What a Week!

Bad things come in three's, right!?!  Let's hope!  Here's how my week has been so far and if I could drink, I would get a babysitter for tomorrow night and totally enjoy myself...

On Tuesday, I experienced one of the scariest moments so far as being a mom.  My mom and two of my sisters with their families went to an indoor play gym with lots of inflatable jumpy castles and slides.  It was incredibly packed with all of the kids being out of school for Christmas break.  I didn't really feel comfortable about taking my boys in - I didn't want them to get hurt, but my mom said she would help me with them.  I figured Trevor would be the more difficult one to keep track of so I told her I would watch him and asked my mom to look after Ethan.  After a while, I look over at my mom and sister and see panic in their eyes.  I instantly knew that Ethan was missing.  My mind was racing - did he get hurt and we just can't see him laying somewhere; did someone take him; did he just run off to a different section.  This can't be happening!  My little boy is missing!!!

Thankfully, after what felt like eternity, but was probably just a minute or two, my mom found him with a lady who was trying to help him find his parents.  As soon as I saw him, I grabbed him and hugged him tightly.  Ethan must have been pretty upset also because he hugged me pretty tight right back!  I keep thinking back to this moment and thanking God for a happy ending (and how it's going to be a while for us to return to a place like this)!

The next day wasn't much better.  Trevor and Ethan were playing and chasing each other through our living room.  Ethan tripped and fell right into the bottom of a rocking chair.

At first, his injuries looked minor, but I think he may have broken his nose.  Although, you can't tell from the pictures, it's pretty bruised and swollen.

And then tonight, my oldest, Trevor who should have been in bed for at least 45 minutes comes downstairs with his face covered in brown stuff and tells us he needs to wash his hands.

We're currently in the potty training phase so my first thought was "oh no...!"  Thankfully, he had just gotten into my makeup (mainly mascara).  It was a mess to clean up, but my husband and I couldn't stop laughing!

Thankfully, this is the end of 2010 and not the beginning of 2011!  Soon I will have another...yup, never a dull moment in my world!  :)

Return of the Elf

 We thought Zingle, our "Elf on the Shelf" had left with Santa on Christmas Eve, however...

it appears he has returned, at least in spirit and has taken over my child!

As you can tell, Zingle made quite an impression on Trevor!  We hope he will return next year!

Cookies for Santa

My sister found a cute picture showing a toddler sitting on a table stealing a cookie off a plate for Santa.  I was going to try to somewhat copy the idea and use the photos for our Christmas card this year.  Well, I should have known - kids, cookies, and cooperation do not work together!

The boys had just taken a bath and were getting ready for bed right before I decided to do this so I only put a couple of cookies on the plate.  I didn't want them to get too messy or too hyper!  Let's just say the cookies didn't last long at all and there was no stopping the boys from grabbing the cookies so I could pose them for a photo shoot.

I decided to try a different angle (using a few more cookies) since the cookies under the tree didn't turn out.  Yea, well, this didn't turn out either...

But, the boys had fun and it did allow me to capture a few of these special moments...

(Note:  The Christmas decorations have quickly made their way to the top of our tree.  Neither Trevor nor Ethan touched them last year.  However, this year...let's just say we've had about 10 broken ornaments and the tree has been knocked down once...so far!)

Oh well, we'll try again next year!

PS - Santa, Mommy would like a new camera for Christmas!  ;)

The Magic of Santa!

We took the boys to see Santa Claus this past weekend!  It was a spur of the moment decision.  I haven't had a chance to buy them holiday outfits so poor Trevor got stuck wearing a hand-me-down sweater from his cousin who is now 11 and Ethan is wearing Trevor's outfit from last year!  Oh well, I'm so glad I took them! It was a magical moment.  This experience of watching them with Santa (and Ms. Claus) is something I never want to forget and I was so glad I brought my camera to capture the memories!

Trevor NEVER smiles for the camera when asked...however, this time we got a good one!

The boys were totally infatuated with Santa's bells!

Luckily, we were the only ones in line to see Santa so after the boys had their photo taken (the professional one didn't turn out very well), Ethan decided he didn't have enough Santa time...so, he walks over to him, checks him out a little...he sees the twinkle in Santa's eyes...

  

And climbs right into his lap and snuggles with him! 

We still didn't get a smile out of him, but it was so sweet to capture this moment!  I think Ms. Claus wanted to take Ethan home!



After this experience, I think I still believe!

I don't want my boys to grow up!

I'm sitting here looking at my boys and thinking about all of the things I'm going to miss about them as they get older.  Here's a start at my list because I know this doesn't cover it all...

1.  Footy Pajamas - They are so cute and so warm!  This year, these are the only pajamas Trevor wants to wear, but he'll be 4 next year so even if he wants to wear them, I'm not sure I'll be able to find them in his size.

2.  Teddy Bears - A few minutes ago, they were fighting over a few teddy bears.  They carry them around everywhere they go.  Before I had kids, I thought stuffed animals were a waste of space, but I can't believe how much my boys love them.

3.  Innocence - There was a commercial on TV for the new "Tangled" castle and Trevor screams out with excitement "I want that for Christmas!"  He also plays with Barbies and wants to put my makeup on.  He still carries around his pink bear (belonged to his sister) and can't go to bed without it.  Ethan likes to wear things that look like necklaces, purses, or bracelets.  Am I worried about any this?  Not at all!  They also love cars, trains, mud, bugs, and all of the boy stuff!

4.  Chores - Even though at times, it drives me crazy because it's a little too much help, they love to cook, vacuum, do laundry, dust, sweep, etc.  I'm absolutely positive they are going to grow out of this stage way too fast!

5.  Love - I'll probably miss this the most!  Trevor has been walking up to me, giving me hugs and I'll tell him "I love you!" and he'll reply "I love you too!"  Ethan gives endless kisses!

I love my boys so much and I am so thankful and lucky to be their momma!