High Five

Chris says "I'm so cute, you know you want to hold me!" Who can say no to a reindeer? Not his momma!



This is a close as Chris is going to get to a real deal Xmas tree at our house this year.



Chris (L) and Aiden (R) are enjoying their first semi-edible Christmas decoration.



Rudolf, take two... Aiden



Oh the wonder of it all.....Aiden and his first Christmas tree.



What a weird week! On Thursday is was 62 degrees and we were out for walks in our t-shirts and Saturday we get surprised with our first snow of the year and enough to leave a festive covering on the ground this morning! It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas....

This has been a fun, messy week for the boys. The boys have been wanting to get actively involved in the feeding process and I was recently reading that it is smart to let go of the whole idea of keeping feeding clean and let a baby explore, so that is just what we started to do! What a mess, but what fun! As a result, baths have increased significantly in frequency and are now a daily necessity! Who knew that baby food could make such good hair gel, face masks and all over body exfoliates!?! I have also been giving the boys their own spoon to play with as I feed them. While they love holding the feeding bowls, dipping their hands in and finger painting with food, the spoons help as a temporary distraction.

As baths have increased in frequency, so have the boys abilities to maneuver out of what is meant to be a "safety" seat for the bath. They are now speedy tricksters who enjoy twisting and wiggling, on a mission to escape. They love the water but don't want to be confined. So... as an alternative Mike and I got brave this afternoon and decided to let them bath without their support seats. This brought danger to a whole new level as Aiden was on a mission to scale the side of the bath while Chris continued to dive his head to the bottom of the bath, determined to eat the drain. Boys will be boys! Mike and I both enjoyed seeing the tides change as Chris now loves the water but hated the beach this summer and Aiden loved the beach and now wants to get out of the bath and climb around elsewhere.

I started putting up a few holiday decorations this past week. As a matter of fact, as I headed out the front door to hang some outdoor decorations during the boys afternoon "nap," Aiden caught me out the front window and refused to sleep as he would much rather partake in the Christmas festivities. His determination lasted about 2 hours past the usual nap time, at this point he crashed during our afternoon walk!

Friday night, Mike and I snuck out to our first holiday party of the year. It was a work party for Mike and I was thrilled to visit with Kym and Ross who were also at the same party! Auntie Laura watched Aiden and Chris and really got a kick out of them. Auntie Laura has a repeat date with the boys again this Wednesday night as Mike and I are headed to another holiday party.

In keeping with the holiday spirit, Mike and I brought Aiden and Chris to see a live nativity last night that was put on by our church. The boys were overwhelmed by all of the sights. There were a ton of lights that really caught there attention as well as live animals and real carolers. Given the cold, wet weather it was a quick stop but what they saw they really seemed to enjoy. I will be excited to see their reactions next year! The boys weren't too sure what to make of the snow as they experienced it for the first time. Afterward, we headed to visit with friends and the boys enjoyed trying to keep up with their friend Elliot who is 6 months older than they are.

We had a great weekend and look forward to a busy but fun week ahead. Let the holiday festivities begin!