Random December pictures

I have been a bad blogger this month! I've been too busy enjoying my babies and trying to keep up with them to have time for much blogging. So, this is a hodge podge of pictures from our December fun!

Ben with his new "farm" that he has been begging Grandma for since Thanksgiving.  He was THRILLED and plays with it all the time.

Ben as a donkey in the kid's Christmas pageant at church.  Nico was a sheep but the only pictures of him have other people's children so I can't post those.

Not sure why this pic keeps turning itself sideways even after I edited it, but this is Ben with his (Guatemalan) stocking.  He got some rockin' dino magnets in it and was so interested in those I was sure he would open any presents after that!

Ben and the big boys (Drew on the left, Tony on the right) opening gifts.  Ben was too cool for sitting with Mommy this year-he had to join the big boy crew :-)

Ben and Nico at the Indiana State Museum

The little boys and Tony playing at the new train table.  Notice the giant amount of books, toys, etc in the background?  My living room looks like a toy store exploded most of the time.

Drew, Ben, and Nico riding the LS Ayres train at the Indiana State Museum.  It's a replica of a train that used to be at the downtown LS Ayres store back in the day.  They each got a paper snowflake and a story about each person being unique.  Ben loved it!

Haircut

Okay, so I caved.  It wasn't because others thought I should.  It wasn't because everyone thought he was a girl.  It was because it had become virtually impossible to keep it tangle free and clean.  The ends were tying themselves in knots that were difficult to get out on a squirmy baby who doesn't sit still.  And don't even get me started on the amount of food and such that ended up in his hair.  So, I decided to take the plunge and get it cut.  What do you think?

Before

During

Can you see how upset he was about getting his hair cut?

After

Who knew all of those curls were hiding under there?  (Well, I sort of did since it was like this when he was a newborn, but I thought it was just baby curls!)  Unfortunately as it dries it gets less curly and more poofy, so we are working on that now.  It was far less traumatic for me than I expected.  I cried like a baby when Ben got his first haircut because he suddenly looked like a little boy instead of a baby.  Nico actually looks younger to me, so less trauma for this momma!

FFF-Christmas Colors

I'm not sure that the pics I'm posting really fit the theme, but they are my favorites from this week, so I'm using them anyway! We have had a busy week-one day at Chuck E. Cheese, one day at the Eiteljorg Jingle Rails exhibit, and one day at the Children's Museum. Busy, but fun!

This is at the Children's Museum.  This is the face Ben makes when I tell him not to smile.  Cracks me up!

Ben loves this giant snow globe and that he could push a button to start the snow.

This is Nico's "cheesy grin" that he does when he is trying to be extra cute or get someone's attention. And it works like a charm every time :-)

And this is Nico's look of awe over something he saw or heard.  So sweet!

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10 months!

I can hardly believe that Nico is already 10 months old!  Where did that time go?  What happened to my itty bitty newborn?  The past 10 months have flown by in a whirlwind of smiles, giggles, and general chaos that comes from having 2 boys 2 and under and I would not change a thing.  Nico is the happiest, silliest, most giggly baby I have ever known.  He is quick with a smile for anyone who smiles at him.  He laughs at everything his brother does.  He gives big, wet, open mouth kisses every time I pick him up.  He says Mama, Dada, Bubba, and book all the time.  He calls his cousin Drew "roo" and gets sooo excited any time one of the "big boys" picks him up.  He LOVES to eat and can put away more food than you can imagine in that tiny little body.  He went from being 95th% at birth to being 23rd% at 9 months for weight, but it isn't because he doesn't eat!  He crawls everywhere these days and can almost keep up with big brother (which is ALWAYS his goal!).  He can now pull up on furniture, walls, brother, or anything else he can get his hands on and just in the past few days he has started cruising up and down the couch.  He has 3 teeth all the way in (all on the bottom!) and has 3 more peeking through up top as of today.  His hair is CRAZY and I love it that way!  It is always in his face and it doesn't bother him one bit.  He has the shiniest, sparkliest eyes I have ever seen and he knows how to use those eyes and eyelashes to wrap Mommy around his little finger.  He jabbers non-stop all day long and imitates any sound he hears someone else make.  He can moo like a cow, howl like a wolf, growl like a lion, roar like a dinosaur, etc all because Ben taught him!  He is, in short, absolute perfection!  While I am already missing those tiny baby days, I cannot wait to see what the future will hold for this sweet angel I am blessed to call my son!

Crazy hair!

Sweet giggles

Blowing kisses

Big boy!

Mommy loves and adores you very much, Nicolas Sebastian!  You are another dream come true!

Overflowing with Thanks and Blessings!

I have been blessed beyond measure in so many ways! My life is overflowing with love, happiness, and blessings that I'm absolutely certain are more than I deserve! Thank You, God, for allowing me to experience those blessings anyway.

Ben, my first born son, I ADORE your daredevil personality! You tackle anything and everything the world throws at you with a zest for life and adventure that I admire. You're only 2 years old, but you think you could climb Mount Everest, and I'm sure some day you might just do it! You run full tilt from one dangerous and crazy thing to another, just stopping long enough to give me that precocious grin on the way past. Very, very few things are scary to you-which is scary to me as your Mommy! I am so very thankful that you have taught me to be more patient, to realize that I'd rather have a happy son then a spotless house, and to look at the world with a new viewpoint-from 3 feet off the ground and with wonder in my eyes. I love watching your high-flying, crazy antics.

