Ya gotta check this out....

My hubby started a new blog! It's a blog for parents that shares stories, reviews and fun activities to do with your kids. The catch is...it's ALL written by dads! How cool is that?

Here it is! Go check it out!

Our Future Philadelphia Eagle

I can't believe that I even wrote that. I never imagined that either of my boys would ever play football. There are so many other sports and activities that don't include that same type of physical contact. I know I sound like such a sissy, but I cringe at the idea of someone tackling my babies. And then to think about the possible injuries...ugh! Again, I can imagine what you're probably thinking at this point. Luckily, my wonderful husband is a bit more sensible than me when it comes to things like this and I would truly never want to hold my kids back from something that they want to do.

Anyway, it's so funny how AJ has recently taken to football. He loves watching football with daddy and throughout the game, he runs over to our big screen TV, points at it and says "fooba". It's so cute! He also runs around the house playing with his football. I am pretty impressed with his ability to catch the ball.

I guess we have a few years before I have to worry too much, right?

...and Daddy got mad!!!

When I went to pick up Michael from preschool today, I was told that he had been telling stories about daddy. Apparently, during snack time he started telling everyone in the classroom about our dinnertime experience from last night and they all found it to be quite amusing. I decided to "quiz" him on the way home to see exactly what it was that he told everyone. This is the version I heard:

"Daddy got mad at AJ. AJ not eat dinner and daddy talk loud. Daddy say - You eat dinner, AJ! AJ not eat. AJ get down. AJ no like hot dog. Daddy frown at AJ. He not happy. AJ not good boy."

I guess you probably get the gist of the story. He was pretty accurate. As you can see in the picture above, he even demonstrated how daddy frowned at AJ. I couldn't contain my laughter.

AJ was always a very good eater, but has now decided that he will only eat his favorites (of which are very few) and doesn't particularly want to try out new foods. Breakfast (oatmeal and applesauce) is always easy, but lunchtime and dinnertime are becoming a real challenge. It can be very frustrating for Frank and I, but obviously Michael finds the whole experience to be very entertaining.

My baby has finally taken up reading!

It's funny to observe how different Michael and AJ really are. Michael is all about calm and quiet, often preferring to observe what's going on around him. He enjoys reading, watching Mickey Mouse Club House, playing with Play-Doh, playing with his train table and building with blocks.

AJ, on the other hand, wants to be doing some of what Michael is doing but in a noisy, physical way. He loves the train table, but instead of standing next to it like Michael, he prefers to crawl onto the table itself and sit right in the middle of the tracks. He also loves blocks...or at least the dumping out of them. Once they're all over the floor, then he's pretty much done with that activity. AJ also loves to watch Baby Einstein - Baby MacDonald being his current favorite! But, instead of quietly sitting in his chair, he climbs onto his little rocker and tries to tip it over. This child is fearless and an accident waiting to happen! I have come to realize that this is the one who we will be taking to the emergency room for broken bones, stitches, etc.

I can't believe it, but AJ is now starting to have an appreciation for reading! Can you tell how thrilled I am? He definitely doesn't have the attention span that Michael had at his age, but he is able to finally sit still long enough for me to read one of his favorite Touch and Feel books...and sometimes more than once!

Below are a few pics of AJ reading. Notice the various positions. Ya, that was all in less than 5 minutes.

Christmas

We had such a wonderful Christmas. It’s times like this that remind me how truly blessed I am.

Frank was gone from about noon til 9pm, so I started a few new traditions with the boys. Here are a few highlights from our evening:

- We went to the Christmas Eve Service at CCV. It was awesome, as usual. They’re always so creative and unique.

- We picked up dinner from Sonic on the way home from church. This was a special request from Michael. He LOVES their corn dogs and apple juice slushies!

- We watched Santa’s movements on Noradsanta.org and then tried to find him in the sky. As I was loading the kids up to go to church, Michael stood by the truck with his hands on his hips, looking up at the sky. He was so disappointed when he told me, “Mommy, I NOT see Santa!” I explained to him that he was still in China, but would be getting to our house later that night.

- We read the Christmas story, then watched Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. (Ya gotta appreciate those classics!)

- We prepared cookies and milk for Santa. Michael loved doing this.

- We made Jesus’ Birthday cake (angel food cake). Considering that this is a dairy-free cake, AJ was able to enjoy it with us.

- Frank and I enjoyed some special quiet time together once the kids were in bed. We sat by the Christmas tree and opened up our presents. What a perfect ending to a special day!

Michael got up early with Michael on Christmas morning. As soon as Michael got downstairs, he immediately went in search of the cookies he left for Santa. He couldn’t wait to tell Daddy that they were gone. Santa ate all the cookies and drank all the milk too! I love this age – filled with enthusiasm and still so much innocence.

AJ has been sleeping in lately (till around 9:30 or 10:00), so we waited until he was up and fed, then we let the kids open their presents. They had so much fun. Our families spoil these kids. What can I say…I guess it’s one of the perks of being the only grandchildren on both sides of the family.

The rest of the day was very quiet. I’m starting to get used to the quiet holidays now. Growing up, I was usually surrounded by my sister, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents and great grandparents for the holidays. It was a lot of people, but always fun. It’s interesting to think how differently it will be for our boys. In some ways, I really miss being with all my family, but at the same time, I kind of enjoy the quiet, peaceful traditions that we have begun here. Without all the hustle and bustle, it makes it easier to appreciate and remember the true meaning of Christmas. I want that to always be the most important part of the holiday season for the boys. Who knows...maybe some day my family will be here for the holiday and we can all share in our new traditions together! :-)

I hope you and your families all had a wonderful Christmas!


Here are some pics from our holiday:

Michael showing me his favorite Christmas ornament.














Michael decorating the Christmas tree.
















AJ showing me the hanging kitty ornament.












My favorite present of all...a gift from Michael that he made in preschool!


















The boys-not wanting their picture taken.




















My favorite ornament- another special preschool project of Michael's.

















AJ unpacking the boxes of presents from MT...






















...and putting them under the tree.



















My other elf placing more presents under the tree.



















Michael sitting next to the cookies and milk we prepared for Santa.