Round Two of Presents

On Christmas Eve, the boys had even more gifts to unwrap at my mom and dad's house.

Here are the boys opening their twilight turtles. They light up and project the moon and stars on the ceiling and walls. The boys now use them as their new night lights.

I don't think you can tell, but I had to bribe the boys with M & M's to sit still and smile for pictures before we opened presents, so their mouths are both full of chocolate.

More M & M's in this picture too. You can tell Seth is chomping on his and Ethan has his silly fake smile on.

My dad and Seth looking at the Quiet Book.

Ethan reading his new Curious George book. I think their collection of Curious George books is almost complete now. They both love them.

Seth was trying hard to turn that box just right so that he could open it himself.

A rare smile on Zach's face. He got an X-Box. I think he now has every video game ever made.

A big smile from Seth when he saw his new Curious George book. How cute!

Ethan was very curious about what was inside that box.

My mom showing Seth how to snap on the shapes in his Quiet Book.

Everyone assembled on the couch. I figured out Tim and I are never in too many pictures because I'm always the one taking the pictures and Tim is usually in control of the video camera.

Spending Time with Mimi & Mambo

As always, the boys were in heaven with Mimi and Mambo (and Mimi and Mambo were in heaven too!). Below are a few pictures I took while we were staying at their house during our Christmas vacation.

I realize my mom and dad aren't in this picture, but this one just cracks me up. Ethan's feelings about taking pictures are completely summed up in this picture. I imagine he's thinking something like, "Seriously, mom. ANOTHER picture! I'm bored out of my mind here." And then there's Seth with his big smile

Primping with Mimi & Mambo

The boys still love putting on make-up with mom every morning. Seth seems to favor lipstick and Ethan is partial to blush.

This is where the "three musketeers" sat every morning while mom got ready for work. When it was actually time for her to leave for work, there were always lots of tears.

Ethan likes to do everything Mambo is doing. I guess he decided it was about time he started shaving.

Here he is showing off his pink "Lady Bic" razor. Too funny! As you can see, he took his shaving very seriously.

Hanging Out with Uncle Zach

Ethan really warmed up to Zach this trip. He even let him hold him a few times.

The boys love hanging out in Zach's room. They get to play his guitar, mess with his cell phone, watch video games, and eat all his food. It's the perfect place for two little boys.

Seth has a fasination with CD's and DVD's, so he thought it was pretty neat that Zach let him mess with all of his.

First Snow

The boys got their first experience with snow just a couple days after we arrived at my mom and dad's house. It was barely an inch, but it was more than enough for the boys to play in.

Ethan kept saying, "I'm freezing!" He's definitely used to the warmer climate on the coast in North Carolina.

Seth loves eating ice cubes, so he kept picking up small pieces of ice and trying to eat them.

Christmas in Oklahoma

We were in Oklahoma from December 25-January 2 at Terrie and Casey's house. The whole Kessler fam was there for Christmas this year. Terrie took all these pictures of us at a barn near their house.

As always, it's impossible to get a picture of the four of us where everyone is looking at the camera and smiling, but I still really like this picture anyway.

Ethan and Seth don't get to see Granny and Gramps as often as we all would like, so this was a great time to spend with them. We love you, Granny and Gramps!

This was the very first time that Ethan and Seth met their Aunt Tommie. She is wild and crazy, so the boys liked playing with her. She is great with kids. I am so glad that they now know her and I know she is too. We hope to see you again soon, Tommie!

Opening Gifts

This year we were driving from Missouri to Oklahoma on Christmas day, so we opened presents on several different days surrounding Christmas day, which was fine with us. In Oklahoma, we opened them on the 27th. Connie made really cute stockings for the boys and bags to put their presents in, which you can see in the picture below.



Seth with his stocking.

Connie showing the boys how to work the gumball machines she got them. She put cereal in them instead of gumballs and it was a big hit with the boys.

Ethan digging into his stocking.

Seth and Levi tearing open a present.

Boys Will Be Boys

Here are the four cousins together: Ethan, Seth, Josiah, and Levi. They had a lot of fun playing together while we were visiting in Oklahoma. In this picture they were all jumping off the suitcases.

Here is Seth getting ready to jump. This is what he had to do to prepare.

The boys taking a bath together. It was a tight fit, but it worked. They are covered in bath foam, which they really enjoyed playing with.

It looks like Seth and Levi are having a stand-off of some kind. I think they were actually playing peek-a-boo behind the chair.

Ethan and Joe playing with a puzzle.

Seth smiling for the camera. He's really starting to ham it up around the camera now.

Fun in the Oklahoma Sun

The weather was warm, even hot, most of the time we were in Oklahoma. So, we took the boys outside for walks and to play in the park.

Here is Granny with all four of her grandsons.

Josiah, Ethan, and Seth playing in the leaves. They had so much fun with that.

Tommie and Ethan enjoying a quiet moment together walking on a trail. Notice they both have their "juices". Tommie always had her green water bottle with her and any time she left it somewhere, Seth or Ethan would take it to her immediately.

Tommie and Seth swinging together at the park.

Ethan at the park. I didn't go with all of them that day because I was feeling a little under the weather. I know they had a good time though because they were totally pooped out when they came back.

Seth at the park that same day.

Casey taking Ethan for a ride on the tractor. He thought he was pretty hot stuff riding around on that tractor! Look at him waving at everyone.

Family Fun Center

On New Year's Eve day we all took the boys to a nearby family fun center. Well, "nearby" meant an hour away from Terrie and Casey's house. Pretty much everything seemed to be an hour away from their house! The little boys had a great time, but I think the big boys had even more fun.

Tommie and Seth going down the slide together. She is such a big kid, which makes her super fun for the boys!

Ethan behind the wheel. He loved driving all the race car games. It looks like he may be a future Nascar fan like his dad. Help me!

Seth's favorite game was skeeball. He takes after me. That's what I played practically the whole time we were there.

Seth loved riding the train. The other boys liked the merry-go-round, but Seth preferred to ride by himself on the train.