Want to be like Daddy...

New Traditions

Two excited little boys waiting for Christmas to come. Just in time too as according to Nati the toy box is...

EMPTY!!

Actually this is how he gets toys out but sometimes he gets stuck when he grabs too many toys.

This brings us to today... Boxing Day - 2009.

What the heck is boxing day? If you are English you will know it is the day after Christmas. It came about when people gave gifts to the needy. I like this day. It is a day of reflection and family without all the presents and hype. Today I thought about how great it is to have three wonderful men in my life.

Ben... wow he has turned out to be an AMAZING dad. I knew he would be a good dad but he has exceeded all my expectations and more. He is fun, energetic, patient, loving, kind and often just another kid with them. I love watching him with the boys. He also continues to be a wonderful husband and friend. This Navy life could be lonely, but every night my best friend comes home and makes me laugh.

Yared... last year I knew of him but this year I KNOW him and I am in awe. This boy is one joy-filled kid and he adds so much joy to our lives. He loves life. He has the best sense of humor, loves people, learns without even trying and touches my heart more every day. I love to sneak into his room at night and watch him sleep.

Nati - I know some people don't like his nic-name but to me in my heart he will always be Nati. This name is original and sweet just like him. I truly feel like he has been in my life forever. It makes me smile just thinking about him. He has captured my heart.

Me and my boys... what a life we have ahead of us. I just had to reflect on how much I love my men and how thankful I am to Jesus for bringing them into my life. I also reflected on our NEW family traditions. As we became an instant family we were very deliberate with our traditions. I asked Ben what ones he cared about and there was only one so the rest were a combination of our childhoods and some we had seen in other families. Here are a few of our Leppard Family Traditions.

Tradition ONE:Ethiopian Food on Christmas Eve.

Lucky for all of us our Ethiopian friends, Seba and Nadew, came over to celebrate with us and she added two wat dishes to mine. It was a delicious meal and I have to say my shiro was pretty good:). Of course Seba's dish was fantastic.

Tradition TWO: Squishy presents on Christmas Eve.

My sister-in-law does this one and I love it. You get to open one present and it is always pjs. Here are the boys opening their first squishy presents.

Ta Da... here we are in our new pajamas and our elf hats.

Tradition THREE: Sleeping under the Christmas Tree.

This is Ben's tradition he wanted to keep. He remembers sleeping by the tree with his sisters. We were planning on bringing the boys down with us but as they were both getting over colds we left them upstairs. But next year we will all four sleep in front of the tree.

Tradition Four: Stockings Christmas Morning.

Ben's family does them Christmas Eve and I just can't get into that mindset as they have always been Christmas morning for me. He agreed to let us have them Christmas morning instead for our family:).

Yared was up first and opened his stocking. Baci watched from the chair.

Nati decided to sleep in and didn't make an appearance until 8:00 to open his stocking.

We got them miniature hard hats which were a huge HIT.

After some fresh, warm, home-made cinnamon rolls we hit the pile of toys under the tree. The boys quickly caught on that these pretty boxes held great surprises. Ben and I feel our house has been overtaken with toys.

Tradition Five: Roast Beef for Christmas lunch.

I found a great recipe for it that was super easy. We had Seba and Nadew join us. Also our friend Eileen came over as she wasn't able to travel with her family. The boys are really into "cheers" and toasting so they were thrilled to a part of this.

A picture with Eileen before she went home.

Then Ben had to run Seba and Nadew to the airport. The boys ate some of their ginger bread cookies they had made. I was trying to capture their joy but Nati kept blinking. I told him to keep his eyes open and this is what I got. Is he two or what?

Yared, saying, "What is he doing Mommy?"

We had saved two presents for the afternoon when everyone went home as we didn't want the boys to feel blue. Here is Yared riding his new video game bike.

And Nati with he TuTu.. vacuum. He is in love with this toy.

Our first Christmas together was FABULOUS. Christmas really is so much fun with kids around.

Kitty is home and time for some videos.

The missing kitty is home. We think she got shut in someone's garage. She was hungry and cold but happy to be home. I have been taking video and not putting them up so this is for your Christmas viewing pleasure:). In completely random order.

Snapping, teaching cousins to dance, riding Nana and Babu's cool go-cart, and playing in leaves.

Come Home Kitty

We lost our little black cat yesterday. Yared and I are a quite blue about it. We went around the neighborhood this morning but saw no sign of her. Our only hope is that someone thought she was homeless and it was so cold that they took her in. We will go visit the neighbors when they get home from work to see if we can find her. Even if you aren't a cat person, you can see how sad it would be to lose her the week of Christmas.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Everyone keeps asking what it is like for the boys and their first Christmas. They really are loving it. I went upstairs last night and asked them to show me how they felt about Christmas. Here are their big cheesy grins.

We got our tree two weeks ago. Yared loved doing the tree and even Nati could help. At the end of it we looked at the tree and Yared declared, "Mommy this is the best tree I ever saw." He loves to turn the lights on in the morning. I have to say that Nati is stellar at not touching it. I have no idea why he is behaving so well but he leaves it alone. I love pulling out the ornaments that have so many memories. Ben's mom used to give all the kids an ornament every year with the date on it. I love this idea as we pull out all these cool ornaments with different years on them. I am going to start this for the boys. Here are some of my favorite ornaments.

