Happy Birthday and Happy New Year

Today is Ethan's Nine Month Birthday.

From this:

To this:

And this:

And this:

Wow , it's been a busy 9 months!

We hope that everyone has a safe and fun New Year's Eve. Brian and I are looking forward to a few good drinks and some time to reflect on the year.

Saturday 9:43 pm

So far, so good. 'Night all.

Being Big Boys is just a Walk in the Park

Today the weather was nice here. We walked up to the park and let the boys play. (Brian and I got in a little exercise pushing the stroller to the park and back -- Brian is off this week and we are enjoying our play time as a family!) Ethan loves the swings and laughs the whole time. We have hit another cool milestone with Ethan -- he ate an entire meal of "real" food (the kind that we eat). He had homemade mac and cheese, canned carrots and fresh blueberries. You could tell he enjoyed eating what his big brother was eating.

Benjamin seems to be getting bigger and bigger each day. Brian told me this morning that he can see Benjamin getting bigger each day. I believe him!

Tonight was a big night for Benjamin. We turned his crib into a big boy bed. We took the rail off and gave him a pillow and blanket. (You will notice in past posts, Benjamin has never had a blanket and pillow.) We are fast approaching his 2nd birthday and we are going to being potty training soon. Since Brian and I are off this week together it seemed like a great time to let Benjamin try out his new nest! Here is our little bird testing out his new nest. As of this moment, we have had no issues and Benjamin is sound asleep. I hope the rest of the night is just as smooth.

All I want for Christmas....

is my two front teeth. As you saw in the previous post, Ethan wore his jammies all day. Ethan had been out of sorts for several days (waking up at night, crying a lot, not eating much). Several days before Christmas, we realized that Ethan was cutting his first two teeth. He got them on Christmas day -- yeah, I know, he is a tad behind on the teeth. These teeth were a challenge for Ethan. We felt so bad for him and are glad that they are in. It looks as if several more are not far behind!

So, here is Ethan's gift to you:

We hope that your Holiday Season has been merry and bright!

Christmas at our house

We had Christmas at our house this year and we are so grateful for everyone traveling to our house to celebrate. We are also thankful for every one's help to make it a wonderful Christmas. Evan made and brought dinner to our house on Christmas Eve. He made a yummy Beef Tenderloin stuffed with spinach, pasta and spaghetti squash. On Christmas Day, we had Honey Baked Ham that we made into sandwiches. Of course there were plenty of sweet goodies to go around as well. The boys had so many things to open that by the end, we took turns opening their gifts. The boys got a snazzy, upgraded wagon, art supplies -- including paints and toddler paint brushes (look for art work to come soon!), bath toys, and a pass to the Center for Puppetry Arts (thanks Joey). Oh, and a million books -- but both boys love books so we welcomed the new books!

One of the many books!

Ethan's Christmas Jammies:

Ethan enjoying the holiday decorations!

You mean we can't open these presents for 3 more hours?

That's more like it!

A Christmas hug!

Benjamin: "Yep, they say we just missed Santa. Do you see any signs of his sleigh?"

Ethan: "No, brother, I can not really even see out the window."

Taking the new wagon for a spin.

Christmas Day Lunch:

Joey (Evan's boyfriend) and Evan. Thanks Joey for joining us on Christmas Eve!

Grandmother watching the boys unwrap on Christmas Day.

Santa Came Early

For Christmas, Brian got me this: http://www.theflip.com/products_flip_mino.shtml#scene=sceneMain

And it made these:

Before:

After:

I love my new Flip Video. Thanks Babe for the great surprise!

To hear the boys laughing, you will need to stop the music on the right side of the screen and turn your speakers up.

Like Brother, Like Brother

So here are pictures of both boys looking very much alike.

This is Ethan at 8 months climbing the stairs.

And, here is Benjamin at 9 months climbing the stairs.

Benjamin again, at 9 months, shaking a toy. You can tell he is really into that toy!

Ethan, at 8 months, shaking a toy. Just as into it as his brother was.

Brian and I were just talking this morning about how much alike the boys are. Yet, at the same time, they are so very different.

