Baby...

The boys just told Steve and I that we are having a baby girl like Mommy.  When Steve asked Nicolas what he thought we should name her, he said "Blueberry" (from his favorite girl in Strawberry Shortcake).  Zachary then agreed that Blueberry is the name we should use.  When I told them I didn't think we would name a little girl Blueberry, Zachary looked at me and said, "But that's a good name, Mommy!"

Seriously, these kids can be so funny some times!  By the way, we have no idea what the sex of the baby is...

Christmas with Nana and Papa

Nana, Papa and Aunt Kiki were up for our Christmas celebration yesterday.  The boys got lots of stuff but thankfully a lot of it was very practical since the last thing they need is more toys.  This part of Christmas revolved around Cars just as much as the rest of it did.  The boys got their sheets for their big beds, their comforters, some pjs as well as a car.  They were so excited!

I cooked a turkey lunch which turned out great and the boys even got a hair cut before everyone packed up and headed home.  They look like such big boys with their new haircuts!  It is quite obvious that I no longer have babies.

Steve and I also got some useful gifts and my Mom bought me a beautiful charm bracelet with two charms on it (the first letter of each of the boys' names).  I am looking forward to being able to add more charms to it as time passes...

Here are a few pictures of our fun day:

Christmas with Mom-I and Pop-I

We just had Mom-I and Pop-I over for dinner tonight.  The boys were so excited to see them since they just got back from a week long trip to Disney.  We also celebrated Christmas and the boys got their gifts from them.  I was very surprised and impressed.  Mom-I was very reasonable and the boys only got one toy (which was a HUGE hit).  The other things were little and the boys will eventually love the Cars slippers and crocs.  Here are a few pictures of the boys playing with their new "Mater The Greater" and "El Materdor" play sets....

Merry Christmas!

We had a quiet Christmas Eve and enjoyed spending time with the boys.  We played and watched a few Christmas cartoons before bed.  The boys checked their stockings to make sure they were empty, set out cookies and chocolate milk for Santa and settled in for the night.

By 8:00 the next morning Steve and I were awake and very anxious for the boys to wake up.  We helped them along and by 8:20 we were in the living room checking out what Santa had left behind.  The cookies were almost gone and he obviously loved the chocolate milk since there was none left.  The boys also noticed that there were presents sticking out of their stockings.  They got to work opening their gifts.  I was so happy because they took the time to look at and play with almost every gift before even wanting to open more.  Santa brought them the three things they asked for...  Zachary wanted a Red Ramone (like Nico's) and Nicolas wanted a Tex Dinoco (Like Zachary's).  They also both asked for the Toy Story movie.  They got a few other things that they didn't ask for but were a huge hit... a few more cars from the movie, some coloring books and hockey sticks.  Mommy, Daddy and Santa were very reasonable since I am sure the grandparents were not going to be...!!!

We had a lovely dinner with Uncle Dan, Auntie Nat and Alexandra last night as well.  It was sort of quiet (the kids were very rowdy but had a blast) and nice for the cousins to get to exchange their gifts.  The boys got two awesome shovels from Alexandra that they have already put to use...

We are having Christmas with Nana, Papa and Aunt Kiki on Tuesday and at some point this week with Mom-I and Pop-I.  We will also be celebrating with Steve's family on New Year's Day.  I am quite happy to have everything spread out over a few days rather than all jammed into one.  It's a nice way to extend the fun and holiday magic!

Here are a few pictures from our fun family day:

Sick kiddos...

Well, the boys have been sick since Sunday.  They have runny noses, are coughing and have had fevers off and on.  Nicolas finally slept through the night last night and seems much better this morning.  He's less congested and no longer has a fever.  Zachary was up almost every hour and is still feverish this morning.  He started his cold on Monday rather than Sunday like Nicolas so he's a day behind.  I only hope he can follow in his little brother's footsteps and sleep tonight.  I need at least one good night's sleep before Christmas weekend!

Other than that all is well.  I am still exhausted but dealing with two sick kids and not sleeping might be the cause of the exhaustion.  Hopefully after a few days of rest I can get some of my energy back.  I am feeling lots of stretching so I'm guessing all is well with the baby!  We have another doctor's appointment at the beginning of January.  I love going in and hearing that heart beating away!  Then the end of January brings the 20 week ultrasound and hopefully we will be able to find out the sex of this new baby...

Pavlov

All four of us were sitting down having dinner tonight.  Steve had something cooking in the toaster oven while we were eating.  A side note to explain this post... I always have lunch after the boys go down for their nap.  I usually use the toaster oven to warm something up since I prefer it over the microwave and I hate having to heat up the big oven for just me...

So, the toaster oven dings indicating that the timer had expired and that the food was ready.  Zachary looked at us and said "nap time!"  Talk about conditioning!  Whenever the toaster oven dings and they are not already in bed getting ready for their nap, it is their indicator to know that Mommy's lunch is ready and it's nap time!

Steve and I laughed hysterically and couldn't believe how funny and clever a comment that was especially coming from a 2 year old!

Quinn Farm...

Our happy little family headed over to Quinn Farm this morning to pick out a Christmas tree.  It is a lovely farm where you can actually go out into the field and pick your own tree.  I thought the excursion might be too much for the boys this year, but thought it might be fun for them to get to choose our tree.  They had a few that were cut this morning and out on display.  Once you pick a tree they wrap it for you and place it on your car.  The guy that helped us out was so friendly and sweet to the boys.  They were not at all shy in telling him which tree they wanted.

While we were there, the boys got to check out a few animals.  This was very exciting and cute to see.  They couldn't get enough.  We got to see the horses that were pulling the wagons, some sheep, a donkey, pigs and chickens.  Nicolas loved the baby pigs ans Zachary was a fan of the chickens that were wandering around the barn.  We were also lucky enough to see a few tractors as well.

Here are some pictures of our outing:

Pictures of the decorated tree will be up tomorrow since we plan on decorating then...

Old news for some... new news for others...

I know that some of you are up to speed on what's happening in our household right now and that others are not.  So, I have decided that today is the day everyone gets up to speed...

Our family is expecting ONE new addition mid-June, 2011.  We are very excited and are so happy that everything is going well with this pregnancy.  I just had my second doctor's appointment and all is well.  We are officially out of the first trimester and have a healthy baby on our hands.  Already he/she is not cooperating and so the doctor had to do an ultrasound to check the heartbeat.  But it was there and strong.  We couldn't be any happier!

Cartoons in bed....

Just about every Saturday and Sunday morning the boys come into our bed to watch cartoons.  This is the only time the boys spend in our bed since it is otherwise off limits to them.  I feel that our master bedroom is the only place left in our house that belongs exclusively to Steve and I and I am quite happy about that.  The boys have never slept in bed with us and I think it makes it all the more special on the weekends for them to be there with us.  They know and understand that it's a treat for them.  Here is a picture Steve took of them all snuggled in and watching tv...