I think they are here!!!!

Matthew was so cute this morning waiting for his Grandma, Poppa and Auntie Sammy to arrive. He knew they would arrive sometime after Michael had his nap, so from about 10 am on (a few minutes after Michael had gone down) he kept running to our tiny front window to see if they were here yet. Every little noise he heard, he would jump up and yell, "I think they are here!" and run to the front door. He didn't relax until we called them to find out exactly when they would arrive.

Once they were here it was all pillow fights, climbing on Poppa, and opening gifts. Matthew couldn't believe Christmas was here again so soon. We had a great day visiting, a delicious Chinese Food dinner and an even better apple pie for dessert (Thanks Grandma & Poppa).

John and Bucca even snuck a nap in while Michael was napping and Auntie Sammy ws entertaibning the big guy.

I think Matthew's 'Cars' collection is complete now - with his new deluxe Mack truck and the pink Japanese reporter car 'Suki'. He is thrilled that he can now ride Lightning McQueen around in a real Mack, instead of pretending with his other trucks.

Happy Holidays!!!

Well, I have fallen a bit behind on my posts - we have just been having too much fun. Here is a very brief recap.

Christmas was fabulous. We had my parents over for the day. They actually arrived before Matthew woke up - he slept in until 8am. We ate way too much food, and both boys were spoiled. Matthgew got all of his Santa wishes - sunglasses, Buzz Lightyear and a Puss in Boots. He was really sweet opening his gifts. He truly enjoyed each gift and wanted to play with them before opening another.

Christmas night just before dinner we even had a brief visit from my Uncle Brian, Aunt Sheila, Thomas, and Pat. It was wonderful to see so much of our family, and we spoke to most of the rest of the family on the phone at some point in the day.

Boxing Day was a play indoors kind of day with all the snow we got.

Then on the 27th we went to visit my Aunt Meriel and Uncle Ray, as well as my Auntie Anne and her husband George who were visiting from Washington. Matthew had a great time playing with my cousin Brendan. When we were driving home he said to me, "I like those aunts and uncles, and the cookies were delicious." That made me smile, and think we really should visit more often, especially since we live so close, but life is busy. As for the cookies, he should know if they were good or not - I think he had at least one of each variety.

In the days to follow, we played a lot in the snow, played Lego and Playmobil, did some shopping, and finally went to our friend Ryan & Lauretta's for New Years. The kids (Katie & Matthew) stayed up until 9pm - Michael was unfortunately up most of the night. The adults played poker - until Ryan inevitably won.

All in all it has been a fabulous end to 2008.

Best wishes to all of you in the New Year!

Early Christmas

Since Auntie Heather and Uncle Corey will be spending Christmas with the Gauthier's we decided to get together early to exchange gifts. We had a nice (very loud) visit with them. Matthew LOVES his Uncle Corey and their playtime. Matthew took his time opening his gift and didn't know what to make of the Monkey Mouth until he saw the drill - then the fun began. I hope he doesn't become a dentist when he gets older! Corey also had a good time with his little helicopter.

My sweet (gingerbread) boys

3 days, 5 cups of flour, a bowl of icing sugar, a bag of smarties, christmas carols, and a hyper 3 year old, but in the end we have gingerbread. Matthew and I worked during Michael's naps to make the dough, then we let it chill overnight. The next day we cut shapes and baked them. Finally, the day Matthew had been waiting for - decorating (read eating) with Smarties, gum drops, and m&m's. Our decorating day was fun- but maybe too exciting for Matthew. We ate some candies, created a mini Matthew and baby Michael, had a surprise visit from Grandma and Poppa, and got to eat the T-Rex gingerbread cookie that John & I had secretly created for him. (I forgot to take a picture of it!)

For those of you who got to eat some of these cute creations, I hope you enjoyed them. If you missed out, I think we are baking sugar cookies next week.

Tree Trimming

Everyone is getting into the Christmas spirit. This afternoon we went to my sister's house to help her decorate her Christmas tree. She has a gorgeous tree all decorated in silver, white and a touch of blue. Nana and Papa came too. Corey even came home from work for a while. Matthew was thrilled to get some play time with his Uncle Corey!


Matthew also got a Santa hat from Papa today - which made him very happy since he was upset that Michael has a Santa outfit (which was Matthew's for his first Christmas) and he had nothing.

Dear Santa

Last week we went to Photo Express to have the boys see Santa. We got the photos back yesterday. Aren't they cute!?

This is the first year that Matthew wasn't scared to sit with Santa (he doesn't really like guys with beards and/or mustaches). I think he was able to overcome his fear because he really wanted to ask Santa for 2 specific gifts - sunglasses and a Buzz Lightyear doll. Lucky Matthew, Santa had already made arrangements for those things to be delivered.