Christmas Hangover

To tide you over as I wade through the hundreds of pictures I took over the last few days...

And then it's over. All the build up, all the excitement, all the gifts and songs and lights and sweets and countdowns and decorations and shopping and stories... then, it's the day after Christmas. The day after Christmas is awesome and sad. You wake up and realize you have a bazillion new things to play with but all the presents are open and Santa won't come back for another year.
Here's my story.

Remember this guy?

"merry christmas Ethan, you've been a very good boy. I had a lot of fun getting to know you. Have fun, be good! See you next year!"

 He's cute, he's mischievous. He turned our milk green, he replaced our stockings with our underpants, he tp'd the tree. Now, after a final trick of leaving hints around the house for Ethan to follow,

"good morning Ethan, see if you can follow the clues to find me, Marble." "check the Christmas tree"

Under the tree was a picture of E as a baby in a santa hat that said "where do you go to bake cookies" the oven "where do you put your favorite movies, if you want to watch them?" Which led to the dvd player "where do you wash your hands" which led to the note above

he has gone back to the North Pole until next Christmas. Tonight, I had to console my heart broken 4 year old as he cried because Marble wouldn't be back hiding tomorrow morning. So, in hind sight, while Marble was tons of fun for both us as parents and Ethan as child, was he actually a good idea? All part of the Christmas hangover.

Christmas Pictures

In case I don't get them out in time, Merry Christmas!!!

Catch Up

I'm behind, what else is new?
Ethan's birthday was fantastic, and exhausting, and he's super spoiled (come on, that's not a shocker). He had days and days of celebration.

Good morning, birthday boy

On his actual birthday, Grandma and Papa took him to Build a Bear Workshop (he calls it by the full name) where he made Snowflake, with a full Darth Vader costume. And there were gifts.

After stuffing, getting the hug test

A bath and brushing

Naming and adopting

And complete

Captain Americaa

On Sunday we had his birthday party. Normally we just invite family and friends, which usually means not very many kids, but now that E is in school and making friends like crazy, he wanted kids and games. We had 3 kids, including E, and that was plenty for me. They were crazy for balloons and balloon swords.

Star Wars goodie bags

Wookie cookies and jedi lightsabers

Monday we made the trip to the doctor, both kids had their check ups. Ethan's biggest tantrums occur when going to the doctor, the dentist and the hairstylist. I had the internal debate, do I tell him so he can deal with it now or do I trick him till we get there? I chose option A, I don't want him to think that I lie to him or that he can't trust me. He freaked out, didn't want to go, but got over it by the time we had to leave and did fantastic during the appointment. He weighs 37 pounds and is 3 feet, 7 inches.
 Lucy did wonderful too, weighing in at 16 pounds, 2 ounces and measuring 26 1/2 inches. All she cared about was the crinkly paper on the table, until her shots came, then she screamed.

  Man, this was an exhausting week!

Morning Surprise

This morning, my dear sweet 4 year old boy woke up before the sun. It's not really abnormal for him to do this, but after being up with his sister for a chunk of the night, I really didn't want to be up with him. I went into his room and made sure he was ok then told him he needed to hang out in there for a half an hour, till the sun came up. To my surprise, he obliged! Promptly at 7:30, when the sun starts peeking into his room, he called me in. When I got in there, he was hiding under the covers, which again, very normal for this boy. But when he peeked out from underneath, to my surprise, it was Captain America!!

This is from his birthday, I did not get a picture from this morning but I wanted you to have a visual

He had gotten out of bed, pulled on his new mask, then got back into bed.

Skips 4?

There was a time, when Ethan would not count the number 4. One of his auntie's coworkers said he should name his, eventual, band "Skips Four" (so simple, so genius). We just wondered what would happen when he turned four, I mean even when he counted in Spanish, he skipped over cuatro!* The day has come, he has landed on the glorious, even number, that to me always seems so sturdy, 4. 4 years old, 4 members of our family, 4 sides to a square, 4. I can remember the day he was born like it was, well, 4 years ago. Most still etched clearly in my brain, a few parts get a little foggy. The shock of a new baby, the first baby, earlier then we expected. The complete overhaul he's done to our lives. Through him, I have seen and felt love that I never could have understood before. Happy fourth birthday, Ethan. *Ethan did, eventually add four back into his count, it just took awhile.

Little fingers in my nose

Lucy loves faces. She likes to touch them, I think it's a form of communication for her. Sometimes it's her way of confirming reality; like if we look in the mirror for awhile, she'll turn to me and lay her hand on my cheek. Sometimes it's a greeting; whenever michael gets home from work she likes to put both of her hands on his face. And sometimes she just wants to examine; she runs her little fingers over all the curves of my chin and jaw, tries to get them in my nose and mouth (not in that order).
I want to remember those tiny, mostly gentle, fingers communicating with me through touch, especially when she's older and communicating in much louder ways.

1/2 birthday

6 months, 1/2 a year, about 184 days, since we met Lucy. Just like her brother did, she turned our world around. We stay at home a lot more, we get a bit less sleep, we laugh more, we're stressed, I work less, and the love in our house has increased by tons!

She's had some firsts recently. She found some balance and is sitting very well on her own now, until she face plants into the carpet. She is saying some new sounds. She's eating baby cereal, without throwing it all back up. She has been through her first Thanksgiving. Had an extended date with Daddy that bonded them closer then ever (they are currently playing with Noah's arc in the living room)

And now we're getting ready for her first Christmas!