Christmas 2009

This Christmas we made our first gingerbread house. Unfortunately, Jayzilla broke the first one and we had to rebuild. (It was actually my fault--the house joints weren't quite dry and the frosting was across the table from him.) The replacement was delicious!

Jay also had fun wrapping the presents. Cousin Leo was the lucky recipient of this one:

Wrapping was so much fun, he just couldn't stop! (In case you can't tell, the taped-up object is his pair of scissors.)

The boys couldn't wait to see what was in this big box. It was the Geotrax airplane, which is a nice addition to our Geoland. Cole still loves his Geotrax.

Transformers were also big this year. Unfortunately, it wasn't clear online that there are different levels of difficulty and I bought the most difficult. Even an engineering background didn't help with this one. Santa must have seen Jay wrapping presents. He knew exactly what the boys needed.

Cole was very happy with his new Gears kit.

Jay's Time Saving Idea

Jay had a brilliant idea for when you have a runny nose and are too busy to keep wiping it. I think he may be on to something!

Halloween 2009

Yes, it is a Halloween post in June. Since I've started selling Usborne children's books, I have even less free time. But I love to do it. I set up book fairs in preschools and elementary schools and get to talk about my favorite thing--books!! I decided to start because I wanted to get a discount for myself, but once I started selling, I realized I really like it. (My website is www.theUsborneAdvantage.com.)

This Halloween, the boys were Spiderman and Optimus Prime, otherwise known as "Octimus" Prime, which Cole insists is his name. The Spiderman costume had puffy chest muscles, and when Cole saw them, he said, "Spiderman has boobies!" I bet Spiderman's creators never imagined those words would be said!

This year, Yingy was visiting, which was great fun. We were lucky enough to score a ride on our neighbor's golf cart. A lot of people in the neighborhood have golf carts, and we made quite a procession. The boys lasted a lot longer without having to walk, and they were thrilled to be able to cover more of the neighborhood. Some people really get into the spirit and dress up and decorate their houses. It was fun to be able to visit all those houses, which would have been impossible on foot.

As soon as we got home, the boys began planning for next year!