Christmas Photo Recap

Wesley on Christmas Eve.

If you give a boy a hammer......

Wesley ADORES his animal jungle treehouse!

Aunt Sue (NOT Susan) in disguise.

Ryan checked to make sure Santa ate the cookies we left him.

Block break!

Stocking time!

Wesley's still not too sure about the bike Santa brought him.

This one's a hit!

Checking out the new CD player.

Wesley and his dinosaur mountain rescue set.

Wesley, Uncle Kirk and Ryan on Christmas Day.

Hmmmmm....think Santa stopped at Grandma W.'s?

Guess what Mark got for Christmas?

Trying out the new dinosaur stamps.

Breaking the crayons.

The single most popular toy at Grandma W.'s - seriously, the kids all fought over it.

Ryan kept sucking the cheese spread off the cracker.


Time for a little drink of milk.

Wesley took this picture - it's not too bad.

I think this sums up the day.

It's Ry-day!

Wesley decided to be kind of anti-social while we went visiting today, so all the pictures are of Ryan. That's OK. He's pretty cute too!

Ryan spent a lot of time checking out the Christmas village on Grandma's piano. He loves to point to the door (which he calls a "knock knock") and the apples in front of the market.

Time for a little concert!

Whew! Performing is very hard work!

Maybe I'll just take a little nap right here

Refueling with Grandma. Ryan tried his first "Sara Sandwich" today. Sara sandwiches are a hot ham and swiss sandwich with a special sauce of butter, mustard, onion and poppy seed. He LOVED them! The boy has good taste.

Christmas Joy (and Tears)

The boys and I were busy little elves today. This morning we watched a Christmas movie then decorated our gingerbread house. It was really hectic trying to keep track of both boys and all the candy. To be honest, I'm shocked that any ended up on the house! I know they both probably ate their weight in candy and a bunch of it landed on the floor. Still, our creation turned out pretty well.Then after Ryan went down for his nap, Wesley and I whipped up a batch of peppermint bark. Talk about tasting like Christmas! Well, if the truth be told, I made the peppermint bark and Wesley provided quality control. We make a pretty good team.

When Duane got home we headed out to the zoo to see the lights. My stepbrother, his wife and their kids are in town, so we met them and Grandma and Grandpa H. there. The visit started out great. The place wasn't crowded, the lights were beautiful and the boys were behaving.

Of course, all good things must come to an end when the W. family is involved. We made it as far as the manatee habitat when Wesley decided it would be a really good idea to show off for his cousin Cherie (she's 12, I think). Anyhow, Wesley was doing some sort of acrobatics in the little video viewing area they have there when he fell flat on his face.

It might have been humorous if he had just been embarrassed, but when he sat up, there was blood pouring out of his mouth. It didn't look like any teeth were missing, but I couldn't tell if the blood was coming from his teeth, his lip, or his tongue. I had a flashback to when I bit my tongue open when I was just a little bit older than Wesley and had to have stitches. As I was trying to mop up the blood and figure out where it was coming from, part of my mind was racing and wondering where the closest place to get stitches would be. Luckily, the bleeding stopped pretty quickly. His two front teeth had bit into the inner lower lip and it swelled up pretty bad, but he was OK.

We looked at lights for just a little while longer. Pretty much long enough for Wesley to quit screaming and for Ryan to call my stepbrother "Daddy" several times and demand Dave pick him up. We all went to dinner then, which was blissfully uneventful. Wesley ate pretty well considering a) he is notoriously picky and b) he had a fat lip. Ryan made sure to use everything on his plate as a vehicle for ketchup and stopped eating once the ketchup was gone.

Tomorrow we're going to meet up with the same crew at Grandma and Grandpa H.'s just to hang out. Hopefully no blood shed will be involved.

Not Me Monday

I did not invite Wesley to sleep in the "big red bed" one night for the sole purpose of using him as a teddy bear. Even though cuddling with a child in footie jammies is the next best thing to taking a big dose of Nyquil, I would not have been so selfish.

I certainly didn't the same leftovers three times for lunch even though I didn't like the dish all that well the first time around.

I'm sure the lights on the top third of Christmas tree did not burn out the week of Christmas. And if they did, there's no way I drove to FIVE stores looking for some plain white lights with green wire only to not find them anywhere. And even if all that happened, I certainly did not get so cranky that I went home, ignored the boys and my husband and went upstairs for a nap.

It's a Wrap!

I planned on spending today doing all the wrapping. In years past, I have spent a whole day wrapping gifts with Christmas music playing. It's usually kind of relaxing and helps put me in the Christmas spirit. SO not the case this year.

