Christmas

It was chaos...but in a great way :)  The kids slept until 6:15 or so and then Natalie ran downstairs....and promptly ran back to report that Santa had come and there were gifts under the tree and stockings were stuffed and there were presents and he'd eaten her cookies and there were presents and he'd left them a note and there were even presents in Mommy & Daddy's stockings.  Was a little excited :)

We headed downstairs and let the good times roll.  I got few pictures of the gift opening because the kids don't read and things had to be negotiated.  Patrick opened 2 presents and the 2nd one contained trucks and that was all she wrote for him.  He sat down and didn't open another present.  So, Natalie took one for the team and generously offered to help with his gifts too ;)  She was very efficient and all presents were opened by 6:40.  Yes, 6:40. 

Virginia Beach Aquarium

We spent 2 days in VA Beach last week and it was really nice to get out of town for a bit.  Turns out the beach is a ghost town this time of year and not a lot is open for business.  That didn't slow us down much and we really had a great time.  the hotel pool was ours alone and we had few other people to contend with at the aquarium.  Here are some pictures.  Loved the placed.  Highly recommended to anyone in the VA beach area :)

sunrises

I've seen two really gorgeous sunrises lately and ran for the camera.  the first was in our neighborhood and the 2nd was taken from our hotel room at VA beach on the morning of Christmas Eve.

Busy Busy....

On Saturday Jame was helping a buddy move and so I was trying to figure out what to do w/ the kidlets on a rainy, raw day for a few hours.  Cookies!  Natalie disappeared to go play school so Paddy and I had our fun for awhile....and then I noticed it was kind of quiet....which is usually a very bad sign. 

Here's what I found on the couch.  I guess baking really took it out of him :)

Snow!

I know that I am worse than a kid when it comes to snow excitment but I just can't help it!  Seriously - it just makes me giddy.  I think its from years of anticipation for getting out of school.  I'm pre-programmed.

Anyway, on Saturday night I was out for a GNO (Girls night out) and the forecast was calling for flurries and then rain.  Well, it did not rain, and it did flurry...and then it actually snowed :)  Not too much stuck to the ground - this is VA folks - but it was enough to have some fun with and the kids had a blast.  We were outside by 6:40 on Saturday morning.  And that was a good thing because it was melted by 9am.

I hope we get more snow soon but temps are supposed to warm up so I guess it won't be too soon.

ps. I wish the pictures were better but the cell phone has a lousy camera and that was all I had handy at the moment.  Give me a teensy break considering it was the crack of dawn and I'd been out ripping it up with the ladies until midnight.  :)

Busy Weekend So Far - Highlights!

Let's start w/ the really big news - Paddy had his first haircut this morning!  As you can see he did not enjoy it at all.  Neither did Natalie and now that she knows there is a lollipop at the end of it she is super excited to go.  She had her hair cut too but I don't want to overshadow Paddy's event!

We also went to the "Grand Illumination" last night.  Which is the official lighting of the Christmas tree at the Capitol building.  It was pretty but the Governor was long winded.  on the upside there was a very authentic Santa who Patrick met.  Natalie refused.  I'm glad I didn't pay for her to have breakfast w/ Santa this year.

This morning we raced from the haircut to the Christmas Parade.  Had.A.Blast!  I had totally forgotten how much I love parades.  Natalie was transfixed - Patrick started out terrified and finished up gettin' his groove on with the majorettes, marching bands, and different dancing troupes.  The shriners drove their tiny carts around too which is always a hit with me.  I have no pictures from Paddy's first parade because it was complicated enough to be solo w/ the 2 kids and keep them on the side of the road. 

That's it from here!

Fun Stuff!

I just got the scholastic book order that I'm holding to give to the kids for xmas gifts.  I had totally forgotten when I ordered and when I opened the bag there was a perfectly lovely selection of holiday books and then one that made me all giddy inside.  The Story of Ferdinand was in the bundle!  Remember that book?  Surely everyone loved that book as much as I did.  Anyway, I think one of the most fun parts about Natalie's age is that I have memories of being that age and the things that I was doing and now I get to share them with her.  It's not just about habits and traditions for myself anymore - now it's about creating the memories for her that I have.  This pleases me beyond words.

Also, her preschool teacher sent me this picture today.  Its not recent but I love it :)

Major accomplishment!

I know I keep saying that I'm going to do better at posting - and I do mean it despite the statement developing into another empty promise.  I have a moment today and here's the most fabulous thing!

Natalie has figured out how to tie her own shoes :)

the reason why this is more momentous that all other kids learning to tie their own shoes (c'mon, give me a moment of total parental bragginess) is because she had 2 right handed parents fumbling their way thru teacher her left-handed self to tie! 

And - just one more thing...  I recently had a Parent Teacher Conference and mentioned that we'd been working on this and could it be promoted at school and blah blah and her teacher told me she was too young to figure it out.

Take that!

:)

Matchy Matchy

Natalie loves to wear a matching outfit with Paddy but it isn't too easy to find things that this will work with.  James is a big Patriots fan and loves to have the kids dressed for the game on Sundays.  I recently won jerseys on eBay and this morning they got to get all matchy matchy.  As you can see Natalie is thrilled.  Patrick was annoyed that he needed to take a break from stuffing food into his mouth long enough to look at the camera. 

Yeah, its another phone picture.  Whatareyagonnado?

The new climber?!

Nat has never been a big climber...that has always been Paddy's territory.  You can imagine I was a little surprised when she started to show inclination to scale trees and my dismay when she decided to transfer her skills to our 6' high privacy fence in the backyard.  More concerning....how long before she shows Paddy how to do it?...or he chases her up?  scary stuff!

And for the record...I lived in trees as a child.  So, this little apple apparently didn't fall too far from her Mom's tree ;)

One last thing - I seem to be without my camera at all times these days.  However, I am almost never w/out my phone.  So, another apology to you all for the quality of the photos.

Triple P!

Pumpkin Patch Paddy!  Took the little fella on his first field trip today.  He had a blast as evidenced by the pictures.  I apologize for the quality.  I forgot my camera and took these w/ my phone. 

After we took the hayride to the field and chose our pumpkin (he picked big and it was heavy but I handled it ok...tee hee!) we hayrode back past the goats and turkeys to the hay maze/mound area.  He had a great time in the maze and climbing the mound and running rampant all over the place. 

Cute.As.A.Button!  And seriously - do you see the rain boots?  Cute Cute Cute overload!

Echo

We were in VT last week for a family vacation.  One of the days we took the kids to Echo and they had an absolute blast. 

Kids at the water table!  Patrick mostly wanted to splash but Natalie was fixated w/ the little boats and making it rain and diverting the water flow.  Future engineer?

Or Maybe there is a future Archaeologist in our midst.  Both kids were thrilled to don the safety goggles and dig for a bit.  Fortunately they grew tired of freeing the small whale from the stone w/ paint brushes before their Dad & I lapsed into a boredom coma :)

And Natalie checks out the Rat Snake!