It's Christmas Time!

Despite it being December 2nd, yesterday I went outside without a jacket. It's harder for me to feel festive when it's not cold outside! I'm sure I'll manage, though.

We pulled out the nativity and the advent calendar yesterday. This afternoon we'll be making a construction paper Christmas tree, and some paper chains to make things feel more festive around here. Tomorrow is gingerbread cookies!

Leo's ears are clearer, but we'll be doing a timpanogram in January to make sure his speech delay isn't a problem with his ears. Josh asked me last night if it could be a problem with his vocal cords or his throat; I really have no clue. I'm crossing my fingers that he's just delayed, and will catch up sooner rather than later.

I read this post this morning, from one of my favorite blogs of all time. I feel like Auntie Leila is right here in my kitchen, enjoying a cup of tea with me, when I read her posts. Such sensible advice!

And some more pictures from our trip to Virginia, including Aunt Audri, Farmor, and Uncle Ian

I just ate chocolate pudding for breakfast. It was amazingly tasty. And now I'm working on Christmas gifts! We're done with 5 Christmas gifts, and the kids gifts are mostly ready. I'm left with my mother-in-law and my nephew and niece. With any luck I'll get it out of the way with little difficulty.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 This year we're so grateful to have the Knudsens in our lives. Wednesday night we had a birthday party for the boys with Farfar, Farmor, Uncle Ian, and Aunt Gloria and Aunt Audri. The boys had a blast!

 Proof that every once in a while I do a craft with my kiddos. Leo wouldn't let me get anywhere near him, so he just colored his headband.

 We have a thumb sucker on our hands! It's great, because he sticks it in and goes right to sleep most nights without much trouble.

And . . . . typical Leo! This boy makes us laugh so hard we cry at times! He is goofy and sweet and cheerful and loves to run around yelling. "Yeeaaaaaaassssshhh!"

Happy Birthday Leo!

My second-born is now two years old! Happy birthday, love!

He now weighs 29 pounds and he is still just as cheerful and goofy as ever.

In interesting news, his language development has fallen far enough behind schedule that the pediatrician has put him on antibiotics to see if the fluid that appears to be on  his eardrums will clear up. If not, then it's off to the specialist to see if it might be causing the speech delay.

Ooh, and I made Boston Cream cupcakes for his birthday. Recipe forthcoming, because they were amazingly tasty. Best home-made cupcake recipe I've ever baked.

 Dang, I was hoping this wasn't blurry.

And see Marcos, who is threatening to steal Leo's cupcake. Leo's not buying it, as you can tell.

All right, obviously I need a new memory card, because the video I took won't upload and I don't have any more pictures to show you! Lame!

Pics of Axel

 Because every baby needs a king size bed to sleep on, right?

Vignettes

Scene: Church. Four people are seated in the pew in front of us.
Leo, pointing at each individual in succession: Un, deux, aah, AAH! Un, deux, aah, AAH! Un, deux, aah, AAH!
 (His vocabulary is increasing. Slowly, but surely.)

Scene: Living room, early afternoon on a quiet Sunday. Guy has unhooked the pad of the IKEA chair from the seat, leaving it attached to the top of the frame.

G: Hey, Leo! Wanna play in here?
L: YeeeeeeAAAAHH!
(They both climb onto the chair frame, with the pad draped in front of them and covering them)

G: Let's play rocket ship!
L: YeeeeeeAAAAAHH!
G: Look, there's the moon!
L: aah-aah-aah-aaaah
G: Look at the stars!
L: aahaah-aah-aaaaah!

SCENE: Grocery store, pasta and tomato sauce aisle. Three employees are stocking canned goods immediately to the left of the grocery cart, in which Guy & Leo are seated.

G: STUPID LIST!
Me: Excuse me?
Employees: *snicker snicker*
Me: It's a grocery list, dear.
G: Stupid grocery list!
Employees: Haha!
Me: Guy, if you say stupid again in the grocery store you will not earn a doughnut.

SCENE: Grocery store parking lot, post shopping trip
G: STUPID STUPID STUPID!
Me:  All righty then.

Update

I'd like to give a shout-out to my awesome husband, who recently rescued all of the videos we've taken in the last 4 years off of the hard drive from my dead computer. HOORAY! I'm so glad they're not lost forever to the ether.

In news: I'm tired and the kids are watching too much TV. Life is happy, but I still feel like we're adjusting to all the major changes of the summer.

I'm eating leftover chickpea masala, which is quite tasty if I say so myself, with home-made garlic naan. YUM! And thinking about trying to find a sitter for tonight so that Josh and I can go out to eat and celebrate my upcoming 25th birthday. Not sure about that yet; I may wait until next week to celebrate being a quarter of a century old!

In case I hadn't mentioned, Josh bought me a Kindle for my birthday! It has to be one of the best presents; it's lightweight and I can take it anywhere and have access to a whole library of (free) books.

 And because it's funny . . .

Axel!

Nearly 14 pounds, 24 1/2 inches long, and cute as a button! Except when he's awake at 1 a.m. Still cute, just not appreciated.