Wrapping up the Year

Wrapping up the year has been a blast.  December was fun, busy, a little stressful at times, and is ending very mellowly.  

We started the month off with a visit from Paul and Valine, which was a pleasure.  We wish they lived closer.  They helped us pick out a tree and decorate the house. 

Decorating the tree was magical for Ira...

especially making his nose look huge in ornaments.

We decorated graham cracker houses with our favorite neighbors and friends, 

who unfortunately just moved. :(

Ira still talks about his best friend coming back.

We're need some sort of food coloring and sugar detox after the past few weeks.  Here are the guys making "chocolate" covered pretzels.

And here's the Carrot Christmas Cake I made.  My mom gave me these hand-me-down tiers for Thanksgiving, and they seemed icy and winter appropriate. 

On Christmas eve, we opted out of a couple of parties to have a cozy nativity at home, reading Luke 2, and singing Carols...well, at least one carol, I think.

My three wise men. 

The boys are having fun playing with their new toys.  The easel, allows Eliot to lunge and squat like a little abstract expressionist...

And allows Ira to dance around his Christmas Tree paintings like a little modern dancer.  I like how the Dishwasher handle and reflection look like a halo here. :)

It snowed today, so we built a lumpy snowman,

and tested out the boys' shovels.  I hope they're always this enthusiastic about clearing the driveway.

One of Anthony's early presents to me was getting my violin fixed!  I was really afraid and excited to start playing again for the first time in 13 years.  I only took lessons for 5 years, and never got really good to begin with, but it's been so satisfying and fun to re-start the learning.

Ant's survived the pre-Christmas craziness at work, and long hours that go along with it.

Ira, Ira, Ira.  If only I knew at the time of his birth that "ira" is Spanish for "rage."  He's been really fun lately, but also has been having some explosive anger issues.  I think only at home though.  His preschool teacher says he's doing great, and I was subbing in Primary Sunday and was able to watch Ira and the other Senior nursery kids on the front row, transitioning to the Sunbeams class.  He sat quietly with his arms folded nearly the whole time.  He's also been loving the scriptures.  We couldn't find the children's New Testament we've been reading nightly, and started reading the Book of Mormon (normal, not kid's version) with him.  And he's been requesting it over the kid's book every night.  Cutie.

Eliot is just a big cuddly smile right now.  He seems over his tornado, rapid mess making phase and has been more manageable, focusing on one game at a time.  I was just a teeny tiny bit worried because he hasn't been learning to talk, or play games identifying face parts, or animals in books etc,.  Ira was doing all this closer to 12-15 months, and Eliot at 21 months is just now getting started.  Within the past couple of weeks he's started pointing out things in books, can identify a bunch of body parts, and has started saying more words.  He LOVES snow.  I'll get him suited up, and he'll be content to play on the deck for about 20 minutes, even if he's all alone.   

So that's us right now.  I'm hoping everyone had a splendid Christmas, and a refreshing New Year!