Merry Christmas!

What a day is all I can say. Nicholas loved opening presents this year which was so much fun to watch and Joshua did try to open a few, but then would get sidetracked. He wanted to play with his toys, but Nicholas said everything was his and would take it away. Fun age don't you think....We stopped to eat breakfast (french toast and bacon) and then for Joshua's naptime. After nap we got back to opening presents, although we all became overwhelmed with all the stuff on the floor. We should have cleaned up a bit as we went. The boys quickly lost interest in the chaos and just went to play with what was out. Nicholas ate lots of candy all day and Joshua got his hands on some too. All Nicholas wanted from Santa was a purple treat that you could eat. Not sure what he had in mind, but Santa did manage to find a purple bag of M&M's and a purple bag of sweettarts so that made his day. He also got a scooter and a million other toys and clothes. Thanks family and friends. Joshua also got a car to ride on along with toys and clothes too. Nicholas and Burt took an afternoon nap together, precious, and I got a little nap in too after Joshua went down and then after he woke up Burt watched the boys while I continued to sleep. We had a wondeful day hanging out as a family. I hope you all were just as blessed as we were and are. Merry Christmas!

Handsome boys

Hanging his ornament from the childrens ornament swap.

Our loot before unwrapping.

Trying to keep Nicholas in bed a little longer.

Trying out their new rides. Gotta love Nicholas with his pant hiked up. He insisted on it being that way.

We tried to get our Christmas morning photo with the kids. Not bad considering all things.

Somehow Nicholas found a gift to open that contained chocolate. When we turned around this is what we found. The box opened, spilled and two boys grabbing for candy. It was too funny.

The disaster area.

Cute baby boy in his 1st Christmas outfit.

Our tree with all the loot unwrapped. Oh and Santa put the star on top for me too. Better late than never.

Weekend in California

Joshua and I went to California three weekends ago to visit my dear friend Marissa. She had actually just surprised me recently for my birthday by flying to Alabama, but this time around it was for her special occassion. Marissa and Adam are expecting a baby girl the end of January and a shower was held in their honor. Well, actually the shower was just girlfriends, but you know what I mean.

Marissa and me

Joshua and I left early Friday morning, hung out with Marissa and Adam that afternoon and evening, then on Saturday my mom came over to watch Joshua while we went to the baby shower. It was a wonderful afternoon filled with friends and family and lots of gifts for baby Gracie. We also enjoyed a yummy Italian meal and some great strawberry cupcakes. The hostesses went all out on the set-up too. It was a lot of fun.

Adam, Joshua and Marissa
(and yes, it was hot enough to wear shorts in November!)

Sunday we hung out in the morning and then went to Marissa's parents home for dinner- a home cooked Thai meal. Yummy. I had been looking forward to this forever and it did not disappoint. Marissa's Dad entertained Joshua the whole evening, or maybe Joshua entertained her Dad, not sure which one had more fun. He is definitely ready for a grandbaby. It was cute. He kept following Joshua around not wanting him to hurt himself by crawling, standing or anything for that matter. It has been awhile since they have had little ones in the house. It was fun to watch them.

Then, Monday morning we got up and ready and headed back to the airport to return to Alabama. We had such a good time visiting with our friends. It was a short weekend, but so worth it. I am glad I was able to take part in Marissa's baby shower and am looking forward to Gracie's arrival in January.

Christopher visits

Instead of having Christopher go shopping this morning with his mom and mimi, I suggested he come visit with us. I knew Nicholas would love to have his best buddy come over and it would give me a chance to pick up my fall decorations to get ready to decorate for Christmas. Win win situation. They had a wonderful time playing, running and taking a break to eat some cherrios and drink milk. The boys only had one incidence over who got to play with the dump truck, but that is to be expected at this age I suppose. It was a fun morning. Maybe at Christmastime we will be able to do it again.

Trick-or-Treat

What a difference a year makes. Nicholas was so excited about going trick-or-treating this year, maybe due to the fact that he knew he would get some candy. All week he kept saying, "trick-or-treat with Rylie, candy in my bucket....". It was cute. So, when Friday finally came and I was able to say, yes, tonight we get to go, he was very excited. He picked out his costume this year, a fireman and Joshua went as a penguin. They were so cute. We went to our friends Britney and Joseph's house (whose daughter is Rylie) for dinner and then trick-or-treating. Our friends Lisa and Jon and their daughter Sonora came into town so we invited them to come with us also. Rylie and Sonora were both dressed as princesses, precious. We all ate dinner together, chatted for a little bit and then headed out to get the goods. Nicholas would say trick-or-treat, then would take the candy himself and put it in his bucket. It was funny to watch. Rylie and Nicholas would run to the next house at times trying to beat the other one there. At the end of the night they sat down and compared buckets and of course ate some of their candy. All and all it was a successful outing and Joshua hung in there with us even though he was exhausted. He hardly made a peep, but did get lots of compliments on how cute he was.

Joshua, Sonora, Nicholas

Joshua sneaking some candy.

Nicholas giving Joshua a hug, or maybe trying to take the candy???

Now they each have their own.

Nicholas found a fire hydrant that he loved to swing around, which fit right in with his costume.

Trick-or-treat

Princess Sonora

Princess Rylie

Rylie and Nicholas checking out their goods.

Nicholas digging in and Joshua wanting some himself.

Rylie and Nicholas eating skittles I think.

Oops, we have been caught.

Our pumpkins. Burt did a nice job with the ghost and Nicholas painted the two little ones.

Pumpkin Patch

Another year at the Pumpkin Patch has come and gone. It was so much fun. Nicholas still loved the inflatables of course. He could spend all day there if we let him. Burt and I both traveled up and down the slide with him. I even made a new friend who was scared to go down by herself. We picked our pumpkins earlier in the day this time around which made it more enjoyable for Nicholas, and us too for that matter. He kept walking around saying "pumpkiiiin...where are you" with his arms held up in the air. It was too cute. Joshua loved sitting on the pumpkins, pulling up on them and the haystacks and trying to eat the hay/straw. It was fun to watch such pure joy on their faces. They are just the cutest boys. Yes, I know I am biased, but who could disagree, right???

When eating our lunch a little girl across from us had some cotton candy, which Nicholas just had to have, so we got that and some popcorn. He grabbed a handful and chomped down on it, well, maybe not chomped since it is like air, but you get the picture. Then he decided he didn't like it so much. He called it a "yucky treat" and decided he would rather eat the popcorn. I guess that is a good thing right. Just like the fact that he doesn't like hotdogs. We also just had to get a funnel cake, but Nicholas didn't seem to care about it. He was enjoying playing in the dirt and throwing rocks instead while we enjoyed our treat. After lunch and treats we packed up the boys and headed back home. It was way past naptime so they both fell asleep in the car immediately, but thankfully still slept when we got home for another hour or so. As an added bonus my mom was here visiting so she was able to enjoy the day with us too. All and all it was a great day and we look forward to next year.

Not the most flattering picture for this little girl, but it was the best one for Nicholas and myself.

Doing a little jig. Not sure what music he was hearing, but it was groovy.....

He wanted Joshua to join in on the fun he was having. "Hands up like this baby brother"

Finally, pictures with Grammie.