Thursday, December 22, 2005

Chronicles of a Toy Stealer - in pictures

We'll start with an introduction of the characters . . .
Alex - The innocent face tells the whole story.
Nicholas - A baby with only one thing on his mind . . . TOYS!
The day - December 18th. Sunday morning. Daddy is taking a nap and we encounter our boys enjoying some playtime with Mommy. That is, until playtime is no longer something to laugh about.
Alex has selected one of his very favorite toys from the huge variety available.


As you can see, he clearly enjoys this toy very, very much.

But then out of nowhere, the toy is taken right out of his mouth!!

Nicholas has decided that this particular toy looked way too good to be in anyone's mouth but his own! Poor Alex! He is only 7 months old but knows he has been wronged!

Although there are numerous other options at his feet, Alex will not take his eyes off the perp!

Also only 7 months old, Nicholas knows that acting innocent is nearly as important as being innocent.

Nicholas, being one who appreciates the getting much more than the having, has already begun to tire of Alex's prized possession.

But, just in case he changes his mind, Nicholas decides to put it well out of Alex's reach for safe keeping!



Tuesday, December 20, 2005

Of course this would happen.

Two babies with two ear infections two days before Step 2. It started Sunday night, and there has been no sleep since. Went to the ped on Monday, got Amoxicillin, and now we are just hoping it kicks in soon (hopefully now - Step 2 is on Thursday).

I read the following letter to Santa and loved it (especially for the post script), so I'm sharing it with you all. Check us out later this week for "Chronicles of a Toy Stealer." Peace Out.

> > Dear Santa,
I've been a good mom all year. I've fed, cleaned and cuddled my children on demand, visited the doctor's office more than my doctor, sold sixty-two cases of candy bars to raise money to plant a shade tree on the school playground.

I was hoping you could spread my list out over several Christmases, since I had to write this letter with my son's red crayon, on the back of a receipt in the laundry room between cycles, and who knows when I'll find anymore free time in the next 18 years.
Here are my Christmas wishes:
I'd like a pair of legs that don't ache (in any color, except purple, which I already have) and arms> that don't hurt or flap in the breeze; but are strong enough to pull my screaming child out of the candyaisle in the grocery store.
I'd also like a waist, since I lost mine somewhere in the seventh month of my last pregnancy.
If you're hauling big ticket items this year I'd like fingerprint resistant windows and a radio that only plays adult music; a television that doesn't broadcast any programs containing talking animals; and a refrigerator with a secret compartment behind the crisper where I can hide to talk on the phone.
On the practical side, I could use a talking doll that says, "Yes, Mommy" to boost my parental confidence, along with two kids who don't fight and three pairs of jeans that will zip all the way up without the use of power tools.
I could also use a recording of Tibetan monks chanting "Don't eat in the living room" and "Take your hands off your brother," because my voice seems to be just out of my children's hearing range and can only be heard by the dog.
If it's too late to find any of these products, I'd settle for enough time to brush my teeth and comb my hair in the same morning, or the luxury of eating food warmer than room temperature without it being served in a Styrofoam container.
If you don't mind, I could also use a few Christmas miracles to brighten the holiday season. Would it be too much trouble to declare ketchup a vegetable? It will clear my conscience immensely.
It would be helpful if you could coerce my children to help around the house without demanding payment as if they were the bosses of an organized crime family.
Well, Santa, the buzzer on the dryer is ringing and my son saw my feet under the laundry room door. I think he wants his crayon back. Have a safe trip and remember to leave your wet boots by the door and come in and dry off so you don't catch cold.
Help yourself to cookies on the table but don't eat too many or leave crumbs on the carpet.
Yours Always, MOM...!

P.S. One more thing...you can cancel all my requests if you can keep my children young enough to believe in Santa.

Monday, December 19, 2005

The boys met Santa

12/3 Alex, Santa, Nicholas

Friday, December 16, 2005

12/15 Nick (L) Alex (R) Hanging out at home with me yesterday. We will be retiring these bouncy chairs very soon. Now that the boys can sit up on their own, they don't like them much, and will soon figure out how to break out of them.


12/9 Alex showing off his bottom teeth (you can click on this picture to see a bigger version of it if you would like to see those little teeth).
12/9 Great smiles from happy babies
12/10 We bought the boys a jumperoo. They LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it.

12/10 When did Nicholas get such chubby little checks? Below is a picture of him in June. I cannot believe the difference! Of course he was about 7 pounds in June and over 14 pounds now. He just doesn't even look like the same baby!

12/10 Alex and Nicholas

Thursday, December 08, 2005

More smiles and lots of playing

The boys seem to get happier every day. Nicholas now giggles whenever he sees one of our cats. This morning, Bob (aka little boy), who is our very furry, somewhat skittish cat, put on a show for the boys by rolling around on the floor and cleaning his face. Alex was mesmorized, Nick was enchanted, and both could not stop smiling!
They are really into grabbing things right now - especially things that are not intended for babies. Can you ever do enough child-proofing??

12/5 - Mommy holding the camera in one hand and Alex on her lap. Alex is starting to smile when he sees the camera now. I don't know if he is anticipating the flash or what, but it is really cute.

12/5 Nana is over for a visit. Have you ever seen a happier baby??? Look at how Nicholas loves his Nana!

12/5 Alex is all smiles with Nana. With the delay on the camera, I missed some of his biggest smiles by just a split second. Needless to say, he loves his Nana.

12/5 The boys in the crib, sporting the cute new outfits that Aunt Jenn picked up for them. They seem to really like these new duds!

12/5 Of course they have to show off their socks/feet too!

12/2 Alex (L) Nicholas (R) playing

12/2 Alex after a long day of playing.

11/30 Nicholas and Alex, now sitting up like pros (and it has only been a week), are about to notice Bob leaping over Mommy.