Last post of 2010!

I've never cared too much about marking the passage of defined blocks of time in any specific manner.  Birthday celebrations were never important to me and I never really understood why a new calendar year deserved special treatment.  After all, there are opportunities for change and growth every single day--every single moment, for that matter.  Still, Blogger groups posts by year (and month), so I've come to use the number of annual posts to represent how observant and reflective I was during that year.  And given that criterion, 2010 shows moderate failure of my part. 

Yup...you guessed it!  A resolution is coming your way! 

So next year, I'm planning on not only blogging (i.e., observing) more, but I'll be using actual words, not just slapping a few photos up and calling it a day.  And while I'm at it, I'd like to resolve on using more movement in my images.  I love stills, but I now have the capacity for motion so I'll need to explore that aspect as well.  I assume there's a steep learning curve, but the process will likely be very rewarding.

Meanwhile, here are some Christmas pics.

There were lots and lots of gifts under our tree, but A1 seems particularly thrilled by this one:


A2 made this tile in preschool.  He was very proud because A1 had one from when he was at the same preschool 2 years ago.  How odd it must be to find yourself 2 steps behind at all times.  That probably contributes greatly to the older-brother-worship phenomenon.


The expression (of pride?) is hysterical:


The Pax gets in a shot!


For some reason, the low tech Operation game gets the biggest smiles.

Oh, Joy!

This is a photo of one of our (three!) trees using a DIY bokeh filter. 

Feline and canine precipitation!

Days upon days of near continuous heavy rain means we start thinking of bathtime as a sport.   Toes to the nose!




During even the tiny breaks, we run outside as quickly as we can.  The boys are playing turtles. 

Christmas Train

The whole park was lit up.  So magical--especially since we left near dusk and there was still a little bit of light out.


No fear this year!



The ride back to the station was quite nice since the sun had long since set.  Here are the boat dock lights reflected in the water and the front of our train.

Gingerbread house

"Mama, mama!  It's like we're giant monsters about to attack and eat the mini ginger-people!"

Legos are for boys

I wanted Legos so badly when I was a kid.  A girl.  And everybody *knows* girls aren't supposed to play with Legos. 

Hmph!!

Now I am the Mama, and I make the rules.  So our house is littered with Legos!



Even solid bricks are fun!  (Why oh why didn't I back up instead of chopping his hand out of the frame?)

More skating pics

I get the distinct feeling we signed up for the wrong classes this term.  The drills are repetitive and way below both boys' abilities.  But there are only a few weeks left so we'll just grin and bear it.  And as far as the boys are concerned, there's a whole lot of grinning going on.

Here's A1:



And A2:

Snowman party, delayed and remote

A1 got so sick that we missed an amazing birthday party.  Fortunately, the hostess generously brought over the yummy eats and fabulous crafts from the party.

So delish!



The boys liked making the paper snowmen, but they LOVED making the marshmellow ones!




See?  Look how happy A2 is...never mind the candy bits in his mouth.


Well...he WAS happy, until he caught whatever his big brother had.  :( He hasn't had a midday nap in over a year!

Warning: Photo TMI!

Who brings a camera into their surgery?  Me, that's who!

There's my saline bag:


And my booties:


And the TMI part (scroll quickly to the next post if you can't take it!):

Nativity Animals

A2's preschool hosted a collection of Nativity animals.  He did NOT like the camel, but enjoyed the goat and sheep.  And he even had a good time during his donkey ride.




I figured since he'd warmed up to the donkey, we might give the donkey a spin again.  Nope...still a no-go.  Check out the fear on his face and the clenched fist!

Photography by a 5-year-old

A1 has really grown to enjoy photography.  So much so that he's gotten snooty and only shoots with the SLR and avoids the point-and-shoot!  Here are his portraits of the family:





And just to be fair in terms of photo coverage, here is a pic of A1 that I snapped while he was baking sugar cookies:

Are you going to try again?

Sometimes I'm asked if we will have another child.  Clearly, the question supposes that we were rolling the dice each time with the hope of a girl.




But what the heck would I do with a girl?  I don't know the first thing about raising a girl! ;)