Highlights of a wonderful holiday season!

Here are some highlights of our wonderful holiday. 

Trians at Kenilworth.  We made two visits.

Santa came and went a bit crazy with presents.



Not only babies wear onesies and running vests!





Christmas morning.





A happy Santa.



The belly and all.

Santa baby.

Wonderful visits with friends.



The morning paper.

So cute.

I like reading with Dad and Grandpa.

Always happy :)



Playing.

Thank you to all who made our holidays so special this year.  We are glad we got to spend it with so many we love, but missed the others we could not be with.  Goodbye to a wonderful year and holiday season.  We welcome 2011 and many new adventures to come.

Up at 3am?!!!

Stephen and I decided that we would get up for the lunar eclipse.  I know you are probably thinking that we are crazy to attempt getting up in the middle of the night with a newborn.  Stephen did some research on the eclipse as we stood out in the cold on our front stoop to get a glimpse.  Here is some really interesting information about the eclipse: http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2010/17dec_solsticeeclipse/.  Basically, a lunar eclipse has not happened during the winter solstice since 1638 and another one will not happen for 372 years.  I thought it was beautiful and wonderful to experience with Stephen.  We got some really good pictures.

It was nice, especially during the busy holiday season, to stop, stand, and relax for a minute to appreciate the awesomeness of the world around us and the people in it.  Thanks Stephen, for suggesting we get up and keeping me company in the cold!!!

Visitors

Tonight we had our good friends, Sara and Ben, over.  It was a special treat to see them before the holidays and for them to meet George.  Sara and Stephen worked together ages ago and remained friends.  When Sara moved back to the area and Steve and I had started dating we became close friends.  They were one of the first people to babysit for Little Stephen after he was born.  Ben has a bit of a reputation as a baby charmer.  Georgie of course loved him.  We all had a great time.  Here are some great pictures of our visit.  Unfortunately, we did not get any good shots with Ben in them.   

It was wonderful to have such good friends over.  It reminds me how lucky we are to live in a place where we have so many.  Now that we are out of the fog of having a new born we need to visit with more of them. 

And finally a birthday wish to Sara whose birthday falls on Christmas Eve.  Have a wonderful birthday.

Trains and Union Station

Today the boys and I took a trip to Union Station to meet some of our friends and check out the trains.  We were very excited to head into the city to see our friends.  I have lots of memories of Union Station, having spent a lot of time there when I was in college.  So we packed the car up and made the trip.  Luckily, its not too far but definitely a lot of effort.  After arriving late (we are always late, I guess that is just life with two) we met up with our friends and checked out the trains.  Stephen loved the trains but they were difficult for the kids to see because they were roped off (for all the other Moms who are thinking of making the trip).  Unfortunately, I forgot the camera so I do not have any shots of Stephen's excitement.  The kids however had the most fun running around.  Here are some great shots courtesy of our friend, Emily.

I know Stephen is not in this one but its so cute!

It was a very hectic trip but we had a lot of fun with our friends.  It was so fun to see them before we head off for the holiday. 

Feel better soon, Auntie Britt!

Our sister in law, Britt, has been in the hospital since last weekend because of kidney stones.  Aunt Britt is also pregnant so that seems to complicate everything.  Luckily, the baby is healthy and doing great.  Since we are so far and cannot go in for a proper visit we thought we would bring the visit to her. 

Some flowers to cheer her up!

A Christmas Tree for her room.

Georgie

We thought these pictures of the boys might cheer her up.  As you can see we had a hard time getting Stephen to cooperate.  Hang in there, Aunt Britt, we can't wait to meet our little cousin!!!

Welcome to the world...Rex Alexander Rubis

On Saturday we broke the rules and took the boys to the hospital to see the Rubises' new addition, Rex Alexander Rubis.  His dad, Steve Rubis, went to college with Stephen and me.  Steve Rubis has been a close friend of ours for some time and was in our wedding.  It was such a treat to hear they were expecting last April and even more exciting to meet their little guy who is two months younger than Georgie!  In the last few months several good friends from CUA have all had children.  We joke that our kids (Schatz/Sneeringer, Rubis, Reynolds) will all be in class together at CUA.

Rex Alexander Rubis was born on Friday (12/10/10) at 11:03pm and weighed 8"13.  His mom was in labor for over a day before he arrived.  Way to go Liz!!!  Here are some pictures of Rex and his family!

We wish the Rubis family a very Merry Christmas, health, and a lot of sleep-filled nights!  Over the next few months a lot of babies will be joining the world and we can't wait to meet them all.  

Shopping....Get out of my way!!!

