Holidays at Grandma and Grandpas

It has been a while since we spent Christmas in Rochester so all of Tom's family gathered together to spend the holidays at Grandma and Grandpa's. We ended up with 4 kids under 4 sleeping and playing under one roof which provided it's own excitement.

We got there Friday night just in time for some pizza for dinner. The kids did great in the car, much thanks to Noni's portable DVD player. The car was packed to the gills so that only Tom had free range of movement, but we all managed. Jeffrey slept for a short time in the early afternoon (we left C'ville around noon because Erin had her school party that morning). Other than that, they talked and sang songs....and watched Toy Story and Polar Express.

Saturday we hung out at the house settling in with Grandma, Grandpa, Uncle Jeff & Aunt Robyn and Rylie and Avery. We haven't seen Jeff, Robyn or the kids since June and it's amazing how much Avery has grown. That evening was the annual Noronha Christmas party across the street. The kids were very excited to see Uncle Gary and Uncle Craig. They even participated in the Christmas sing-along.

Sunday morning was Church with the family. Jeffrey made it through almost the entire service sitting with us. We finally had to take him out when he decided it was time to sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in the middle of the sermon. There was no quieting him once his mind was set on it. After church we went back home to Grandma's for some lunch and quiet rest time. Erin spent the afternoon helping Grandma cook and entertaining baby Avery. Once Erin realized she could make Avery laugh by being silly with her Erin was hooked. She spent much of the rest of our visit trying all she could to play with the baby or making faces at her. And heaven forbid Avery fuss when Erin could hear her, because she'd be there in a flash with her silliest faces at the ready. Sunday night was dinner at Aunt Katie and Uncle Bill's. Jeffrey loved being able to help feed the doggies and even let Brinley knock him down.

We woke up Monday morning to some snow falling. We decided to take advantage of it and bundled up the kiddos for some fun in the snow. We walked next door and sang some Christmas songs for the Noronha's. There were flying snowballs, snow banks to climb on, snow angels and other fun. Then we decided to walk up to the elementary school and play on the playground in the snow. The walk was a little icy and we had some bums going down (big and little alike) but it was worth it. The slides were super fast and swings just as fun as they were in June. We only decided to head back when mommy's toes were starting to freeze. Otherwise I think all 3 kids could have stayed out in it forever.

The rest of Monday was spent getting ready for Christmas. There was last minute shopping, some wrapping of gifts and food preparation. We headed back to church for Christmas Eve service. I dressed the kids in their dress and suit from Noni. They were so darned cute all dressed up. Jeffrey wasn't sure about the suit but once it was on he was fine. Erin wouldn't even let me suggest taking the dress off before we went out to dinner. The kids scarfed up dinner at a local Japanese Steakhouse / hibachi. I'd swear Jeff ate his weight in rice and steak and even veggies. When we got home from dinner the kids got right into PJs and Tom and I read "Clown of God" for everyone. After picking out the right cookies and milk for Santa everyone was off to bed, while the adults brought all the presents up from the basement and arranged them around the tree.

Christmas morning was tons of fun with paper flying everywhere. So much fun, it requires a post in itself. We hung around through Wednesday. The moms and dads left the kids with Grandma and headed out to a couple of wineries on the wine trail. It was a nice relaxing time. That evening Tom and I took additional advantage of the babysitting and headed out to catch a movie.

While all the kids in one house could get pretty crazy it was a very special time. We are very glad that we got to spend our Christmas with that part of our family.

Cookie Exchange

Erin's school had a cookie exchange recently. The goal of the exchange was for each child to bring in 3 dozen homemade cookies to share with the class and they would return with a variety pack of 3 dozen cookies. My first response was....are you kidding me? 3 dozen cookies? The premise behind the project was a valuable one. The kids were supposed to help out with the making of the cookies as much as possible. The end result was not as nearly as important as the process.

