Airplane Noodles

The reason I blog, and the reason I wished I blogged a little more:  Airplane Noodles.  That's right "Airplane Noodles".  This is what Max calls a plain noodle with no sauce added.  I can't imagine where he  gets the enjoyment from them since I am pretty sure that in no time in my life did I ever ask for or want airplane noodles.  I just don't think I ever ate them as a child.  However,  I will never want him to not call them that--they will always be airplane noodles and I will be a little bummed when he stops.  "Cookeded" is another one Max says that totally cracks me up.  He adds an extra "-ed" to the ends of words.  Have I cookeded his dinner yet,  Jack fluffeded, the monster trucks crasheded.   I should probably be correcting him, but I just think it is so cute-- I don't want him to stop.  And then there is little Sam.  He can't be in the car on a sunny day without his sunglasses on because, as he would say, "It's too summer out!"  "I need my sunglasses, mom--It's too summer out!!"  Love these little things so much.  I think they are my favorite part of being a mom.  (And the snuggling)!!

Max, in his favorite jammy bottoms, playing on mommy's iPhone.

Sammy, my sweet little doodle, playing monster trucks

Then there is my little JR.  My sweet little ever-growing baby.  At his 4 month appointment (which was practically a month ago) he was almost 15 pounds!!  I can't believe how fast time goes... 

This was over three months ago..

And this is at 4 months old...

And 4.5 months old...

Infact, Jack has gotten so big that now he bounces around and plays in his exersaucer...

Not only has Jack started to eat like a big boy--he LOVES it.  I can't get the rice cereal or oatmeal in his mouth fast enough.  It is actually quite enjoyable to feed him; such a difference from my experience with his older brothers, both of whom rejected any cereals and didn't really take to any solid food until around 6 months old. I dreaded feeding time when they were Jack's age.  They barely ate anything yet still managed to make a monstrous mess.  Jack, on the other hand, does make a mess.  However, his pure enjoyment of the mealtime makes the task mutually gratifying. 

Rhythm and Nature

It seems like up until now, January was always the longest, most dreary month of the year.  Not this year.  First of all, it FLEW by, and second, it wasn't really that cold and dreary.  We enjoyed a lot of sunshine and some really nice weather.  No complaints here.  

The following pictures were taken on New Year's Day.  It was a little chilly, but otherwise pleasant so we decided to enjoy some fresh air at a nature preserve not far from our house.  We never make it very far on the trail with the boys--they get too distracted and aren't much for power hiking.  But, they do love to climb trees, step in mud puddles, and throw rocks in the stream.

Sam definitely got the music and rhythm gene from Paul's side.  He loves to dance and sing, listen to music, and even play any instrument he comes across.  He will sit himself up on the piano bench and start plinking away while making up lyrics to his most famous song, "All Your Friends Are Here."  He loves to strum along with daddy on the guitar, and can often be found with a microphone, recorder or harmonica in his mouth. While we were at Mimi's over Christmas he got quite good at playing the bugle.  Seriously, this kid is a prodigy.  

Christmas Stuff

Wow!!  I can't believe the holidays are over already.  It seems like it was just Thanksgiving and now it is the first of January.  I really don't know what happened in December--it is all a blur.  Maybe the following pictures will help jog my memory...  

Let's see...

That's right--we decorated Christmas cookies at my friend Sara's house.  She had this really cool method that allows the kids to easily apply the icing:  she makes the frosting really thin by using just powdered sugar and milk, adds food coloring and the kids paint it on with a paintbrush.  They loved it!  Sam would eat them as fast as he could frost them.  

Oh yes, we also wrapped a LOT of presents.  Or so it seemed to poor baby Jack who was just so exhausted from watching the application of all the ribbon and tape...

Sam still loves to hold baby Jack, and will always tell me that I should take a picture whenever he does so.  Then, he likes to look at the pictures and will very sweetly say to me,  "Awwww, Cuuute!!"

Max and Sam have developed a new way to watch TV...

Actually, Sam thinks Max is the coolest kid ever and always wants to be next to his big brother, doing whatever he's doing.  If Max is doing weird calisthenics on the sofa, well then Sam is, too.  

The sofa is like a big jungle gym for the boys.  If they aren't jumping or running on it, then they are wrestling. They have a lot of fun together...

Cute little Jack wearing daddy's hat...

Max had a little Christmas program at his preschool where they sang a few songs in their pajamas.  Paul and I could tell they had been practicing a couple of weeks beforehand as Max would suddenly, and randomly, belt out the chorus to "Go Tell it on the Mountain."  It was really cute.  Unfortunately, on the day of the big performance he was a little embarrassed by all of the attention focused on his little class and didn't really "bring it".  In fact, he looked pretty miserable up there singing Christmas Carols and it was obvious that he just wanted the production to be over.

Perhaps he was so ready to be done with the program because he knew that after preschool we were headed to Vermont!   Little did he know how long and miserable the drive would be.  Thank goodness for the minivan!  (Have I mentioned yet how much I LOVE my minivan?  I LOVVVVE my minivan.  I never ever EVER thought I would say that, but it is one of the best life-simplifying things out there. It may not be the coolest to look at, but it makes my life with three little kids so much easier.  I can't believe that I tried so hard to talk Paul out of it--thank goodness he didn't listen to me!)  Anyway, the boys all did great on the long trip, but we were all very relieved once we reached Mimi's house.

The boys love their Auntie Joey...

And their Mimi...

And of course their cousin Koa...

This was our third year of spending Christmas in Vermont, and was the best as far as lack of snow goes.  It started snowing shortly after our arrival and between warmish days and snowy nights, there was always a nice 3-4 inches on the ground--very manageable to the kids.  Other years the snow has been so deep it was a chore just getting outside. 

Koa was a pro on the green saucer...

Paul even had a little snow fun...

We even got to see Uncle Chuck and Aunt Lisa--they stopped in for lunch on Christmas Eve.

Then of course there is the tradition of opening a gift from mom and dad on Christmas Eve...

 Surprise, surprise... Matching pajamas!!

My FOUR (holy cow!) handsome boys...

Christmas morning...

Of course the boys woke up much earlier than we would have liked (because they do that every day...), and of course we made them wait while we got up, used the bathroom, brushed our teeth, got coffee--all of those tedious things I remember my parents forcing us to wait through--sheer torture!!  They were just about as patient as anyone could expect a four and two-year-old to be. 

I have to include this picture because it showcases my pretty Christmas present.  The boys gave me this gorgeous necklace--pendants engraved with each of the boys names and respective birthstones.  It was just what I wanted.  In fact, I got a lot of awesome jewelery this Christmas!

The boys slept in the same room at Mimi's, but they each had their own twin bed.  When we went to check on them one night, Max had crawled into Sammy's bed, and they had actually fallen asleep together.  It was so sweet that we couldn't help but risk disturbing their slumber by snapping a few photos...

After four fun and festive nights spent at Mimi's house, we returned home to find that Santa had also left a few presents for us in West Chester.

Then, just like that the holidays were over and it was back to real life. Except--we had daddy home with us!  Paul had saved most of his vacation time in case we needed it after Jack was born, then had so many days left at the end of the year that he ended up with 2 solid weeks off.  It was so nice to have him home for so long.  The weather was also spectacular.  We were hanging out at parks and playing outside with little more than a sweater on during the last week of 2011...

We celebrated New Year's Eve with Chinese and Sushi takeout.  Max actually tried sushi for the first time and liked it so well he had three more pieces.  Definitely a chip off the old block...

 Jack preferred the spicy salmon roll...

What a great year!!