Snow Bunny

It's that time of year!  It takes energy getting the boys dressed to go sledding in the backyard, much less actually taking them sledding.  Every time we do it, I look forward to the day when they will be able to dress themselves and sled together while I cheer them on from my warm bedroom window.  But I'm not going to wish these days away because they're so darn cute!  This is probably Liam's favorite activity (this week, anyway) and he sure looks good doing it.

Oops.  I think I'm supposed to be on the sled as it goes down the hill...

Liam has eaten a lot of snow this year.  I'm hoping it hasn't done any long term damage.  I think he knows to avoid yellow snow...

Blue Steel.  

Catching snowflakes with his tongue...

Happy Liam!

Miniature Monets

In the winter, we have to come up with lots of fun indoor activities because sometimes it's just too darn cold to brave our mountain.  Painting is one of the boys' favorite pastimes.  Liam has mostly gotten over his OCD and now fully enjoys getting his hands dirty.  Aiden was tentative at first until he saw Mamma do it, and then he dove right in.  

Aiden does not like to be disturbed during his creative process.  At this particular moment, Aiden felt threatened by Liam's presence...

So he spotted a good target…and...

Bam!  Red handprint on Liam's new shirt.  It will never be the same.  Apparently, red "washable" finger paint is not so washable.  

I'm innocent!  And I'm an artist, so don't mess with me.  

More, please!  

Enter Frankenstein.  

Love this cherubic face.  

Liam's favorite things to paint right now are roller-coasters and tornadoes.  Both involve a big blob with lots of swirls.  I convinced him to do a family portrait just before he embarked on this masterpiece.  

Deep concentration...

Thanksgiving 2013

This is one of those posts where I recognize that there are too many pictures, the pictures themselves are not great, but I just can't seem to discriminate because Thanksgiving is a major holiday and if I only posted the good pictures, we would have no collective memory of Thanksgiving 2013!  Take the next two photos, for example.  Liam and Aiden were completely out of sorts after naps and had nothing left to give the camera.  

And then when we arrived at MuMu and Grandpa's house, Aiden had a major meltdown and I had to sit in the foyer with him for a good twenty minutes until he calmed down.  We were not off to a great start...

By the time the festivities started and the cousins started playing, things picked up.

Milli and Travis had just recently announced that a third baby girl will be joining their family soon, so we had much to be thankful for! 

The kiddos put on a magic show for us in the bunk room.  It was AMAZING.  

We're all very thankful for iPads and other electronic babysitting devices.  

Weston enjoyed his apple pie that he slaved over…He was quite proud of himself.  Oh, that crust!  Heaven.

Overall, good times with good peeps.  Sorry the pictures were crappy.  I missed the Rawson side of my family!  Mom and Dad ditched us to have T-day with Daniel's family in Seattle, but we had Jen and the kids over the following day for dinner while Bret campaigned.  I'm thankful that I have so many people to love in my life!