So we made Peanut Butter Blossoms - peanut butter cookies with Hershey's Kisses in the middle. They are fairly easy to make and there was a lot that Erin (and Jeffrey) could help with. Both kids were big helps with measuring and counting the basic ingredients. Erin helped with the mixer a little too. But Erin's biggest role was in making little balls of dough and then rolling them in sugar. She simply thought that was the coolest thing ever. Then while the cookies baked she and Jeffrey opened the kisses. When the cookies came out of the oven, Erin carefully helped put the kisses into the middle of the cookies. What seemed like a daunting task at the beginning actually turned out to be a ton of fun.

Here are some pictures of the process.

Measuring Brown Sugar

Cracking Her First Egg (She did a great job too)

Rolling the Dough in Sugar

Placing the Kisses

Christmas All Around

Erin had her first school pageant last night. Since it's a preschool in a church they did a little nativity play and sang some very cute songs. Erin was an angel. She was offered the part of a sheep but said she'd prefer to be a "fairy". Gotta love it...a Christmas fairy. She had on the traditional angel costume with the little tinsel halo. She smiled and sang and did the hand movements through the whole thing. We got a few cute videos, but nothing great because we had to sit at the back of the church for easy escape when Jeffrey melted down (which he predictably did about 5 minutes into the play). Erin's favorite part was when the angels got to blow their horns and wake up the shepherds and sheep. Of course we didn't know when it was coming and missed getting it on video. Afterwards they had a little party with cake and ice cream. It was great to see her having so much fun.

Here's a little video clip of the first song....Christmas All Around. Erin's the 3rd angel from the right waving the red horn all around. Enjoy!!!

Tree Time

We went out and got our tree on Saturday. The kids were both so excited about it this year. We headed into town to the Boy Scout lot, since we HAVE to buy our tree from the Boy Scouts. On the way Tom needed to stop off at Lowes for a few more little things for the deck. We needed some stone from the garden area and when we walked out there we saw dozens of trees. Not only that, but they were really nice, and affordable. We found one we loved and believe it or not we ended up with a tree from Lowes this year.

The kids helped get it all decorated when we got home. Erin wanted to put on all the ornaments she could get her hands on. Jeffrey did his fair share too. All of his ornaments ended up on one branch though. We let it stay for a while, and after they had moved on I re-arranged some. This was the first year we let Jeffrey put the angel on top. Boy, was Erin not willing to share that tradition. She sat on the floor in tears while Tom lifted Jeffrey up to put the angel up. I think next year we'll have to have 2 angels, or maybe a star and an angel.

We took a bunch of pictures, but somehow they all ended up with Jeffrey and no Erin. She was there, but just not so much in the photos this year.

Well, here's our pretty Lowes tree.

Puzzle Mania

There's a new craze in the house and it's puzzles. There are puzzles everywhere. Every day the kids are sprawled out on the floor working the puzzles.

I got Erin 2 little 24 piece puzzles for her birthday. Since then she's been pretty fascinated with them. She could sit at the table and just work them over and over for hours. But her method was very meticulous. She would put them together row by row. The pieces had to fit together in a specific order.

Jeffrey has a little firetruck puzzle with 9 or so pieces. He figured it out earlier this fall and can now do it virtually in his sleep. He's begun showing lots of interest in the larger puzzles. Now it's gotten to the point that he's the one on the floor with the 24 piece puzzles out.

His method is very different from Erin's. He puts them together by character. For example he'll find all the Big Bird pieces and put Big Bird together. Next comes Elmo. I was simply amazed the first time I watched him put one together.

Erin has moved on to her 48 piece castle puzzle which she's just starting to work on her own. It's quite cool.

Needless to say, there will be more puzzles under the tree this year.

First Snow of the Season

We had our first snow of the season today. They said we might have some flurries over night, but I didn't really believe them. Boy was I surprised to find everything covered with a light blanket of snow this morning. The kids were super excited. Erin still had school and Jeffrey had gymnastics. I was pretty lucky to be able to get the car out and up the hill (went out the back way over the bridge). Once we got to the main roads things were much better.

