Trains and DC

Today, we did the unthinkable and kept our kiddos awake during nap time to check out the trains at the Botanical Gardens so we could take advantage of the last of this year's Christmas events.  We had a blast and the boys loved it.  I had never been to the Botanical Gardens and while it is not a huge place, I have to say it is pretty amazing. 

Before the trains.  Stephen and his smiley face.

Someone loves the trains.

Percy.

How amazing are these?

A hug?

Maybe not...

Stephen in front of Obama's house.  He was so excited to see this White House. 

We are back, atleast I think so....

So after having unending computer problems for way too long it looks like things might be working again around here. There is so much to catch up on.  The month of December feels like a whirwind of celebrations, decorations, and fabulous times with friends and family.  In order to avoid endless posts I am going to catch up in one post.

We decorated:

TT and Joe came to help.  Tierney has helped us decorate our tree each year since moving to our house shortly after Stephen was born.  Its a nice tradition.

Our little Georgie is Elmo obsessed.  Elmo got put in the tree while decorating.  Georgie loved it!

A little helper.

We tried to take a family picture...

We played with ALOT of trains.  Stephen loved the set "Grandpa, Grandpa" got him.  He was a great conductor!

More train watching....

Big shoes to fill...

We partied:

It is crazy to see how much bigger all the kiddos have gotten since last year!

We played outside:

These are some of our adventures before we headed to Baltimore for Christmas.  More pictures to come but for now this is a good start.  I hope everyone's Christmas season was as wonderful as ours, its amazing how fun it is with the boys!

Technical difficulties

Although I often fall behind in my posts for not so legitimate reasons, this time I have a good one, our computer will not work. I will be back to blogging when we figure out our technical difficulties, which most likely are going to result in a not so anticipated Christmas gift this year--a new computer.

Tis the season!

Little Stephen has been asking about Christmas since the decorations appeared in the mall.  It is especially fun because he seems to understand the concept of Christmas and Santa.  When we asked what he wanted for Christmas he told us he would like "A lot of balloons."  After a few seconds he added and "one for Georgie."  He asks a lot about Santa now and has even shared what he wants to get Daddy for Christmas.

Today, we went to our first Christmas concert at a local high school with our friends.  It was totally a blast and the little boys really loved it.  Stephen was especially excited about Minnie and Mickey Mouse and Santa.

A little unsure.

Frosty.

Stephen having fun

Georgie and Eamon.

G.

Having a lot of fun!

Baby Benjamin!

The first Sneeringer nephew arrived last Wednesday, November 23 at 12:20 pm.  Little Benjamin had some breathing problems so he spent the first week of his life in the NICU getting strong enough to come home.  It was a very emotional and scary time for our family especially when my brother and his wife had to come home from the hospital without Little Benjamin.  The wonderful news is that little Ben was able to come home today and meet his big sister for the first time.  What a truly wonderful day.  Here are some pictures of Benjamin during his first few days of life.  Welcome home, Baby Benjamin.

Baby Benjamin.  He was not able to be dressed for the first few days until his breathing was more stable.

My brother, Christopher, and Benjamin.

Beautiful little man.

Christopher taking his temperature.

Finally at home with Dad and sister, Chloe.

Sleeping at home!

Happy Halloween from a President and a monster!

What a fun day we had after a weekend of Halloween adventures!  We got to start our day at a party full of costumes with friends.

Mr. President.  Stephen wanted to be Obama for Halloween this year.  Yes, this is pretty funny for our family but when a Halloween catalog came this year, we had just taught Stephen about Obama. Well, I guess it stuck because he maintained he wanted to be Obama for months.  He even knows Obama is President of the United States. 

Georgie before his costume! 

Our friend Krista made these!  Amazing!

A President with a mustache.

The whole party!

After a nap at home we went out with daddy for some good "trick or treating."  Stephen did great with trick or treating.  After trick or treating at his first home Stephen proclaimed "Lets go home and eat it."  Then at one of the only houses that actually asked him what he was (we had been prepping for this all day) he said he was a "good boy!"  Yes, little guy you certainly are!  All four of us had a great time!

Stephen wore this costume last year!

Trying to get all three of my guys.  Georgie just kept looking at daddy and his crazy mask.

Daddy and Stephen.

G man.

All Bundled Up!!!

All bundled up for a walk with Mom!

Carving pumpkins!

We planned for weeks to go to a local fall festival this weekend with TT and Joe to pick pumpkins and carve them with the little guys.  Much to our surprise we got some nasty winter weather and had to settle with pumpkins from Home Depot (which Little S calls "Home de People") and a weekend at home.  Here are some pictures of our fun!

Picking them out!

Excited little guy!

Georgie loved the pumpkins.  He thought they were balls and rolled them around yelling "ball, ball!"

Stephen painted his!

Georgie tried to eat his.

Adults at work.

Steve claimed this was the first pumpkin he ever remembered carving.  Not sure if that is true, but he was proud of his too!

Final product!  What a fun weekend.