Christmas 2012

The boys love decorating for Christmas! As soon as Thanksgiving is over, they're asking to get out the decorations. Actually, what they love is tearing through the storage bins, throwing things everywhere, then playing Legos while I place it all. Despite the chaos, it's fun to see their excitement. 

Picking out the tree is always another chaotic adventure. The rows of neatly arranged trees look like a labyrinth that invites exploring. As soon as we enter, they begin chasing each other. To end the commotion before they crash into a person or tree, I quickly grab the closest one. This year I didn't realize until we got home that it had a distinct tilt to the right. 

The Leaning Tree of Christmas

This was a year when the Moehn side of the family got together for Christmas in Arizona. The boys were excited to see their cousins again and everyone got along well. They especially liked playing with the babies.

All the cousins. It was close to impossible to get them all still for this picture! (Cole, Luc, Sophia, Jay, and Noah.)

Cole and Noah snuggling.

Jay and Sophia dressed for dinner.

We went on a beautiful desert hike.

A big tarantula decided to say hello. He blended into the path so well that we almost stepped on him.

Thanksgiving 2012

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with Yingy and Grandpa Pat. They were able to stay the entire week that the boys had off from school. We had a delicious feast with lots of wine in delicate new Riedel glasses since the set Dad bought his last visit had all been broken. We had a few close calls with the new glasses when ninja warriors, jedi masters, and karate fighters fought fierce battles in the family room. One night we got a babysitter and went into Charleston for a wonderful dinner at Husk, my new favorite restaurant. The best part of the meal was the gluten-free corn bread! We also went to the Hunley Museum. The Hunley is a Civil War submarine that was the first sub to successfully sink a battleship. None of the men on board survived and the sub had been lost at sea until it was discovered in 1995. The history and conservation methods are fascinating. Overall, there was much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving!

The Master Chef

Jay (and multiple glasses of wine)

I may never get a decent picture of Cole again!

Climbing into the full-scale model of the Hunley

Inside the Hunley

Mother's Day 2012

I received many hugs, kisses, and artwork from the boys for Mother's Day. Jay's gift included a song...

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.

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!

Christmas in Arizona (Part II)

We had a wonderful time in Scottsdale for Part Two of our Christmas. Grandma put up three trees--one for each grandkid. The big tree belonged to Cole; the medium tree belonged to Jay; and the little one to baby Sophia. A remote control turned on the lights and the boys loved pushing the button every evening. Unfortunately, they couldn't always remember where they put it, so we had to launch a few full-scale searches.

Of course, the best part of the trip for the boys was the presents! Jay's favorite was the jump castle from Grandma and Grandpa. It came in a nice, big box, which he liked as well. When someone asked him what he received, he answered, "A big box!!" We now have the jump castle in our family room until it warms up outside. Although such funishings have never been featured in Better Homes and Gardens, I think it adds a nice touch.Cole's favorite present was a rocket with detachable boosters and two astronauts. Once he opened it, he ceased to pay attention to anything anyone else did (it made a wonderful accessory to his space shirt).

The pool was another highlight. Last summer both boys were a bit tentative in our neighborhood pool. What a difference six months make! They were like little fish! Jay prefered to stay near the step. Cole hooked his arms over noodles and paddled all around, chasing the Creepy Crawler that cleans the bottom of the pool. I think they would have stayed in the pool all day. They also loved the waterfall that turned on at five o'clock. So did we because that was when the first bottle of wine was uncorked!

Christmas in South Carolina (Part I)

I've been procrastinating with the Christmas entries because so much happened. Posting it all seemed rather daunting. I finally realized that to wait any longer would just be lame.

We celebrated Christmas Eve at our home, then traveled to Arizona on Christmas Day. Santa knew our plans and visited our house a night early. We put reindeer food on the lawn so Rudolf would know the right house.

The boys' excitement was infectious!

It's FINALLY Christmas!!

Making Cookies for Santa

Enjoying Santa's Cookies

Did Santa Come??

YES!!

Taking a Bite out of the Big Apple

Because Cole loves buildings and Jay is always up for an adventure, we ventured into NYC during our Thanksgiving visit to Rob's hometown. The boys were ecstatic that the day began with their first real train ride, complete with tickets and a conductor. As we passed the 5- or 6-story buildings in the suburbs, Cole kept asking, "Is that a skyscraper? What about that one? Is that one?" His excitment was contagious. I couldn't wait to see his expression when he gazed at a true skyscraper. After arriving at Grand Central Station, we headed down 5th Avenue. (No, Cole, they didn't name the station after Geotrax.) Our first stop was the public library for a picture with the famed lions. We went inside to admire the beautiful building and to use the nicest public restrooms I knew about in the area.
Next stop was one of the ubiquitous street vendors for hotdogs and pretzels. No visit to New York would be complete without a tasty vendor treat!
And, finally, the pièce de résistance : The top of the Empire State Building! Jay seemed more interested in the pigeons, but Cole was excited to see some of the famous buildings shown in a skyscraper book we have. (I'm not sure why Jay decided to play dead for the photo.)

As we walked back up 5th Ave at dusk, I thought about visiting Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas tree and ice skaters, then I decided it was already a full day for the boys' first trip to the Big Apple. (A wise decision, I just learned, because the tree wasn't lit until a couple days ago.) Instead, the boys got to experience rush hour at Grand Central Station from stroller height.

Yes, I caved.

Cole and Jay are now the proud and delighted owners of Geotrax Grand Central Station, otherwise known as preschool crack. The next day Cole declared, with a crazed look in his eyes, "I NEED MORE!"