When I picked Erin up from school, they were playing outside. She was having a BLAST. Jeff was sound asleep in the car. After rest time I did let them both get bundled up and go out to play. It's not a ton of snow, but enough for two little kiddos to have a blast in. Of course, Jeffrey's boots don't fit at all, and Erin's are a bit snug. So he went out to play in his Cars sneakers, but it didn't seem to bother him. He also had mitten/glove issues. I can't get any to stay on him, and those that "kinda" stay on look completely goofy.

Here are a few pictures and a little video of them playing.

Butterfly Antics

I took this video a few weeks ago on a day I was feeling really crummy. I'd been sacked out for about 45 minutes watching some TV trying to get a little rest. I could hear the kids playing upstairs. This is what I found. Not only did they get it out themselves, but the also seem to have gotten out every other toy they own.

Fun Family Thanksgiving

We had a fun family Thanksgiving this year, even if it was a bit smaller than usual. Uncle Jeff and Aunt Robyn didn't come this year and Aunt Katie and Uncle Bill also had other family to celebrate with (and as usual Uncle Jonathan was stuck at college). Grandma and Grandpa W., Noni, Grandpa and Oma were all able to come though.

Tom chose to smoke the turkey again this year. He used a maple brine that was really great. The turkey ended up simply delicious. I cooked a small ham to go along with it. Add in all the sides and yummy fixings and we had a great dinner. We spent a good portion of the day sitting on the newly finished deck (well no stairs yet) as it was in the 70s out. Erin was a big helper in the kitchen before Oma arrived (as once Oma was there it was all about playing with Oma). She helped me make both the pecan and pumpkin pie, and assisted Grandma W. in making some banana bread and a cheese dip.

We ended the evening with Oma and Erin continuing their playing in Erin's room. The rest of the adults enjoyed a game of Cranium and one of Wizard (a cool card game). We wore Jeffrey out so much with all the playing and eating that he actually crawled into Noni's lap and fell fast asleep. That's a very, very rare occurrence.

On Friday everyone (except Grandpa W. as he had some work to do) went to see Enchanted, the new Disney movie. The kids loved it, but got a little frightened at the end. The rest of the day we lazied around the house, playing with the kids and playing some cards while the kids were resting. Grandma W. and Erin made some lasagna for dinner. After dinner Noni, Oma and Grandpa had to head back home.

Saturday was another lazy day. We went for a drive in the mountains with Grandma and Grandpa W. and had a nice dinner at a nearby Japanese steakhouse. Afterwards we stopped by one of the local houses that really does up the lights at Christmas. They were all set up and even had parking spaces where we could get out and walk around the "show" with the kids. Jeffrey was in awe of all the lights and got very excited whenever he saw a Santa. Erin really liked the angel room which was filled with close to 100 Christmas angels.

This morning Grandma and Grandpa W. had to head back home. Erin and Jeff were sad to see everyone leave and kept trying to go along whenever someone left. We'll see Noni and Oma again this weekend and will be spending Christmas in Rochester this year, so we'll get some more family time in again soon. As for now, Erin's counting sleeps until Noni and Oma return (5) and we go to Rochester (28).

Baa Baa Black Sheep

Or black lamb to be more specific. We had opening weekend for Charlotte's Web this weekend. Tom, Erin and I are all in it. Erin has had such a fun time with the shows. She LOVES being a black lamb and getting her face all painted up. Her friend Natalie is the white lamb and they sit next to each other and kinda giggle on stage. Erin has done a great job singing loudly and gets her line out right on time, nice and loud, every time.

Rehearsals this week have been pretty crazy, and we had Jeffrey at most of them. Both kids have had colds and are now also just exhausted. By the Sunday matinee Erin had a little case of laryngitis and her voice oscillated between all squeaky and sounding like a double-bass. But that didn't slow her down one bit, and the squeaky just added to the cuteness of the "lamb" role. We did have quite an adventure in getting her short fine hair "up" so it was hidden and not sticking out under her hood. It took several clips, barrettes and elastics to do the job.

We have another set of shows the first weekend of December, but it will be quite nice to get a little rest before then. Hopefully during that set of shows I'll be able to get some videos of her on stage, but it's difficult as both Tom and I are on stage at the same time she is.