This one is from my Christmas stocking when Ben and I spent Christmas in Italy when we were dating. I remember freezing cold temperatures, shopping in open markets, eating amazing food, and going ice skating outside up high in the Italian mountains. In fact I did a huge wipe out in front of everyone. I am not a great skater. Ben is a fabulous skater but he did an even bigger wipe out right next to me on purpose so I wouldn't be embarrassed. No wonder I married him:).

One of my 4th grade students gave me this one about 10 years ago. It is beautiful and reminds me of how much I LOVE teaching... especially the relationships I formed with my students. I miss that.
Here is the tree... in the window for all to see.

Here is Yared showing you his tree. He has learned Ta Da and was yelling this. For some reason he also wanted to show his belly but I vetoed that.

When we did the lights outside Yared's only disappointment was that he "couldn't help Daddy." We tried to convince him that he was helping by watching but he wanted to be up the ladder too. It is so fun to see the new addition all lit up.

But the HIGHLIGHT of the season is this Advent train.

We bought it last year at an after Christmas Clearance hoping that we would have the boys here and WE DO!!!! We didn't know at that time that Nati was in love with trains, which is just a bonus. Every night after dinner they get to open a door and eat a treat inside. They love it. I think there will be tears when the train is put in the box. Nati smiles at it and says, "Choo choo" randomly throughout the day. That is Christmas so far for them. We have Polar Express at the Botanical Gardens tonight, a cookie decorating party on Saturday, Christmas Eve with just us, and Christmas Day with our Ethiopian friends. We also have a snow holiday planned for January so there is much too look forward to.

California Part 3

Ok so I have been delayed finishing up our CA trip. I was informed of this by some family members so I better get on it or the Christmas presents might not make it here... just kidding. Honestly being in California made me miss my family so much. I am blessed to love the family I married into but it is even better being with your own family, you have so much history. I don't know where I would be with out the support, encouragement, love, and kick in the pants I got/get from them. I was hit with this thankful thought as we sat around the Thanksgiving table. Even my in-laws on my side have known me forever. One BRL met me when I was 7 and my SIL met me when I was 12. They have always felt a part of the family. My other BIL met me at the height of my stupid 20s and he still likes me:). I treasure the time we had in California with both sides of the family and I continue to hope and pray that the Navy thinks we should move back there sooooon.

These pictures are from our time at my parent's house. It is a giant playground, so much so that this is the one thing that brought out tears in Yared. I was worried he would feel sad with all the goodbyes but he did fine the WHOLE trip... except leaving Nana and Babu's house. Nana and Babu were in the van with us so it was the house and not just my parents:). As we were driving away he was quiet... something that rarely happens unless he is asleep. I turned to look at him and saw big tears coming down his cheeks. He was crying his heart out to leave this place. I know that feeling. There is just something peaceful about Nomadness Ranch.

I need to go to bed so I'll add captions rather than keep writing a long winded emotional memoir of our time there!!

Our last night there we had a bonfire. The sparks from the mistletoe we burned were shooting up in the air. Yared was watching this and asked me, "Is Jesus going to catch them up there?"

I LOVE LOVE LOVE this shot. My mom is so cool and this captures how much fun she is. Look at the little guy's face. He was figuring out how to drive it too so we had to keep an eye on him.
This haircut was NOT intentional. I borrowed my dad's clippers, set them to the level we use at home and did a cut across the top of his head. My mom was watching and said, "Well, that is bald." We had to take it all off. Next time we will start at the back of the head.
Trying to capture his joy and the speed.
Big bubble baths are a must.. but poor Nati's skin can't handle the bubbles. He breaks out in a rash the next day.
Ben's artsy shot of the steam engine ride we took with the boys. We were looking for snow and only found cold.
I love my parents ensembles.
Me and my bundles of joy.
Don't you wish you had this stuff as a kid? Wait I had motorcycles why am I complaining?

Love the jump shots.

Kids in height order... Mariah could not wait to have this picture taken. Nati on the other hand did NOT enjoy it:).

I am not sure you can get more different in coloration, but Nati sure loves his little cousin. Yes, I know she looks the same size but he is a year older.

Family photo shoots. The Hunter gang.

Crazy Polaris rides are a must. The kids are braver than I as I don't go when Ben is driving. Then again I was driving and I must have been too slow as my mom starting shoving her foot on top of mine on the gas pedal and told me "To get a move on."

Silly shot.... it is nearly impossible to capture us all in one picture so I think I like the silly ones best.
The grandkids. What are they laughing at you ask? I didn't see it but Dave(brother-in-law) was flashing his belly at them.
Family shot.. the Wellings. I was so impressed with Daniel being SO good for this. Then I learned he had been threatened with near death if he messed the pictures up.
The Palsa mini gang.

Hanna was so patient with Nati, who was getting rather clingy by this time in the trip.

Another attempt to get us all in one picture.

More wheeled vehicle shots.

Nati riding the kiddie zip line:).
Can you get happier than this?
About three minutes after this the back fell off but the big cousins caught the little ones so all was well.
Cameron doing kid duty. He wasn't grumpy it is just rather early.
Train ride up to my parent's house from my brother's place.