Perhaps the day got off on the wrong note when I decided that the boys MUST have haircuts before Christmas. The kids haircut place near us has closed, we didn't have appointments anywhere and didn't really want to drive to the other end of town. We thought, "Hey, why don't we just go to Duane's barber?" The whole W. family piled into the car and off we went. We arrived at the barber shortly after they opened and we were the only people there. And then things started to go downhill. Ryan was not the least bit interested in having his haircut. It took both me and Duane to hold Ryan down in a vice like grip while the barber tried to cut his hair as quickly as possible. Wesley did better, but he had a little meltdown too.

After the boys were groomed we headed home to start wrapping gifts. Great plan, except Wesley REALLY wanted to help. Now, it's hard to tell a 4-year-old that he cannot help wrap Christmas gifts, so I let him pick out bows and put labels on the gifts. It definitely made things go slower and several of the packages have bows that don't match and some of the tags are so smeared you can hardly read them, but Wesley loved helping. He even told me, "Christmas is about giving, right?" So sweet.

Aunt Susan is spending Christmas in FL with her family, so she and Uncle Kirk came by for a while this evening. It was so nice to just hang out with them. We tried to teach Ryan to whistle by blowing across the top of a bottle. I'd blow across it, then Ryan would take the bottle and give it a try. Well, to be honest, he'd just stick the bottle in his mouth and hum. It was so funny!

Oh! In other news, Wesley has decided that Santa can indeed bring presents to our house this year. In fact, he asked me to call Mr. Claus to let him know. When Aunt Susan asked what Wesley wanted Santa to bring him, Wesley replied, "Whatever he brings is what I'll like!" Here's hoping he still feels that way on Christmas morning.

A Christmas Miracle

Today was Wesley's preschool Christmas program and party. To be honest, we didn't have real high hopes for him with it all. Despite the fact that ALL his grandparents, as well as Mommy, Daddy and Ryan attended the program, I think we all expected him to end up sitting in the audience or refusing to do anything - especially considering he told us that he was going to "sing zero songs" for the program. Boy, did we get a pleasant surprise!


When the classes filed into the sanctuary, Wesley walked in with his head held high, doing the royal wave at everyone. The couple sitting behind me laughed and said, "Check out that little blond boy waving!" I had to turn around and confess he was mine. The picture to the right was actually taken as the classes were leaving the program, but it gives you the idea.

Wesley sang every song during the program. Not only did he sing, he did all the motions - even to the songs that didn't have any

motions to do! It was a riot to watch! Ryan did really well too. Of course, we gave him a sucker as soon as the program started to keep him busy. But he

really liked hearing all the "big kids" sing. Duane would hold him up to see and Ryan would just smile and smile!

After the program each class had a Christmas party, complete with a visit from Santa Claus!

First listened to Mrs. T. read a story to the class. As you can see, Wesley was very interested in story time.

After the story it was time for Santa's favorite snack - milk and cookies. Wesley was the first one to the table and was so patient while waiting for the rest of the class to get their hands washed and pick their cookies. He ate three cookies. Ryan did too!


Wesley class - aren't they a big ol' bunch of cuties!?


These two young ladies are Wesley's girlfriends at preschool. That's little Miss L. in the purple dress and little Miss P. in the black and red. There is another little boy in their crew, but he was in a different part of the picture.

Santa had a gift for every child and each child got a turn to sit with him and tell what they wanted for Christmas. Wesley told Santa that he didn't want anything because he wants his house to look the same. He has been saying that almost every day! We're not making a big deal about it, but I think it kind of surprised Santa.

It was a wonderful program and party and Wesley seemed to enjoy himself. I'm so glad we were all able to be there to share the fun with him!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

The Christmas rush is officially on! I am set on most things but it seems like every day between now and Christmas has some sort of "plan". I'm big on "plans" it's part of my Type-A personality charm, but I'm a little worried I'm turning into a Christmas control freak. I have something planned every day between now and Christmas.

Weds: bake cookies for preschool Christmas Party

Thursday: Preschool Christmas Party and finish shopping

Friday: breathe (seriously, I feel like I need to schedule this), and go to grocery store

Saturday: Wrapping Day!!! It will all be done come hell or high water!

Sunday: church, assemble cookie plates, possibly have friends over, decorate gingerbread house as a family.

Monday: make applesauce cinnamon ornaments with boys and go to zoo to see lights with whole family (including my stepbrother and his wife and kids)

Tuesday: make peppermint bark with Wesley

Wednesday: bake and ice cake and make scones, have Duane's cousin and family over for dinner

Thursday: make potato casserole, bake pie, celebrate at Grandma H.'s, go to church, leave cookies for Santa.

Friday: CHRISTMAS!!!

