Sleep Eating & Denny's Grand Slams

Drew & Jake have really mastered "sleep-eating" at lunch time. We are constantly searching for places to go and play that are germ-free during the cold winter months. I think when we do actually find a good place for them to run wild, their lunch nutrition takes a toll. Here is one of many lunches where Drew has dozed off.


We had a family outing on the first day we were FINALLY dug out of our street after the crazy snow storm. We decided to take advantage of the FREE GRAND SLAMs at Denny's! We ordered 4 Grand Slams and each of us enjoyed our breakfast! The boys didn't eat much of it but it was still a fun time!

Toddler Beds!

In the last 2 weeks (on 01/04/10) , we made the switch from cribs to toddler beds. The boys have been doing OK with the change but we are definitely missing out on some hours of sleep here and there. We started off by removing EVERYTHING out of their room except the cribs. Then we took the drop-side of the cribs off to see if the boys could handle the freedom of being able to get out of bed. We are very happy that we took everything out because the boys went CRAZY.
This photo shows a typical view you get when opening the door after naptime.

Not only would they be found running around like crazy and laughing at each other, but often we would find one or both boys giggling under their beds.

So we have had enough of the convertible cribs and decided to go ahead and GRADUATE the boys to their toddler car beds. They may have easier access of getting in and out, but at least they will not be able to get UNDER the cars.... if that happens I am sure we will post it here!

How will they react this year?

Russ and I had bets going as to how the boys would react to their presents in front of the tree Christmas morning.
Last year Nana & Poppy bought them the power wheels 4-wheelers and we were shocked that they got on them immediately and started pressing the button to make them go. This year Nana & Poppy got them classic Big Wheels and we knew they would more than likely get on them immediately, but we both had our own idea as to how they would react. I thought there would be exclamations of "Wow!" and Russ thought it would be more like "look at that... COOL!". We were both a little wrong but the boys enjoyed it in their way. :)

Check out the video to see them in action.

Blizzard 2009

So for those who are completely living under a rock, the East Coast had a HUGE snow storm Saturday December 19th. We actually calculated over 24 inches of snow on our deck. It was snowing very hard ALL day on Saturday and Russ had to go out and shovel the snow on 3 different occasions to keep up. We tried to take the boys out, but again, the cold got the best of them and neither was happy for very long at all. However, we attempted to take them out into the snow again on Sunday when it wasn't snowing AND sunny... I think the boys actually enjoyed the snow for the first time in their lives!


Especially more than last year!

Hershey Park Candylane with the Starners

We visited Hershey Park recently to see their Christmas Candy Lane event with Sean & Deanna. The boys had their first twizzler candy and cup of hot chocolate ever. They also attempted to master the use of their hands while wearing of gloves. Unfortunately they were not too successful. Again, being that it is December, it was WAY too cold for the boys. Neither (especially Jake) likes the cold or wind on their faces. If they made ski-masks for toddlers, we would be in the market for those. We were able to stay long enough for the boys to enjoy one train ride with Sean & Daddy, but otherwise, we were in and out in a flash!

MD Football & Symphony of Lights

We attended the last MD Football game and brought the boys along for the ride! The weather wasn't expected to be terribly cold for that day and the timing worked out perfectly for the boys in terms of nap, so we figured WHY NOT? The boys only started to get unhappy close to halftime and it was nothing that a few cookies couldn't cure. We expected to have to leave by then anyway, so we considered it a success!

We decided to go to the local light show this year with the whole family including Grandma. Usually you drive through this show at night but this year they allowed parents with strollers to walk through the show prior to the evening drive-thrus. It was a good idea but it was WAY too cold to actually enjoy it (notice there is only one other kid walking behind us...) And the lights really weren't too impressive considering it wasn't even dark when we walked through. We figured the boys wouldn't really see much strapped into their car seats if we simply did the drive thru version of this event... but I think next year unless there is a heat-wave of sorts, we will just stick to driving so we ALL can stay happily warmed in the car!

We love love love spaghetti!

The boys are very typical 2-year old eaters. They eat nothing that resembles a vegetable but can devour all carbs and a few meats.... especially if ketchup is involved. Their most favorite meal, though, seems to be spaghetti. It has become a very regular meal and quite a mess so we have decided to make a statement for spaghetti night. We call it "Naked Spaghetti Night". Now keep your mind out of the gutter -- only the boys are naked -- the adults are fully clothed. However, with the boys naked (except their diapers), we save on stained clothing and extreme messes. Here are a few photos of our most recent Naked Spaghetti Night. As you can see, the boys REALLY love these evenings. =)