December Wrap Up

Our church Christmas party was in early December and I was really sick, so Mark took the boys without me (yes, I threw myself a pity party while they were gone). Here are the boys and Mark at the party with good ol' St. Nick.

Noah was so proud of this gingerbread house that he made at school, so here he is holding it (next to our partially decorated Christmas tree). Don't you just want to smooch that face?!

I wasn't well enough to really celebrate on my birthday, but the boys still got this pretty little ice cream cake & sang to me. I loved the look of the purple glitter frosting :) This was the least-bad picture of me...and how cute is Noah?!

Mont flew home after Christmas, but Mary stuck for a few days to spend time with the boys and help out. I was determined to get out with her and the boys at least once during those days, so we went to Pump it Up! We took a water break after an hour or so & I decided to snap a couple of pictures...as you can see, Noah (with pout-face in full force) wasn't on board with the photo idea:

Raisins helped a little bit. Here I am with the boys.

A five second clip of the boys going down a slide together:



Noah ("not tired" of course) fell asleep one day on the stairs with his cowboy cape and hat:

And, speaking of cowboys...here's a clip of Lincoln singing a made up song "Howdy, partner" (without him knowing):


Noah really got into 'The Grinch' this Christmas and wanted to sing part of "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch" for the camera (you really should watch this one):

And that's a wrap for 2010, folks! Wahoo!

Christmas Day

This picture is of the boys waiting at the top of the stairs while we "check to see if Santa came". (They're waiting behind the baby gate that we should probably take down since Lincoln just climbs over it anyway) Hmmm...cookies and milk by the fireplace devoured? - check. Stockings filled? - check. Presents under (or near) the tree? - check. And we can confirm that the fat man paid our house a visit! So, we opened the gate and let the boys head downstairs toward their presents. Their first stop?...



...the (unwrapped) bikes! Noah got his "red, big boy bike with a bell" that he asked for, and Linc got a radio flyer big wheel.

Noah unwrapping his gift from Lincoln (the Captain Hook costume he'd been asking for forever).

Of course sometimes the wrapping is as exciting as the gifts. Here the boys are just playing with various types of bubble wrap...


Lincoln opening his present from Noah. I love his silent celebration:


Opening a gift together:

Lincoln taking time to enjoy one of the books received fromHenry...

And Linc playing with a Buzz Lightyear/car toy that he got from cousins Audrey & Ezra!

For breakfast Mark & Mary made Aunt Claudia's delicious crème brûlée french toast recipe...with crème fraiche and fresh berries! Mmmm. (Pretty much an excuse to have dessert for breakfast!)

Time to head out into the gorgeous Arizona weather to try out those bikes!


Lincoln giving his new bike a spin:


Lincoln giving the new t-ball equipment that my parents sent a try...

I'm pretty sure that I was getting this look because it was time to head back home...I laugh so hard every time I see this picture. That's our sweet, but can be very pouty, Noah.

We also enjoyed a lovely dinner and Ron & Diane's house that night, but somehow managed to not take one picture. Despite how awful (sick) I felt that day, I still remember it being a nice day. I'm looking forward to next Christmas though when we have all 3 boys with us...and I'm not pregnant/sick!

Christmas Eve

We have just a few pictures from Christmas Eve. The boys had opened their Christmas Eve pajamas (which came with Grinch & Max soft-toys this year), and we had read a couple Christmas stories...when we "happened" to hear Santa's sleigh bells outside! I've never seen the boys scurry off to bed faster in my life! Mark said they both jumped in bed, pulled up their covers, and slammed their eyelids shut to get to sleep. So cute. So, here are a couple shots of the boys in front of our tree (before we heard the bells of course)...



Such cute brothers - and Lincoln's expression here cracked us up...

Since my mom "helped Santa" send emails to our boys (which they watched earlier on Christmas Eve), I thought she'd enjoy watching them see them. So here you go, Mom:

Christmas program

December 23rd was Noah's preschool Christmas program. Other than the primary program at church, this was his first time singing in any kind of program and he was really excited about it. Of course, one of the things that he was the most excited about was that he got to wear a costume! So, here is our little shepherd pointing to the star in the east...







I love this face...

Me, Lincoln, Mont & Mary waiting for the program to start (Matt & his friend eventually joined us too)...

Can you spot our little guy? (top, center)

"Away in a Manger" was one of Noah's favorite Christ-centered Christmas songs this season. Here's a quick (15 second) clip of the kids singing it:


Noah loved this peppy song ("God Made the Animals a lot Like Me")...especially since it incorporated animals and their sounds:


This 16 second clip seriously cracks me up (hence the camera shaking from me laughing)! I'm guessing the hands on the mouth were to mimic the teacher reminding them to sing loudly?

Zoo Lights 2010

We were really excited that Mark's parents came back to Arizona to join us for Christmas, as well as my brother Matt for a few days before Christmas! I thought that I could will myself into feeling better by the time that rolled around, but unfortunately that wasn't the case. I was able to pull myself together for a couple quick excursions though - one of which was on Dec. 22nd when we went to zoo lights! And Mark's parents so generously gave us an annual zoo pass for Christmas also, so we can go back and enjoy the animals anytime! Thank you!

Although the weather ended up being cold and rainy, that ended up being a lot of fun for the boys...umbrellas, jumping in puddles, etc. So that just added to part of the memory of the excursion.

Mark's parents with the boys:

Matt with the boys.

My brother Matt and me...and Noah too.

Noah pushing his grandpa's wheelchair (Mont had just had foot surgery).

Mark and the boys rode a camel. Noah & Linc were a bit hesitant at first...

...but they warmed up quickly once they saw that it was safe, and they had a great time!


Mark and the boys (and grandpa Mont peeking in from the back) while having hot cocoa.

Grandma Mary and Noah on the carousel. Noah chose the lion.

Linc chose the cheetah. Here he is with his dad (there was no chance that I was going to get on a ride that spun in circles)...
Even though we all went home wet, we had a great time and I'm glad that we went. Thank you so much for taking us, Mont & Mary!!!

Classmates' birthday parties

Back on December 4th Noah had not one, but TWO classmates' birthday parties to attend. Unfortunately, my all-day nausea/vomiting (from this pregnancy) had peaked and was in full force at this time, so I was unable to go watch the fun (I love kids' b-day parties). Luckily Mark was willing to take Noah & even snap a few pictures. Noah and Lincoln both got to attend Bailey's birthday party. Here is Lincoln feeding a horse over the fence a carrot...


Noah's turn:

The party clown painted pictures on the kiddos:


Noah on a swing in Bailey's fun backyard.

Lincoln enjoying a turn on the swing (which later in the party he apparently fell off of pretty hard)...

Some of the kids enjoying their lunch together.

"Patty O" putting on her magic show for the kids:

Noah even got to participate. What a fun party!

Then, later that day, Noah S. (pictured here) had his birthday party at Pump It Up. Mark took Noah while Lincoln napped at home with me. Noah knew that Noah S. was into Star Wars stuff and it was so cute to see how excited he was about helping to pick out and give a couple Star Wars figurines to his friend. We don't have a ton of pictures from that party (that weren't blurry from the kids bouncin' and movin' anyway), but Mark said that the kids had a really fun time. I know that our Noah really enjoyed getting to see and play with kids from his preschool class outside of school that day, and he was just itching to start planning his own birthday party after that day (which would still have been a few months away at that time).


Before the kids start playing they had a little orientation with the rules. I just love how focused & attentive our little guy was (as he is with details of most anything)...


Noah taking the slide head first (kind of a big deal for our cautious child):

All the party kids pulling silly faces (Noah is front, 2nd from left):