but that only bought us a few extra minutes before we decided that it was a good attempt and quietly snuck out the back.

Melt my heart. My boys. I think Cohen is hugging his little brother.

Cohen and I wrote a letter to Santa. He asked me to write, "Please weave lots of pwesents."

Santa didn't mind that Cohen ate a cookie or two off his plate before heading to bed.

The boys went to bed so quickly and easily. They couldn't wait to wake up in the morning.

Santa brought Henry the last of the five Gabba friends - Plex. His set is now complete! Henry carries his Gabba friends around everywhere.

Two happy boys

Hooray! It was spectacular.

We are excited to see our family and friends in Jacksonville later this week!

"Fwee!"

Cohen is "fwee" today! He loves showing three fingers when he says it too.

How in the world is our sweet boy already three-years-old? I have vivid memories of bonding with him as a teeny baby. Now he is a little man, full of life and sweet to the core.

Cohen is my everything. He makes each day fun and filled with laughter. I can't wait to see what this year holds for this amazing boy of ours.

Happy birthday, "Stinka!"

Bobby

This little guy arrived on our doorstep yesterday. Santa sent one of his elves to spend the holidays with us! Cohen is so excited to have "Bobby" (this is what Cohen named him) in our house. Fingers crossed that Cohen and Henry are on their best behavior this month so Bobby can give a good report to Santa!

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree

We have had a weekend filled with holiday cheer! Friday morning, we met David Uptown to see the Leonard Bearstein Symphony Orchestra (aka, the "singing bears"). Cohen and Henry ran all over Founders Hall, ate Chick-fil-A and danced to the Christmas tunes. Saturday morning, we ate breakfast at Dunkin' Donuts then headed to the Christmas tree lot. The boys could have played hide-n-seek there all afternoon.

Sitting in Santa's sleigh - It is impossible to get a picture with both smiling and looking at me.

Cohen was such a good tree decorator! He loved hanging is favorite ornaments.

Cohen cracks me up. He had to do a "crazy face" next to the tree. Check out his decorating skills - he might have set a record for the number of ornaments hanging from the same branch. And look at that apron. He keeps begging me to bake Christmas cookies with him. He calls the apron "cookies."

Saturday night, we had a Santa spotting in Plaza-Midwood! He was in town for the Annual Holiday Central. Sunday morning, Cohen and I went back to the tree lot for another round of hide-n-seek.

This holiday season is off to a fantastic start!

'Tis the Season

2011 is drawing to an end, and we are packing every last day with fun and holiday cheer. We kicked off our Thanksgiving a week early by celebrating with our close friends at the Annual "Slootsgiving." I am always saying this, but we are so thankful for the amazing friendships we have made here. Friends who are like family.

Cohen and Ellie sharing a quiet dinner for two. Ha! I think Cohen really thought he was on a date. He wouldn't let anyone sit between him and Ellie.

On Thursday, we started our morning by watching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Cohen loved all of the floats. Good thing we taped it - He watched it all weekend long.

Around 10, we headed Uptown for Charlotte's Thanksgiving Day Parade. The boys had a blast watching the floats, eating cotton candy and dancing with the marching bands. And Cohen has now perfected his wave. He loved seeing the beauty queens on the floats, and his imitation of their wave is hilarious.

We missed our family, but they were with us in spirit. Laura and Mike ate dinner with us, and we had a wonderful day filled with fun, laughter and thankfulness.

Yesterday, we decided to hit the mall first thing in the morning to meet Santa. The line wasn't that long, but it took a good hour until it was our turn to sit on Santa's lap. Cohen was so excited to meet the big guy. He saw the other parents taking pictures of their children by the huge Christmas tree, and he walked over and asked me to take his. So sweet. But he wouldn't look at the camera. He just stared off saying, "Cheese!"

Henry was restless and an absolute mess. He spilled a smoothie all over his shirt and was covered in candy cane by picture time.

I knew Henry was going to lose his mind the second it was our turn. Cohen was apprehensive too.

One hour, four candy canes and $25 later, we rushed out of there as quickly as possible. After we scooped Henry off Santa's lap, I told Cohen to quickly tell him what he wanted for Christmas. He looked at me and said, "I wanna get down." I don't blame them either. Santa was pretty grumpy.

Tidbits

This time of year always seems to slip by so quickly. There's a chill in the air, and it's definitely starting to feel like the holidays.

Here are some photos snapped over the past month on my phone. We have been too busy to break out the good camera! Enjoy...

Now that Henry's schedule is more flexible, he is loving going on adventures! Discovery Place, ImaginOn and the Nature Museum are just a few of his favorite places. I can't pull him away from the water table at DP. And the apron does nothing for this one. Henry is soaked head to toe by the time we have to leave.

Cohen got a "Big Boy Bike" last month - it was an early birthday present! All the children on our street meet outside in the evening to ride bikes. Cohen has gotten really good at riding his Strider (a no-pedal bike). He can balance and coast like a big boy! We will be upgrading him to an even bigger boy bike in no time (with no training wheels). Here's a picture of him passed out with his helmet on and snack. He wore himself out.

Cohen loves Curious George! His teachers at school have let him take home the class' Curious George every week. He also has his own now. I found him snuggling with both one morning.

