Photos to come

It feels soooo good to be home. That statement says NOTHING about what we left in North Carolina. We all miss my family A TON, and I truly mean that. It is just so. good. to be at home. I have learned that 8 days is my away-from-home limit. Especially with two boys in tow.

We had so much fun in North Carolina! The boys did great. They slept great, they traveled great (mostly), they were all-around great. I love my family so much. I wish they lived right next door. I miss them.

Dan and I were able to get away for our snowy childless getaway, and I will share photos later. Now I must plan our New Year's Eve menu, eat a late dinner and get to bed!

Update: I love my dad!

So far in North Carolina..

We have tried to get our boys to pose for pictures.





One of our boys hasn't been very cooperative.



The other has been smiley.



With his cute new little teeth.



But if I say the magic words, I can make Elijah crack a smile.



And did I mention that it's snowing? My dad said to me this morning, "It hasn't snowed here in, well, in probably two years! Since you guys were here last, now that I think of it." Ah, yes. Of course.



So we are relaxing by the fireplace, keeping warm and trying not to focus on the fact that Dan and I are supposed to leave today for a 3-day childless trip in the mountains.



Samson has done a lot of hanging out in Gramps' arms.



We have done a lot of cooking, especially Uncle Joel.



We have opened Christmas gifts.



Sammy has done a lot of smiling and drooling and he has taken some record-breaking naps.



Juan the Dog has been referred to many times as "Wand" by a certain 3-year-old, and Grammy and Gramps' bathroom has turned into a Walgreens by the same 3-year-old.

And now Uncle Joel is outside making a snowman and making Elijah giggle from inside. If only we had brought our snow clothes!

Christmas #1

We celebrated Christmas with Dan's parents last night since we are leaving town tomorrow. Sam ate his first bow. This child eats everything.



Elijah and Sammy got some pretty nice things from Grandma and Grandpa.



There's Sam, eating his new onesie.



And Elijah played us a song while Sam appears not to be enjoying the music so much.



Thank you, Grandma and Grandpa, for your generosity. We love you!



Elijah woke up a little under the weather this morning. Either that or he was dehydrated, or both. He has been GUZZLING water all day. We celebrated Christmas, just the four of us, today. Elijah adores his new toy kitchen and grocery cart like we knew he would.

We leave for our trip to the east coast in the morning! Can't wait to say, "So long SNOW!"

I'm sure we'll write a post or two from NC!

Vacation has begun!

I'm still slacking on photos, but I will have time to get to that soon. For now, I will write a quick update. Friday was my last day of work until January 3rd! Yay! Elijah has preschool today and tomorrow and on Wednesday we fly to Charlotte for eight days. We are all very much looking forward to leaving this snowy state! There is so much snow here that the plows don't know where to put all of it. And guess what? It is supposed to snow another 6-8 inches tonight!

Sammy is FINALLY taking longer, more predictable naps. This is wonderful! He has seemed a lot happier to me the past few days, so maybe his body is finally getting the sleep it needs.

Elijah is as sassy as ever these days. For some reason, he hasn't been sleeping very well. When he doesn't sleep well, the sass is unleashed.

I finally got my Christmas shopping done! Well, most of it. It feels soo good to have that under control. Yesterday I got everything wrapped and put under the tree. AAhhhhh!

I have a list a mile long for today, so I better get started on it. Have a good, safe week! Thanks for checking in on us. xo

A few more

A few more funnies that have come out of Elijah's mouth recently..

He calls lightbulbs "wight-balls."

He's been interested in doing the splits. He thinks it's hilarious. He asks me to come into the living room and do "swips" with him.

Slackin' mommy

I apologize for slacking on kid photos lately (particularly Elijah!). It has been a whirlwind of a month so far, and guess what? I still haven't started my Christmas shopping! I wonder what would happen if I just didn't do it. Would the world crumble to pieces?

These photos are a few weeks old, but ones I haven't posted yet. Elijah is being his silly self, making faces and dancing around the living room.



I love my silly boy!



And those beautiful eyes.



I think Hand is talking to the legos here.



