Major Monkey Business

Aunt Cathy is at it again! She made Leo some coordinating monkey pants! She made a matching set for Sophia and Angela last Christmas, so it was only natural that Baby Brother should have such a set for himself! They enjoyed being monkeys together all day today!

Bringing the Outdoors In

How 'bout this one, Mom?
Hey, take a picture of me!!

Marsha earning her keep

Before

Sophia helping Daddy with the light situation

this is so much fun!!

the masterpiece!

so sweet

First off, let me say that I thought they stopped making light strands that stop working when one bulb is out?!? Well, apparently, they haven't, but by golly, they should! Charlie had to sort out that mess with both our tree light strands and our outside light strands. He figured it out and got the lights back in working order, but not without a fight! Our tree this year is a Blue Spruce (I think!) and we usually get White Pines. I don't know if it's the different breed of tree or just the tree itself, but it seems to be droopier and a little harder to get my ornaments on. I had to rearrange frequently because the weight of the ornament would bring the boughs way down and it would look funny! I'm quite happy with the end result, though, even though I had to leave off my favorite ornaments this year! My favorites are two sets of super colorful bulbs we have, but they're glass and it just isn't a good idea. Last year, as it was, we broke a few, and this year I just couldn't take the risk with Sophia helping decorate. Charlie and I put the lights on Sunday night and then Sophia and I decorated the tree on Monday. She began by wanting to do it herself but figured it out it was kind of tricky to get those ornaments on there, so she resorted to picking out ornaments, finding a place for them and then directing me where to put it. It was a fun little activity to do with Sophia, I only wished Charlie could have helped. Due to our schedules this week, it just wasn't conducive to have a whole family decorating party, so it had to be done in parts, but we had fun anyway! But don't you worry, I made both of them listen to my endless play list of Christmas songs while we worked! Sophia's favorite was the Muppet's Christmas and Charlie's favorite was when I turned it off! ;) The smell of Christmas is now in the house and it makes everything just that much more festive!!

Santa's Breakfast

Sophia apparently used up all her bravery with the mall Santa because she wasn't going near this guy's lap!
Leo was brave enough for both of them! :)

my babies

Grandma B was thrilled that Leo smiled at her!

4 little girls hard at work at the craft table

a very serious conversation

my two boys in red

balloons!!!

Santa stopped by to give Grandma B Christmas hugs

Big cousin Molly was very interested in helping out

I told you I didn't want to take a picture with my brother. I don't care that we're both wearing penguin sweaters with plaid bottoms. I'm not smiling, let me make that clear.

Grandma B's nursing home sponsored a festive breakfast with the Big Man last weekend. The granddaughters had a fabulous time together, as usual! They colored, played with balloons, ate muffins and just generally celebrated the upcoming holiday. Grandma was proud to have them all there, as I think she was the "winner" with the most grandchildren and great-grandchildren in attendance. It did make me think, once again, that poor Leo will be subjected to these poor girls' torture and games in only a year or two. The other two boy grandchildren are 18 and 13
and have a well established pattern of avoiding the havoc that the 4 girls can create!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Feeling Festive

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I am so much more excited about Christmas this year! I have done more decorating this year, than..well...ever. I have a bunch of Christmas decor that I have never put out. Or, I've put a wreath or something out, but not much else. Well, this year I decided to go all out. It's kind of fun, I must admit, but the pessimist side of me is already dreading putting some of this stuff away...God, I'm lazy! We took our family picture in front of the mantle this year, as opposed to in front of the tree like years past, and it turned out pretty darn cute. I even have my cards made and ready to send, although finding time to stuff and address envelopes seems to be limited around here! Sophia is very happy with the various 'santas' I've displayed and hugs them at every chance she gets. We also have lights on the outside of the house for the second year in a row. They look super fun and festive, in fact most of our street is lit up and I absolutely love it, but unfortunately, the middle strand of our icicle lights malfunctioned and is not lit any more...big bummer. Hopefully Charlie can get up there to investigate soon! We are also hoping to get our tree tomorrow and have it trimmed and looking fab by Monday or Tuesday. Since we get a real tree it usually has to sit in the garage and 'fall' for at least a day, so we may not get to it tomorrow. The best part about the Christmas season so far is the fact that I just discovered that the Lifetime channel shows cheesy, made-for-tv Christmas movies every day from 12-12 and all day on the weekends! Yipee! I love that crap and was totally indulgent all last weekend! I'm hoping to cut out just a little bit more time for that tomorrow too! Nothing better than washed up actors, predictable plots and cup of steamy, delicious hot cocoa. I have also started playing Christmas tunes on my iPod and even went so far as to program the all-Christmas-all-the-time stations into my car radio. I'm ready for Santa, Baby!

stockings hung by the fire with glee

We could not pass up these adorable musical penguin lights. They made Sophia so happy at our recent Target excursion that I just couldn't resist!

