d.e.c.l.a.n.

You'll have to excuse the stawberry stained face, we had just finished lunch and hadn't cleaned him off yet!  But if you look beyond that you'll see that Declan wrote his name all by himself!  How awesome is the L?!  That's our big guy!



xlvi

Yesterday afternoon we made our first trip downtown to see all of the Superbowl hoopla, we're planning on going down a few more times....LMFAO are going to be performing on Friday night!! It was a bit chilly, but with mittens and blankets on the boy's they seemed happy:) We caught a quick dance appearance from the Colt's cheerleaders, I think the boy's were just as excited as I was! They also liked seeing the people zip line over our heads. I can't imagine how crazy it's going to get once all the fans get into town! Here's a few pics from yesterday.



post its and blocks

Here's a little bit of what is going on around our house...Declan has been into decorating his door (and many others) with his art! 

 Conall showing off some of his post it art work:)

 Declan has been super busy building with blocks, this morning he built a fire truck and Conall didn't even knock it down!



3 yrs + 7 mos and 19 mos

I'm doing something a little different this month for the boy's "month older" update...a top 10 of the month for each of them:) 

Declan

10.  trying cottage cheese so that his little brother would try it (neither of them like it)

9.  telling us he "growed" when he stands next to a wall

8.  being leader and bringing in snack at school in the same week

7.  wearing a "skin sticker" (a tattoo that his uncle Kienan got him for Christmas) for almost two weeks (the darn thing won't come off!)

6.  eating spaghetti noodles for dinner for more than 3 nights in a row

5.  telling us that he's ready to go to kindergarten

4.  "flying to Egypt" with him at the museum

3.  getting donuts on Sunday morning with dad

2.  practicing using his scissors to cut up paper

1.  swimming from one end of the pool to the other all by himself (side to side, not the whole length, but it was so awesome!)

Conall

10.  reading books with him before bed

9.  watching him eat pretzels at the pretzel shop, he loves them as much as Declan does

8.  hanging out just the two of us when Declan is at school

7.  getting ready to register Conall for Mom's Day Out for next fall

6.  wearing goggles at the pool because Declan did, so, so funny

5.  not leaving his crib with out his puppy and his blanket

4.  trying cottage cheese for the first and probably last time

3.  watching him sit on dad's lap and listen to music

2.  picking up blocks every night because he knocks them all over the place

1.  hearing him say "nana" (banana) for the first time

Here's some pictures from the Rhythm Discover Center downtown, it was so much fun!  We all loved banging the gong, tam-tam and drums:)

OUR BOYS

Here's little Conall D hanging out in one of the smallest places he could find:)  Minutes after I took this picture he stacked up blocks and trucks so he could hardly get out!

 Santa brought the boys playdough in their stockings and Declan has really liked playing with it.  Here are some carrots he made the other day:)

 Conall's new favorite spot...sitting on dad's lap with the guitar listening to and playing music!

And this is what happens at 4:15 pm when Dec wakes up at 7 am:) 



a visit from la

For those of you that don't know, before I was a mom (and a blogger), I was a teacher.  My first 3 years of teaching were at an incredible little school, St. Mark, in Venice, CA.  I have never been part of such an amazing community of teachers, students and parents.  Truly a wonderful place to work and call home.  I can tell you one (or more) special thing about each student I had and even ones that weren't in my class, they are all so dear to me.  My first class are now 8th graders at St. Mark and will graduate this spring and be on their way to high school...sniffle, sniffle.  I keep in contact with so many of them and their parents, who really took me in as more than just their kids teacher.  Well, on New Year's Day I had a very special visit from one of my former students, Maddie, her little brother, Gus, and her mum, Emilie who were in Carmel visiting their aunt and cousins!  Declan and Conall had so much fun showing Maddie and Gus their rooms and all of their toys:)  No doubt these two amazing kids come from two loving parents, they really are wonderful.  Maddie is now a 7th grader and Gus is in 4th grade.  It was so lovely to visit and catch up with them.  And the treats Maddie brought us were gone by the next morning!  

Christmas Morning

Christmas morning was so wonderful this year, watching the boys come downstairs to see if Santa came was just awesome. Declan expressed his excitement a bit more than Conall, but the both were super excited! Santa brought each of them a new bike this year and Declan's first words upon seeing them were "No way, bikes!", so sweet. Declan also got a guitar, a bee flashlight, slippers and Fruit Loops! Conall got an xylophone, a bee flashlight, a puzzle and Fruit Loops! I think the Fruit Loops were one of their favorite gifts:) Santa also brought both of them an art easel with lots of chalk, markers and crayons! They also loved the Nerf shooters and books that were in their stockings:) Now we just need to wait until spring to start riding the new bikes!

And here's dad's new coat and running pants:)

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve started off with a long, but really nice mass at St. Joan of Arc and then it was home for a feast...a roast, mashed potatoes, broccoli orecchietta pasta and oreo cookie dessert!  After dinner we got started right away on baking cookies for Santa, laying out their stockings and putting out a carrot for the reindeer.  They said good bye and good night to Jingle Bell until next Christmas.  Although Conall sampled one of Santa's cookies, the boo's were ready for bed and to see what Santa would bring them in the morning:)

gifts for the g's

This year at school Declan was able to go "shopping" at the Santa Store for his grandparents, us and Conall.  We were so excited to see what he picked out for everyone and he didn't disappoint!  He could hardly wait to give out his gifts, he helped everyone open them too:)

Pop pop got a little red flashlight with batteries!

 Ya ya got a big green frog lawn ornament (I cried laughing so hard at this one!), it was pretty awesome!

 Grandad got a green emergency rain poncho!

 Gram got a little beaded bracelet!

It was so sweet to him give his gifts and to see how proud he was of each one of them.  He picked out coloring crayons for Conall, a mug for hot cocoa for me and a nutcracker ornament for dad:)  Best gifts ever!