Holiday Fun

Nate loves trains!

He does NOT love to bundle!

We (all the grandparents included) braved the very cold, windy, Thanksgiving Parade

Not so bad if you have the right gear... and hot chocolate!

Papa keeps Nate toasty!

Hunting for our Christmas tree!

Ready to cut!

Nate found one just his size!

Investigating the sap

Heading into the Big City! 

Ethan and I make the snow dance at the interactive Macy's window

The tree!

Checking out the trains at FAO

Big Piano!

Big lights!

Ferris Wheel ride in Time Square, Toys R Us

Can you tell he's excited?

Lots of serious discussion about trucks going on here.

Our December morning ritual- advent calendar and Elf search!

Snow!

We are certainly getting into the Christmas spirit around here! The boys are so excited about every single thing. What a fun time of year to have little kids!  Our morning ritual is to go straight to our Advent Calendar and then search around for our silly little elf.  Ethan gets so excited- I swear he wakes up earlier just sneak downstairs to be the first to find him.

Ethan has been a little bit freaked out about Santa, avoiding him at all costs (even a tractor ride when we got our tree)  But, the other day we were at the mall, and he got it in his head that he was going to tell Santa what he wanted (I guess some things are worth pushing through your fears)  He was adorable.  He told Santa, with loads of detail, what he wanted.  Meanwhile, Nate sat quietly taking it all in and was just about to lose it, when I picked him up.

The kids have been really great.  Nate's vocabulary is coming along slowly but surely.  I think he's talking later than Ethan did, but that's to be expected when you have a big brother who does all of the talking.  Nate will happily tell you what animals say, and identify different vehicles.  And he can say, "Ethan", but it's more of a two syllable hum, than a word.

He has gotten very use to our new house, and when he hears the "beep, beep" of our kitchen door opening, he runs to the kitchen, shouting, "Dada!" to greet Pete.  One of my favorite parts of the day (for more reasons than one!!)

He really loves trucks, trains, and cars.  He LOVES books!  And, just in the last few weeks, he's been doing puzzles.  I sort of forget how old he is and that he can do stuff like that, and when he does, I'm blown away. time sure does fly!

Ethan is really great too.  He loves school, but he loves his days home equally as much.  He continues to blow us away with his knowledge and his memory.  He's interested in everything.  He had people on the train into the city chuckling to themselves as he shared all sorts of facts about the train, the tracks, etc (most of which I didn't know about) with me as we rode along.

All in all, we are doing really well.  We are settling into our new house and really loving it.  I am enjoying having Pete home more than he has been in many years.  I know that (most nights) we can sit down together as a family and have dinner and am so glad that he gets to help see the kids off to sleep every night.

Happy Holidays to you all!  Thanks for reading!