A few Elijah funnies:

At the grocery store the other morning, Elijah said to the gal working the register, "HI WADY! My name E-ijah! Have you seen my daddy?"

I always have him kiss Sammy and tell him goodnight before Sam goes to bed. He kisses his head and says, "Good night, Sammy. Get some sweep!" Sooo cute.

Every morning when I get him out of bed and every night before I tuck him in, I ask him for a giant hug. He wraps his arms around me tightly and then he puckers up and says, "Wittle smooch!" So, we do a giant hug and a wittle smooch twice a day. :)

The other day I quizzed him on some basic info. What's your mom's name, etc. When I said, "What is your brother's name?" he said in all seriousness, "Sammy Jammy." This is something I call Sam a lot, enough that Elijah thinks it is his proper name.

Sometimes when we are around friends or family, Elijah will tell people excitedly, "That's mine mommy!" Awwww, I love you, sweet boy.

On the sickness front, we just cannot get our boys healthy! As soon as they seem to be healing, another round comes along. Sam has had a bad cough for well over a week. Elijah didn't sleep the best last night due to another round of let's-cough-through-the-night. Dan even started coughing yesterday. UGH!

A week from TODAY (oh goodness, I have so much to do in a week!) we leave for North Carolina to visit family for 8 days. Can't wait!

White

This is how we spent a majority of our weekend. Driving in and/or dealing with massive amounts of snow. Dan and I experienced one of the scariest hours of our lives on Saturday. The snow plows were pulled from the roads (that is saying a lot in Minnesota), yet we were out driving! Wooooo! We had spent the night in downtown Minneapolis for my company holiday party and we were trying to get to our boys amidst literally white-out conditions. I consider it a miracle that we got to Dan's parents' house without a single mishap, based on the number of cars, trucks, PLOWS and hearses (yes, I saw a hearse buried in snow) along the side of the road.

We have exciting travels coming up and other fun things on the horizon. Lots of fun stuff ahead! The snow better not ruin any of it!

Smile, please

Hey Sammy, can you smile?



Tickle tickle?



Heh heh...there we go..



Here it comes.



Awwww, the best smile ever!



I love you, Daddy!

Is there a weight limit on this thing?

What are the chances..

..that both of our boys would be susceptible to croup?

100%!

Samson hasn't been feeling well since Monday. He has had a fever since then and last night got super congested and started coughing a wretched cough. A few times in the middle of the night we had to get up with him because he was barking that croup cough that we know so well. Dan even took him outside (our little trick we use with Elijah), but it didn't do much. He barked through the entire night. It's such an awful sound.

Elijah did a lot of coughing for the second night in a row, too, but thankfully not the croup cough. I don't think any of us got more than a 20-minute stretch of sleep at a time. We woke up a very tired little family. And of course it's my super busy week at work. Of course! Woooo!

I'm praying for a miracle tonight. We need sleep!

Doctors and boogers and shots, oh my!

Sam had his 6-month well visit yesterday. Everything went swimmingly. He is now in the 92nd percentile for height and the 89th for weight. Wow!

I had Sammy sitting on the table at the doctor's office. He can't sit totally on his own, but he can definitely hold his own for a few seconds at a time. Dr. Judy was impressed with our strong little (big) guy! His bottom two teeth are finally starting to bust through his gums. Perhaps this is the cause for the bucketloads of drool/slobber that fall from his mouth constantly. We had to start having him wear a drool bib otherwise all of his clothes get soaked within minutes. Yummy!

The one thing we still struggle with is his inconsistent napping, which can create a pretty tired and crabby baby at times. I think it is slowly getting better. Like I tell Elijah every three minutes, PATIENCE!

Elijah has begun to not be so fond of his little brother, which makes me kind of sad. Sam adores Elijah and would rather watch him and touch him than do almost anything else. Sometimes if they are close enough, Sam will reach out and touch him and Elijah will say, "NO, SAMMY. NO TOUCHING!" I try to explain that Sammy loves him and is trying to tell him that. Elijah is so averse to his touches. If anyone else touches him, he welcomes it, pounces on it! If Sammy touches him, he acts like a tarantula just crawled onto his body.

