Merry DS-Mas

Well, when a day starts at 5:15 AM, there's no way of knowing what is down the road the rest of that day. BUT, when that day is Christmas, it's a different story! Jake sprung into the room just after 5 and wanted to open everything. It seemed so early! We stumbled out and the present opening began. Santa brought both boys, mommy, and Aunt Tara a Nintendo DS. What electronic fun! Corinna loved her very first christmas. She tried to eat as much wrapping paper as possible. Santa brought her a Rose Petal Cottage playhouse which is huge. Santa aught to consider where parents will place such things before bringing them!

Constant flashbacks to a very uncomfortable last christmas made me even more thankful as I watched Corinna walk effortlessly across the present-strewn living room as opposed to kick my belly from the inside! I will admit that this christmas was as much for me as for Corinna. The Rose Petal Cottage certainly out-aged her by like 4 years, but i didn't care. I wanted pink. I wanted tea party. I wanted a boy-free playhouse!! She loves it, and I'm ever the happier.

We knew the boys would LOVE the DS and not do much else for the rest of the day. We were right. We let them play until their hearts content. Which for Jake amounted to several uninterrupted hours of game-play!

Christmas Eve was pretty great, Aunt Lainie had the idea to have make-your-own pizzas for dinner and it was a hit! Aunt Tara made yummy shrimp also. The boys ate in the living room and the grown ups (grandpa, Aunt Tara, Aunt Lainie, Bavan, mom and dad) ate quietly in the dining room. NOW I understand why the kids' table is usually in the other room! We lit a very pretty taper candle (sorry, not Party Lite Kim) in the middle of a pine wreath in memory of the kids' grandmother. She was totally there in spirit.

As is long tradition in the Gartner house, we sat down and read "T'Was The Night Before Christmas." Only this year, no one listened! There was effort made, but the boys were shaking in their boots with excitement, Corinna was squirmy and tired, and it just went humorously downhill from there. We tried, but no amount of "shhh"ing would cut it!

The weekend before Christmas we were in Syracuse with the Baca family. It was great to see so much of the family and enjoy a wonderful time with cousins and grandparents. And the boys went with their cousins and Aunt Kim to see Lights on the Lake, a long-standing Syracuse tradition. Meeting a LONG line had no impact and they had a great time. I've been trying to go for the better part of a decade...I saw 2010 is my year!

First Snow ho-ho-ho

The first true snowfall of the season fell last weekend. I COULD NOT WAIT to get Corinna outside. She loved, loved, loved it.

Happy SicksGiving

It has been determined that at least one person in the house should be sick on thanksgiving. It is pretty well assumed that someone (usually me) is not going to feel their best, though this interesting tradition started waaaay back about 10 years ago with Spike. Just for fun, he decided to get CHICKENPOX as an adult right around thanksgiving. We were still living in the basement at that time, pre-kids. I remember bringing a plate downstairs to him to eat. He couldn't be upstairs because he was so miserable, and we feared contagious.

We did have a good stretch in there, but since then...let's see...in 2005, I was recovering from delivering Aidan about 5 weeks prior and adjusting to life with 2 babies, also nursing for really the first time. In 2007, the day before Thanksgiving, Jake accidentally hit me in the eye with a paper plate, slicing my cornea. I wore a very attractive eye patch for the holiday, and was actually in quite a bit of pain. 2008 had me waddling around, convinced I was having Corinna early.And this year, well a viral infection tore apart my sinuses.

But of course we're still thankful for so many things. Jake said he was thankful "bugs" and Aidan said he was thankful for "Mommy". Corinna LOVED her first thanksgiving and ate more turkey than either of her brothers. Poor Aidan, he sat staring at his plate with the same scared and miserable look that I used to have each holiday when I was little. I used to DREAD coming to the table. I couldn't think of a worse holiday than one centered around food. I've come a long way, but looking into Aidan's eyes I was certainly brought back!!

The weather was so nice that the boys and Corinna went for a nice long walk just as the turkey was finishing. It is such a blessing that we have such a big yard, they explored all over. With the leaves down and the bugs away for the winter, it was pleasant and so much easier!

Happy 10 Months Corinna Bina

Corinna has grown up so much this last month! She's walking way more than crawling now, which really just equates to more mischief. She's sneaky! In addition to eating any piece of paper left innocently around, she'll also dive for a ratty ol' pair of shoes, too. It's pretty gross! She trick or treated for the first time in the last month and is pretty much eating regular food when she's not nursing. Corinna loves carbs as much as her mom and grandmother Gartner. She'll take you down for a piece of toast. And speaking of eating, guess who won't stay in her high chair if daddy is home? Yup! She is now obsessed with Spike and if he is home and not holding her or otherwise paying attention to her, there's heck to pay! She's developed quite a personality recently....loves slapstick humor--which thrill her brothers to no end. And we've caught her grooving to songs recently, wiggling her little diaper covered butt to the beat. She's gearing up for her first thanksgiving..stuffing, turkey, potatoes, the more carbs the better!!!

Oh, and check out the hand-on-hip attitude she's giving me in the bib picture!

The little scratch under her eye is from an accidental mis-directed Buster paw. He's so gentle around her always, but she kinda walked right into it. She still loves him so much and always slips him food. However, she remains terrified (literally shakes) when our cat comes around. Not sure what that's about.

Super Soggy Groggy Sloppy Halloweenie

Halloween was a two-day, candy-filled, whirlwind of a celebration. On friday, Aidan had a party at preschool, Jake had a parade and a party at the elementary school. Spike's company had a trick or treat fest, too.

Saturday morning began with a trip to the Spider Spook-tacular at a local nature preserve. Luckily I got to be inches away from a tarantula yet again. Actually mommy and Corinna spent most of the time in the gift shop.

Jake and mommy braved the drizzle for the first mommy/Jake soccer game. Disasterous. Of course Jake had a good time in the beginning and was a great goalie. Then it started to rain harder and I had to fight the urge to pack it in even though he was covered in mud and it was cold and wet.

FINALLY--it was trick or treating time!! Boy trick or treating in the rain presents a certain set of challenges--especially with a 9 month old. But, at least it wasn't freezing! We ended up driving around with friends and it was awesome. I plan to drive next year even if it doesn't rain! The kids were soaked, but they didn't care at all.

So much candy, so much fun. Aidan was a transformer from the movie, Bumblebee (there were 3 other Bumblebees in his preschool class). Jake went as Heatblast from Ben-10, and Corinna dressed as an adorable little bunny, and matched her BFF, Madelyn.

Happy Nine Months little lady

Ms. Corinna fancy pants is now 9 months old. And just to be dramatic, she took her first (semi) steps on her 9 month birthday! She is cruising around like crazy and loves rousing games of peekaboo and don't get me started on the crowd pleaser pat-a-cake. She's got 4 teeth right now with a 5th poking through. She still believes her brothers are HILARIOUS and dad has gotten a new found sweet spot in Corinna's eyes. Her favorite activities are continually ripping glasses off of anyone wearing them (her favorites include Jake, Daddy, and Grandpa) and getting into the dog water and food bowl. We've literally had a brand new toy out a few feet away from the dog dish, and she made a bee line for the dog dish. Her middle name could be "persistance" because she doesn't give up. I can't believe it's been 9 months already!!

Happy Birthday AIDAN!

Our big guy turned 4! Hard to believe it! He had a great birthday celebration. I made cupcakes (with Buzz Lightyear decorations) and Spike, Corinna, and I brought them to preschool for a class party. It was awesome, he had all his pals, a special hat, and boy did he get a kick out of Spike seeing his school! The teachers were wonderful and welcomed us and made Aidan feel really special.

He had opened a few gifts before school (Jake got to open 2 also, so he didn't feel bad) and then magically when he got home from school, there were MORE presents. Oh what fun for him!

Saturday was his Toy Story themed birthday party. Aside from his Aunts and grandpa, we just invited a few friends from his preschool class. It worked out since it was the first time we'd ever had to hold a party inside. Boy--inside parties accentuate the crazy! The cake was so much fun to make. And Aidan LOVED it. As I gave him a kiss good night, he looked up at me and said "I loved my cake." totally unsolicited and so mushy-gushy feeling. Aw.

He CLEANED up in the gift department. Every single one was his favorite pretty much. Lots of Toy Story themed gifts including a Wii game which the whole family has played. Grandpa picked up an old fashioned scooter which both boys have been scooting around on and loving. Happy Birthday little man.