Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a great holiday season!! As I mentioned in my last blog entry, we started new family traditions this year. We stayed at home for Christmas eve and Christmas morning. A few weeks before Christmas, Joey and I decided to refinish our kitchen ourselves. (We just might be crazy). We (mainly Joey) spent the two weeks before Christmas re-staining the cabinets, resurfacing the counter-tops, upgrading the floor, and painting the walls. We basically lived in dust, and it was a bit annoying because the boys were confined to the upstairs. Fortunately, we finished the project just in time to celebrate Christmas in our new kitchen. I must give all the credit to Joey because he really worked so hard, and it turned out awesome.
Christmas eve was just beautiful. It was small- only the four of us and, Grammy, Pap, and Grandma, but joy in the room outshone the amount of people there. The boys played all afternoon, and I thoroughly enjoyed cooking dinner in my new kitchen. We tried to incorporate things from both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia traditions... for example we had pierogies and crab cakes (Philly), and a huge cheese plate and shrimp (Pittsburgh). The boys ate steak for the first time, and both seemed to really enjoy it. More than the steak, they really seemed to enjoy the fact that we were all eating together at the table. Joey and I often feed the boys their dinner, and then eat dinner our after they go to bed. I was actually surprised on Christmas eve to see how happy the boys were to be a part of the dinner table. It just amazes me how it is the smallest thing, and something I take for granted (sitting next to each other at the dinner table), but it just thrilled the two of them to be able to touch mom and dad as they ate at their highchairs. It is this intense purity and excitement that I see in my boys that makes motherhood so rewarding. It doesn't happen often, but it is so cool to re-appreciate things and experience "firsts" through their eyes. Maybe it was the wine I was drinking, but I found myself getting emotional over their reaction. Needless to say, one of my goals for 2012 is to have more family dinners together.
Christmas morning was really quite relaxed. The boys got up at normal time (about 7:30) and we fed them bottles. Because they really didn't know what was going on, they seemed a bit confused that we were so excited to rush them downstairs, and show them their gifts. After we slowly opened one gift, Tyler got the hang of it, and wanted to open more. Austin, on the other hand, was more interested in playing with his toys than opening gifts... but he did come up with a new phrase; "Oh cool!" He said it quite a bit as he opened his Christmas gifts.
We spent Christmas day at Grammy and Pappy's, and they boys were surprised with a train table. After seeing the train table, Austin did not care about any other gifts... he was in heaven. He went round and round in a circle just pushing his little trains on the track. Tyler on the other hand was happy to unwrap all the presents for the two of them.
The boys really love match box cars. Pappy, fortunately had kept all Joey's old matchbox cars from when he was a little boy. Lucky for us, we inherited a box of cars- all fluorescent 1980s colors. Would you believe out of all the toys the boys got for Christmas- those neon matchbox cars are their favorite? It figures!!! Tyler has one car in particular he loves, a white Jeep that says "Kool Aid" in hot pink letters on the side. He finds that car everyday, and has to carry it around with him. He even sticks his green beans in the trunk at dinner... he is my little comedian.
We were lucky to spend New Years with lots of family... mom-mom & pop-pop Kantruss, Aunt Deb, Uncle Dave, and Brittany all came to visit. We had a great time and the boys really enjoyed their visit. Austin melted mom-mom's heart with his new "Oh cool" phrase, and Tyler put on a few shows for everyone doing his "Italian rant." It was all and all a great time!
I always find it hard to recover from the holidays- it's like all of a sudden things go from feeling warm and and joyful to well- January. I don't mean to offend anyone who loves January- but let's just say it is not my favorite month. So to combat my winter blues, I am trying to stay focused on the boys, their many firsts, and the pure joy it brings them when they discover something new.
Okay-I just realized I have been blabbing on and on... here are a few videos and pictures to enjoy. Man, I just love these lil buggers.
