Getting Ready for Christmas

My little baby Sam is growing so fast! He is so much fun. I wish I could freeze time and have him stay this size for a couple more years. He always wakes up happy as can be, never screams "NO" in my face, is cooperative thru clothing/diaper changes, and will provide the most beautiful and gratifying smile whenever I talk to him. He loves to snuggle and he giggles when we play pat-a-cake. He will happily hang out on his belly, lifting his head and chest up to gaze around and absorb his surroundings. He's just so stinkin' cute!

And, Sammy loves bathtime. He is almost too long for his little tub, though, especially when he starts kicking and splashing.

Everyone always comments on how much Sam looks like Max. I couldn't personally see the resemblance--until now. Now that Sam is getting older and no longer looks like a newborn, he is really starting to look a lot like his big brother did.

Sam is in the above pic, and Max below. I think Max was a couple of weeks younger than Sam in that picture, and the camera we had back then wasn't all that great so the image quality is weak--but I think they look very similar.

And even more so in these pictures. Sammy is above and Max in the pic below.

Okay, now for a little catching-up. I haven't posted in a while because all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays has really chewed into my free time (wait a second--what is free time? I am actually typing this with one hand as I nurse Sammy with the other--I have gotten good at doing things with one hand!).

We had a small Thanksgiving at our house this year. I say small because the spread wasn't nearly as vast as it is at my mom's house every year and also because there were only 4 adults at the dinner table (the three little ones didn't really eat much so they don't count). However, it was spectacular--even if I do say so myself (I was the chef, after all)--especially since we got to spend it with Joey, Maggie and Koa. I am so glad that they decided to make the long drive down yet again to spend the holiday with us. They have made several of the long car rides to visit in the 8 months (wow!) that we have lived in PA. This has made us feel like we really aren't that far away from all our family.

We purchased a fresh turkey (it was literally alive only 3 days before we cooked it) and soaked it in a brine for 24 hours before roasting it and it was so juicy and tender.

Definitely not a spread to rival Mom's, but it was plenty for our small crowd.

Sammy and Mimi

I think he kind of looks like me.

Paul and Joey--they definitely look alike.

West Chester has an old fashioned Christmas parade every year and since we enjoyed the Halloween parade so much we decided to check it out. Max really had a good time. There were so many bands in the parade with really loud drums--Max still talks about the drums. It's not like a Filllmore parade where you set your lawn chairs out the day before--it is standing room only. Paul and I took turns carrying Max on our shoulders so that he could see the procession.

We were standing right in front of a pizzeria and Paul wanted me to go in and grab him a slice. Max spotted the pizza as soon as I walked out and immediately wanted it. He ate the entire thing while wiping his greasy paws all over Paul's head. It was quite funny--pizza is definitely one of his favorites.

Sammy enjoyed the parade from the warm comforts of his snuggly stroller. At least while he was awake--most of the time we are out and about he is asleep.

Here are more look-alike pictures: Sammy is above and Max below.

We have spent the month of December getting ready for Christmas. We put the tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving and slowly but surely Max is helping un-decorate (which I guess will make my job easier come January--so long as I can find where he puts everything).

And of course we have been trying to stage a "candid" Christmas card picture. This is always really funny on retrospect, but as you can see Max didn't enjoy the "staging" one bit.

I ended up getting really frustrated and thought briefly about just sending cards with Sammy's picture since Max was being so uncooperative (he really is "two" in case I somehow forgot--will the "two's" ever end???).

But I persisted and finally captured a couple that were card-worthy.

I had to make brownies for the Mom's club Christmas party. Max always knows that when I get the mixer out I must be baking and to him that means he gets to lick something yummy.

Mmmm, homemade frosting! So much better than the canned stuff!

Oh, and the boots--he just loves these boots. They are hand-me-downs from cousin Koa (and probably from cousin Alex before that). He can put them on all by himself and does so everyday. And he will just hang out around the house with these boots on.

Finally, I will end this post with adorable pictures of my adorable boys.