Christmas 2009

The joys of Christmas with a two-year-old. And yes, we made it through in one piece. All and all Daniel had a great time and seemed to get the concept pretty well. We did of course have the moment that he thought all the presents under the tree were his but he quickly got it that it wasn't true and went on his merry way.

On Christmas Eve, Daniel and I went skiing in the morning (see post below) and made Santa cookies and his gingerbread train in the afternoon.

In the evening we stopped over at a friend's house but before we went, Daniel had to call Santa to find out where he was....

Christmas morning brought a happy little boy who enjoyed all his presents (Thanks everyone!!!)

"Did He Come??"

"My Stockings!!!"

And of course opening presents....

By the end of the day, I had two exhausted and happy boys......

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Good Night!

Skiing...

We have a local ski mountain in the town next to us and on Christmas Eve and yesterday Daniel started his first sets of skiing lessons. All and all he did very well and with the help of his friends spent almost two hours out on the slopes (with a break in between). Here are some cute photos of our little skier and him coming down the mountain, which by the way, he did a little by himself a couple of times.

"Getting on the Magic Carpet"

"Standing All By Himself"


"Going Down"


(Sorry for the graininess. It was a little cold that day and the camera had its own mind.)

From Our Home to Yours.....

What A Difference A Year Makes

Last year, this is what our sleigh riding experience mounted to....http://dukerdiary.blogspot.com/2008/12/sleigh-riding.html

However, one year later, this is what our sleigh riding experience mounted to...Bigger Hill and one Happy Boy!

Don't You Wish You..

Had this kind of energy first thing in the morning....

Santa Success!!!

After Mike's failed attempt to get Daniel to visit Santa at a "Breakfast with Santa" event, we decided to try once again today. Luckily our local nursery was offering free photos with Santa today and this is what happened...

SUCCESS!

He even spoke and told Santa what he wanted which was a new Rudolph book.

And I just want to say, I am two for two in getting Daniel to "visit" these types of icons. Last Spring I got him to sit on the Easter Bunny's lap and as you can see today was a huge step. And yes, I am very proud of myself and him.

Snow Anyone??

Baking Christmas Cookies....

with a two-and-a-half-year-old is an adventure. And why did I think this was a good idea?? Oh I know - it is just plain fun for the two-and-a-half-year-old.

Just take a look.....

"Flour, Check"

"Butter, Check"


"Let's Turn This Puppy On!"

"Looking Good to Me!!"

"Roll, Roll, Roll"

"Into the Oven They Go!"

"Cookies All Done"

The Joys of Homeownership...

With being in our new home for a little over a month now we can honestly see why the phrase "The Joys of Home ownership" was coined. So as a public service we like to offer these little tidbits:

1) As great as hardwood floors are, they are a pain in the rear to keep clean;

2) Don't ever let your two-year-old hold and look at holiday bubble lights cause when they break, and they will break, the red in them WILL stain your hardwood floors;

3) When making stuffing in your KitchenAid, make sure that the KitchenAid is turned off and the beaters are down before you plug it in cause if not you will "beat" yourself in the face with the beater;

4) When cutting flowers, make sure you cut the stems, not your hand;

5) When changing the shower head, make sure you don't crank off the old shower head off cause it will break off in the wall;

6) Make sure you always check your slop sink to insure that nothing could clog the drain that your washing machine drains into. If not, your slop sink will overflow and leave you with a basement with a 1/2 inches of water;

7) And when you are trying to avoid your spouse and your child on the stairs, don't try and jump over them cause you will hit your head on the I-beam and split your head open;

Other than that, home ownership is GREAT!!

Breakfast with Santa

Yesterday morning we took Daniel to our church's "Breakfast with Santa" event and I do have to say he did 100 times better than last year. (If you remember, last year featured a crying baby who would not even look at the "Big Man in the Red Suit"). Though we too are smarter than last year as we went to visit the "Big Man" as soon as we got there and were the first ones to visit Santa. Thankfully Santa was very tolerant and did try to have Daniel sit on his lap but our "Little Man" was just fine with being held by us as we knelled by Santa. Santa did manage to get Daniel to tell him what he wanted for Christmas, which was "A Rudolph Book". Here are some photos from "the meeting."

"I See Him"



The "Big Man in the Red Suit"


His First Santa Photo!!
(With a Smile Too!)

