Pre-Christmas
Yeah, I know. I said I probably wouldn't post until after Christmas. I just can't help it. I like to write and stuff happened that I think is worthy of putting down in writing. If you don't like it, well, no one is forcing you to read this.
First, a quick note on parenting. There are just some things that Marcus isn't capable of understanding yet, but they are still incredibly useful skills that he needs to know at some point. So, we enforce these rules with a simple reminder each time he doesn't obey. For example, he can't take toys away from his brother. We tell him at least 50 times a day not to do it but he does it anyway. He just doesn't get it. He is starting to get it a little and if we give him "the look" sometimes he will return the toy to William. Another thing he just doesn't get yet is taking turns. (If he got this he wouldn't have to take toys from his brother because he could just wait his turn.) My in-laws got William a Bounce and Spin Zebra for his birthday. Both kids were kinda confused by this toy at first but now they both like it in spurts. And the way it works is that as soon as one of my boys decides he likes something, suddenly the other one likes it too. It turns out that you don't always have to take turns. Sometimes both kids can play at the same time!
My camera shutter wasn't nearly as fast as Marcus's bouncing was.
Yesterday was the start of Christmas for us. My brother, Willie, lives 6 hours away so it isn't that often that I get to see him and his girlfriend Sindy. Since everyone is running different directions on Christmas and Christmas Eve, we don't usually have a chance for my parents, Willie, Kim (my sister), and me to all see each other. For the past few years my parents take us all out to dinner as a special Christmas treat so we can spend some time just hanging out together without all the Christmas hubbub. We headed down to meet up with everyone in my hometown yesterday evening. We had a nice dinner and Marcus and William were very well behaved. Of course they had my niece and nephew to help entertain them too.
After dinner we headed over to my sister's house. Since I won't see my parents or siblings on Christmas day, we did some gift exchanging. Marcus is totally into presents and definitely gets the fact that ripping off the paper means that something completely cool is inside. The only bad part is the he doesn't get that not all presents are for him.
William was trying to get into the present opening party too.
We handed out our gifts as well (Sindy was the proud recipient of the place mats I made) and the best reaction came from my nephew. He is five and apparently Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are the coolest thing ever. (Weren't they cool when I was five too?) We got him some sort of Ninja Turtles bus or van or something of the sort. When he opened it, he screamed out incredibly loud, "THIS IS RADICAL!!!" (Wasn't "radical" a word that was cool when I was five?) My kids got some really great gifts including this giant one from their Uncle Willie and Aunt Sindy.
Marcus has met his Uncle Willie and Aunt Sindy a couple times but I never had my camera with me. This was the first time William met them and I remembered the camera and even got a pose. William is pretty outgoing and seems to love everyone, at least he did until Santa apparently scarred him for life. William wasn't too fond of Uncle Willie. My brother tends to be a bit loud so I am sure that didn't help. I figured that he would be fine if Sindy held him. Nope, he cried and stared at my brother the whole time. Although I definitely don't like seeing him upset, it was a great feeling for him to be reaching his arms out for me to take him and save him. I did get one decent shot I guess.
Just be glad that my brother wasn't totally paying attention in the picture. He is a total goofball and this is how he normally smiles in photos.
Today we just hung out at home and played with some new toys. The ball popper that my sister's family got for William was a huge hit with both of the boys. Marcus spent pretty much the entire morning making the balls pop out, chasing the balls around the room, and yelling, "Oh no!"
While the kids napped, Greg got to work assembling the gift that my brother and Sindy got for the kids. Remember how I was just talking about how great our game room is now and we have this nice open space for the kids to play in? Well, not exactly anymore. Now we have this nice space filled with one giant toy for the kids to play in.
The best part about this toy is that the kids can't get out of the ball pit! I could leave them in there all day!! Not that I would do that, but I am sure there are times when I will want to. The kids played with their new play set for quite awhile. For the first time since forever, I don't think Greg and I had to yell, redirect, or otherwise correct the behavior of either of our children for more than 5 minutes in a row!
We positioned our other slide in the ball pit so Marcus can get out and we set up a stepping stool for him to get in. William is still contained, at least until he learns to climb. Now we just need about 1000 more balls for the ball pit and we will be set!
All good things must come to an end though. I have no clue how Marcus got in this position but, being the fabulous parents that we are, we had to snap a photo before we got him out of this position.
So this time, I really mean it when I say that I will not be around until after Christmas. Have a great one!
