Carson's Second Birthday!

OK, before you say anything about what a terrible mother I am for not posting these sooner, I will give you a perfect excuse...as soon as I think of one. I guess life just got in the way. We just returned from our Christmas in PA, and our house looks like Santa's workshop exploded. The boys don't know it yet, but we are getting rid of some stuff to make room for the new toys. Without fail, they always fall in love all over again with whatever toys they see us trying put away! I'll have to be sneaky.

Anyway, the birthday party is pretty self-explanatory. My friend Karen, whose daughter shared the birthday party with Carson, made another rock-star cake. At the end of the night, I found the number 2 which Carson had taken a bite out of. He must not like fondant because it was a tiny bite!

A Very Celebrated Halloween

We have been to no fewer that 5 events leading up to this Halloween. Trick-or-treating was almost anti-climactic after the celebrations that took place this week...almost. The highlight of the evening had to be when we were home handing out candy, and Carson decided to hand out all of the candy from his own basket. Very cute. I must admit that I'm exhausted. Here are a few pictures to give you a taste of our fun. I will do my best to get some more pictures out this week!

Bathtime and Name Practice...huh?

Here's the set-up: Nonni and Poppy are visiting, Carson and Brady are in the bathtub "shaving" with shaving cream soap, and we all decided it was a good time to practice life skills with Carson. For some reason, the kid always answers "me" when you ask him what his name is. So, we decided to use the attraction of the shaving soap to bribe Carson into saying his name. He started off pronouncing it with a french accent, vaguely leaving off the "n" at the end. By the end of our "practice", he was calling himself "Carsie". We're getting there!

PS: Good times were had by all.

Boy Story

When Brady picked out his new "Buzz Lightyear" PJ's, we thought that Carson could have "Woody", but they didn't have his size, so we got them both "Buzz" instead. Hmmm...these two "Buzzes" could not be more different. Short, tall. Chubby, skinny. Goofy, tough. But the little one ALWAYS tries to copy what the big one does. We laughed so hard when they started posing for these photos...Carson with his hands on his hips, Brady flexing his biceps...where do they learn this stuff?!

Treats and Parties

On her recent trip to Houston, Nonni spoiled the boys one last time before hopping on a plane back to Philly. They were both very willing for snuggle with the woman who forked over the ice cream! That's pretty much how I get my hugs and kisses, too.

The following weekend, we went to celebrate Ava's first birthday party at the Dean's house. Carson was so spent when it was all said and done, that he literally fell asleep sitting up!

Good times.

Be Very Quiet...

We're hiding!

When I found the boys "hiding" with their little bums in the air, I had to get a picture. As Carson gets older, they get nothing but funnier together. Even though they fight like, well, brothers, it's completely obvious that they love each other.

Carson's First Day of School!

After A "last hurrah" at the cupcake store, it was back-to-school for Brady, and the start of Children's-Day-Out for Carson. Brady was an old pro on his first day. As we got to the door of his classroom, he spotted 2 of his buddies, and ran into the room without a backwards glance. I didn't even get a smooch. Oh well, I'm glad he's happy!

I expected Carson to cry a little and maybe cling to me. Instead, he carried his own nap mat proudly and put it in his spot. At the door, he looked slightly skeptical, but went into his classroom without hesitating or crying, and apparently never cried all day. When I picked him up, his teacher told me that he was a happy guy, and he was smiling from ear to ear. He even told Jeremy later about a song he learned during music class. My baby...!

Summer Left-Overs

My dad sent me a few pictures today that he enjoyed taking over the summer. You might wonder who Brady is fraternizing with in one of the pictures. Our favorite Italian restaurant in the whole country (it's in Philadelphia) is called Tre Scalini. Franca is the chef and owner who prepares food so amazing that it leaves your mouth smiling for days after the meal. Francesca is Franca's daughter who runs the business and planning side of the restaurant. Micheal is Francesca's husband (he's German, but we choose to be kind and over-look the fact) who waits tables, among other things in the restaurant. Alberto, who is pictured with Brady above, is husband to Franca and father to Francesca. What does he do in the restaurant, you ask? As far as I can tell, he makes himself available to partake in Grappa toasts, tell entertaining stories, and, all around, make diners feel like part of the family. Franca also always makes a point to come out and tell me how beautiful my children are, even though she has a beautiful granddaughter herself.

I was very jealous to hear that my parents were spending the evening at Tre Scalini tonight, but I'll try to just feel happy for them instead. Salut!

More Fun in Corpus

Also while on vacation, Carson learned the joy of having pockets (now he looks for them every day once he has pants on), Brady decided that visiting museums is much more fun when done at Mach 5 speed, and Jeremy and I (as parents of young children) managed to eat dinner at completely benign, "kid friendly", NOT new places.

The aquarium was especially fun, with Carson meandering so that his hands wouldn't come out of his pockets, Brady getting yelled at every 3 minutes for walking too far ahead, and we were finished observing interesting sea creatures in under 2 hours (with a soft pretzel in our hands). You just gotta learn how to do these things when you become parents!

Padre Island...Who Knew?!

We had an awesome time on our mini vacation in Corpus Christi and on the Padre Island National Beach. Honestly, I thought we'd have fun, but be done with it by the time we came home, but we really had a blast. The boys were SO much fun on the beach, where we swam, boogie boarded, and built sand castles every morning. Then, in the afternoons, there was always something fun to do. We got to visit an aircraft carrier full of fighter planes one day. If you know my kids at all, then you know they were beyond delighted...such boys! We definitely plan on going back sometime soon.

Super Kids

Even kids with super powers would have a hard time cleaning up the mess in that playroom. So, needless to say, they had a lot of help from "the help" (mom and dad).

Brady & Carson Being Hosed Down

Imma Be a Big Boy

I am almost speechless...almost. Carson, who is just beginning to speak more and more, and is usually difficult to understand, asked us, plain-as-day, to turn on the song "Imma" for him. Obviously, he was referring to Imma Be by the Black Eyed Peas, one of Brady's current faves. We had him repeat the scene for the camera. Before we guessed the correct song, he was outwardly despondent. When we finally turned the song on for him, he was overjoyed...and you will be too when you watch this video (unless you are a cold-hearted b*%ch, like I have been accused of being).

Summer Fun in PA

I can't imagine why the boys have returned from our visit home exhausted. In adddition to everything I already mentioned doing, we also took an amazing day trip to the beach, where we spent the day with Jenny's thoughtful and fun family. AND, we went to Dutch Wonderland where we had a great time helping Aunt Jenny overcome her fear of fast rides and log flumes. Factor in the days at friends' pools and visiting family, and we barely caught our breath on the whole trip! We had such a great time, and are still recovering with long naps every afternoon!

Let's Do Some Catching Up

Where have we been, you ask? The boys and I flew home to PA so that my parents could spend some quality time with them while Jeremy and I met to go to a wedding in Jamaica. The wedding was awesome, the time away was awesome, and the traveling sans kids was awesome, but I honestly think that they might have had more fun that we did. The visited Thomas the train, ate like they had no parents, and, in short, they got spoiled to pieces. Well, good for them, we all deserved it!

The day after I returned to PA, Regan came along with me and the boys to do a little tour of Virginia. We visited my teaching buddies, and Aunt Stephanie, who was bursting with baby. By the way, John Robert was born healthy a few days ago...Congrats Rasamny Family! Emelyn is such a lovely little girl, we really can't wait to meet JR.

Upon our return from VA we did a ton of other fun things that will be discussed in future blog posts.