Celebrating - Gingerbread Houses

The magic of Christmas is in the celebration of the season and the traditions interwoven into the preparations leading up to the big day.  Every year since Justin was a baby we have been making gingerbread houses.  We make them shortly after the calendar turns to December and the kids are allowed to eat them on my mom's birthday.  

This year we invited my cousin and his son Andrew over for the fun.  And was it ever fun!!!

Here is the dining room table set up with the houses (Andrew brought his own house over) and candy waiting for four boys to set to work.

 A house fresh with possibilities.

 The boys begin.

 Nathan was surprisingly good at decorating his house.

 Andrew with a smile.

 Justin with a smile.

 And a laugh.

 Evan with a fist and mouth full of candy.  Its too good to resist while you decorate.

 Scott and Andrew.

 Little decorating hands.

 The completed projects.

We are Back! Prepare for an Overload of Cuteness!

I finished my 365 book from 2011, just in time for 2013!  Better late than never.  The blog turned into a 221 page photo book that is being published as we speak.  It came out so fabulous.  And although it was an enormous amount of work, I am so inspired by the finished product that Im going to do it again!  For 2013.  Keep an eye out for that link coming in the next few days!  Ill post it here!  

The other good news is that Ive deleted the old blog so I have memory space again!  Here is an overload of cuteness from Nathan's 3 year old photo session he did in November.  

Unbearably cute right?!

DECEMBER!

Its December already!  I have so much to tell and so many pictures to share.  However......

Blogger has told me I have reached my memory capacity.

This means I cant load any more pictures until I delete some stuff.  Or pay!  Ridiculous amounts of money (which is anything greater than $0).

I have been meaning to transfer the 365 blog from TWO YEARS AGO for ages now (or two years).  So, until then, no new pictures, no cute videos.

Until then...imagine my kids cute smiling faces and all the December fun we are having.

Thankful

This weekend Justin celebrated his ninth birthday with a big party with his friends at a local jumpy-type place.  Per Justin's request and my mom's tradition she made him a fabulous cake -Halo theme.  Exactly what he wanted.  

Lately we have been consumed with obligations, appointments and general tasks of life.  Checking things off our to-do lists and feeling accomplished.  But, its not all work and no play.  We have alot to be grateful for in life.  There are lots of smiles and joy to fill our lives lately.  

One of those simple joys in life is the whoopee cushion.  I've never met a boy who didn't immediately fall in love with the whoopee cushion and its farting-goodness.  Nathan is no exception to this rule.  He spent a half hour making farting noises with the whoopee cushion on his head, butt, belly, face, neck, feet, hands.  It was hilarious to both of us.

I have a new helper in the kitchen, and for this I am very thankful.  It seems Nathan has inherited the same love of being in the kitchen with me that his brother Justin's had at this age.  Its so sweet to watch little fingers at work next to me.

I've also enjoyed watching Nathan at play with friends his age.  I'm lucky to have some great friends with wonderful kids who are special  friends for Nathan. 

This past week both boys' schools gave out report cards.  Justin is doing fabulous in his new school.  He has made such a seamless transition to his new school.  We are so proud of all the hard work he has been putting in.  His new school is definitely more challenging for him, and he is flourishing with the added challenges to his education.  We are so happy we made this change and have given Justin this opportunity to achieve to his full potential.  Evan has been doing equally well at his school.  We had a conference with his teacher yesterday to discuss his progress in first grade.  His teacher describes Evan as a very hard worker.  She reports that Evan excels in math, which we already knew.  She also told us that Evan has an incredible story teller, and has a really creative ability to put his thoughts into stories.  We are very, very proud of how much effort Evan has been putting into his school work.

Someone around here has a birthday coming up.............Nathan will be three this weekend.  Its with a mixture of joy, sadness, and disbelief that I watch him grow and change into a little boy from that tiny 4 lb baby we brought home from the hospital just 3 years ago.  More on that to come this weekend.

Happy thanksgiving.

Fairy Tales

This week wrapped up a 9 month journey of mine through yoga and self exploration.  I was lucky enough to take part in this fabulous yoga program at a local yoga studio, with 8 other wonderful women.  We explored our lives and balance.  I cannot put into words how meaningful the program was for me.  Last night we celebrated our inner goddess as the culmination of our work.  As part of our work through out the year we developed a fairy tale telling some of our story.  I wanted to share my fairy tale with you, because it is so important to me and my life and the work I have done over the last year.  I hope that you enjoy it.

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Once upon a time there was a girl who lived a charmed life, with her prince, her soul mate.  The two lived in a beautiful home built with love, compromise and kindness.  And because her life was so wonderful, the girl longed for children to share it with.  She began to wish on all the stars in the sky to fill her heart and home with children. 

As it happened, a son was born to her.  A beautiful baby boy, happy and giggling and perfect.  The girl's heart swelled with love and pride. 

And because she was truly blessed, the girl discovered she would have another child.  A second son was born to her.  But this time her heart was filled with fear and sadness. 

"I am your son", he said, "why are you so sad?"  But, the girl could not respond. 

"Did you want someone else?" he asked.

"No" the girl wept.  "But, I am afraid.  What if I am not strong enough, determined enough, dedicated enough to give you what you need?" 

"Nonsense" laughed the child.  "You are kind and filled with love.  You have all that I need".

But the girl did not believe her son, because he was just a child, and how do children know of such things.

 "Then I will show you" the child said, his big brown eyes full of hope.

But the girl still did not believe her son.  She lived in fear and worry.  She wished on all the stars for a fairy godmother to appear and save the day.  Save her.  Save her son.

No fairy godmother came.  And the girl began to not believe in fairy tales. 