Look for a very cool post from me coming soon (like tonight) showing off my Christmas present. Brian gave it to me early. I am so excited and surprised by the gift!

Holiday fun

Today was our Christmas Party at "Mommy and Me." (A retired preschool teacher in the neighborhood runs a story time once a week. I have been taking Benjamin and Ethan on my weeks off. We have a letter of the day, listen to stories and sing songs. Benjamin had a great time with "Jingle Bells" and "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer."

Notice the cute trees on the collar of his turtleneck.

This is Ethan before the party. (We wrapped some presents last night and Ethan discovered them today.)

And, I need to brag a minute about Ethan. Yesterday, he climbed up a step. He kept doing it over and over to practice. He is cruising the furniture and we think that he will be walking soon --maybe even by the end of the month! He will be 9 months old on New Year's Eve.

We came home from the Christmas party, ate and I put both boys down for a nap -- that was 2 hours ago. Shhh, they are still sleeping. I love long naps -- even when I don't get one!

Glover Family Tradition

Every year, Evan, my dad and I get together and make cookies for the holiday. We then make up plates of cookies and take them to friends and family. We make the cookies from scratch, using recipes that my mom used to make. Before my mom passed away, she was the one in charge of making all the cookies. We would "help" her by icing them and eating them. We would also go along to pass out the plates -- that was the fun part.

Now, Evan and I coordinate it and my dad helps out with anything we need him to. The year after my mom died, we spent 12 hours straight making cookies, icing them and packaging them. Now, we have become more efficient and this year it only took us 6 hours (though we made a few the night before). This was also the first year that Benjamin "helped." He learned the word "icing" and preceded to lick the icing off his cookie. He did not want the cookie!

Benjamin helping with the sprinkles.

The "after."

The "before."

These are naked sugar cookies and gingerbread men.

Deck the Halls

The Stocking were hung by the Chimney with care.....

This is a wonderful stained-glass Nativity Set that was a gift from my dad several years ago. My dad made my brother and I a set. I love his stained-glass work!

Here is the Christmas tree. Benjamin and Ethan are having a hard time not touching the tree. I have made it far more tempting by placing Elmo and his friends within reach of the boys.

Hmmm...Guess this means that Santa will be stopping by our house this year. Lucky for us!

We have also finished the outside decorations -- look for pictures to come of the outside.

The best Christmas Gift Ever.....

2 Buddhas in a box

The life of 2 inside boys....

So it has really been cold here. That, combined that a mommy who is a little under the weather has equaled the life of 2 inside boys. They sure are making the best of it! (I am feeling better with the help of several drugs. This is the first time in 2 1/2 years that I been sick and been able to take medicine -- I had a bad cold that seemed to go on forever.)

Ethan crawled over to Benjamin's rocking cow. Brian thought that it would be cute to see Ethan on it. Benjamin was not really amused.

I think that they are telling secrets!

Benjamin is laughing at Ethan in the tent! One day, I could not find Ethan -- he has been crawling around. I saw the tunnel that is connected to the tent start to move. I look in the tunnel and saw Ethan sitting in it. He loves the tunnel.

Today, we ran a few errands. And, much to Benjamin's dismay, he got new shoes. Benjamin loves to put on his old shoes -- he knows that means we are going outside. But he hates trying on new shoes in the store. I can barely get the shoe on him. In fact, today, I brought home 2 pairs that I thought fit. Benjamin really seems to like these. He cried when Brian took them off. Ahhh.....the joys of toddlerhood -- cries because he does not want to put the shoes on and cries when we have to take them off.

Holiday Dance

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Bye, Bye to a good friend

About two weeks ago, we found a new home for Shelby, our dog. Brian got Shelby when she was 6 weeks old -- she's nine years old now. Shelby was not really getting the attention that she needed at our house now and the boys were getting too "playful" with her. Shelby has a new home with a loving family we know. Benjamin was sad and a little lost for the first few days. He's better now. We took these pictures on the day we took Shelby to her new home.

It has been an adjustment for all us without Shelby. We look forward to a time when the boys are older and can help take care of a dog.