Big Girl Birthdays

Erin was invited to her first "big girl" Birthday party yesterday. Her friend from school, Abbey, had a party after school and Erin was invited. Erin thought this was just the coolest thing ever and we counted down our sleeps for 6 whole nights (that's how Erin judges time -- how many sleeps). Thursday we went shopping and Erin picked out a fairy puzzle and some dress-up wings for Abbey's present. She also picked out a new princess dress for herself because the invitation said to bring your favorite princess dress.

So after school yesterday, I picked Erin up with Jeffrey in tow (as always). Abbey's mom said Jeffrey and I could stay, but with it being nap time, I didn't expect we'd make it very long. I dropped Erin off and went inside for a while. I helped her get into her new princess dress (a red Belle dress that must be from some Beauty & The Beast sequel I don't know of). She and Abbey settled down at the little beauty parlor set-up to have Abbey's mom do their nails. By now Jeffrey was screaming because I wouldn't let him have the cupcakes he'd spotted in the dining room. I talked to Abbey's mom and we decided I'd leave Erin and come back to pick her up a little early.

I got back and there was a living room full of little girls in princess dresses, quite a sight to see. Erin seemed to be having a blast. She told me all about lunch (pizzas and little heart-shaped PB&J sandwiches), decorating her crown, Abbey opening her presents, hitting the pinata and jumping in the little castle bouncer. Clearly she had a blast.

I really wish I'd been there to enjoy it with her, but Jeffrey simply had other ideas. I wasn't going to wear us all out by battling with him the whole time and that was clearly the correct choice.

I can't believe how much my baby girl is growing up. Going to parties all by herself. Having little "makeovers". Making special friends. It's amazing to watch it all happen.

What could it be?

A couch you say? Not quite. A couch with blankets piled on it? Getting warmer. What you see is a couch with two children sleeping on it still wearing their sneakers and jackets from a playdate.

We had a playdate with some friends yesterday and within 5 minutes of leaving the house both kids were passed out. They slept through the Wendy's drive through. They slept through being carried inside. They slept through being plopped on the couch and covered up. And they slept through mommy taking pictures. Jeffrey finally woke up about 6:30 to some cold chicken nuggets. Erin followed right after. We've been running pretty busy recently and here's the result....a joint nap on the couch right in the middle of dinner time.

Happy Halloween!!!!

We had another great Halloween here. Both kids dressed up as completely adorable Peter Pans. They were arguing about who would get to be Peter Pan since September. We tried convincing Erin to be Tinkerbell or Jeffrey to be a pirate, but neither of them would have anything to do with it. So matching Peter Pans we had. Noni made their costumes and Grandpa made some little swords to go along with them.

We got great use out of the costumes. They wore them to the library for their "costume party" (which was really nothing more than story time in Halloween costumes). They were so adorable sitting next to each other playing on the computers before story time started. Erin got to wear her costume to church on Sunday and visited a local nursing home with her Church School. And then on Halloween Erin had a Halloween Party at school and wore her costume. Jeffrey and I were invited to come along for the party and he wore his costume as well.

This was the first year that Erin carved (with help of course) her own pumpkin. She picked out a little pumpkin when we visited the Apple Orchard with her school back in September. It was still good for carving over the weekend. Friends of ours had a pumpkin carving party. Erin helped to dig out the guts and then told mommy how the face should look. I even let her help cut out the eyes and mouth. In my completely unbiased opinion it was totally adorable. The kids had a blast just playing. They rolled down the hill, played on the swing set, rode in a wagon for hours. They were filthy and exhausted when we got home, but it was great watching them just play.

Erin's school party was quite adorable. They had a little lunch and then sat in a circle to sing songs for us, "Twinkle Twinkle," "Eensy Weensy Spider," and a couple of cute Halloween songs. Then they all got instruments and marched outside in a parade for the moms and dads (and fussy little brothers). Erin played the spoons. Outside they played games. Erin liked the fall relay race the best. They had to jump over a hay bale, jump into hoops, toss the hoop over a cone and then ride trikes to the finish line. Erin loved it so much she fibbed that she didn't get a turn just to take a second run (we had a discussion about this in the car on the ride home). They also tried eating doughnuts on strings without their hands and had a pinata to hit around.

