CHRISTMAS 2009

Sorry it took me so long to get all things Christmas added to the blog. I had Marc home ALL day for two days straight, which rarely occurs, so me and the boys took full advantage. Then Monday we packed Christmas away till next year, and yesterday, me and the boys tagged along with Marc to Richmond where we enjoyed a nice lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. So today, while finishing laundry, I thought it would be a good time to get it done.

After enjoying a Christmas Eve feast of Chicken Salad with crackers, Classic Cheese Ball, and Peanut M&M's (we were soon to experience the effect of that excess sugar on a 2 year old), we let the boys open one gift, as blogged about earlier.

Here they are under the tree all ready for their first gift.

We also got video of it.

Luke seemed to be very proud of the matching Christmas Pajamas that he and Grey received from Grandma & Grandpa Charles.

Grey was ready to be "tucked all snug in his bed".

Luke on the other hand... was bouncing off the walls.

Christmas Morning 7:30 am

Before we let Luke out of his room Christmas morning, we had a few precious moments with just Grey. We set him down in front of his new toys and let him enjoy it before being bombarded by his big brother. Of course, Luke could hear us, and was getting very anxious to see what was going on. (*note: Grey no longer has on his new Christmas Pajamas due to a minor incident at 1:00 am)

Even after being joined by his brother, Grey was still cool and calm. He enjoyed watching Luke, who was just a little overwhelmed.

Not sure what this expression was trying to tell me.

Grey really liked his new V-tech Sit-N-Stand Walker.

I think he's looking to Daddy for a little help opening this present.

All of Grey's toys were also a big hit with Big Brother Luke.

After sharing with Luke, Grey got his turn on his new Pull-Along Xylophone.

He's quite the Musician.

Once Luke was allowed to come out of his room, he came around the corner, and made a beeline straight for....

All things "Cars"!!

He got a play tent that looks like Mack the Truck, tennis shoes with Lighting McQueen on them that light up, and two new sippy cups.

He then moved on to his other new toys.

A remote control Cat Dump Truck,

and a shiny Red Ryder Tricycle.

While he was climbing on the tricycle, I turned the tent around, so he could see what it was all about.

After a quick peek, it was time to tackle all the goodies in his stocking.

And boy was there a lot.

Then it was back to investigate the tent. He took a lot of his toys inside with him,

including Grey's Sit-N-Stand Walker.

Then finally, Daddy got him to try on his new sweatshirt.

Luke really loved showing his little brother how to play with all their new toys.

Even though he wasn't immediately drawn to it, the Tricycle was a big hit.

He can't wait for warmer weather, so he can get out and ride it around on the deck.

We did most of our video taping on the camcorder, but unfortunately, I am not able to sync it with this Mac. However, we did get a little bit of video on our old digital camera.

Enjoy!!

After the boys had had their afternoon naps, we headed over to the Bob and Arlinda Kesock's to join them and their family for Christmas dinner. Their granddaughter Lilly is staying with them while her mother, Dawn, finishes her thesis. Lilly was very excited that Dawn made the trip here from Tucson to spend Christmas with her. Arlinda's son Randy and his wife Sonja were there and her other son Jay and his wife Elizabeth, and their three children Josie, Elise and Leo were also present.

Leo is 4.5 months younger than Luke. We are all very excited to see them play together this summer at the beach. Leo is quite the ham. He was well over a year old before he ever got any of his teeth, so he really likes to show them off.

If this is any indication of what this summer will be like for the two of them... well, they are both going to be eating a lot of sand.

But honestly, I think they will best of buds.

Christmas 2009 was a wonderful and magical time for Luke and Grey, but it was another year that we did not get to spend it with our families, whom we miss dearly. However, we will be eternally grateful to Bob and Arlinda for letting us be part of theirs.

We love our Lake Family.

A CHRISTMAS GREETING

Merry Christmas to all our family.

We love and miss you all.

CHRISTMAS PAJAMAS

The boys got to open one present this evening on Christmas Eve. Thank you Grandma & Grandpa Charles for the adorable matching Christmas Pajamas.

SAY CHEEEESE!!!

I think Luke might follow in my footsteps.

OH TO BE A CHILD

SNOW DAY

Well, it looks like we are going to have a White Christmas here in central VA this year. This past Friday, December 18th, it started snowing around 5:00pm. It continued to snow through the night and all day on Saturday. When all was said and done, we got about 20". Sunday dawned cold, but bright and sunny. Marc got up and set about the task of shoveling snow. While he was busy doing that, I put Grey down for his morning nap, and got Luke all bundled up to go outside. Since the poor boy doesn't yet own snow boots this season, I had to improvise. I put on two pairs of socks, then put sandwich bags on both feet and then another pair of socks before putting on an old pair of tennis shoes. My goal was to try to keep his feet dry (it actually worked pretty good).

Here he is in all his bundled glory.

Marc had already shoveled the part of the deck by the front door, and had begun working on the middle of the deck. He had to give Luke a little help to that part of the deck.

Immediately, Luke got right to work helping Daddy out.

I informed the boys it was time to take a break so that we could venture up into the yard.

Marc put Luke into the snow, which after sinking down, it came up to the bottom of his coat.

Our property is at the front of the neighborhood, so our split-rail fence gets decorated every year by the Garden Club.

Due to the depth of the snow, Luke had a hard time getting around, but he had fun with Daddy just the same.

By this point, he had had enough.

We were only outside for about 20 minutes, and I think he enjoyed it. I am now on a mission to get him some snow boots so he'll be more prepared next time. My luck, I'll get them bought, and then we won't have anymore snow this winter.

SITTING

Grey's getting really good at being able to sit all by himself.

LIKE BROTHER LIKE BROTHER

Grey has the habit of getting himself stuck under the couch. This morning, Luke decided he wanted to be like his little brother.

HOLIDAY PICS