the terrible you-know-whats

Today is Abe's 5th birthday. But I'm not blogging about that today. Because last week was Oscar's 2nd birthday, and I need to put up photos from that first.

Oscar had a terrible day on his 2nd birthday, and the days since have not been all that great. I think the only way he could be having great days right now would be if his only activities included listening to Baby Beluga on repeat, eating graham crackers, and having a "bath with bubbles and cups." All day long. I mean, those things do happen everyday, but there are all of these other things that need to happen in between, like getting dressed, leaving the house, getting in the stroller or car, holding hands while crossing the street, listening to something besides Baby Beluga so the rest of us don't light the cd player on fire, etc.

Nevertheless, he is adorable and chatty and oh-so-literate (books books all day long--that request is more fun for the rest of us). And he's two! I remember when Sam turned two I thought he was such a big kid. Now two is all baby for me.

decorating cupcakes


Happy Birthday! The candle photos did not turn out well, since a candle (still unlit) poked him in the eye right before singing. He took a couple of minutes to recover.


enjoying Aaron's homemade honey ice cream


beautiful baby

dreaming of warmer climes

Sorry I've been absent here. We've had a lot going on since our big trip over break. Broken pipe in the basement, RATS!!, a frozen pipe, did I mention RATS!!!? And by the way, it's way below freezing over here, and I'm not hardy enough to enjoy long treks in the ice (I had to look that up to make sure I didn't mean "hearty," but the "hardy" definition is correct: capable of enduring fatigue, hardship, exposure, etc.). My outdoor activity consists of rushing either to and from the kids' schools/babysitter or rushing to and from the car on my way to Wegman's or the gym. And now that the semester has started, rushing to and from the bus to Cornell. Anyway, I'll stop whining, and post some photos of our REALLY GREAT winter trip to California.

a literary event

Today Sam's class had their Authors' Celebration. The kids had worked very hard expanding and illustrating their stories, and you could tell. It was helpful to have the sound system, especially since a certain toddler was reading Polar Bear, Polar Bear very loudly to himself in the back of the room. And let me tell you, that teacher is a genius. She planned a dance party in the middle of the readings, just when the kids were getting extra-squirmy.

big kid

Oscar is now a big kid. Not a baby. Even though he walks around holding his arms out to Aaron and me demanding "Pick you up," he's definitely growing up.

Friday afternoon

Yesterday Sam and Abe and our neighbor Samuel disappeared upstairs, and after quite a while, I realized it was pretty quiet up there. Too quiet. So Oscar and I came up to investigate, and we found all three on the top bunk reading Garfield.

So that's who finds Garfield funny! I don't remember laughing at him even as a kid.

Oscar is wearing a shirt that his brothers both wore before him, and it was a hand-me-down to our family--that's the best kind of recycling.

Chanukamania

We had a short but packed trip to Boston to celebrate Chanukah with the Sachses and Gabors. Some highlights:

Sam and Nathaniel create and play a Pokemon-esque card game.


Abe loves his new Polo book.


Rebecca sports a fancy new hairdo.



Ozzie spends quality time with both Gram and Aunt Debbie.




By the way, my big Chanukah gift from Aaron was a fab new camera. I am currently reading the manual and learning new tricks.

Legopalooza 2010

Sam requested a Lego birthday party this year. We did the best we could to accommodate him. A few Lego activities mixed in with the regular birthday party bedlam. I tried with the cake, I really did, but you can tell I was a cake decorating class drop out. Please don't google Lego cakes immediately after looking at this--wait a couple of days to let the memory of mine fade. At least the kids recognized it. If Sam wants a Lego cake again next year, maybe I'll try my luck with fondant. And next year he'll have enough candles to fill up the brick!

How many kids can fit inside the secret compartment of the bunk bed?

Lego building game

scavenger hunt for the Lego cake


another year bites the dust