For trick-or-treating we headed into town to hang out at Mr. Sid's house (our usual Halloween hangout). I took a few pictures of the kids sitting with the pumpkins and playing with their swords outside the house before we left. Let me tell you the swords were a huge hit. And I was quite proud at how careful Jeffrey was with his (in general). Once in town the kids had the run of Sid's lawn. He goes all out with his decorations. There's a graveyard, lots of ghosts and skeletons hanging in strobe lights. Colored flood lights lighting the graveyard. The biggest hit was the smoke machine that came out of the coffin. The kids would take their swords and battle away the smoke. With the colored flood lights behind them they kinda showed up as Peter Pan shadows battling the smoke. It was very very cool.

We did take the kids out trick-or-treating. This was Jeffrey's first time really getting into it, and old hat for Erin. She knew exactly what to do and ran from door to door always saying trick-or-treat and holding out her bag. Jeffrey would get over excited and scream "Trick-or-treat....Goody Bag!!!!" while shoving his bag right into the air for that precious candy. Then they'd yell thank you while running back down to us. Apparently someone as school taught Erin the famous trick-or-treating saying "Trick or Treat, Smell my Feet, Give me Something Good to Eat." She would walk between houses singing it at the top of her lungs. As far as I know she didn't share that at any doorways, but entirely possible. I tried blaming it on her daddy (known to share such silly knowledge) but she admitted she learned it at school.

So all in all we had a great evening. Jeffrey helped the teens hand out candy at Mr. Sid's when we got back and Erin helped Ms. Lynn bring out goodies to snack on. Jeffrey probably consumed 5-6 lollipops throughout the evening, and Erin had her fair share of chips and other snacks. I'm just so glad we got to spend such a fun night together as a family with some friends.

A Mother's Work...

There are some things that moms just end up having to do... like rescue a terrified boy from a play structure.

I took Jeffrey out to lunch at the KFC today. Erin had a lunch day at school and I thought it would be something fun for Jeffrey and I to do together. We've been there many times before, but always with Erin and always when there were lots of other kids there. Today it's raining and kinda dreary. It ended up being just Jeffrey and I in the play zone.

The first thing he did was climb up the stairs to the top of the play structure. He was quite proud of himself. Then he started to head towards the slide. As I mentioned he's been there before and generally gets a little wary about the path to the slide. It requires the kids to climb through a webbing net about 20 feet off the ground. There are 12" rings around it every 2 feet or so to keep it from wiggling too much.

As Jeff headed into the webbing "tunnel" I followed underneath him to encourage him. About half way through he just got completely freaked. He started shaking and screaming for help. Generally there are other kids playing around, but not today. I tried to help him from the ground. Told him he wasn't going to fall, he just needed to go quickly. He tried to move again and just got even more scared.

So what does a mom do? Well in true Durstine fashion I tried singing to him. "You can do it Jeffrey, You can keep going. Because You are an Amazing Jeffrey Man." This is to the tune of Rondau by Jean Joseph Mouret from Jeffrey's favorite Little Einstein's episode (it's also the main theme from Masterpiece Theater). He and Erin love to make up new words to it. So there I am, standing in the middle of a restaurant, looking up at my screaming, crying little man singing to him..."You can do it Jeffrey, You can keep going. Because you are an Amazing Jeffrey Man." I felt a little silly, but was at my last option to get to keep going.

Sadly it was not much help. So up I went. Climbing up a play structure build for 6-year olds. I got to the top, but wasn't about to try and climb into the webbing tunnel with him for fear it wouldn't hold me. But he was still about 6 feet from me, and had to turn around to get to me. So I reached out my hand, and sang one more time. He finally turned around and reached for my hand. Took him about 30 seconds to move those 6 feet.

Once I got hold of him he made me carry him, shaking, down the stairs. We sat down and ate a few bites of chicken and some fries. He never went back to the stairs, but found a way to play for a while that didn't require the netting tunnel.

