Winter Break

I took the entire first week of January off work to stay home and be mom. It was heaven. And we packed as much fun and excitement into one week as we possibly could.

And somehow we even found time to get our ears lowered!

The iPhone is the only way to get Sam to sit still

That's enough, I said!

The cutest patootie in all the land

Farewell to the Man Cave and Denver Bronco Room

Remember the Denver Broncos bedroom with the butterfly ceiling fan?

The BEFORE...

And, the AFTER...

Yes, that's Charlie perched high on Henry's curtain rod. Charlie is our Elf on the Shelf.

Perhaps you recall Sam's floor-to-ceiling brown man cave?

The BEFORE...

The AFTER...

Other renovation photos to come...

When Daddy went to Texas

Can you believe that until December, I had never spent a night at home without Wade since we married almost five years ago?! I've spent nights away while traveling, but never had I been home and Wade gone. The boys and I decided to make camp in our bed the first night daddy was gone. We read books, watched Toy Story, listened to books on my iPhone and giggled until it hurt.

O Tannenbaum

This was my attempt to divert Sam's attention away from the glass ornaments on our living room tree.

I thought perhaps if the boys had their very own tree, they might want to "play" with it and quit pulling the ornaments off our big tree. Wrong. They did, however, enjoy their tree. So much so that they insisted on re-decorating it every day. Sometimes multiple times a day. I helped them select the tree, but the trimmings were up to them. Of course they HAD to go with the giant outdoor colored lights. I mean, what other choices are there, really? And who could resist the red tinsel, green "glittery" star, and tree skirt featuring Santa and friends?!

As a bonus, I let each of them select two ornaments for their special tree. Sam's choices - a bright colored train and space ship. Henry's choices - a pink and white stripped candy cane, and...a giant frog sitting on a swing. Yes, a frog on a swing.

Morning Shenanigans

As I believe I've shared in prior posts, big brother has made multiple attempts to reclaim his crib. This particular morning, I woke to giggles from Sam's bedroom. I lay listening for awhile until my curiosity got the best of me and I had to see what Henry was doing to make Sam squeal. This is what I found...

Not only had Henry invited himself in to Sam's crib, but he'd invited all of their animals too.

It was still early...and my flash was bright.

Henry had better not mess with Sam's blanket!

Everything is better with Mickey. Especially with a Mickey twice our size.

Breakfast with Mickey

Last year, or maybe it was two years ago, Aunt Carolina gave us Mickey Mouse dishes for Christmas. Henry was elated when he was surprised with a cereal bar and Flintstones vitamin on a Mickey dish. Too bad I don't get this same reaction from Wade when I serve him a cereal bar.

Henry is such a good brother. He is mindful to point out Mickey to Mickey's #1 fan (Sam) every time he sees him.

This makes Sam very happy

Yawn

Yes! Milk in a Mickey tea cup!

He wasn't sure whether he wanted to drink it, or play with it. This seems to be the case with Henry's food most of the time nowadays.

Punching holes in his cereal bar. I mean, why eat your food when it's this much fun to play with?!

And just for grins...Henry with a tummy full of turkey...apparently this is the only photo I managed to snap during our Thanksgiving trip to Pampa and Dumas, TX.

Sam's clone

We were unable to make the Riseling Christmas gathering in Blackwell, but I understand this picture surfaced during the family shenanigans. In the picture are my cousins Lesa, Jamie and Blake...and my double cousin (dad's sister married my mom's brother...it's okay, I promise), Craig. Does the 18 month-ish Craig remind you of anyone?

Sam at 18 months

And just look how handsome Sam will be...we love you Craig and Caitlyn!