Grown-up Eating

What's he so happy about?

Ohhh, he and his brother get to eat from their own bowls with their own silverware at the big person table in booster seats. All the more reason to love Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Daddy Daughter Time

My dad's a do-it-yourself kind of guy. And growing up I loved to help him in his DIY projects. My sister Jenny did, too. My brothers... not as much. Kind of funny, right?

So when my parents recently bought a big shelf with assembly required, Dad requested that they wait to put it together until Jenny and I arrived for the holidays. Kind of a Daddy Daughter project. It was double extra fu-un.

We take pride in our handy work.

Even the boxes needed putting together.

Extra thanks to my hubster for holding in his handimanliness to let us three have a special time. He got to play babysitter instead. Isn't he a cute Mr. Monkey Man?

Us and our masterpiece. We whipped that together in no time flat.

Organization care of Ikea.

And the boys broke it in in their own special way. When you see a hole, what do you do? Put your hand in it! I've taught them so well.

Oh, to be a little boy on Christmas

Did you know that I grew up opening presents on Christmas eve? It's so weird to Sean. But that's what we do! And that's what we did. We had a big clan, with Jenny and Co. plus Brian and Co., though we sure missed Darren and Co. (love you guys!). I didn't even bother taking pictures of the present exchange because

A) There was such little light, there's no way any photos would turn out remotely nice,

B) I was feeling pretty cruddy (remember how the boys were sick? germs sure do spread), and

C) Liam and Dash decided to be the grumpiest of grumps that evening. Seriously, who throws crazy fits repeatedly while opening presents? I think it was a perfect storm of still recovering from their sickness, catching up on lost sleep from their night of airplane travel (although they were fantastic travelers), and a whole lot of commotion.

So it was all I could do to keep my kids slightly happy, let alone wield a camera. Our family gave us some wonderful gifts and we're so grateful. I'm most excited about the boys' new toy airplane, it's just perfect for them. You'll have to trust me, since there aren't pictures.

Buuuuut, I did take pictures of Christmas morn. After a good night's sleep and a quiet house, all was happy and peaceful and really fun. It looked a little something like this...

Wake up and check out the stockings.

Guess what! I made those! Sewed the last button on while driving to the airport. Yes, I should have ironed them again after unpacking them, but who wants to do that?

The stockings held a few books and this to unwrap...

Cars! Oh there can never be enough cars in a boys life.

Liam quickly parked them in a line underneath the coffee table.

Then the boys played with their new Magna Doodles. Sorry about the morning hair, mom and dad.

Then we played on the stairs. What a Christmas morning treat.

Especially if it means sitting with Grandma.

Grandma and Grandpa's stairs are way cooler than our stairs at home. Can't play peekaboo on ours!

Then we found the Christmas Matryoshka dolls.

They are such a puzzle.

And cap the morning off with playing with new toys (oh, there IS the airplane) and Christmas decorations. What a lovely day!

A Hint of Christmas Morn

I'll tell you about our fun soon. Promise.

Big Ol' Tree

Christmas was wonderful, thank you for asking.

I'll tell you more soon but for now I'm just letting the warmth of Christmas simmer a little longer.

(Special thanks to mom's coworker for this most mesmerizing tree display)

We Two Kings

We two kings of orient are

Bearing gifts we traverse afar.

Field and fountain, moor and mountain,

Following yonder star.

O star of wonder, star at night,

Star with royal beauty bright,

Westward leading, still proceeding,

Guide us to thy perfect Light.

Merry Christmas! Happy holidays! Love from the Bradleys!

(Posting may be a little light next week. The holidays and all. You understand.)

Sittin' Pretty

Because it was a tiresome day with sick little boys and we're all a little bit exhausted, here's one little picture of my sweet boys just playing at the table. Aw.

On the Pot

I have two little boys who looooove their potties. Really and truly. Yea and verily. The moment they see the pots, they start tugging on their pants. (Yes, we do remove their clothes when they go, I just didn't want to post of picture of it. I no dum dum). We're not trying anything dramatic, just getting them used to the idea of using a toilet. They have a turn before bathtime each night and they usually insist on a visit before naptime.

The very first attempt, Dash tinkled in his potty and we were tickled pink. Liam wanted nothing to do with it and clung to us in desperation. A few nights later, the tables turned and Liam sat on his pot for minutes on end while Dash ran away. Then we promised him a sticker for trying to sit and, just like that, potties were magical. Since then, there's been nary a complaint.

We've had several successful tinkles over the last month, even a few days where BOTH boys went, and they get a kick out of dumping the bucket into the toilet and flushing it away. I must admit, however, that more pee ends up on the floor since the boys make the most their nekked freedom and run around the bathroom like wild men. Small steps, right?

Sometimes a boy just needs his dad

Gifts Now!

Since we're going to be with extended family for Christmas, we wanted to do our own little gift exchange between the four of us. And if we're going to do it early, why wait longer than we have to?! Because, seriously, the hardest thing about Christmas is waiting to give your kids all their awesome new toys. This whole last week, all the toys in the living room seemed so boring. So on Saturday, we celebrated our own pre-Christmas morning.

These cars are the far and away biggest hit. We had them sitting out under the tree and it was love at first sight. You see, they have buttons that spit out music and cause the lights to flicker and the wheels to spin. Instant love. They wouldn't even think of setting them down for their breakfast of blueberries and cheerios (I've never been one for fancy breakfasts...). Yes, they may part ways for a spell, but only after hauling them around for a half hour. Oh my, when I wouldn't let them take the cars into their crib for nap time... it wasn't a pretty sight.

This little race ramp was our most highly anticipated gift. Cars, speed, fun, dual mode... winner of a toy! And luckily, the boys agreed.

I'm most happy it's something they can play with together and not fight over it. Well, at least not yet.

It's really easy to set off the noise mechanism, so I'm real glad to get that thing out of our closet. Vroom vroom vroom egh

AND it fits matchbox cars, score.

Liam and Dash now have a bigger collection of puzzles, of which they never tire.

Love me some Melissa & Doug.

Somehow Dash and Liam found out about a book about MAPS by KEN JENNINGS and kept it a secret from their dad until it was time for Christmas presents. Smart sons, they know their daddy.

Our kids are proud new owners of some excellent bouncing balls.

Can't bite through them, doesn't hurt when they hit you in the face!

The kiddos were so prodigious with their wrapping paper removal, they just had to help their mommy with her gifts.

The kiddos certainly enjoyed mommy's shiny new pots and pans! (So does mommy!) Once I put the cookware in their cupboard, the boys kept opening the door and flopping on their belly to get a good look.

These blocks make an excellent stepstool. Not exactly what I intended it for but ....whatever.

Liam and Dash were expert Mr. Potatohead-ers. In a Picasso sort of sense.

And just so you know, the feet can NOT be stored within the potato. Let me just ask, where are you going to store them? Huh? Where, Hasbro?

Already indoctrinating them into following in their father's footsteps. That's what Christmas is all about!