The years tumbled on.  She watched her son grow and the challenges grow right along with him.  She saw him silently fight against his disability.  She got lost in a world of medical jargon and interventions. 

And then, as if by magic, one day she caught sight of her son's sweet determined smile while he worked.  She watched his enduring patience and strength.  She felt his incredible inner spirit of love and peace and calm.  And those big brown eyes that promised her years ago she was enough.

And she began to see.  And she began to learn.  And she began to believe.

She discovered in him where once she saw only disability, incredible ability.  A sensitivity and compassion for others had grown in both of them.    

The girl learned to celebrate all the victories in his life.  And in hers.  No matter how small, or seemingly insignificant.   

She saw the power of dreaming big and believing in yourself.

She learned the joy of accomplishment that comes from hard work, sweat and sometimes tears.

She saw the power of love.

And she began to believe (again) in happily ever after. 

Birthdays, Trick or Treating, Basket Ball and More

Nathan's 3 year photos.  I took him the other day, just the two of us, we made a morning out of it.  I bribed him with a couple Hot Wheels cars, which he really didnt need since he did such a great job on his own.  This outfit he is wearing is one that my sister bought for Justin 6 years ago now.  Both Justin and Nathan wore it for their 3 year pictures.  I can hardly believe that Nathan will be 3 years old this month.  Where has the time gone?  He certainly isn't a baby anymore.  

Speaking of birthdays, Justin turned 9 years old and we celebrated with a presents and a cake on his actual birthday.  He had to go to school on his birthday and "its a holy day of obligation" he told me, and he had to also attend Mass.  But, cake and presents made up for school and church.  His party with friends is this coming weekend.  He got a couple Star Wars Lego sets that he was hoping for!  He is such a pro at Lego building, he had both done that night.

 A picture of our family, cat included :)

 Justin announced before blowing out his candles that everyone had to wait so he could count them.

 Counting....

 Okay, there are enough, now time to blow....

 Being silly.

 My parents came over for the celebration too.  Nathan with my dad.

 We went trick or treating TWICE this year.  Being that trick or treating was cancelled on October 31st due to the hurricane, we had our choice of days in the area, and we decided to choose two days!  The first night was a really warm and mild night.  We went out with my cousins, Scott and Kevin, and their wives and wonderful kids.  Nathan and Evan dressed as Mario and Luigi and Justin was a Ninja of some sort.

 The kids were all about posing in character in their costumes this year!  Quite amusing!

 Nate with his lit up candy bucket running down the street.  He was very excited for trick or treating this year.

 After trick or treating the kids all examined their loot and made some trades.  It was fun to watch them together, I remember my cousin Kevin and I walking the same streets as kids collecting loot that we would trade eachother for afterwards in the same house!  Very nostalgic.

 The kids snuck in some iPad time too.  Something I definitely didnt have as a kid :)

 I signed the boys up for a basket ball instructional class at the Y.  Its a once a week class, nothing too intense, not a huge commitment.  Last weekend was their first class.  The boys really seemed to enjoy themselves learning how to shoot and dribble and playing a little scrimmage at the end of the class.

Evan shooting.

 Justin and Evan going head to head for the ball.

 Justin dribbling.

 Evan passing.

 Did I mention we have the absolute best cat?  Well, we do.  She is so snuggly with the kids.  She is content to sit in Justin and Evan's lap for hours (if they stay still that long) and just purr and snooze away.  Here is Justin getting some love.

 And here is how I found Justin the other morning watching tv.  That cant be comfortable.

G's parents came to visit this past weekend.  It was a nice treat, the boys got to see their grandparents before the winter weather and terrible road conditions make the drive difficult in the winter.  Nathan got the world's best birthday present from his grandpa.  A handmade dump truck that really dumps!  It is amazing and already a cherished favorite!!!  Thank you Grandpa for putting all your time into such a special gift.  I know Nathan will keep it forever!!!

Our piano continues to get lots of attention.  The boys sit down and pick out notes and the beginnings of simple songs on it all the time.  I love having music in our home.  Here is Nathan playing away one day.

 More proof we have the best cat around.  Nathan carries her around the house.  And she doesnt mind!

 Amazing.

 I've never met a more tolerant cat.

 Round two of trick or treating was in our actual town.  This time the weather was much much much colder and Nathan dressed as a dragon because the costume was alot warmer than Luigi.  G and I took the boys alone to a well populated area where the houses are all very close together and the kids scored big time in the candy department.

 Justin and Evan, independently, decided to combine their candy and take turns picking what they wanted from the loot.

 It was nice to see them work together.

 Nathan showing me his yellow tongue from his lollipop.

 I have finally had a little time to start cleaning and organizing my craft room.  To make way for the piano we moved my giant desk from the living room to the basement in my craft area.  I have a great table for the kids to do arts and crafts on.  On this day Nathan wanted to paint while I cleaned and organized.

 We woke up yesterday to quite a bit of snow!  Nathan saw it and lost his little mind, insisting that he go out and make snowballs at 7 o'clock in the morning.  I dressed him up and sent him out while I got the other kids ready for school.  He played happily out there until it was time to drive Justin to school.  He is such an outdoors kid.

 The other day Nathan decided that we needed a "really fast" race track.  Down our basement stairs.  So, we set one up and he played and played sending all his Hot Wheels down the track and then going down collecting them all and doing it all over again.

 Another of his favorite toys of the moment are these two race tracks that he likes to set up 8 cars on and send down simultaneously, cheering for the winner!  Nathan is just lots of fun to spend time with and play with now that he is headed to three years old.  He is so interactive and verbal, its a delight to spend time with him.  Im so lucky.