Friday, December 31, 2010

Yo Ho Yo Ho a Pirates Life for Me!!

The other day we were sitting at the table and the boys started singing. I had no idea what they were singing and then I realized what it was. They were signing "Yo ho yo ho a pirates life for me." The boys were not able to experience Pirates of the Caribbean when we were at Disney. So, the only place they have heard this song is at the Bucs games.

On this day, we were drawing on the chalkboard and I took some video to show their bouncing and drawing style. The impromptu song was a surprise but I love my little pirates. Aaarrrrgghh!

Take care,

Friday, December 24, 2010

Christmas Eve - 2010

The longest day in recorded history is coming it's best part! It's Christmas Eve, it's Christmas Eve, it's Christmas Eve! In our family, Christmas Eve is a night to gather as a family, enjoy Chicken and Chili and complete our family gift exchange.

When we were putting the boys down for nap, we told them that they needed to go to sleep because when they woke up, we would be closer to opening up presents. Well, Wes took this to heart. When he woke he immediately let out a cry so we knew he was awake. I went into the room to get him so he would not wake his partners in crime. He came out of the room and was as happy as he could be. He stood up at the top of the stairs and immediately said "open, presents." As soon as I said that we had to wait until everyone arrived, he fell to his knees and cried.... more waiting?!?! Nooooooo........ I was able to convince him to hang out with Grandma for a little while. They watched some Oprah in her room and he laid down to get some more rest.

Once everyone was awake, it was time to get dressed and wait for the guests to arrive. Here is our best attempt at a family photo. Everyone is looking at the camera except Mommy. That's funny. I am also not sure why we stand in front of the tree since we almost completely cover the entire tree.
The best group picture of the boys. They were very excited. This excitement created two over cheesers and one upset fella. Jared did not get his full nap and remained a bit off balance the remainder of the evening.
Andrew was in love with the camera on Christmas Eve and the camera loved him.... "Where is everyone? I am ready to open these gifts!"....
Another great shot of Andrew that I could not resist posting. Note Wes in the background trying to break into some presents a bit early. He could not resist! It's almost time Wessie, hang in there!
As stated previously, Jared was a bit off balance because he did not get his full nap. Love this face...
Jared, taking after his father, has become our clean freak. He loves to clean things. He will insist that something be washed if it gets dirty by saying "wash it Mommy, wash it." In this picture, he had a diaper wipe and was cleaning the presents.,..
The boys love visiting Grandma because they usually get whatever they want. They particularly love drinking whatever Grandma is drinking; coffee, diet coke, water, it doesn't matter. They just want "drink, drink, drink." Grandma is always willing to oblige...
The boys love their Aunt Kim. Wes and Aunt Kim...
Aunt Kim and Andrew....
It's TIME, it's TIME, it's TIME!! The waiting is over, we can finally exchange gifts! Before the boys settle in to open the presents with their names on them, they needed to hand out all of the gifts they brought. I felt it was important for the boys to understand the joy of giving gifts in addition to receiving them. Prior to Christmas, Daddy and I took the boys to do their Christmas shopping. We took the boys to the Dollar Tree so they could shop with freedom and independence. We would tell the boys who to shop for, position them in an area that had items the recipient may like and told them to shop. Whatever they selected was what was selected... yep, whatever! The boys had fun and actually make some good selections. Some people ended up with duplicate items because two of the boys picked the same thing for someone but you can't have enough of a good thing!

Before the boys could open up their gifts, they had to hand out all of the gifts they brought for everyone. They had a really good time giving out the gifts. Andrew's gift for Grandma...
Wes' gift to Uncle Lance...
Jared's gift for Grandma...
I also need to take a moment and explain why Jared's shirt is untucked above. Before we started to open presents, Grandma said 'where's Jared.' I looked all over and started to panic because I could not find him. Then, I heard the water running. I opened the door to the bathroom to find Jared "washing hands" with the assistance of a cup from dinner. Let's just say he used plenty of water!

Back to giving out gifts! All the boys give Aunt Kim her gift from the Darnell family (gifts not purchased at the Dollar Tree)...
Well boys, you have waited all day and handed out your gifts, it is finally your turn. Let's go!