Most of the things I have planned aren't time consuming, and most are easy and/or fun, but I keep having this vision of myself cracking a whip shouting, "There will be joy!" Crack! "There will be fun!" Crack! It's a little scary. And that doesn't even include the stuff I have planned for the following week. I think I may need a vacation after my vacation. I'm pretty sure the boys will.

Simple Happiness

Forget any toys that Santa may bring. All the boys need in order to be happy are new hooded towels to wear!

It's Tough to Be the Baby

Poor little Ryan. It's tough to be the baby. I'm sure he felt his world was all kind of unfair yesterday. Ryan HATES to have his diaper changed and decided that he would roll off the footstool he was getting changed on at his grandparents house yesterday. Great idea Ryan. Roll off the footstool headfirst onto the tile floor just to avoid being changed. Genius. Now he has a huge black and blue goose egg on his forehead. Poor Baby.

And truth be told, poor Grandpa. I think he was more upset than Ryan. I told him that it was no big deal. It wasn't Ryan's first bump and it won't be his last, but Grandpa was still upset. I wanted to be ornery and have Duane call and say, "What happened to my kid!?" but he wouldn't do it. Probably for the best - Grandpa, he is FINE!

His night at home didn't get a whole lot better. He wouldn't touch his dinner (something new - very kid friendly, but new) and didn't get any of the cake Duane and I had for dessert. Then we couldn't find his Bobo at bedtime. Once we did find it and he was in bed, Ryan still didn't want to go to sleep. It was like he could sense any time I walked past his closed door. I'd start to walk by and I'd hear his little voice call, "Ma-ma!"

I guess it's just tough to be the baby sometimes. Good thing Grandma and Grandpa had cupcakes to dull the mental anguish.

Not Me Monday

I did not get a mild case of pink eye despite sanatizing every imaginable surface in my house after both boys had it.

I did not spend an entire day baking with my mom, only to decide that those cookies won't do for the preschool party and decide to make something else.

I was not so relieved that my dear sweet hubby inconvienced himself and went to the grocery store on his lunch hour that I almost cried.

I most certainly did not drop the cake I was making for a party onto my flat-top stove. And even if I did, I didn't scrape up the crumbles, scoop it into a pan, top it with frosting and serve it anyhow. Nope, wasn't me.

Guess Who is Going on the Naughty List?

Once Upon a Time...Random Wesley and Ryan Stories

We have an Advent calendar in the kitchen that the boys do every morning. There is always a piece of chocolate and a note "from Santa" of something to do that day. Yesterday the note said, "Try a new food." Wesley listened to me read the note, wrinkled his nose and flatly stated, "No." After a moment's pause he said, "How about I try to do art instead?" Now art has been a big struggle at preschool lately, so I said OK - and I didn't let on how much it cracked me up that he was essentially wheeling and dealing with Santa.

Yesterday morning was also bitterly cold. I had to bundle the boys up in their warmest coats, hats and mittens. The problem was, Ryan has never had mittens on before and he HATED them. Actually, saying he hated him is an understatement. He threw himself on the floor and screamed and cried until he managed to get them off and threw them across the room. Needless to say, I didn't try to put them back on and just let him have cold hands out to the car.

Grandpa H. made an interesting observation about the boys yesterday too. He said, "It's probably a good thing they don't get along real well. Imagine the trouble they'd get into if they worked together." ACK! I immediately starting humming the song to "Pinky and the Brain." Can you imagine? Wesley would be the brains of the operation and his fearless little brother would be the brawn. Maybe I shouldn't work so hard on having them get along!

What's Santa Supposed to Bring?

Wesley got a very nice letter from Santa today. It told Wesley all about what was happening at the North Pole and to be nice to Ryan, Mommy and Daddy. Tucked inside the letter was a "Santa dollar" and a sticker that reads "I'm on Santa's Good List!" Let me tell you, the good list is the last place Wesley has been the last couple of days, but he was SO proud to wear that sticker!

Wesley hasn't written a letter to Santa. Mostly because there is nothing Wesley wants for Christmas. Seriously, if you ask him what he wants, he says "nothing," or, "I don't want any presents." For awhile I thought that he was just very well adjusted and realized there was nothing that he needed. Now I know better. Now I know it's his OCD tendencies coming out. Want proof? Tonight he told me, "I don't want Santa to bring me any presents because I want my house to look just like this and not different. I don't want anything different in the room." No wonder he hasn't forgiven me for having Ryan.

The Perfect Gift for Mommy

Brothers sharing a book next to the Christmas tree.