I am very excited about my Christmas card display rack. This way we can show off all the cards we get without having to try and find space for them on the refrigerator, so get those cards and pictures in the mail, people!

making that ugly chandelier just a little prettier!

Updates

Leo had his 2 month appointment this week...2 months??...crazy!! He continues to be at the top of his class, if you will! ;) He was a whopping 24.25 inches tall and was 14lbs 12oz. That puts him at 90% for height and 95% for weight. As with Sophia, we continue to hope that his height will be a higher percentile than his weight, and although it didn't work out this time, I'm sure he will even out in the future. I know it's kind of crazy, and more of an issue with girls than boys, to be thinking about a "weight issue" already, but as a parent, you do kind of think about these things. You just want the best for your child and sometimes it's just hard not to think about stuff like that! Anyway, we also had Leo's belly button cauterized once again, and this time I think it worked. His whole belly button and surrounding area is a very dead shade of gray...yuck. But, hopefully it will stop that nubbin from regenerating time and time again! We also discussed his gas issue and we were all in consensus that it was much better! We have him on a formula that is low in lactose, not lactose free, but our doc thinks that is part of his issue. It's too early to really tell if he's lactose intolerant, I don't think he is, and the pediatrician thinks he'll grow out of this issue in another month or two. That does mean, however, that we are on the expensive formula for at least another month. I hate to sound like such a miser, especially when it concerns my son's health, but after I finally accepted generic formula for Sophia, I'm ready to continue the trend! Oh well, even another month (or more) will not be the end of the world and it IS much better to see (and smell!) a happier baby! Other than his cradle cap, he seems to be a very happy, healthy baby. He has also continued the 7 hour sleep habit for a few nights now and we are very hopeful that this is the light at the end of the tunnel! I am ready for it!

In Sophia news, she continues to be a fabulous and loving big sister and just as precocious as always! She has really fallen in love with the TV. I feel like even just a month or two ago, TV wasn't a big issue, but now it is. She doesn't watch much, if any, TV during the daytime because we keep ourselves busy with other things, although, I can not deny that I do use it as bribery so that I can take a shower sometimes! I mean, I shower so infrequently as it is, sometimes it just has to be done! ;) Her favorite shows are The Backyardigans and Wonder Pets and her most favorite thing of all might just be Barney. Aunt Annie introduced her to Barney and got her her very own DVD for her birthday and boy-howdy, he has really survived the generations! Who knew?? Sometimes we let her watch a few minutes of TV before or after dinner, but I've been trying to encourage a walk outside instead, especially since the nicer weather has been holding out! I am guilty, however, in encouraging the watching of the multiple Christmas specials that have been on recently...I just love them!! She also caught a few minutes of my favorite Muppet movie of all time, The Muppets Take Manhattan, the other night and cannot stop talking about Miss Piggy. It is hilarious! She references the part where Piggy gets upset because she thinks Kermit is two-timing her with Jenny and begins to violently hit the trashcan...Sophia says over and over again, "Miss Piggy hit the trash can. She UP-set with Kermit!" My other favorite Sophia saying of late is this: We were in Leo's room changing his diaper the other day when the phone rang. I said, I wonder who that is? Sophia said, I wonder who that is? Let's find out. I wanna talk to somebody! The last sentence was said with such gusto that it just made me giggle out loud. It was really and truly hilarious.

Mostly my kids make me happy every day! They are so sweet and it is so fun to watch them grow and develop such distinct personalities. I sometimes look at my life and think that someday they too will have such a life and it amazes me. Not that I'm trying to rush them into anything yet, but these reflections really make me consider my own parents in such a different way. I don't think my own mother knows how much I have always, and even more now, appreciate the life she worked very hard to give Stacy and me. I hope I can have such an impact on Sophia and Leo too.

Art Imitates Life

Potty training at its finest

Which one is the baby?

Sophia is far more interested in potty training Cookie Monster than she is herself. Ah well, at least she's interested in the potty for something right?? Actually I'm not too worried about the potty issue, although yesterday she insisted to sit on the potty because she had to go and then decided she was done to only fill her diaper within minutes of her removing herself from the potty. I was a bit exasperated at that one, but overall, I'm trying not to pressure her, figuring that things will fall into place eventually. Speaking of falling into place, Cookie eventually fell in too. She was so careful all day, but by his 10th or 15th trip to the potty, he wasn't so lucky. She was NOT thrilled to put him in the washing machine but after he came out unscathed she accepted the dryer as the necessary next step!

In other exciting news...Leo slept through the night last night!!!! It's what I've been hoping and praying for, and the only thing on my Christmas list, but alas, I didn't get to enjoy it. You guessed it...Sophia was up all night! She was just restless and apparently had a very disturbing dream that someone turned off The Backyardigans before she was through watching it and it caused a very tearful middle of the night ruckus! Although, I will admit that her getting up did give me a chance to check on Leo repeatedly because, of course, I was sort of frantic that he hadn't awakened each time I was awoken, so at least there's that! I don't know if it was a fluke or the beginning of a trend but I'm hoping for the latter!