Andrew opens a SpongeBob Memory game...
The boys were so excited with pure innocence and amazement at each and every gift. No matter what they opened, they were over the moon with excitement. It was a true joy to experience. Wes opens a Stomp game from Uncle Lance and Aunt Kim...
Andrew opens a Mickey Mouse reader from Uncle Lance and Aunt Kim...
Wes meets his new Grinch. Each of the boys received a Grinch and the Grinch book from Uncle Lance and Aunt Kim (they sure know how to spoil the boys!)...
New remote control trucks...
BUZZ....
WOODY...
And while she is not pictured here, the boys also received Jessie to complete their trio! I was worried about whether they would like her so we kept pushing Jessie in the weeks leading up to Christmas.

Andrew opens up our new Big Boy bedding from Nana and Pop-pi.... LOVE IT...
Even though the boys are growing up very very fast, they are not too old to enjoy the Christmas boxes...
Careful Wessie....
WOAH...
Jared hangs out with Aunt Jeanie...
And tests out Buzz Lightyear's karate chop action...
Wes playing with our new personalized stool from Grandma. It says "Darnell" and has cut-out puzzle pieces...
The boys, especially Andrew, loved watching Zack play with his new remote control car (from us). Zack took it outside and the boys were chasing it around the driveway. The boys had a blast! After all the presents were unwrapped and we played with them, the night was coming to an end. When everyone was preparing to leave, Andrew was very unhappy because he did not want anyone to leave....
We made out pretty well on Christmas Eve...
Grinches - Uncle Lance and Aunt Kim
Stomp Game - Uncle Lance and Aunt Kim
Mickey Mouse Reader - Uncle Lance and Aunt Kim
Tommy H Shirts - Uncle Lance and Aunt Kim
Soothing Lamb - Aunt Laurie
Pajamas - Aunt Pam & Zack
Stool - Grandma
Toy Story Backpacks - Grandma
Big Boy Bedding - Nana & Pop-pi
Monsters Inc Movie - Pooka
Memory Game & Chutes and Ladders - Mommy & Daddy
Remote Control Trucks - Mommy & Daddy
Blankets - Mommy & Daddy
Toy Story Toys - Mommy and Daddy
The boys did OK!!
After having such a great time and receiving so much on Christmas Eve, it was hard to focus the boys on settling down to go to sleep. Leading up to Christmas, they equated Santa with presents. Since they received so many presents already, they did not care very much about getting in bed so they could receive more. We involved the boys in hanging up their stockings above the fireplace so Santa would know where to find them. One last picture and then off to bed...
Once the boys were sound asleep, Santa was free to arrive and fill up those stockings...
And leave some additional presents for the Darnell boys...
Their names must have found their way to the "Nice" list!

We had a wonderful Christmas Eve with everyone. The boys enjoyed visiting with family, giving gifts and receiving. I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas Eve.

Take care,

Christmas Eve Day - 2010

Christmas is finally here! This holiday season has been an exciting one with the boys. This is our third Christmas as a family but this is the first Christmas in which the boys joined in on the excitement that comes with the holiday season. The boys know about Santa Claus and were excited about Christmas coming. Their wish lists this year were short and I am confident we were able to fulfill every wish. When we ask the boys what they wanted for Christmas, their reply was either "presents" or "toys." I think we have that covered!

To help build the excitement, on Thanksgiving, our family was joined by our very own scout elf. A scout elf is works directly for Santa Claus and joins a family during the holiday season to keep an eye on all the girls and boys. The scout elf returns home to the North Pole each night and reports his observations directly to Santa. This helps Santa make a decision about who belongs on the "Naughty or Nice" list. Each night, the scout elf returns and finds a new spot in the house to 'observe' every one's behavior for the day.

When the elf first joins a family, the family is charged with naming the elf. After Thanksgiving, we met our elf for the first time. The boys' suggestions for our elf's name were either "Santa" or "Presents." Hmmmm, clearly they understand the 'true' meaning of Christmas already. Until we found the right name, we called him "Mr. Elf." On Thanksgiving, the Florida State Seminoles defeated the University of Florida Gators quite convincingly, yay! This inspired us to name our family elf, NOLIE! Pronounced - Semi-"NOLIE."

