In the Snow

We finally got Daniel his own shovel. He likes chopping the snow. I thought you would like to see this little video. We are currently suffering through a little flu. Hopefully it will move through quickly.

Christopher's 1st Birthday

We had a great party on Saturday to celebrate Christopher's 1st birthday. He was a champ and loved his cake. He really loved his cake. We couldn't even light the candle because he was so anxious to get at the cake. Here is a video of the first few bites. By the end he was completely covered in blue frosting. I can't believe that he is a year old already. The time really does fly.

Happy Birthday to Me!

It's been a great year! This evening I got to enjoy a nice quiet night at home with my three favorite boys ;) You will notice from the pictures that I was not going anywhere. I do have a new hairdo these days. Well some days. Sometime in the last few months my hair decided to be curly. I'm trying to work with it.

Matt carried on our family tradition and made me a cake. We did have to make an additional trip to the store for frosting procurement. He thought when the box said it came with pudding you didn't need to buy frosting, too. He was so disappointed when he found out that the frosting was an additional purchase. I was impressed that he thought about it. I can envision him in the cake aisle debating the matter.

I can't wait to hear what Daniel tells the world about my birthday. Matt relayed this conversation to me from earlier today. Matt, "Daniel, what did we get Mommy for her birthday?" Daniel, "We got Mommy underwear!" Matt shakes his head and laughs. They got me a shirt, a cardigan, and a bracelet. Aunt Kelly got me the underwear.

Other exciting things going on here include the 9 inches of snow we got on Saturday night and the below freezing temperatures today. We had a nice long fall with great weather, but winter got here in a hurry. It is really fun to be able to get out an enjoy it for a change. I'm not pregnant, and Daniel is loving the snow. He is partial to shoveling and snowballs these days. I think he is going to be a big fan of sledding, too.

My cake made with love by Matt and Daniel.

Daniel and Christopher enjoying their favorite jumping spot.

Me studiously blowing out the candles and Daniel showing the big cheese.

My boys posing for the camera.

Daniel was pretty excited about the cake.



Risky Behaviour

Here are a few pictures to preceed my post on Christopher's risky behaviour.

Daniel and I went to Sesame Street Live a few weeks ago. He loved it, and was a great audience member.

4th row seats!

Christopher's first snow.

Our big helper.

Daniel really wanted to pull Christopher in the sled.

Over the last couple months Christopher has changed from this sweet cuddly little baby to a very curious and busy boy. In order to buy myself a little sanity and time, I've invested in numerous child safety devices. These were awesome and provided enough containment in a quantified risk area that I could divert my attention for a few moments to do things like swap out the laundry or use the restroom. Well, that all changed this week when Christopher learned to climb on the couch by himself. For a few days, he needed to move something near the couch to use as leverage, but now he has it down all on his own. This wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that his main goal of getting on the couch is to climb on the arms of the couch or attempt to climb over the back of the couch. So how does one babyproof the couch? Face it to the wall? We could just watch the backyard instead of the TV. Move it to the foyer? Everyone needs a couch in the foyer, right? I can't even imagine what I'm going to do when he figures out that the stools or chairs can be moved around and he can use them to get even higher like on the counter or something like that. I used to think that Daniel did wild things, but he always seemed to stay within his cpapbilities for getting out of the situation. Christopher has no concept of a graceful dismount. He usually just goes for it and lands face first on the floor. No big deal when its the step down into the carpeted sunken living room, but it is a little more of a concern when its down the flight of stairs or off the couch. So this makes me worry about the teenage years. Hopefully the trend will not continue.

Jingle Bells

As a preface to this post I should let you know that my boys love music. I really do the a disservice in my lack of music in the house because they truly enjoy music.

Daniel has selected a favorite Christmas carol. It's Jingle Bells. He is thrilled when it comes on the radio and does not understand why the next song is not Jingle Bells, too. In his defence one of the local radio stations has Jingle Bells twice on the rotation. Maybe they do that because all kids feel this way. I suspect that it was just the intern's mistake.

Last night during the witching hour, I decided to play a little Christmas music for them on the stereo. I did not have Jingle Bells, so I dug out the Manheim Steamroller Christmas CD and put it on the DVD player. I just thought I needed to mix things up a bit. I was totally awestruck by how ecstatic my boys were. They both turned their attention right to the speakers and started dancing immediately. They were just enthralled with the music. I was overcome with the moment. It was pretty awesome. I guess I need to play more music for them.

I must say that watching Christopher dance is the cutest thing. He spreads his legs apart and kind of does a squat bounce move. And, of course, he squeals with joy while doing it. I'll have to make a video for you to watch, too.