First, a quick note on parenting. There are just some things that Marcus isn't capable of understanding yet, but they are still incredibly useful skills that he needs to know at some point. So, we enforce these rules with a simple reminder each time he doesn't obey. For example, he can't take toys away from his brother. We tell him at least 50 times a day not to do it but he does it anyway. He just doesn't get it. He is starting to get it a little and if we give him "the look" sometimes he will return the toy to William. Another thing he just doesn't get yet is taking turns. (If he got this he wouldn't have to take toys from his brother because he could just wait his turn.) My in-laws got William a Bounce and Spin Zebra for his birthday. Both kids were kinda confused by this toy at first but now they both like it in spurts. And the way it works is that as soon as one of my boys decides he likes something, suddenly the other one likes it too. It turns out that you don't always have to take turns. Sometimes both kids can play at the same time!
My camera shutter wasn't nearly as fast as Marcus's bouncing was.
Yesterday was the start of Christmas for us. My brother, Willie, lives 6 hours away so it isn't that often that I get to see him and his girlfriend Sindy. Since everyone is running different directions on Christmas and Christmas Eve, we don't usually have a chance for my parents, Willie, Kim (my sister), and me to all see each other. For the past few years my parents take us all out to dinner as a special Christmas treat so we can spend some time just hanging out together without all the Christmas hubbub. We headed down to meet up with everyone in my hometown yesterday evening. We had a nice dinner and Marcus and William were very well behaved. Of course they had my niece and nephew to help entertain them too.
After dinner we headed over to my sister's house. Since I won't see my parents or siblings on Christmas day, we did some gift exchanging. Marcus is totally into presents and definitely gets the fact that ripping off the paper means that something completely cool is inside. The only bad part is the he doesn't get that not all presents are for him.
William was trying to get into the present opening party too.
We handed out our gifts as well (Sindy was the proud recipient of the place mats I made) and the best reaction came from my nephew. He is five and apparently Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are the coolest thing ever. (Weren't they cool when I was five too?) We got him some sort of Ninja Turtles bus or van or something of the sort. When he opened it, he screamed out incredibly loud, "THIS IS RADICAL!!!" (Wasn't "radical" a word that was cool when I was five?) My kids got some really great gifts including this giant one from their Uncle Willie and Aunt Sindy.
Marcus has met his Uncle Willie and Aunt Sindy a couple times but I never had my camera with me. This was the first time William met them and I remembered the camera and even got a pose. William is pretty outgoing and seems to love everyone, at least he did until Santa apparently scarred him for life. William wasn't too fond of Uncle Willie. My brother tends to be a bit loud so I am sure that didn't help. I figured that he would be fine if Sindy held him. Nope, he cried and stared at my brother the whole time. Although I definitely don't like seeing him upset, it was a great feeling for him to be reaching his arms out for me to take him and save him. I did get one decent shot I guess.
Just be glad that my brother wasn't totally paying attention in the picture. He is a total goofball and this is how he normally smiles in photos.
Today we just hung out at home and played with some new toys. The ball popper that my sister's family got for William was a huge hit with both of the boys. Marcus spent pretty much the entire morning making the balls pop out, chasing the balls around the room, and yelling, "Oh no!"
While the kids napped, Greg got to work assembling the gift that my brother and Sindy got for the kids. Remember how I was just talking about how great our game room is now and we have this nice open space for the kids to play in? Well, not exactly anymore. Now we have this nice space filled with one giant toy for the kids to play in.
The best part about this toy is that the kids can't get out of the ball pit! I could leave them in there all day!! Not that I would do that, but I am sure there are times when I will want to. The kids played with their new play set for quite awhile. For the first time since forever, I don't think Greg and I had to yell, redirect, or otherwise correct the behavior of either of our children for more than 5 minutes in a row!
We positioned our other slide in the ball pit so Marcus can get out and we set up a stepping stool for him to get in. William is still contained, at least until he learns to climb. Now we just need about 1000 more balls for the ball pit and we will be set!
All good things must come to an end though. I have no clue how Marcus got in this position but, being the fabulous parents that we are, we had to snap a photo before we got him out of this position.
So this time, I really mean it when I say that I will not be around until after Christmas. Have a great one!
posted by Annie and Greg @ 7:51 PM
2 comments
2 Comments:
That is an awesome ball pit! It should be loads of fun for a long time for the boys.
Merry Christmas!
Gail
Wow, you are the coolest girl I know. you have a ball pit in your house. I am sure at some point in my life this was a dream of mine.
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