The boys enjoyed finding Nolie each morning and saying goodnight to Nolie. Nolie was able to discover a new spot in the house each night. It's a good thing that Nolie is not allergic to dust because some of the high shelves (top of cabinets, top of entertainment center, etc) do not get a lot of visitors or attention. Nolie also helped keep Santa informed about our Christmas destination. When we left for Grandma's house, we were worried that we would not see Nolie again. However, when we arrived, we noticed that Nolie had already arrived. Nolie was able to report our Christmas location to Santa so he would know where to deliver the gifts for the boys... if they ended up on the Nice list... hmmmmm?!?

Christmas Eve became the longest day ever recorded in Darnell boys history. We did not bring any toys with us as we knew they would be leaving with a couple (ha). Now that the boys understand they get presents on Christmas and they knew those beautifully wrapped packages were presents, in their little minds, every box under the tree was for them! Christmas Eve day was a day filled with temptations. They only unwrapped a few gifts and the gift bags were extremely vulnerable. We tried to keep the boys distracted with some activities.

First, we let the boys pick a movie from Grandma's movie collection. Their selection, The Jungle Book. This is the scene on Christmas Eve day of the boys watching their movie....
The movie distracted the boys for a little while but those gifts must have been screaming their names! They wanted to open those presents all day but we just kept telling them to be patient. Poor guys!

During the movie, Daddy made some cookies. After the movie, we all joined Daddy in the kitchen to decorate the cookies. We had some decorating supplies left over from my company Christmas party so we had plenty of icing and sprinkles to make some Christmas cookies for the Christmas Eve celebration.

The boys did a good job at decorating. Daddy and I would apply the primary icing and the boys would apply the details. We had a great time! Andrew...
Jared and Mommy...
The sprinkles.... oh, the sprinkles! We had about a 50% success rate at getting the sprinkles on the cookies. About 50% ended up on the cookies and 50% ended up on the floor....
Mommy and the boys...
Unlike the sprinkles, we were pretty good at getting the icing onto the cookies. However, we were not at 100%. Come on, you didn't really expect 2 year olds to decorate cookies without tasting the supplies...
Andrew approves! While, this behavior is expected from toddlers, you would think that an adult would be more responsible. Nope, the boys learn this behavior from their father; almost caught in the act...
Andrew was certainly not alone in his quality control activities. Jared also joined in on the act...
Silly Jared, sprinkles too???
Wes joins in on the fun...
I love this face! "Huh, what, no, not me, I didn't, I mean, Do you think I would... ok, I can explain?"
Grandma was at the store during our cookie decorating activity. This is a good thing because this was a MESSY activity! The sprinkles were everywhere. Near the end of our good time, the boys were not even trying to get the sprinkles on the cookies...
We thought the cookie supply would never end but we made it through all of the cookies. As you can see in these pictures, Andrew felt it was important to also taste test the final product...
Jared, our little perfectionist, tried to organize the cookies so we could fit at least one more on there...
Some of the finished products...
Some more...

Once we finished the final cookie, Daddy and I decided to divide and conquer. He took the boys straight to the bath tub and I went to work on cleaning the kitchen. My hopes of cleaning the kitchen (and the 1,000,000 sprinkles) before Grandma arrived home from the store where dashed when she arrived home. She remained calm but immediately stepped in to help me clean the kitchen. I hope Grandma remains in good spirits about the mess when she is still finding sprinkles in her kitchen next Thanksgiving.

We had a fun, exciting, frustrating but most importantly memorable time decorating cookies with the boys on Christmas Eve. We served these cookies to the Christmas Eve guests. We informed all of the guests that these were prepared by three 2 year olds; so, eat at your own risk! They were a big hit and there was only about three left at the end of the evening. Daddy said it best when he commented "there is not a cookie in the bunch that is not covered in the boys' DNA." I hope any of the guests that see the 'behind the scenes' photos in this post are still comfortable with their decision to eat these cookies.

After their baths, the boys went up to take their naps. It was finally time for a little relaxation before the real Christmas Eve celebration begins.

Take care,