Henry on the truck at ImaginOn - He squeals with excitement everywhere we go.


There are so many tidbits that I could write about. These boys crack me up all day long!

• Henry walks everywhere! He loves chasing us around the house. Every night, David leads a marching parade around the house - the boys love following him. Cohen rotates playing his harmonica and drums, and Henry claps and squeals chasing behind.



• I love having conversations with Cohen. You never know what is going to come out of his mouth. I asked him the other night what he wanted to do in the morning. He responded, "Go to CVS." He loves the truck selection there.



• Every night before heading to bed, Cohen gives us his "big eyes" and says, "I wanna go Cwrazy!" It is hilarious watching him dance all over the place.



• I know it probably feels like they're on a rollercoaster at times while riding in the car with me. Cohen screams, "Weeee!" while holding his arms in the air as we go down hills. Henry gets the biggest kick out of it too, squealing and clapping his hands.



• Henry points to his nose and head when we ask him where they are. I've worked on this for a while, but he wouldn't do it for me - it took Big Brother Cohen to help Henry out with this one. He also has a ball doing peek-a-boo, playing patty cake and singing "If You're Happy and You Know It." Henry is pure joy, always wearing a huge grin.

To Infinity and Beyond!

We bought the boys' Halloween costumes a little early this year - Cohen has been dressing up as Buzz Lightyear at least a few times a weeks since August. Cohen was so excited when the big day finally arrived. That morning, I told him that it was Halloween and he said, "It's here! I wuv you, Mom!" In the morning, Cohen went to school and had a crazy Halloween party with "M&Ms, popcorn and cookies." We trick-or-treated with all of our neighborhood friends in the evening. Henry was happy to be amongst the excitement. Cohen had the best time running to each neighbor's house and collecting candy.

Our little Alien & Buzz...

"To infinity and beyond!"

Today is November 4th...Happy 14-month birthday sweet Hendog!

Yo Gabba Gabba!

We have been looking forward to Yo Gabba Gabba Live for months (since we missed the show last fall, actually). Friday was the big night, and we couldn't have had more fun! It was also David's birthday! (The pictures are not great because the auditorium was so dark and we couldn't snap shots during the show.)

Both Cohen and Henry have loved Yo Gabba Gabba since they were about three months old. Henry is at his peak with the show. He carries the toy Gabba characters with him at all times like a security blanket. Brobee is his favorite. He holds the characters up and demands that we sing the opening song at least 20 times a day (while he smiles, claps and dances).

When we first walked into the auditorium, there were Gabba signs, cardboard characters and merchandise everywhere. Henry freaked out, screaming, crying, trying to touch everything. He wasn't sure what was going on. Cohen couldn't have been more excited. The show was sensory overload - lights, loud music, colors everywhere, props, falling leaves/snow...and DJ Lance, all the characters and Biz Markie. After a few minutes of settling in, both boys were mesmerized. We danced and sang to all of our favorite songs. We were there for an hour and a half, and neither boy wanted to leave once it was over.

It was David's birthday and a Friday night after all, so we celebrated with an adult beverage before the show. Henry got ahold of an empty beer bottle during the intermission and held on to it the entire second half of the show. It was a wild time - kids dancing all over the place, parents juggling multiple children, fits and meltdowns.

Cohen loved every second of the show.

We had to move to the back of the auditorium so Henry could move around. He didn't like being confined to a seat with people all around.

Personally, I had one of the best nights of my life! As a parent, Gabba has been a lifesaver to me in so many instances. At times, the show is the only thing that will calm a fussy Henry down. It has taught Cohen many valuable life lessons. I love that it reinforces self expression through dance and it promotes diversity and music. The show was fantastic, and I think I might have had more fun than half the children there!

"Daddy's School"

We spent this past weekend in Charlottesville, or as Cohen likes to call it, "Daddy's School." We had the best time hanging out with a bunch of UVA friends and their families. We rented an adorable historic house by the Downtown Mall with Nick and Jess Schiavi. It was wonderful catching up with everyone and getting to know all the children (I think there were move than 15)!

Early Saturday morning, we took the boys to The Corner for donuts then went to The Lawn. (sidenote, Cohen fell off his tricycle Thursday afternoon and busted his lip, and Henry gave himself a black eye in the bathtub Wednesday night, so their faces are a little black and blue in these pictures.)

Brother hugs at The Rotunda

Liz spent the weekend with us too! The boys loved having an extra playmate in the house!

Cohen had an absolute blast.

"Snake Man" came out to play too.

Saturday afternoon was game time! David, Cohen and I took the trolly to the tailgate - Cohen was so excited! Liz and Henry hung out at the house and went to the Downtown Mall for playtime, ice cream and cheeseburgers.

Cohen, Riker Matthews, Claire McCahill and Campbell Peterson at the tailgate

We sat in the stands for the first half - Cohen clapped and cheered his little heart out! He kept asking to see Renegade (melt my heart). I told him that we'll go to a Seminoles game next fall.

We moved to the hill for the second half.

Cohen and Charlie Blanchard chased each other around the entire second half. These two were hilarious and had everyone cracking up. So cute.

Although UVA lost to NC State, it was the best time ever! We have so many fun years of football games to look forward to with our boys.