"Ok, I am Done with This. I Want my Candy Cane!"

We even made an advent wreath closing out the morning.

All and all a good way to start the holiday season as a family.

By the way, the elves have been busy decorating the house so once they are completed, we will share.

Just think, only 25 more days till Christmas!!

Happy Thanksgiving and....

Just One Hug....

Singing in the Shower....

The Yellow Bike

So over the summer Mike found this yellow bike at a garage sale and thought it would make a great Santa gift this Christmas. Though Daniel did see it when Mike brought it home, thankfully he forgot about it. (An amazing feat for him).

Fast forward to our move. So of course the bike came with us and we put it in our attic for Christmas. Wouldn't you have it, Daniel had to peek in the attic and saw the "yellow bike" and I kid you not has been asking for it at least once a week since we moved in. Of course we ignored the request and I even said "when I go upstairs to get the Thanksgiving dishes, I will pull it down." Now, of course I was hoping and praying he would not put two and two together but as faith would have it, upon waking up from his nap yesterday he saw the dishes and once again started in about the "yellow bike." I, of course, laughed and since I was at the end of my rope from his constant requests, I gave in. I, however, did not think he would do so well riding it but he once again proved him wrong.

And with that, here is the "yellow bike"....

Look's Who's Two and Half Today...

Haircut - Finally!

After MANY failed attempts to get Daniel's haircut at the barber Mike took matters into his own hands and cut Daniel's hair tonight. As you can see, he was a real trooper.

Half Way Through

"The Cuttings"

The "Finished" Do

Sunday...In the Park,,,,

As Mike enjoyed the "joys" of home ownership

by cleaning out the gutters.

Daniel and I enjoyed a beautiful fall day and walked to our new and nearby park

We saw some ducks on our way down to the park

And he enjoyed the curly slide

And smiled

And laughed all through the swings....

Not a bad way to spend a Sunday, if I do say so myself!

First Army Hockey Game

Last night Daniel went to his first Army hockey game at West Point with good friends and Grandpa! (Thanks Grandpa for getting us great seats!) Daniel seemed to enjoy the game and even ate a half of a hot dog, dippin dots and cracker jacks. If I knew he would eat like a champ I would have been taking him to games all along.

All and all a great family night and Army even won the game by a score of 2-1. Here are some photos from last night.

Chowing on a hot dog

The View from our Seats

Enjoying Another "First"

What Happens When.....

You let a two-year-old dress himself...

Music Man...

Need I say more.......

Digging Out...

Betcha thought this was going to be about snow, huh? Luckly the snow is still (hopefully) far away and the nice days of fall are still ahead. As for us, we are almost completely done with "digging out" of boxes and are now in the process of setting decor in our house. I do have to say, it really was not that bad but WOW was it a lot of work as we probably moved something over two full weeks. Our livable space has been livable since we moved in just two weeks ago and Daniel has been playing like a rockstar. I do have to say, he has been a champ in all this and now only wants to go to "my new home" when we are out and about. Thank you to everyone who helped us move. We REALLY could not have done it without your help and I am glad everyone got a giggle off me with my boxes and the fact that every room had its own color-coded duck tape. Hey - worked. Pictures are forth coming as I have to say I have been a slacker in that department lately.

We are looking forward to celebrating Thanksgiving in our house. After a three year hiatus of doing Thanksgiving, we are looking forward to hosting it. The "herds" are coming as with tradition we are expecting about 12 people. The joys of the holidays!!!

We are also looking forward and hoping that Daniel enjoys Santa a bit more this year than last. We are keeping our fingers crossed as he is already starting to get excited when he "sees" Santa in the store or says "Santa bring that" during a commercial. Time will only tell on that one as trying to get his haircut has been a nightmare this past week. All I can say - open door, walk out with a crying child. Yes, two's are just TERRIFIC!!


So, with that, I leave you with a recent video and photo of the little man. Actually it was taken yesterday in our yard as it was close to 70 degrees outside and we were doing our "final" lawn clean-up and Daniel was trying to help me. And yes, he looks a lot like me trying to start our beast of a lawnmower.....

Enjoy what is left of fall and getting ready for Turkey Day!!

Stop Taking Pictures of Me Mom!

And yes, those were his exact words.

Happy Halloween!