Last night I noticed a considerably-more-gunky-than-usual Elijah and a VERY worn out and congested Sam. Elijah ended up coughing, seriously, through almost the entire night. Poor guy. Sam had a fever all through the night and had a few bouts of middle-of-the-night crying. I think this new sickness coupled with his vaccinations made him feel pretty crummy. He is still really congested today and appears to be experiencing pain in his legs where the vaccinations were given.

Hoping for a better night tonight..

Week o' busy-ness

Dan celebrated a birthday this past weekend. No, he didn't turn 311 years old. Just 32. We spent a lazy day at home and then my friend Jess offered to watch the boys so we could venture out for an adult-only dinner. Aaahhhh, so nice. Thank you, Jess.



I saw the above scene in our manger over the weekend. I asked Elijah what the chicken was doing in the manger. "Singing to Jesus!" Ohhhh! Of course! In that case, I think I'll let him stay.

You just have to check out the delicious cupcakes I made this past weekend. The frosting I made for these is one of the best frostings I have ever tasted. De-WISH-us, as Elijah says. Supremely de-wish-us.

This week is a super busy week for me at work. I'm already having the feeling like someone is pulling me underwater by my ankles. Will somebody please do my Christmas shopping? And clean my house? And then maybe find me an outfit for the holiday party on Friday night? Thanks!!

Warm, snuggly baby

Picking out a Christmas tree

We had very relaxing holiday weekend. Thanksgiving dinner was at Dan's parents' house and it was delicious, as always. We spent a long day there. Elijah ate his pumpkin pie while resting his head on the table. He lost it the second we arrived home. It was a tiring day, but most definitely worth it.



The rest of the weekend was spent mostly close to home. Samson still had some congestion and coughing and Elijah had a new cough, as well, that turned into a little bug of some sort on Monday morning.



We ventured out on Saturday to get a Christmas tree and we fell in love with this little place. We'll definitely head back next year.



We were even able to meet up with some family while we were there. Elijah and his sweet little cousin Miya have a cute little bond. They are so funny together, always hugging and swooning.



Our big boy Sammy enjoyed the experience, as well. As long as he is moving and involved in the action, he is happy!



Santa had taken a lunch break, so we missed out on seeing him. We took advantage of his empty sleigh, though!

Thumbs and trees

This boy has found his thumb! Please don't mind the goopy eyes and food-stained face.



We got all set up with a Christmas tree and decorations today! As Elijah was climbing the stairs after our tree was up, I heard him say to it, "Don't be sad. I be wight back, twee!"

Our Thanksgiving weekend so far, in numbers

1 - ears that are infected

2 - sore throats

3 - congested noses

2 - coughs

1 - people who are starting to understand the concept of potty training

2 - people who are already potty trained

6,790 - times a certain toddler has asked his mommy to scratch his "itchy neck," which happens to be the same thing as a tickle

1 - little boys who played so hard at Grandma's house on Thanksgiving Day that he couldn't stay upright while eating dessert or hold himself together once we got home

1 - chubby baby who constantly wants to eat and/or be held by a moving adult

9,941 - calories consumed by our entire household since Wednesday at 4:00pm

3 - people excited about getting a Christmas tree and putting up decorations

4 - times a very tired three-year-old placed his own foot into his little brother's hands and then proceeded to yell at him: "NO GRABBING, SAMMY! NO TOUCHING, SAMMY! NOOOOOOO, SAMMY!"

79 - times the husband in the house has pinched the butt of the wife in the house

2,112 - times a cute 6-month-old has grunted

5(ish) - hours that a certain female member of the house has spent cooking/photographing/blogging

The tasty gingerbread house

Ten seconds after completing construction on our first ever gingerbread house, Elijah dug right in.



Not bad for a 50-minute family effort!



Snow, delicious snow!



He didn't take a break, and I was ok with that.



It was fun to see him enjoying himself.



His tummy eventually became frosting-filled.



Woooo! Sugar!



At least he assisted the gingerbread man with his snow removal.