Happy Christmas

We had such fun Christmas celebrations with our family this year. My 2 little boys had a wild time with all of their cousins on the Sullivan side for Christmas Eve. And being the only grandchildren on the Furtado side, they enjoyed all the attention they got on Christmas day.  

Yes, a random photo, I know, but it's the only one of me I had on my camera... I thought I deserved my chance to shine!

Auntie Soozie enjoyed being home for a week to hang out with all her nephews and her niece. You can see Eli, Owen, Macoy, Bentley, Ryder, and Finn, and you can even see the back of Colie's head... what can I say, out of 12 photos this was the best I could get.  

Bentley looked so jolly in his "suspenders" and his red striped velvet pants. 

My new tradition: taking a photo of the kids and daddy coming down the stairs on Christmas morning. 

Thanks to my mom Bentley's stocking is finished and beautiful... sorry Ryder, maybe I'll convince granny to finish yours this year! Woops. 

Ryder was a little overwhelmed by the presents, but he was still so cute!

Daddy and B, bonding at last!

Ho Ho Ho! Happy Christmas!

holiday baking

This year the majority of the Christmas Eve desserts were created by yours truly. My sister, Jen, has made the ever daunting yet fantastic buche de noel in the past, but she relinquished control over to me for lack of energy on her part (with 3 little boys and one unknown on the way who would have the time?) So I attempted to perfect the yule log, and I'd like to think it was pretty good for a first go.

Here it is in all it's glory. The mushroom meringues were my most favorite part! I will definitely be making those again.

And of course I had to have my new favorite, bourbon pecan pie! Mmmmm. And a creamy pumpkin pie should always show up at the table. "There's a party in my tummy! So yummy! So yummy!" (too much Yo Gabba Gabba for me!)

I can always count on Ryder to eat my sugary concoctions!

Ho Ho Ho

I finally feel a little like it's Christmas.  This year everything came up so quickly that I hardly had time to notice the season! Sunday night we went to a kids Christmas party (though there was plenty for the adults to indulge in), and it was so much fun watching Ryder interact and enjoy the festivities. He even met Santa... but that was probably his least favorite part of the night! 

He was chasing this girl all night! Such a stud!

So handsome in his "neck-tie"!

Eating with all the other kids at their tiny table... adorable!

Here comes this big man himself. Ryder was intrigued at first...

But not enough to actually touch the jolly fellow!

Maybe next year!

A Christmas Tree For Toddlers

I never thought a tree could be such a hassle. Every year we get our tree on Thanksgiving weekend, which means we usually have it up and decorated for an entire month. The first day we got our tree I knew it wouldn't last an entire month in the hands of Ryder. I put it up on a table, and that only made it more appealing to him. It was knocked over 3 times before we even got the lights up. And once we did put the lights on, Ryder discovered that the pretty little flickers were all attached to a long cord that could be pulled off the tree. The tree fell down 3 more times! Then my ornaments turned into "balls" and the candy canes became "bats", and we had ourselves a holiday ball game! I got smart and took a tip from a fellow mom, Becky (her daughter is 2 weeks younger and just as mischievous as Ryder)! Enter the Superyard XT play gate! I've never enjoyed my tree more!

Back from maternity leave

I can't believe it's already been six weeks since I gave birth to my 2nd child! It's been a very busy but very fun and exciting time in our lives. I almost don't know where to begin...

I guess I'll start with Halloween.  Bentley was only 6 days old, so Dusty and I weren't up for much. Ryder on the other hand wasn't up for anything at all. We toted him over to his grannie and papas house in his costume, and he HATED it! I've never seen a child throw candy and scream as if it's the worst thing in the world. Leave it to my son to be the first. He was supposed to be a cheeseburger, but he lasted all of 30 seconds. Oh well, better luck next year!

 Bentley, of course, sat peacefully in his carseat the whole time without a peep.

 Despite Ryder's crankiness, we did manage to get a photo of all the cousins lined up (ok, all but one).

Halloween passed us by, but Ryder's crankiness continued. I guess it's hard learning to share your dad with a baby brother (he didn't seem to mind it when mommy was holding Bentley... such a man's man).

 And Baby B in turn began to learn how to cope in this new world of his...

 It's usually best to just fall asleep (or pretend in my case... ha)!

 He's a happy boy when he's cuddled and cozy!

Fast forward to Thanksgiving... I only took pictures of pies and turkey... what kind of mother am I? The day after Thanksgiving we did our annual tree hunt. We did it local this year, meaning we went to the somewhat rustic tree farm in Morgan Hill. I like to support local businesses, but at $60 a pop and with the tiniest selection, dare I say I won't return next year!?! But it was still worth it... Ryder had fun with everyone, especially his grannie and his cousin, Eli.

We did our best to get a family photo for the Christmas cards...

So we tried again...

Perhaps we won't do Christmas card this year!