Our year to host!

Last weekend we hosted the Miller-Rinas Christmas get together with Steve's family.  We had 28 people for dinner Saturday night and 40 people throughout the day and evening on Sunday.  Overall it went really well.  The big family tradition is a ping pong tournament (where almost everyone participates-even those of us who are lousy players) so our garage turned into a rec room with 2 tables to accommodate the games.  Steve was the reigning champ heading into the tournament but he lost in the final game to his cousin Nathan.  (Yeah, I know! I didn't know he could lose either!)  

The best part for me was that in the midst of total chaos, late nights, lots of people, tons of sugar and no routine, Eli decided that he wanted to start using the potty!  It was certainly not MY timing and he isn't 100% trained yet but we are well on our way.

Nathan-this year's champion!

The trophy presentation

We took out furniture and rearranged what we had to accommodate everyone.  

Christmas Pictures

I am not feeling very creative today (hence the witty blog title), but here are some pictures from our Christmas this year! 

6 years old!

Christmas card

This year's Christmas card is coming out to you via a blog post!!  Sorry.  

Enjoy the pictures and please know that we wished you all a very Merry Christmas!

It's about the process, right?

Motherhood is all about letting go, or at least for me it is.  Your life and plans no longer look quite the way you envisioned.  Most of the changes are for the better but for people who like to have control (ahem, you don't need to start pointing fingers), it can be difficult to watch your day unravel.  I confess that most days I do NOT go along with the natural flow our lives take as I continue to resist the forces at work, but I think that it is really important for our children to have times where they can create freely and enjoy an experience without us adults stomping all over it.  

(I know you have no idea what I'm talking about....I'll get to the point.)

Today, I had some leftover dipping chocolate and a half eaten bag of pretzels and decided that I would let the boys dip the pretzels and put sprinkles on them as a fun Christmas project and yummy treat.  I set the boys up and then let them go about creating a mess!  I was doing well not micromanaging until I spotted Eli pre-licking a pretzel before dipping it in the chocolate.  I immediately yelled out "No!" followed quickly by an explanation.  He didn't hear past my explosive 'no' but dissolved into tears and disappointment.  As I tried to fix the damage my response had done, I realized from his viewpoint he had been happily plugging along doing something super fun without restrictions or fear and I jumped in and ruined the moment for him.  I hate that I did that.  After offering him comfort and an apology I again stepped back and made two resolutions.

1.  I was not going to look over again at how they were dipping the pretzels.

AND

2.  I was also not going to eat any of them! (I recommend you do the same!!)

I Spy

We frequently play 'I Spy' with the boys whenever we are having to wait somewhere.  Let's see how good you are?!? (just humor me)

I spy with my little eye, something small, that moves around a lot and gets in tight places!

Can you see him?  

He isn't quite crawling yet but he does a combination of rolling and "inch worm-ing" to get around the house.  And he's fast!  Doesn't take my back being turned for long before has gotten himself stuck somewhere or other.

Number 81

Eli has been really into these little "Football Guys" that we have from Kaskey Kids.  He reenacts what he sees and hears from the games over the weekend.  Steve and I have been amazed at how much of the game he actually follows.  Frequently during the game he will yell out, "Oh!  He fumbled!!"  or when they kick a field goal he says, "Is it 'yes good'?.... It is!"  All of this football knowledge then turns around into pretend play with his little football guys.

This morning he came into my room with one of these guys and asked if it was "Number 81".  I looked at the number and said, "No, he is number 18.  See the 1 comes first that makes it 18."  He looked at it for a minute and then said, "No.  This is 81.  See the difference?"

Hands and knees

Look who started lifting up onto his hands and knees this weekend!  

(Is it possible that time is going even faster now??)

Tek Video

Here is a little video from the boys first seeing Tek. (This is my first video upload and I have no idea what I'm doing, which may be evident...let's see how it comes out.)

Christmas comes early

Last night we surprised the boys with their big Christmas gift, Tek.  Steve brought him home after he finished work for the day.  The boys reaction was subdued but slowly grew more and more excited as they realized he was here to stay.

Marcus slept through the unveiling but greeted Tek with a big smile once he awakened.

Eli was just excited to see a puppy and, as you can see from my blurry pictures, I couldn't keep up with his movements!  He does NOT like being jumped up on or having Tek in his face or being chased, so I anticipate a love/hate relationship between the two of them for a while. (Kind of like his father's actually.)

Zach thought that the puppy was cute but he thought that it was my mom's new puppy, Dodger. (whom we haven't met yet but will be coming home after Thanksgiving.)  After Zach understood that this dog was his Christmas gift, he said, "You mean we can keep him?!?" and then, "Uh, oh daddy!  You're going to have to pick up poops in the yard!"  Since then Zach just wants to be near Tek.  I'm sure the novelty will wear off but for now he is one excited boy.

For homeschool this morning I asked Zach to dictate a little bit about Tek.  He said, (with help for transitions), "Last night I was very happy because I had a dog!  I thought the Christmas present was going to be a dinosaur, but Mommy and Daddy got me a dog!!  We thought of names and we decided that it would be 'Tek'.  He is a black lab that is friendly and little.  I like it when he is with me."  Then he spontaneously wrote himself at the top of his picture, "Zach is plesd wf dady".

Seeing Tek for the first time.

"Oh! He's pretty cute"

Then, the motion started...

Wish I had captured Zach's face without the blurriness!

Big hugs for Daddy.

Never, EVER

Meet Steve.

Who has said, for all the years I have known him, that we will never, EVER own a dog.  He has a list of reasons why.
1. They're expensive.
2. You can't go out of town without dealing with them.
3. They poop in your yard.
4. They're expensive
5. They eat everything.
6. They require exercise.
7. They leave hair everywhere.
8. They're expensive.
Oh! and, 9. They're expensive.

I cannot state how strongly he was against us having a dog.  So this past September when he told me that he thought we should get the boys a dog for Christmas, I was very. Very.  Shocked.



So, Christmas came early this year (because that's when the pups were ready).

Meet Tek, short for Varitek, a former Redsox catcher.  He is seven weeks old and weighs 11.5 lbs.

I am pretty sure that Steve and Tek will never be best friends, but Steve has won major points in the eyes of his sons and wife.

Progress

 Marcus crossed the 5 month mark during hurricane Sandy.  While we were hunkered down at home waiting for the power to go off, Marcus started rolling from his back to his belly.  He has also been showing increased tolerance for sitting up.  Definitely not independent yet, and still mostly folded in half....but making progress.  While he may be making strides in his gross motor development, he is not with feeding.  I have been trying to get him to take a bottle so that I can go out without kids Friday night...so far he is less then impressed.

Party Hats

Did you know that if you get
enough party hats, you can create
a stegosaurus???  Apparently all
it takes is a little imagination
and really good elastic straps!
I love that I can't take any
credit for these creative ideas.

Fire Guys

Last week we took our first 'fieldtrip' to the fire station. We got a personal tour of all the trucks and one of the men put on all the equipment for the boys in the hopes that they would not be as scared if we ever needed them in our house.  The boys were super excited to go but they were very hesitant once we were there.  Zach kept asking if the alarm was going to go off and so he was unable to pay attention.  At the end of the tour, the 'fireguys' brought out some dress up firemen jackets and hats....then the boys decided it was a fun place after all.  

My Boys

4 months and.... normal!

Marcus is now 4 months old.  

He is able to roll from prone to supine, laugh and he smiles all of the time!   According to his recent doctor's visit, he is average for height, weight AND head circumference.  He's our first normal one. :)