Are they Cute or What??

So here are a few more pics of the little ones. I tell you, they make me smile everyday. This first pic is of Chris Jr. sleeping at Grammy and Grandpa's with both hands behind his head. Very comfortable! He seems to have found his voice while I was away. I think without Mommy to translate he must have realized that all of his whining and mumbling just wasn't cutting it. He's now stringing two and three words together, and being quite clear when he wants something.

The little baby boy is Grant, my new nephew. Could he be any more adorable? His little half smile is just too much!

This snow picture of Chris Jr. came last week during our most recent snow storm. Oh, and by the way, these storms seem to just keep coming. I think we've had at least 30 inches or more for the year! That's a lot for coastal Connecticut. I came inside with Chris Jr. and got him out of his wet snow clothes. Before I

knew it, he had put on Josephine's rain boots and was back out the front door to join his sister who continued to sled down our front stairs. We built a snow ramp that was only marginally successful, but was still a lot of fun.

Josephine's most recent project was her Little House on the Prairie paper dolls. She likes them so much that we also got them for her friend Alexandra as a birthday gift. This was her and her creation after she painstakingly cut them all out along the lines by herself. I've never seen her work with such precision and for such a long time. I think she was cutting for at least 45 minutes! Very methodically, she kept telling me "Mommy, please just watch your show, I need to concentrate on this for a minute." And every so often she throws in a "seriously" just for emphasis. So funny!

On this same day her Daddy told her she needed to brush her hair and that it looked terrible. Her response with a shocked and serious face... "Daddy, that is not nice to say in front of a four-year-old!" She is just too much! What would we do without her?

Vancouver 2010

Well, to say our trip was amazing would be an understatement. We had a blast! It seemed like everything went exactly as planned, when was the last time that happened to anyone?? Oh wait, my kids weren't there! Ha! But really, it was too much fun. We arrived late Tuesday and went straight to sleep. Oh, and no jet-lag to speak of, VERY different from my trip to China when I kept waking up at 3am. Renie and I had no problem sleeping in until at least 8am each day! Nice long, leisurely breakfasts each day, and I actually got to read the paper!

Wednesday we walked all around Stanley Park. I guess this is one of the places Vancouver is known for. It's HUGE! And so beautiful. Great views of the city and 6km of walking trails around the perimeter alone. Then we had lunch and relaxed a bit in the afternoon. Did a little shopping and then it was off to

Short Track Speed Skating to see Apollo Ono! Wow!

Thursday was more walking, we explored Chinatown and did

more souvenir shopping. There were SO many people, but everyone was very nice. And the people in Vancouver seemed happy to have so many visitors. As we were looking at our map, Renie and I were stopped on numerous occasions and asked if we needed directions. Thursday night we went to the men's Figure Skating Free Skate competition and actually got to watch the US competitor, Evan Lysacek, win the gold! That was pretty cool.

Friday was probably the most fun. We spent the entire day skiing in Whistler. What an amazing place! If you haven't gone, schedule a trip. I am a total beginner, but we had lessons all day, and it was still so much fun. I felt so accomplished at the end of the day, and on my last and hardest run I only fell three times! lol I can't wait to take the kids on a winter ski trip soon. Could not have been a more successful girls trip... now I just have to got back with my husband and kids. :)

Winter Storm 2010

Well, our 12 inches of snow this year came on a Wednesday and began in the morning. No school and weather not really conducive to playing outside led to a lot of idle time indoors. We passed the day with a nice fire, time jumping and playing with Uncle Timmy, and a lot of whining and crying.

Josephine also perfected her somersault technique as you can see in the picture. Overall it was a very fun storm, though we were all quite happy to be out of the house the following day. Unfortunately sledding had to wait until Grandpa arrived later

in the week. Chris Jr. was not into the snow. Most of our outings consisted of him crying a little and wanting to be held. I think the bright sun reflecting on the snow bothered his eyes, they were watering the entire time we were there. All the while, Josephine went up and down the hill at least 20 times. She also borrowed a snow board and tried that twice; she almost made it down the second time!

And it has been some kind of record for sledding, Josephine has now gone five days in a row! Four with Grandpa Boutwell and then again today with her "best friend" Ella.

He is a TERROR!

I mean this in the sweetest way possible... my son is a pain in the butt! He has got to be one of the whiniest, most demanding, stubborn and difficult to please toddlers I've ever met. Now, I'm sure my increasing age (this week 35), general lack of patience, and the fact that he's my second child all contribute to this assessment. But I feel like I need to document my frustration with him, so that I can provide an accurate picture of his childhood to him later in life. He might be cute, but I don't want him to ever get the idea that he was an "easy" child! :)

His day begins... He wakes up, talks for a bit, and sometimes I get lucky and he sleeps until 7am. I dress him immediately upon waking because if I don't he's so rambunctious it's hard to get him dressed later. Then comes breakfast, or in his case, me trying to give him anything I can think of that he might like, as he eats 30% and throws the rest on the floor. I'm sure our dining room has permanent yogurt, oatmeal and milk stains on places I can't even see. Breakfast, and the rest of the day for that matter, also includes a lot of screaming and this whining sound that I can't quite put into words. It's like a combination of a high-pitched, incessant crying and the sound of someone's nails on a chalk board. I mean it... IT's BAD!

Chris Jr. is a weird little guy. He seems to want to eat all the time, except when I try to actually sit him down for meals. He refuses to stay in his booster seat, but prefers to wander around the house eating. All the while, dropping food, smudging all the furniture and generally contributing to the sticky mess that over takes our house on most days.

In his defense, there are a few little things that save my little guy... his eyelashes are longer than any adult I've ever met. He has this adorable naughty smile, when he looks at me a little sideways, right before he does something he knows he's not supposed to do. It just kills me. He's also completely obsessed with cleaning. Constantly looking for wipes and the broom. He even gets under furniture, so maybe as he gets a little older, and will follow even the simplest of directions, I might be able to put him to work.

And boy does he love is Mommy. It's endearing, but can be quite exhausting too. When I think of him I laugh and cry all at the same time. It's like this weird emotional roller coaster we're all on. We can't live with him, but I can't even remember my life without him. Truly, having children is so much harder than I thought it would be. But with all that said... I wouldn't change a thing! Not one thing! Well... maybe a few things, but none of the ones that really matter, and that's all that counts! Right?