And I love kissing your boo-boos when your latest stunt (balancing on the very corner of a box of diaper wipes on one foot) goes wrong and you end up with a black eye!

Nico, my darling second son, you are a ray of sunshine in my life! You are always quick with a big grin and a happy laugh whenever you see me. I am always amazed at how happy you really are. When you see me, your eyes light up and you reach for me-every single time, without fail. I love that you love me even half as much as I love you. This year you have grown and changed so much-going from a little newborn who slept all day to this busy boy who follows me EVERYWHERE, crawling as fast as you can go. My hope for you is that you will always be as happy and bubbly as you are now. Every time you put your head on my shoulder or give me one of your famous messy kisses, my heart melts a little more for you. Thank you for your sweet, precious smile, my darling Bitty Boo!

I am so thankful for the relationship my sweet boys are developing!  I see the love and laughter between them, and it makes my heart happy.  I love the way Nico stares at Ben with absolute adoration. And the way Ben looks out for Nico (although sometimes he is a bit overprotective-he always sits Nico back down when he pulls up!).  I love nothing more than hearing their giggles coming from the living room as I wash dishes in the kitchen-even though that almost always means I need to see what mischief they are up to!  I love how Ben shares everything he is thinking/seeing with Nico-"Look, Nico!  I see an airplane!-as we are driving in the car.  I love how they hold hands sitting side by side in the double stroller.  I love how Ben can make Nico giggle louder and longer than anyone else.  I love how Nico brings out the tender, gentle, protective side of his otherwise daredevil brother.  I love that they have each other to love and grow up with.

I'm thankful for another set of precious brothers, too.  (Although they might not appreciate being called precious!)  These are my nephews, Tony and Drew.  I don't often write about them or post their pictures because I try to respect their privacy.  But, on Thanksgiving, when I'm writing about blessings, I can't leave them out.  These two boys came to live with me after my sister (their mom) died.  It was a terrible, and wonderful, time in our lives.  They were grieving and mourning their mom and sister, and I was grieving and mourning my sister and niece.  I had also been struggling with the fact that we had no children and knew that we were going to adopt but did not yet have the means of doing so.  Somehow, we muddled through it all.  These boys are resilient-they have taken what the world threw at them, dealt with it, and come out the other side as better people because of it.  Even though parenting 2 traumatized teenagers has not always been easy, I would not have it any other way.  These boys are every bit as loved as my sons, and every bit as worth it all.  I count them as a huge blessing in my life.

Tony and Drew, I know you lost much on that day in September 2004. We all did, and you two more than any of us.  But, I want you to know that I feel like I also GAINED much that day.  You have made my life better in so many ways and I love you both more than life itself.

And, of course, I cannot forget to talk about my amazing husband, Will.  He is, without a doubt, a better husband than I deserve.  He works hard for our family to allow me to be home with the kids.  He is a hands-on Daddy who always has time for our boys when they need him.  He still spoils me with little gifts and gestures even though we've been married for 10 years now (and dated for 3 years before that!).  He supports me in everything I want to do.  And lets not forget that he ALWAYS washes the dishes when he is home :-) 

Will, I am so thankful that I have you in my life. And that you are such a great father to our sons and uncle to our boys too.  You could have refused to raise Tony and Drew, but it never occurred to you to do anything except step up  to the plate and love them like your own.  You are an amazing daddy to our boys-all 4 of them, even though only 2 call you Daddy.  I love that you are so hands-on with them.  I love to watch you playing with them, reading to them, and teaching them.  I really hit the jackpot when I found you.  Thank you for being such a great husband and dad!  I love you.

I can't end this post without also saying thank you to God for his Son, Jesus, without whom my life would be meaningless.  Thank You, Lord, for choosing to care about me and my life.  Thank You for loving me in spite of my sins and imperfections.  Thank You for blessing me with life overflowing with love.  Thank You for being my Savior.

Hair

Okay.  I admit it.  I have a problem.  I absolutely ADORE Nico's hair just like it is.  Everyone thinks he is a girl everywhere we go.  He actually got called "Princess" at the mall last week.  Most people keep telling me he needs a haircut.  I KNOW logically that he probably does look a bit girly with this hair.  But, in spite of all of that, I just can't bring myself to cut it yet.  I keep thinking of things that we need to do first-first it was waiting until after we  visited his birthmom (we did that in October) then it was waiting until we did his 9 month pictures (we had those done this week) and now I'm trying to think up some other reason to put it off!  I just can't picture him without this crazy, wavy, messy head of hair that I love so much!  So, at least for now, I'll just keep telling everyone, "Thanks, but he's a boy!" when they tell me how pretty he is!  Maybe when he's one we'll cut it....or maybe not!

FFF-Fall Fun

We've been having lots of fun this fall-although not all of it looks like "Fall Fun"!  Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Ben at the Apple Works Orchard, petting the goats

Ben at the Apple Works-right after the goat butted him for not having any more food!

Nico in the pumpkins

Ben "riding" a swing horse at Russell Farms pumpkin patch

Nico in the midst of prairie dog town at the Houston Zoo-he loved crawling up the tunnels!

Nico helping Daddy feed the dolphins at Sea World San Antonio

Ben feeding the dolphins at Sea World!  This was the greatest experience for him.

Ben playing in the trees at Anderson Orchard

This is typical of when I try to get a picture of both boys-Nico is looking at the camera and smiling while Ben does something totally goofy and off the wall!  Love it!  (This is at Apple Works as well)

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