Christmas Card 2010

Dear Friends and Family,

We are thinking of you during this special time of year. Last year on Christmas day we welcomed Charlie into our family and things haven't been the same since. He stays busy crawling around chasing after Edmond and foraging for forgotten toys and food. Every now and then we pick him up, clean him off, give him kisses, and play with him a bit. He is our very special Christmas blessing and we love him dearly.

Edmond is two. He is great at being an older brother. He is a very sweet and playful boy and has lots of friends. He loves to ride his bike, do puzzles, sing songs, yell, and play with Daddy.

Brian just accepted a new job offer. He has a much shorter commute and we love having him around more often. He is a wonderful father and loves playing with his boys.

Jessica stays busy caring for the boys, cleaning up messes, and cooking meals. She loves being a wife and mother. When she has time she also enjoys sewing, blogging, reading, internet surfing, and long walks on the beach. (Well, we don't live by a beach, but if we did, she'd walk on it.)

Charlie's Birthday

Sweet Charlie. We sang to you on your birthday. Amidst all the hustle and bustle of Christmas day, we presented you with a brownie cupcake and put a candle in it. You looked around at all of us and smiled. Then Edmond blew out the candle for you.

We let you eat the entire cupcake.

It was awesome.

Little one-year-old Charlie has lots of tricks up his sleeve. He can say three words. Banana (a-na-na-na), Mamma, and "Ow" (he does this while he pulls on the chest hair that comes out of the top of B's shirt).

He loves his Daddy. He always wants him. He loves to push cars around the house. He is almost walking. He's skinny like his brother, I'm not sure what percentil he's in since I don't take my babies to the doctor much, but I'm sure he's on the smaller side.

Happy Birthday!

Candy Houses

The night before we left for Utah we managed to squeeze in our candy houses.

We did our standard candy outhouse for Edmond.

Chase with his masterpiece.

My favorite this year was the frosted flake roof.

Tanner and his triangle house.

Christmas Morning

We celebrated Christmas early at our house this year. We did it the Saturday before Christmas since we'd be in Utah for Christmas day and we didn't want to have to haul all our presents there and back.

The boys were sooo excited.

Edmond loves to do puzzles. He got about 9 puzzles for Christmas.

Play dough is the best gift. So cheap and Edmond just loves it.

Merry Christmas to all!

2010 Family Pictures

We had some family pictures taken. The boys were distracted by the nearby train station, and we were distracted by our boys, so there is no "clear winner" as to which picture is the best. At least the boys look cute in all of them.

Feed the Birds

When I woke up and saw that the sun was shining I knew I would need to get outside and feel it's heat on my skin. This would entail an outing, i.e. leaving the house, i.e. seeing other grown ups. This prospect necessitated a little extra effort on my part. Therefore, I took a shower and got ready for the day. (No, this does not happen every day....What?.....So?)

We went to my favorite outdoor shopping center where our first stop was yummy bagels from Whole Foods. We ate them as we window shopped until Edmond noticed some little black birds. We threw them some bagel and they gobbled it up. The boys laughed and cheered. We continued until the birds had consumed the majority of the bagel. Greedy.



Then we rode the train.



Riding the train with my boys is one of the simplest, most joyful things on this earth. They. just. love. it.

Afterwards we spent some time at the little playground. Charlie is a wild man on the slide. He climbs up all by himself and then tries to go down face first. I have to climb up the slide to turn him around before he injures himself. Then he rides down feet first on his belly and giggles the whole way down.

Dear, sweet Charlie. Just looking at these pictures makes me want to go wake him up and squeeze and kiss him this very instant. What will I do in 10 years when I look at these pictures and feel the raging desire to squeeze and kiss my baby Charlie...and there's no baby Charlie? Will the 11 year old Charlie tolerate my need to squeeze and kiss?

Christmas 'Round Here

I took the boys to see Santa today. I waited in line like all the rest of the folks. When it was finally our turn I let Charlie crawl up the ramp to Santa. He was happy to be free from my restrictive clutches. He breathed and squawked his way right up to Santa's boots, where he stopped and then slowly looked up at the big man in red. Mr. Clause smiled down at him and waved one gloved finger. Charlie's grin faded, his eyes got wide, then the bottom lip began to quiver. Before I knew what was happening, the baby was wailing and the tears were pouring out of his eyes. Santa seemed acccustomed to Charlie's reaction and dutifully picked him up and turned the child around to face the camera. Charlie continued to cry with his mouth open wide while I hoisted Edmond's skinny bum onto Santa's lap, where he stared straight ahead with a dazed look on his face. Like some kid in the foster care system who's succombed to whatever misfortune has now come his way. And there they sat. Big ol' Santa with Edmond looking numb and Charlie screaming.

"Click" they took the picture.

They offered it to me for $20. I raised an eyebrow and shook my head.

I probably should have splurged.

So when I got home I drew my version:

That's Where I Got Locked in the Baffroom, Mom.

I was on a mission to find a nice baby shower gift. I let the boys play in the kid area while I browsed the racks in the little boutique store. It was a tiny shop. I listened to them play as I kept one eye on the only exit. It wasn't long before I was knee deep in child-size red suspenders, shimmery pink tutus, and sky blue Sunday dresses. I was absorbed with my own indecisiveness when I heard a child crying from far, far away.

"Poor little guy," I thought to myself as I held up a red polka dot dress and tilted my head to examine it closer.

Time passed.

The crying continued.

I looked over at the play area. No Edmond. I turned around and looked at the bathroom door. As I walked toward it the crying child's voice got louder.

It was my child.

I opened the door and scooped him up. "Oh, baby! Did you get locked in the bathroom?"

"Yes." He rubbed his eyes and cried some more.

"Oh!" (cue Mother's Guilt) "I'm sorry!"



No one remember's things better than Edmond. Now every time we drive by the little boutique store he points and says, "That's where I got locked in the baffroom, Mom."

Family. Isn't it About Time?

Some moments in life seem almost too perfect to be real. While we were at the park the other day I saw a Dad playing with his kids under a tree that was shedding yellow leaves. (You can see him behind the slide in the picture above.) He was shaking the branches to make the leaves fall while his children danced underneath. I felt like I was watching one of those Mormon commercials. "Family. Isn't it about time?"

Edmond, on the other hand, was a scene out of a bandaid commercial. I've never seen him fall down and cry so much in one play session. And it's not a sad little whimper of a cry...it's a scream that makes your fingernails itch and prompts people to turn to see who is poking the two-year-old with 100 tiny needles. But maybe that's just me.

B has been in Chicago all week for work. We all miss him. I will not dwell on my lack of sleep and frazzled nerves. But I will say that I am done done done being a single mom.