The Quest for GeoTrax

Cole has discovered his Holy Grail of toys, his Red Ryder Model Air Rifle. It is called Geotrax, and he can no longer live without it. I swear, he has thought about that remote control train system every moment since he first laid eyes on it.

His relentless campaign begins each morning as soon as we wake ("Mommy, can we go to the store today and buy Geotrax?"); and continues far after his bedtime ("Mommy said that maybe I'll get Geotrax for Christmas and I can't sleep!") At first, his earnestness was enduring. He has never wanted anything this badly before. But now, it is wearing on me.

The reasons he dreams up to go shopping are far too clever for a four-year old:

• "We should go to Target to get Jay new shoes and, while we're there, we could check if they have Geotrax."
• "I want to use all the pennies in my piggy bank for something new."
• "We don't have to wait for Christmas. We could get them now."
• "Jay wants them too. We should get them for him."

I have to admire his tenacity. He reminds me of the pigeon in Mo Willems books, especially The Pigeon Wants a Puppy: "I WANT A PUPPY! RIGHT HERE! RIGHT NOW!"

One benefit of this obseesion is that the boys are playing with our Thomas trains everyday (poor Thomas was getting quite dusty and lonely). The tracks are spread across our family room rug, and each new layout is bigger and more complicated than the last. I love the Thomas toys and their old-fashioned looks and ageless sensibilities. I'm not sure I want to replace them with a Fisher-Price, plastic, noisy, battery-eating train set.

After some reseach, however, I have to admit that there are advantages to Geotrax. For one thing, the Thomas tracks link together only one way, which inevitably leads to two open ends facing each other (my best solution so far has been to tape the pieces together--utterly unacceptable to a purist like Cole). Geotrax tracks, on the other hand, join together on either side, so no need for tape. They also seems to lock together tighter. The Thomas tracks break apart quite easily, which can be quite frustrating with a little brother who likes to sit on the tracks.

I even see advantages to the remote controls. Now that the layouts are becoming more elaborate, it's harder for Cole to reach the far tracks. We bought a train table last year for that reason, but he hardly uses it. Despite how much room the table takes up, it isn't big enough for the layouts he wants to create. With the remote control, he wouldn't knock over bridges or break the tracks trying to reach the other side.

***Update to the first draft (because he can't read yet)***

I convinced myself with the previous paragraphs and bought Geotrax Grand Central Station. Now that I have it in my possession, it's burning the proverbial hole in my closet. Can I hold out until Christmas? Waiting will be hard, especially since I know it would occupy him for hours and that means FREE TIME for me. However, I hear Super Nanny's voice in my head saying it would be a good lesson in patience and the futility of expecting instant gratification.

Perhaps we'll give it to him in New York so he can play with it the week we're there for Thanksgiving. Besides, I suspect Pop Pop will want to play with it too.

Happy Halloween

Halloween is one of the boys' favorite holidays. This year it was even more special with a visit from Grandma Carlene, aka Yingy (no, I don't have any idea how Jay came up with that moniker).

The festivities started with my friend Holly's costume party the week before Halloween (for the kids, not the grown-ups). She set up her sons' Geotrax trains in her living room, and Cole spent the entire time there. He skipped playing outside with the other boys, watching a Mickey Mouse video, and dinner. The only time he left his station was when the cake was served. I'm afraid he is going to ask for a set of Geotrax. It's a great system, but I don't want to get into it since we have baskets of Thomas tracks and trains that rarely get used.

On Halloween the kids weren't allowed to wear their costumes to preschool; instead they were asked to dress as their favorite character in a book (who does the administration think they are fooling?). Cole was an astronaut again this year (click here to see last year's pictures) and brought the book Quasers, Pulsars, and Black Holes from the Isaac Asimov Library of the Universe series (remember those, Dawn?). The book is for much older kids and I got a kick out of seeing it next to princess and Spiderman books. Jay was a fireman and wore his hat backwards all day, as he always does with hats (click here and here to see some of his other backward-hat styles).

That afternoon we went to a party at a classmate of Cole's. Apparently John informed his parents that he was having a Halloween party for all his friends. They assumed he would forget the idea, but the next day he invited all the boys in the class and talked about it nonstop. For a last-minute party hosted by a four-year-old, it was a lot of fun and thoroughly exhausted the boys. (This time Cole spent most of the time playing with motorcycles that loaded onto a truck, missing pumpkin painting, dinner, and the pinata.)

Trick or Treating went quickly this year. After five houses, they were done. I was worried about getting them to bed, but both fell asleep rather quickly as mom and I finished a bottle of wine (after that day, we needed a treat too).

The Boys and their Toys

A sign that the boys are getting older: They liked the toys they recieved more than the wrapping paper, ribbons, and bows.

Christmas Concert

Cole's preschool gave a Christmas concert. His class sang two songs, "Jingle Bells" and an Elvis inspired "You Ain't Nothin' But a Reindeer" and recited two cute poems. During the first song, Cole put too much jingle into his bells and hit the girl next to him in the face. It was hysterical. The other funny part was the dancing during the Elvis song. Cole just swayed back in forth to his own rhythm. I can see we are going to have to work on that before those jr high dances.

Decorating the Tree

We had a lot of fun decorating the tree with the boys. Jay loved the lights while Cole had a blast getting the ornaments out of the boxes ("Ooh, look at this one!"), but the favorite decoration was the train that ran along a track around the middle of the tree. This year we decided not to put gates around the tree hoping Jay was old enough to understand "Don't touch!" He was. The tree remained standing (and still is. Hopefully this weekend I'll have time to take it down).