SNOW!!!!

Last weekend we had Nana and Pops visiting from Arizona and boy did they get a surprise. Two feet of snow! Luckily they got in on Friday afternoon, because once the snow started Friday night we weren't getting anywhere. Casey, my Dad and Jackson and Francis took turns digging us out through out the day on Saturday and we were able to get out and get them to their train on Sunday. Unfortunately, Amtrak was not in as good shape and the train was 5 hours late. Even the metro system had to be shut down. All the schools were closed through Christmas break and the Federal Government was closed on Monday. (except the Senate, unfortunately)They are just finally starting to dig out the sidewalks and we are still waiting for them to come clear our road. There is no way to get a good shot of what all that snow looked like, but here is my best try. I am also including a picture of the snowman we made last time it snowed.

Gingerbread Houses

A couple of weeks ago, Our friend Rose and her mom and new baby brother came to decorate Gingerbread houses. It was lots of fun and as expected more candy made it into their mouths then on the houses. At one point Nicholas came into the living room, with something orange foaming from his mouth. Obviously something he had scrounged off the floor, but exactly what it was is still a mystery. Below are some pictures of our "masterpieces" and the proud artists.

Happy 1st Birthday Nicholas!

Our little guy is one! It really is amazing how time flies. On the big day, Nicholas woke up early and opened a gift from each of his brothers before Casey left for work. Then he spent the rest of his birthday doing the usual stuff until around 3pm when my Mom arrived on the train. We picked her up and then went to California Pizza Kitchen for dinner (after we couldn't find the cheesecake factory!) and finished the day with a cupcake. He had already had a big party in CT when we were up for Thanksgiving, so we had actually been celebrating for two weeks. Below is a slide show from the big party we had and then a couple recent pictures of him including one of him in his new favorite place, the fireplace basket. It is the cutest thing the way he climbs in there and sits down and babbles away and smiles.

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Happy St. Nicholas's Day!

We celebrated the feast day of St. Nicholas with snow. It snowed a few inches the day before and the boys spent the afternoon sledding. Of course, the day began with a surprise in their shoes when they woke up- some books about St. Nicholas and the nativity story, and then it was off to mass and then home to enjoy the snow. We always enjoyed celebrating the life of St. Nicholas, but it take on special significance now that we have our own little Nicholas...

Here is a little something funny to get you in the Christmas spirit.

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am a little behind on my posts, but time flies by this time of year! Our Thanksgiving actually began the week before when my Mom and Peter came down for an event. When they left, they took Jackson back with them and I drove up a few days later with the other boys. Jackson enjoyed his first few nights away from home and he loved having his Grandparents all to himself. He got to ride the train for the first time and they spoiled him with toys and treats. In spite of all that he seemed pretty happy to see us when we arrived. Particularly his best friend Francis!

On Thanksgiving Day, I decided to introduce the kids to the old family tradition of hiking Lantern Hill. That was a mistake. It was a beautiful day, but I had forgotten that much of the trail goes alongside a steep cliff. Needless to say, by the time we reached the car again, I was still hyperventilating, Nicholas had been bitten by a tick (which we didn't discover until the next day) and we were late to pick up Casey at the airport.

We returned to have dinner with my Mom and Peter's family and then headed up to RI for dinner with Sarah and Kevin, Aunt Lee and Bill and Paka and Mama ReRe. What a great day!

Leaves!

Thankfully, the people whose house we are renting had the good sense to keep their yard man coming while they were away, so the gardens would not be a mess when they returned. (especially since we do not even own a lawnmower...) Anyway, they came last week and raked at tons and tons of leaves. I bet there were at least 16 bags on the curb when they were all done. Luckily, the day before, we had raked those same leaves into a huge pile and the kids spent the day jumping off the swings into them. Here is a picture of the leaves all bagged up and some clips of the kids the day before. You can tell, Jackson is fearless while it takes Francis a few more swings...

11Months Old!

Nicholas hit another milestone last week, 11 months old! He is now walking all over the place and has mastered the stairs with a few exceptions. He has 7 teeth with the eighth on it's way and at his last Dr visit he was about 30 inches long and 22lbs. He is talking more and more and watching everything! He tries to feed himself with a spoon, he pushes race cars along the track and when his diaper is wet, he even tries to get it off himself! It is scary how much faster kids pick things up with older siblings around. He is talking more and more and has started throwing fits when he doesn't get what he wants. Here is a video of him in action...