Tooth Town Times Two

Speaking of Ticos, yesterday the boys had a trip to see their dentist, Dr. Val. Thank God that Seth joined me as AJ was touring the office like he owned the joint, screaming 'NEMO' at the fish tank, and wrecking havoc at the brushing station.

Ben was a champ. Despite the tooth trauma earlier this year and fearful visits since then, he did great during his cleaning and laughed and showed off his 'big boy' status.

AJ? Well, notsomuch.

It is worth mentioning that this was AJ's first visit with the dentist - due to the sensory issues I postponed things. Twice. Momma knows whats up. Better luck in 6 months I guess!

Show me your Ticos!

AJ is our puppet. We tell him to jump, he jumps. He'll repeat anything you ask him to say (be careful), dance the 'Meaty Meat' dance on command, and is always ready to make us laugh. His patience is short, but so is his statue and we love him despite repeating "All done Mommy" and "More Chex please" like a broken record at the dinner table.

The boys enjoy Dora (AJ especially likes "Diego - Go!") but for fun Ben decided to nickname each person in the family after a Dora character. I think he got everything spot on.

Mommy (Lisa) is "Isa" for obvious reasons. Namely, the name.

Daddy (Seth) is "Swiper" - since he is clearly the villain in this series ;-)

Ben is "Benny the Bull" - again for obvious reasons pertaining to the name. (If only I could have found an image of Benny the Bull punching Tico and writhing around on the floor in a temper tantrum we'd be set).

And AJ is none other than our little "Tico".

We think the resembelance is striking! And thus "Show me your Ticos" was invented to have AJ give us his biggest cheese smile.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas we celebrated by bringing both families together.... The Sinclairs came up from SC and the Phillips ventured all the way from Oakton. While this wasn't the first Christmas dinner I have prepared I can at least be happy that this time the turkey cooked in under 8 hours unlike last years!

We hope that you got everything you wished for....

And then some!

Christmas Traditions

This year we implemented a few new traditions for the Sinclair family which we hope will be continued on for years to come. Or at least through 2012 when I am too tired to do anything with 3 toddlers and potentially a 4th on the way. (Note to readers, this is not our plan - however it was never our plan to have 3 kids in a span of 4 years either! I'm just saying... statistically speaking)

The first - The Elf on the Shelf. George (which the boys so kindly named) is one of Santa's elf. Each night he flies home to Santa to fill him in on their daily activities... you know, the progress on their sharing, clearing of their plates, and unnecessary fits. In the morning the boys would enjoy finding George's new hiding spot. Being that the behavior needed to be monitored early, the tradition of the Elf on the Shelf started in November. By Christmas George had made his rounds to every location known to man in our home.

The Advent Calendar was another tradition I thought would be fun. Each morning Ben would open the next door to reveal a piece of chocolate, quarter, sticker, tattoo, bible reading or instruction. When I would forget to fill the train door and I would quickly respond with "well clearly you have to behave better today as George didn't want to fill your door with anything special last night!" It seemed to work.

One of my favorites as a child... cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer. In addition we gave the boys a little special 'present' to open Christmas Eve which was new holiday PJs (we stole this idea from the Alexanders).

And that tradition lasted about 30 seconds.

Happy Birthday Julia!

Happy Birthday Cousin! We didn't forget, we know your birthday was yesterday we're just late on the draw these days!! Btw, we need a newer photo of you - AJ's grown quite a bit since you have seen him last! Come visit real soon!!

Patience. It's a virtue.

So, on Thanksgiving day, 20 minutes before the boys' nap time I decided it was a bright idea to attempt a photo shoot for our Christmas card. I threatened to Seth that if WE DID NOT TAKE THE PHOTOS THIS MOMENT he would be forced to get all matchy-matchy with me and the kids and take a family photo at my parents house over Thanksgiving turkey. Knowing how disastrous THAT could be he quickly obliged to be my assistant in this disastrous attempt at perfection.

That being said, a lot of my clients ask how I have the patience for children and get frustrated when their toddlers won't cooperate during photo shoots. I try and reassure them THIS IS NORMAL! I put together this little collage of the photo-outtakes to share with my followers that it is not just their kids!

Despite the tears, stained shirts, and frustration I managed to salvage a few 'keepers' in the bunch and still produced a semi-decent Christmas Card from only a 10 minute photo shoot! For those of you who haven't seen it, this was the finished product....

Santa Came to Town... and our HOME!

Tonight we had a special visitor! Our HOA arranged for Santa to come make personal visits for families - in return, a donated toy or two for a woman's area shelter. Ben was excited and beamed from ear to ear as he received a candy cane.

While AJ claims to love Santa - waving 'Hi' from afar, he wasn't feeling him in person.

We got one shot - Santa had a present for the boys which preoccupied him!

Ben showed Santa what he wanted for Christmas... Thomas with the Red Box Car. Since Ben's Christmas list has been ever growing we pigeon holed him by reiterating daily how much he REALLY WANTED Thomas with the 'Red Box Car'.

One of Santa's Elves game him a hug before jetting off to the next house!

Ben and AJ proudly display their gift from Santa - they each received a Train ornament to hang on the tree. We can't wait for Santa to return and see what he brings the boys next!! :-)

Ben's Preschool Celebration!

Today Ben's preschool hosted a Christmas celebration. It started with a party in their classroom - and a reading from none other than Ben's favorite... The Polar Express! AJ made himself at home and snuggled up to the classmates.

Afterward we had a Sing & Celebrate in the Church. It was a wonderful gathering where the children sang Christmas songs and performed a short story of the birth of Jesus. When getting ready to snap photos of Ben's classmates I noticed one child looking out of place. Specifically, MY OTHER (NOT ENROLLED) child decided to take part in the program and play the part of an angel! The teachers didn't seem to mind and let him join in the fun.

Ben played the important role of the King!

And back to AJ.... he was really listening intently.

Or was he?!

In other news, we got our first snowfall of the season! Seth did his part and shoveled the driveway and sidewalk while we all watched from the comfort of the toasty warm house! Will we have a white Christmas? Be on the lookout for a SPECIAL VISITOR to our house tomorrow!! :-)

Santa Drive By

Tonight we anxiously awaited the drive by from Saint Nick. Atop the Firetruck he rode, in below freezing weather. The neighbors so kindly knocked on our door 40 minutes before his arrival to tell us that "SANTA WILL BE HERE ANY MINUTE". The boys patiently waited bundled up for almost an hour until he made his way over to our street.

Here is a brief video of the drive by!