So on Friday the boys (S and G) and I went shopping to polish off the last items on our holiday list.  Thankfully I can say that I am almost finished with my holiday shopping but during our trip to Tyson's, I felt like I was on a marathon.  I had a list and felt determined.  I found myself walking quickly and being a bit of a Christmas scrooge.  This got worse as I got further into my list.  Stores are not made for huge strollers and navigating, rushing, and steering gets exhausting after awhile.  I mean couldn't the people see I had two kids and a huge stroller, get out of my way!

The height of my scroogeness came at Barnes and Noble after purchasing several items I asked the cashier if they could wrap my gifts.  He replied that he could not wrap my just purchased items because he did not know how to wrap.  Really?  Doesn't the guy know its the holidays?

As my scroogeness continued I felt myself beginning to become a bit entitled.  As I rushed, almost taking people out with my stroller, I had to stop and remind myself that I had chosen to have two kiddos after all.  I finally found myself reminded of the holiday spirit when we were in LL Bean and Stephen began to get fussy in line.  While waiting at the register people in line started making faces and smiling at him to distract him.  It was sweet to see how people came to my rescue and helped distract my grumpy toddler!  Happy shopping.

Holiday party-very scattered but a lot of fun!

As a pseudo stay at home mom, play groups are a great way to meet friends and get the kiddos socializing with others.  We started participating in a great play group over the summer and we are having a blast.   Moms who stay at home with their kids can tell you any reason to have a party is a good one.  So the group celebrates the holidays together.  Yesterday we celebrated Christmas with our friends.

The party was a great success!  I, on the other hand, was a disaster with the kiddos.  I rushed to get out of the house after oversleeping and was so forgetful (why is 10am too early for us!!!).  Running around the house I had to pack up Stephen and George and wrap the gift for our secret Santa, which I had forgotten to do the night before.  We arrived to the party on time but Stephen's clothes were soaked from breakfast, George had an incident with his diaper (he was covered in poop), and I forgot to bring Stephen any snacks.  To make matters worse, I had no clothes for Georgie to change into.  Ahh.  I felt like such a forgetful mom.  Luckily, I had lots of friends to help and was probably hardest on myself.  My Mom later told me that being a mom with two kids under two was like swimming with the waves, better to go with it then try to go against it.  So today I am trying to be a little more forgiving.

Here are some of the pictures from yesterday.  There were sixteen kids at the party and fourteen moms.  Stephen had a blast with his friends and loved his secret Santa present!  Thanks to all our friends for making it such a fun day.  Here are some pictures from our day:

Santa Claus is coming to town....

Yesterday we took the boys to meet Santa.  Stephen got to meet Santa last year and did not seem to mind the guy too much.  Here is the picture from last year.  He was so little, it's crazy to believe that he was such a little guy last year. 


This year Stephen was not such a fan of the whole Santa thing.  To make matters worse the little guy woke up on the wrong side of the crib.  While in line, Stephen seemed alright but as we got closer to Santa and Stephen heard the screams of other kids, he began to look more nervous.

Waiting in line.

George is unfazed. 

And finally we made it to see Santa.

Stephen was traumatized for almost the rest of the day.  Even his favorite, a train, could not cheer him up!

Despite a little grumpy man and an unhappy Santa experience, we ended up having a really nice day.  As we have learned in our year and a half as parents, you have to roll with the punches.  We love our Santa picture no matter what!



Brooks Family Party

Every year since I can remember on the first Saturday of December I went to the Brooks Family Party.  My grandfather, Jack Brooks, was one of seven children-Rodney, Rodgers, Jack, Frank, Harvey, Gill, and Mary Rodney.  He and his siblings got together every year in December to celebrate the holidays.  As the families grew so did the party.  Now sadly only one sibling remains but the Brooks family continues to meet to celebrate the holidays.  The party, as you can imagine, has become very large but is a fun way to start the holiday season.

This is a picture of my grandpa as a young man.

All seven children.

My Great Grandfather, Rodney Brooks.  I have been told he was a very warm and wonderful man.  Looks like he was having a good time with his kids. 

My Grandma (Edith Brooks-yes we all have family names) and Grandpa

This year was a special treat because it was George's first party!  He got to meet lots of family including a cousin, Noah (his Mom went to Bryn Mawr with me and was a year in between Tierney and I) who is just ten days older!  It was Stephen's second party and he enjoyed wandering around and checking out his family.  Here are some pictures from the party:

The Jack and Edith Brooks family!  We were the largest showing at the party.  This is not all of us, my Aunt Dede, Wyoming cousins, Aunt Vicky's chlidren, and sister are missing.  Poor George was not too happy in this picture and was screaming his head off.

Stephen Sr. and Jr. 

Lindsley, George, and me

We had a great time and I feel grateful that I can continue a tradition that has always marked the holidays with my own family now!   

How do other people celebrate the holiday season with their family?