We drove to Pittsburgh late on Christmas Eve after Matt got off work so that we could spend Christmas morning with the Pittsburgh crew and Grammy. The boys had a blast Christmas morning with all of the new gifts and getting to play with each other. We spent the the day after Christmas visiting and hanging out with everyone. The boys enjoyed pulling each other in the tractor trailer and Ezra liked making food for Great Grammy and helping with clean-up with Aunt Jen. Nana took some family photos for everyone while we were there too. Our boys are too cute, I have to say.
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We had an early Christmas celebration the weekend before Christmas with Grandma, Grandpa, and Aunt Caroline. We had a big Christmas dinner, made Christmas cookies, played games, and tried out the new presents. The big gift from Grandma and Grandpa was the Nugget, the blue foam cushions that the boys can turn into just about anything. They have been a big hit and great for getting energy out on days when we don't get outside as much. We were so glad Dad got to be home for some of the weekend too, to join in the celebrations!
As we're getting closer to Christmas, the boys are getting very excited and have started preparing their presents for everyone! They've also been receiving a few presents early from family and have been trying those out as well. On Tuesday, the library hosted a Meet the Penguin event put on by the Newport Aquarium in Cincinnati. They brought an African penguin to meet the kids (and learn about them of course!). The boys thought the penguin was pretty fascinating and even got to touch her at the end of the presentation! On Friday, Matt and I got an evening out at the annual Christmas party put on by Matt's residency. Grandma came to watch the boys and we had a great time getting to socialize with the other residency couples.
The boys are still getting along great, but have also started enjoying some time doing their own thing throughout the day too. Micah has started to enjoy working on projects for longer periods of time, which leaves Ezra to wander off and find something on his own to do when he realizes that Micah is going to be longer than he would like. Often, Micah's projects are tapping into his creative side more and he has started using craft materials and boxes to make things as well as his new Lincoln logs to build buildings. Ezra still prefers short spurts of activity (trains, trucks, the shape sorter, and stamps) but will play with them alone pretty well. Ezra also loves to help with almost all jobs around the house, so we will often fold laundry, cook, and clean while Micah works or plays independently on his projects. The first week of December was pretty laid back. I took the boys to the Quarry Park down the road where they love to climb on the rocks one day, and Ezra helped me cook dinner most nights (he's turning in to quite the little chef). At the end of the week, we dropped Matt off at the airport so he could fly to a friend's wedding for the weekend and the boys and I kept driving to Pittsburgh to hang out with Nana, Grandad, Jack, and Seth. They had snow in Pittsburgh so we played outside when it wasn't too cold, and of course played trucks and trains inside when it was.
Ezra chose the weekend to become quite the talker (not that he wasn't already, but he started stringing multiple sentences together). And he's trying to constantly keep up with the rest of the boys so he is running, riding, and playing in the snow with the best of them! Micah has entered a funny faces stage in which he makes all kinds of interesting expressions as the day goes on. He also likes to instruct Ezra (maybe a bit too much), but is also a great encourager and lets Ezra know when he has done a good job. They play together really well a lot of the time now, and I actually find myself having a little free time during the day when they are off playing together! After our Thanksgiving trip, Great Grandma Pat came to visit us from California! Nana and Grandad drove her to our house and she spent four days hanging out with us. We got snow on the day they arrived, so we had some adventures in the snow to start off her visit. She also brought Christmas a little early, so the boys had fun building electrical circuits with her and playing with their new stomp rocket. Nana slipped in a couple of new puzzles to give Micah a challenge as well! While Great Grandma Pat visited, we put her to work helping us decorate for Christmas, which of course the boys loved. We also took her out walking in the woods and on a visit to our favorite nature center while she was here. It was a fun week!
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AuthorWe are a father and a mother doing our best to raise our children with God's guidance. Archives
April 2020
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