Visit with the Dubes.....

Our eldest son's (Alec) Godparents (Regis and Laurie) made the trek to our place to exchange gifts and spend some time during the holidays. It turned out to be quite an adventurous visit with Auntie Laurie, Uncle Regis and their gorgeous son, RJ--the next American Idol and Mariah Carey fan du jour!

RJ teaches Princess Abby how to sing 'Jingle Bells'--his version!

And then Abby shares her version--a mighty scaled-down and shortened version. :)

Opening presents....

Opening gifts on Christmas--a time honored tradition that we of course want to share with our children. This year, Princess Abs understood the pleasure and enjoyment that comes from ripping apart paper-covered items--to reveal a surprise contents within. It took us from 9:30 - 5:30 to open our gifts--and honestly, there were not that many to start. Wait until 5 years from now. It'll all be over in less than 5 minutes--regardless of how many items are left by Santa. We're savoring the moments....

Merry 'Cellulitis' (okay, Christmas!)....

Christmas and Santa Claus have both arrived at our home--and we couldn't be more thrilled that he believed all our little munchkins to be 'good' and therefore left many wonderful gifts underneath our Christmas tree! We enjoyed a beautifully sunny, white Christmas--and even King Tony received unexpected gifts from Santa this year! He must have been extra good.

We were late risers this year--which is unusual given that Princess Abs is otherwise awake at 4:30 a.m.--so gift unwrapping commenced much later--around 9:00 a.m.! Unbelievable--and a sweet gift for Wendy and Tony who never get to sleep--let alone sleep IN! :) Alas, the photos below (and forthcoming video) showcase the pleasure of Christmas morning at our digs. The only glitch in our day was uncovering a lovely little surprise on Alec's calf--the onset of cellulitis. Now making its third appearance on our twins, we knew exactly what to do (thank goodness)--catching it early and within two days, it was like it never happened. So, while there was a momentary 'Merry Cellulitis,' it returned to Merry Christmas quickly, and we hope all those that enjoy our blog had a lovely holiday!

Our annual ornament. Since Tony and Wendy met, we've collected one Christmas ornament each year to become part of our personal collection. This year's was a gorgeous sled with the names of all our kiddies on snowflakes. :)

Everyone enjoys the opening of Christmas presents--even King Tony!!

And finally, the dreaded 'cellulitis' dot! It came, we conquered. It's gone. Priceless!

Just hanging with the boys....

Christmas is almost here and the boys, Abby and their parents have been enjoying pre-holiday preparations and traditions including cooking baking, present wrapping, watching Home Alone, reading Christmas cards and listening to Harry Connick, Jr.'s Christmas CD. As we enjoy the newly fallen snow, we also capture precious moments with our little guys as they troll through their toy chests--already overflowing with goodies--and figure out new ways to hide from mom and dad (underneath the kitchen table, the baby grand piano and inbetween furniture). Crazy boys...!

Snowstorm #2....

New England is now getting pelted by another snow storm (warnings, expecting another 8-12 inches, etc.) but for us, we're taking full advantage of the white stuff since it is, afterall, nearly Christmas!! We're a snow-loving family. We ski, we sled, we generally just like four seasons--and winter is one of them. It may not be our favorite, but if you live in the northeast, there's no option but to enjoy it for the few months you have it. So, we are.....

Daddy and his munchkins....sledding.....The boys seems to enjoy the snow!

A view from our doorstep. It's snowing pretty good, but

we reside in a lovely area...

Accumulation so far....not bad!!! More is on the way today! And, for those who follow our blog, we did experience additional sled 'tipping' moments with our sons as well. For some reason that red sled doesn't like to stay on its bottom. The boys enjoyed it much more than Abby did (reminder of past sled uses: http://kingdomandcastle.blogspot.com/2008/01/wintertime-in-new-england.html ) but Abby has found her toboggan, and that is a sled she can warm to. :)

Learning Spanish...

We wanted our international, Spanish-speaking relatives to know that yes, we are in fact encouraging the education about and use of a diverse array of languages. As of today, we speak English and use sign language, but upon Tony's return from Colombia, more Spanish has started to crop into our daily conversations. In the video above, note that even the toys our children play with have a Spanish language component--further encouraging use of a third language. We hope it will make our relatives even more happy to note that the kids PREFER to play with the toys on the 'Spanish' setting. Who would have thought--azul, verde, naranja VIVA!!

Auntie Sings So Sweet....

Abby's Godfather was last year caught on tape--dancing--which is simply something he doesn't do much of EVER! So, it was equally as enjoyable to us to catch Abby's Godmother on tape--singing children's songs as Abby stood mesmerized beside her. This was a moment to be captured as Auntie Abra has a lovely voice, but doesn't often let her inner child come out. Only with very special people does she show this side--and we're honored that it is with our darling daughter (and her God daughter) that she decided to 'let lose.' We love our Auntie Abra!!

Stop, thief!!

Our sons know exactly what they are doing. I figured it out. It's not dumb luck that they know the exact tone of cry to shrill when they need food or a hug. It's not innate to them to know how to give 'puppy dog eyes' when they are trying to get out of a reprimand for something they did that they shouldn't. Bottom line, they are smart. Alas, we now have to worry that our sons will be bank robbers as Aramis was caught on film stealing his sister's pants. Why? Who knows? Maybe because they wanted to see if they could get away with it. Maybe they simply wanted to teach her a lesson. Either way, we now know that our kids are smarty pants--and regardless of the color or materials--it's all about the pants!

Christmas fun begins....

Well, we made it through Thanksgiving, although all of us remain stuffed to the gills with turkey and stuffing. Thanks to a few well-deserved days off, we've been able to initiate pre-holiday festivities including chopping down and decorating our Christmas tree, getting out our holiday cards and decorating the house! This year, we're using the beautifully handcrafted advent calendar gifted to us by Uncle Erick and Auntie Beth a few years ago. Abby enjoyed filling all the secret doors with candy for herself, Aramis, Alec, and Daddy.

"oh, the candy goes inside--and I can't eat it until when?????" (P.S. If you like Abby's shirt and may be interested in purchasing one for your little guy or girl, visit http://www.ohsewkids.com/. Our neighbors, Renee Metsch and Dawn Simpson founded the company and design adorable, personalized items--perfect for the holidays!)