(Not So) Pretty in Pink

Guess who has pink eye now? I'll give you some hints:

• She's 36
• She's the only human female in the W. household
• She answers to the name "Mommy"

Yep! Apparently it's my turn to don the pink. I don't understand how it happened! When Ryan came down with it, I was absolutely hyper about hand washing and sanitizing things. Maybe it was just too little too late. I've already been running around the house this morning spraying Lysol on any hard surface I can. And since we had some eye drops left over from Ryan, I've already started taking them.

So how am I going to spend my day since I feel fine, but am contagious? Well, other than sanitizing everything in sight and washing the bed linens, I'll probably read. And try not to rub my eyes. Grandpa is coming down to pick up the boys so we can limit their exposure - of course, Wesley was in bed with me last night, so that doesn't bode well.

Not Me Monday

I did not listen to my ipod so long at work that my ears actually started to hurt from the earbuds. Nope. Not me.

I know I didn't forget my lunch AGAIN! And there's no way I was bummed out about it because I was really looking forward to what was in it.

I have not started letting the boys do their chocolate Advent calenders first thing in the morning before even brushing their teeth. Not me!

I did not try to plug my camera into the computer to download pictures and get upset when they weren't downloading, only to discover the USB cable wasn't plugged in.

There's no way I told Wesley, "If you are finished with your snack, please put your sink in the dish." And there's certainly no way he understood exactly what I meant and did it.

Cookie Day

Today was the annual cookie day with my mom and it went WONDERFULLY well! I think probably the best it's gone in years. We started at about 11:30 (a late start for us). Duane was all set in his role of go-fer, decorator, babysitter. We started out with the boys doing some stickers and coloring. I say, doing "some" stickers and coloring, but in all honesty, Wesley did stickers for almost 4 hours straight. Grandma had gotten a pack of 500 and he went though almost all of them! Oh well, at least it kept him occupied.

Working on the first page of stickers.

Daddy gave Ryan a hand

A sticker masquerading as a band aid.

I think part of what made today's cookie day so great was the fact that Duane's mom joined us for the first time. We put her and Duane to work decorating the cut-out cookies and gingerbread men. My mom and I both love to bake, but hate to decorate cookies. Rosalie used to make and decorate wedding cakes, and you know Duane isn't too shabby at decorating either. The cookies they did look amazing! The pictures below don't even begin to do them justice.

Ryan sampling the icing.

We baked until about 5:30. We ended up with Chocolate Almond Balls, White Chocolate Chip Cranberry cookies, White Chocolate Chip Macadamia cookies, Gingerbread Men, Cut-Out cookies, Bourbon Balls, Almond Wafers, Greek Crescents, Magic Bars, Chocolate Surprises - I think that's it. Totally worth a full day in the kitchen!

Oh two cute stories about the boys that happened today!

Ryan was spinning in circles in the living room at Grandma's today. I said to him, "Are you spinning?" Ryan stopped, looked at me and said, "Dancing!"

Wesley really really wanted someone to play hide and seek with him this evening, but the rest of us were finishing dinner and talking. Wesley went to the desk, got a piece of paper and a crayon, then drew a BIG sad face. He brought it over to the table and said, "This is how I feel because no one will play with me." Needless to say, Grandma and I were playing hide and seek pretty quickly after that!

The Little General

Wesley really took command during our family trip to the grocery store tonight. As we neared the store he said, "OK. Everyone has a job to do. Daddy - you push the cart. Ryan - you ride in the cart. Mommy - you get the food off the shelf. I'll put the food in the basket. Everyone got it?" I have to say, it was a quick trip and we shopped very efficiently. That's my little OCD child.

Oh Christmas Tree

Wesley informed me today that it's OK to have two Christmas trees in a house. He said we could put a second one right next to the first and cover it with decorations and sprinkles. What can I say, the kid loves his Christmas trees.

Music to My Ears

This morning Ryan woke up early, but didn't want to get out of his bed. Rather than try and force the issue, I decided to finish getting ready for work and let him play. A few minutes passed, when I heard a voice call out " Ma-ma!" That's the first time he's actually called out for me in a way that meant, "Come here please" and not just "oh that's that lady!" He also said, "bye-bye" to me when I left him with Grandma H. today.

Wesley created some special music for my ears today too. Today was the first time he has gotten all 5 stickers on his behavior chart at preschool! YAY!!! I wanted to dance around work when Grandma gave me the news!

Wesley also said some really cute stuff on the way home this evening. The moon was really big and bright in the sky. Wesley looked at it and said, "I really wish I could go up to the moon and study it." I told him that you have to be an astronaut to go to the moon. "Well, maybe I'll study the rainforest instead. I could wear my orange safari hat. It has a hole in it so I can breathe." Here he is in his "hat"