Can I have "S'More"???

It was bitterly cold here last night... a PERFECT night to roast marshmallows! Sophia LOVES LOVES marshmallows.....and so long ago I told her we should roast them and make smores....she was very adamant that she would NOT eat the chocolate part! I kept telling her that she needed to try the chocolate part...but she can be pretty stubborn and picky about what she puts in her mouth! I don't know how....but I did convince her to try the entire smore (chocolate and all)...and guess what??? She liked it...(I keep hearing in my head, Dr. Seuss' "Green Eggs and Ham" "Try it...Try it and you may!!!" ) In fact she loved them so much she had two big ones!

Joseph enjoyed munching on the graham crackers....and had fun making me chase him away from the area of the fireplace. Oh my....he is a mischievous one, but awfully cute in his jammies. I was cleaning up graham cracker crumbs all day today...but I guess it was worth it!

By the way...daddy's smore's tasted much better than the ones I made. He claims the trick is using TWO marshmallows. Oh well... I guess I'll just stick to baking!

Gingerbread Madness!

We started with one large batch of gingerbread dough...and it may have taken us a week to construct and decorate, but FINALLY our 2008 Standard gingerbread houses are complete....and everyone took part!!! Sophia even made her own gingerbread wreath! She rolled out and cut so many gingerbread men in the time it took me to roll out and cut the pieces for 5 houses....that we were able to make a wreath out of her creations! She is the best baker ever! I am so proud of her!
I did the dough making, rolling and cutting, and much of the frosting. Brett, of course, completed the building and construction. Sophia was our architect, as she designed the very last house on paper and instructed me how to frost it. I guess you could say Joseph was our project manager....He watched to make sure we were all doing our jobs! "Build Together" is our motto afterall, right?

These are the special times....

Well it has been a few weeks since I have posted...but that is not to say that not much has been going on at our house. It's only the first week of December and I already feel completely overwhelmed with the hustle and bustle that goes along with the preparation for Christmas. I vowed to myself early on that I was going to make every attempt to do only what needed to get done this Christmas and spend the rest of the time ENJOYING what Christmas should be all about with the kids. But no matter how prepared I try to be....there are always surprises along the way (i.e. computer failures....lost address lists, teething babies, doggie accidents...etc. And everything that I think will not be a big deal turns out to be....ie., re-tiling a shower, repairing a window or moving a pool table to make room for a playroom. The clutter seems to be a constant these days....and though at times my frustrations seem to outweigh my accomplishments.... I have to keep things in perspective. Hate to admit you are right, mama, but like you told me last week....we'll never be able to re-live 2008....so it's nice to just sit back and realize that among these minor frustrations....remarkable things have been happening all around me.

Joseph has been taking some steps for quite a while...but only recently has he started to take 4-5 at a time! He loves to walk (on wobbly legs, of course) back and forth between Brett, me, and Sophia...and simply adores when we cheer, "Yay, Joseph!" I was thrilled to get a picture of him on November 20th, when he was walking from Brett to his exersaucer. He was pretty proud of himself that he took 3 or 4 good steps....but as you can see from the picture... I think his daddy was even more excited.

Putting up our Christmas tree was also a momentous occasion at our house this year. Sophia was sooooo excited to get out all of the ornaments and hang them on the tree. She still remembers which ornaments she hung and which ones I hung and points out all of this year's new ornaments to any visitor we have! I loved how excited she was and how proud of her tree she is!

Thanksgiving was special this year as we had a new little person at the table this year. Each and every day we are grateful for those who helped us bring Joseph home. Sophia also got to see the Plaza lights turn on this year... she had seen them in the past, but never been there for the actual countdown. I missed the actual event so I could feed Joseph, but thankfully Thea took great pictures. I love the ones with Sophia sitting on her daddy's shoulder and I especially love the picture of Brett, Sophia and my cousin Anna. Each of them, in their own way, are examples of the MIRACLES that surround us at Christmas.

Sophia and I have been working on a "Christmas ABC" book....and I loved that on her "C" page, she picked "Christ" and drew a picture of the Nativity. I hope you can see her baby Jesus surrounded by Joseph on the left, Mary on the right, and the yellow guardian angel on the bottom right. Her 4 year old mind is remarkable!

And last but not least....Brett....you are remarkable for being my fix-it guy.....Thanks for putting together my new cabinet....even though it was in one-hundred pieces!
These ARE the special times.....