I guess a mother's work includes singing silly songs in public restaurants as well as climbing to the top of the playground.

Harvest Festival Pictures

We met some friends at a local harvest festival yesterday. Erin and Jeffrey had a great time. They got to play in the pumpkin patch, take a pony ride, throw stones in a stream, climb on the hay mountain, run through a hay maze and have a generally good time. Erin loved being able to run and hang out with her friends, leaving mommy and daddy in the dust. Well here comes the photo overload.

Picking Out a Cool "Pumpkin"

First Pony Ride

Enjoying her Ride on the "Big" Pony

Climbing on the Hay Mountain

Sliding Down the Hay Mountain

A visit with Uncle Gary and Aunt Suzy

After going to dinner at Medieval Times we headed to Uncle Gary and Aunt Suzy's house. Erin was very excited to tell them all about the knights. Jeffrey was sound asleep and didn't even wake up when Erin was jumping over him on the floor. We had a great time sitting and chatting the night away. Erin had such a hard time falling asleep she was so excited. I heard her singing to herself long after the lights were turned out (sometime after 11:00).

In the morning Uncle Gary and daddy made us some great eggs for breakfast. Then we went for a walk around where Uncle Gary lives. The kids loved walking by the bay and seeing all the "pirate ships". We made a stop in at a little shop so get some salsa that Tom and I like. The kids convinced Gary (and I) that it wasn't too early for some Ice Cream and got themselves a special treat.

We had a great time just walking and chatting. Erin had to walk with Uncle Gary and was devastated when she learned we were going to have to head home. Thanks for taking a morning to hang out with us Uncle Gary.

Horses and Knights and Fun

During Tom's week between jobs we decided to take an overnight trip to Baltimore and go to Medieval Times. Tom and I had been talking that we thought it was something both kids would get a kick out of. Both are fascinated with knights and princesses and wizards and dragons (wonder where that came from?). They are also both in love with horses. Since Medieval Times provides a great mix of both we decided to take a road trip.

I explained to Erin that we were going to see a show with horses and knights and wizards. I should have waited a day or so to tell her because for the next several days that's all I heard about. She was very very excited to get there. Jeffrey wasn't so sure.

Erin Being Goofy With Her Crown(s)

We were given green crowns and got great seats to cheer for the Green Knight. We bought the kids little flags to wave to cheer on the knight. Jeffrey used his more as a sword and eventually had it taken away....but what else do you expect from a 2-year old. We got there early and Erin and Jeff walked around the castle. Erin had her camera with her and wanted to take pictures of anyone in costume. Jeffrey was particularly taken with the knighting ceremony. I think he liked it because the trumpets that heralded the beginning of the ceremony reminded him of one of his favorite Little Einstein episodes (Carmine's Big Race). He heard the trumpets and came running to Erin and I (Erin was taking pictures) shouting, "Carmine, Carmine mommy!"

Jeffrey Put His Crown on All By Himself

Once we got inside we had great seats. And dinner was served pretty quickly. Since we didn't want to have to deal with Jeff on our laps, we bought him a ticket, which meant he also got an entire dinner to himself. For those who have not been to a Medieval Times, no silverware is provided. Erin had a blast drinking her soup, but Jeff couldn't get the idea of it. He did greatly enjoy his garlic bread and the leg off the 1/2 chicken that was plopped on his plate.

The show was so much fun. Jeffrey got a little scared by the theatrics, but once the horses were out he loved it. Erin just sat and laughed and cheered, and waved her flag for the Green Knight. She was in awe of everything and having the time of her life. I always love the jousting games, and Erin seemed to think those were pretty cool too. She sat mesmerized (and eating, she put a good dent into her 1/2 chicken, potato, soup and garlic bread).

Jeff and Daddy Cheering on the Green Knight

After the show we went to give one last cheer to the Green Knight (Erin provided him with a hug after a little prodding) and headed to Uncle Gary's house. Jeffrey entered the car mumbling something about his blankie. By the time we were out of the parking lot, he was sound asleep. Completely worn out by all the excitement.

Erin Gives the Green Knight a Consolation Hug