caught

Red-handed, hiding under the table with Sydney's apple juice...

cheerio

Breakfast with GA Rosie... what could be better?

bruiser

Somehow I have survived my entire life, from rough-housing with an older brother, to playing soccer against brutal opponents - even jumping off bridges and out of planes without ever experiencing the public embarrassment of a black eye. Ironically, our dear little Trystan couldn't even make it eleven months...

To say the guilt is overwhelming would be an understatement. But to our defense, it happened so fast that there really wasn't much we could have done - he just ran his little walker smack into Syd's wooden school desk. And then he shrieked... and then got right back up, turned his walker in another direction and kept on trucking.

peek

adorabELLA!

Lisa sent me this and I just can't help but share... oh my ADORABLE niece, I love you!

babysteps

proof!

caught

time to babyproof...

lil sweethearts

Lisa & Ella came over for lunch today and while we had them here for a rare twenty minutes of downtime, I felt compelled to take some long overdue photos of the junior cousins... and not a minute too soon. I don't think these adorable little denim getups I scored on clearance at Old Navy would have fit them if we'd have waited another day. And to be honest, I'm not sure which makes me happier - the photos of the wee ones looking so darn cute together, or the fact that each outfit only cost me about $1.27!

Click here to see a few more of the photos. Notice how Ella is so docile and beautifully posed, while Trystan is a bumbling blur or energy trying his best to flee the scene, or at least cause some mahem along the way.

snow way josé

And yes, it's still snowing.

ice ice & baby

Uncle Matty taught the girls (& Tom) the fine art of ice fishing this morning. When she arrived home, Sydney explained proudly, "We caught a WORM!" and judging by Isabelle's pants, it looked like she enjoyed some ice swimming... but they all had fun, and I got some alone time with lil T which is always a good thing.

got mail

We took a walk down to the mailbox this afternoon. Trystan seems to love being all bundled and just peeks his little head out of his carrier to keep an eye on the snow flurries falling from the trees, while Sydney prefers to make snowball after snowball "to drink" along the way. When we made it to the mailbox I noticed it was barely hanging on by one screw and was nearly falling off the mangled post.
"What happened here?!" I exclaimed to which Tom shrugged with a guilty grin.
"Must've been the plow..." he accused.
"You ARE the plow!" I huffed as I opened the mailbox and watched the mail slide right out into the slush on the street.

yet another snow storm

We are up to our necks in snow here... literally!

history repeats itself

Apparently Trystan enjoys the excitement of food shopping just as much as Sydney used to...

snow

We had quite a storm here today - lots and lots and lots of snow. Schools were closed (actually, everything was closed) so we didn't even leave the house - but to plow, shovel and make the ocassional snow angel. Instead we stayed in our PJs all day and Syd enjoyed endless board games and far too many animated TV shows, all the while demanding "PEANUT BUTTER FLUFF! APPLE JUICE!" Apparently in her world, this delicacy requires no please nor thank you, and appears instantly and miraculously out of thin air - without crusts.

b'gosh

I can't decide which is cuter - Trystan's new trick (he's just SO proud of himself) or his new overalls from Uncle Edwah & Auntie Carol! You be the judge...

"FINE!"

This morning as I was getting dressed I overheard Sydney whimpering and whining, "I don't want to go outside. I don't WANT to go outside!" to which Tom answered sternly, "We are going out to build a SNOWMAN and that's THAT."
"FINE!" Sydney yelled and threw on her boots with a huff...
A half hour later, I was being paged from the deck to "COME TAKE A PICTURE!"

I'm still debating who had more fun out there.

blizzard

We got over a foot of snow last night. Tom got a crash course in plowing - he was out for hours clearing the driveway, then the road, then the front walkway, then a racetrack around the house for the dogs, and then a big old snow pile for Syd to ride down... I'm pretty sure he loved every single minute of it. And this afternoon he got to pull the girls behind the four-wheeler - very, very, VERY slowly. It was definitely a site to see.

pinkie pie

'Tis the season for an all-inclusive post with photos from various events over the past few busy weeks...

We finally got a few inches of snow last week, so Tom tested out his new plow (read: overkill) and then showed Sydney how to make a snow angel. But most importantly, Syd got to try out her brand new snowsuit.

(Thanks GranGran. Syd loves it!)

Meanwhile, Trystan has learned to clap in excitement. And he is pulling himself up on everything - even taking a few wobbley steps while holding on (very tightly) to his little push-along before getting so excited that he lets go to clap for himself, when he quickly takes a nose dive. But as you can see in his photo, he's still Very proud of himself and really likes his new perspective on things.

Sydney had a Holiday Party at school this past Thursday and really enjoyed making her "gingerbread house" (aka - an empty milk carton covered with every sugary confection known to man). I'm pretty sure the ratio of candy ON the house vs IN her mouth was pretty low, but she had a great time and got a lot of envious compliments on her application of chocolate morsel shingles. It took me a while to realize she was stockpiling candy INSIDE her house to smuggle home, and by that time my efforts had moved toward fending off the Munchkins and Chocolate Cupcakes. Aah, the Holidays.

Santa brought lots of presents this morning. Sydney was ecstatic unwrapping everything for everyone, while Trystan was more interested in pulling tree branches, clapping bows, and yanking at All of Sydney new toys just as soon as she opened them. (Seriously Tryst? the pink sparkley unicorn with silver hair? Really?!)

Luckily there were MORE than enough My Little Ponies to go around... it was a Happy Holiday indeed!

Mop Dreams

Today Sydney's battling a stomach bug, so I've been mopping and disinfecting all morning. While I was down on the hardwood scrubbing (picture old PJ's and yellow rubber gloves) Sydney perked up and came to me to proclaim, "Mama - someday when I'M a Mommy, *I* want to do THAT!" Dream Big, Syd. Dream BIG!

slacker

Okay, I admit. I've been slacking. But to my defense, the past few weeks have been pretty busy around here (as I'm sure they are everywhere!). Here's a recap. We put up the Christmas lights, celebrated Hanukkah with the Cohen's, decorated our Christmas tree, ate latkes at Matty's house, ate latkes at Shelley's house, exchanged Hanukkah gifts, shopped for more gifts, sewed a few more gifts, all while Sydney demands "just ONE more candy Mama? PLEASE?!" while pointing to her beloved chocolate advent calendar.
Meanwhile, Trystan got two teeth and has learned to crawl - or at least slither. Check him out: