Christmas Catch-Up

Uh, how is January almost over already? 2011 has been a whirlwind, and I'm delinquent on my Christmas recap. My mom and her twin turned 60 the day after Christmas, so the Marbaise side of the family convened at my folks' house for the holidays. It was a lovely reunion, and so fun to enjoy Owen's first Christmas together.

Dec 23rd - Stroll around Lake Horton

Charlie and Heidi check out the water . . . and then Heidi dove in!


Owen all bundled up


Charlie and cousin Ryan take a rest on the walk back


Aunt Moni and her nieces


Back home and snuggled up with Opu


Getting started on the Miracle family Christmas puzzle


Dec 24th - Weihnachtsbescherung (Germans open presents on Christmas Eve)

Whenever Owen disappeared, we found him climbing up the stairs


The Brothers Miracle




Charlie & Omi


Charlie is totally amazed by his Little Prince pop-up book


Owen's favorite presents: the wrapping paper


Christmas Eve bath


The Marbaise girls


Reading 'Twas the Night Before Christmas with Omi



Dec 25th - Santa visits

Charlie opens his stocking


Owen bangs around with mallets from his music table


Uncle Tony & Aunt Niki with Owen


Owen checks out the ornaments


Omi & Opu with the boys


Opu and Owen snuggled in front of the fire


A visit with Great-Grandpa


Georgia White Christmas



Dec 26th - Happy 60th, Omi!

The birthday girls then . . .


. . . and now


Charlie wears Ulli's tiara


Family protrait

St. Nikolaus Day

This year I goofed on St. Nikolaus Day . . . I spaced on the date and forgot to have the boys put their shoes out on the 5th. Thankfully, Charlie isn't old enough to functionally use a calendar so we just pushed everything back a day.

Here Charlie is with his boot and his wish list




Charlie shows off his clementines the next morning


Owen enjoys his new toothbrush and jar of apples & blueberries, though not in the intended fashion

Ode to Charlie

This week at Target I had to leave the baby section, cross the big scary aisle and go to the BOYS section to buy Charlie pajamas. Sigh. I am not ready for him to be that big, but other signs are emerging that he is officially a big kid:

* He pronounces all of his words correctly. For the longest time, it was 'lellow' instead of yellow, and 'myoo-zyoo-vin' instead of museum (I'll give you $5 if you can correctly pronounce it the wrong way - it's a doozy).

* He mostly calls me mom - as opposed to mommy. I swear, I almost get excited when he gets hurt because he: a) wants to snuggle, and b) calls me mommy. I have decided this is a weird emotionally co-dependent form of Munchausen By Proxy.

* He finds all bathroom humor utterly hilarious. Owen was in the tub with him last night, and near the end of the bath Owen pooped in the tub. Charlie shot out of the water like a bullet, and then spent the next 15 minutes making all manner of poop jokes. [For the first time in my life, I felt the need for a daughter.]

Despite this totally unacceptable maturation, he is a dream boat - expect for when he's being a complete pain the a$$. He is very precise, loves to argue and debate the merits of both opinions (and sometimes facts) and hates to be wrong (my DNA). He can also be very sensitive, particularly where Owen is concerned, and stubborn, and loves to build with Legos (Evan's DNA).

Here are a few recent conversations and offhand comments I've found particularly amusing:

Mom, could you please help me separate this tangerine into individual pieces?

***
C: Mom, how come you're always so tired?
A: Well, because your brother has been waking up a lot at night.
C: It's hard work to take care of a baby!

***
Mom, I'm going to find this Lego piece before you because I'm more better at Legos than you. [pause] I'm sorry I said that, mom.

***
I am always going to live in this house with you guys, even when I am a parent. And Owen will live here, too, and we will always be our family.

***
[while playing a game with Evan] Daddy, let's just get concentrating on what we are doing.

***
C as Lego character #1: Somebody just tooted! Was it me?
C as Lego character #2: Yes.
C as Lego character #1: Excuse me!

***
C: Daddy, I want a Transformer autobot that turns into a dinosaur with spiky feet.
E: Oh, yeah? What kind of dinosaur is that?
C: Oh, just something random I made up.

Wearing Evan's pajamas

Owen's First Snow

This weekend, we got our first snow of the year, a little earlier than usual. The wintry weather inspired us to go get our Christmas tree and break out the cocoa. Grandma & Grandpa were in town for a visit, so Evan and I snuck off for a mini vacation at a hotel.

Delicious!


World's tiniest snowman


Owen's not quite sure what to make of all the fuss


Post-snow hot chocolate


Charlie-sized tree


Reading with Grandpa


Grandma and the boys


The prodigal parents return (note the J in Owen's mouth - this is his favorite new accessory)

In Richmond

Just before Thanksgiving, we traveled to the great state of Virginia to visit our friends Matt & Paula in their new digs. It was a beautiful weekend, and we spent a lovely afternoon wandering around Maymont.

Evan & Paula


Charlie poses in the Japanese Garden


Looking for koi with Matt


Fall color reflection


Charlie shows Owen his leaf bounty

Lollipop Boy

Owen has been having a great time with Charlie's Halloween candy. As soon as Charlie dumps out his pumpkin to sort his candy, Owen makes a beeline for the lollipops . . . one in each hand.