Ready for Christmas

Christmas is 6 days away now. All the gifts have been purchased, mailed & almost all wrapped. The tree is up & decorated. The company Christmas party came & went with lots of fun & a nice evening out for us. All the cards have been mailed & lots have arrived already. Seeing how our friends have changed over the last year is one of my favorite parts of the holiday.And of course seeing the boys' faces each time they hear a Santa song, see a Christmas movie or mention that they need to talk to Santa again because Johnnie has decided he wants something else instead makes me smile. So far they have opened one gift. We let them choose one gift from friends & they chose the gift from the Killins'. Cute little baseball caps that they proceeded to wear the entire evening. Jimmy even got to wear his in his 42nd week photo. And he was actually really happy about it. Now I better get back to my wrapping so I can officially be done. Then I can just wait to see what surprises Santa might have for the children.

Ten on Tuesday

1. We are 8 days in to December. Only 17 until Christmas. I can't believe it. Going way too fast. To start it off right we put up the Advent Calendar for the 1st time. 2. Daddy had to help Johnnie get the treat out because you didn't quite understand what the Calendar was for. 3. Then you reached in & pulled out the two pieces of chocolate. One for you & one for Joey.4. I wanted to get a picture of Johnnie with his chocolate but instead he let me take a picture of his chocolate. 5. And our little chocoholic was too busy eating his to smile. He wakes up asking for chocolate & it's the last thing he asks for at night.6. Johnnie now understands after many discussions that Santa will visit our home when we have gotten down to the 25th day on the calendar. So each night when we say, "Okay which day are we on?", he goes directly to day 25 which has a photo of Santa Claus on it. I think he feels that this means he can unwrap Santa's gifts. Smart boy but that doesn't mean he can have what he wants yet.

7. On another night the calendar let Johnnie have ice cream for dinner. Hey take it up with the calendar. I don't control it...it controls me. 8. Don't worry grandparents. Every night isn't just about chocolate & ice cream. Some nights have included going to get a Christmas tree, opening a bell ornament that now hangs on our front door to let everyone know when someone has arrived. Other nights will also include a new Christmas book, a family walk to get hot chocolate, a drive to look at Christmas lights, decorating the tree, a Christmas movie, a trip to a bookstore, donating money to the Salvation Army, etc. Thanks to all my friends who helped provide ideas for our dear calendar. Next year I'm going to plan all year long so when December rolls around I'm ready.

9. Jimmy is sick today. He is napping right now. A cough, runny nose & basically an unhappy boy. So his weekly photo is going to be taken later this week when he's happier. For now here is his 40 week photo from last week. He is usually walking around the train table but because I had my camera out he sat down. Of course. 10. And his latest trick along with sucking his lower lip is blowing bubbles with his tongue. Such cute things our little guy does. Seriously... it is cute. Especially because it forces him to make these funny faces that make me giggle.

The Terrible Twos

are quickly approaching. New Year's Eve will be here before we know it & this little guy will be a toddler. Love you buddy! Now please make 2009 last as long as possible.

New Looks

For weeks I have been telling Johnnie that we need to cut his hair & to get him excited about it we have been promising him that we would get a milkshake afterwards. Well for the past couple of days Johnnie has been asking me for his haircut & milkshake so after naps today we headed out. Our boys shaggy hair & all. And in Johnnie's words our boys with their "handsome" haircuts.

Thankful for

these boys in my life. And for so much more like my sisters & dad, my East coast family, our health, a great meal with family & friends, close friends, running again & just feeling lucky for each day! Happy Thanksgiving!

39 Weeks

I know you are officially 9 months old now but it seems so much further away from a year old if I keep thinking in terms of weeks. Today you have officially been alive & well outside my body for as long as you were living in my body. My baby boy you are growing so much every day.
You are now 18 pounds 10 ounces (25%) & 29 inches tall (75%).
Standing up & cruising along the furniture. Clapping with excitement. Trying to wrestle with your brothers even though they just keep pinning you down. Predictably crying each time you are hungry & REALLY tired. You seriously can't get enough of your mama. You crawl around the house after me. Eyeball me each time I walk by when someone else is holding you & give me the best cuddles. You continue to be such a good natured baby. Happy & smiley & just so sweet.

Here are some of the photos I took of you to mark your 39th week of life. First we went outside & tried to get some photos in the grass. At first you were happy. But then when you tried to crawl over to me you discovered that like your brothers you don't like the feel of grass. But you kept trying. And then eventually you tried to eat the grass & that's when it was time to move the photos inside. You loved playing peek a boo under the stool. And then you decided you could crawl to me under it. But your head got a little stuck. And then you figured out how to low crawl underneath after giving me a huge toothy smile!

10 on Tuesday -Papa's Visit

1. We have been lucky enough to have papa (Rick's dad) visiting for the past week. It only took a few minutes for Johnnie & Joey to settle in & feel comfortable. I guess a Spiderman book & an animated papa make for a good time.2. Johnnie even got involved & turned the pages for him.3. Spending time with papa. It looks like the boys were explaining how we play in the Bolander household. He better be careful...they can tire one out pretty easily.4. With each passing moment they spent together Johnnie adored his papa more & more. Wanting to sit next to him on the couch, giggling with him & then tonight making sure papa sat next to him at the dining room table for his last dinner here. Johnnie actually put the plates on the table & when I tried to sit next to him he told me "No mama, that's papa's seat. You sit over there (across the table.)5. Jimmy has pretty much been a mama's boy for the last 6 weeks with teething & being sick. So he hasn't been overly happy letting anyone but me hold him. But last night we did manage to capture some smiles with papa & his youngest grandson.6. 4 of the Bolander boys hanging out watching Monday night football last night. Like I said Jimmy is a mama's boy so he is actually down near my feet.7. So after that photo I captured Jimmy's 38 week photo. He like his older brothers loves to push this ball around the house.8. And Joey has been showing him how to push this car around the house.9. Thanks for spending time with us. We have really missed you & can't wait to see you again.10. Goodbye Papa until next time!

A Weekend With Old Friends

Last weekend one of my oldest & bestest friends came down for a visit from Northern California with her youngest son Carson. We have been friends since 1986 & through all the years, moves, colleges, marriages & kids we have remained close. Here is one of the oldest photos I could find of us together. Check out the big hair, the scrunchie & the big eyebrows. Nowadays I just look tired but at least we are a little more low key. With her visit we took the chance to get together with 2 more of our closest/oldest friends & went out to a really nice adult dinner. I tried to get a photo with a point & shoot camera but I admittedly couldn't figure out how to use it. So you'll have to settle for pictures of our kids having a playdate together. My boys slept 2 out of the 3 hours of the playdate but they did wake up in time to have a little fun. But here is what they missed. Playing on the swing set. Running around the yard & having snacks. And before they left I captued a couple photos of mama with her son. Until our next visit I miss you friend.

Trick or Treat

A 1st for this family. This was the 1st year that our boys stayed up late enough to go trick or treating. Costumes on, pictures taken & we were off to collect candy. Our Spiderman was so excited to put on his outfit & get going. But by the 4th house he turned to me & said "I wanna go home". I guess he had enough of saying trick or treat, thank you & Happy Halloween. But we did convince him to keep going for another 30 minutes. He just happily walked along holding daddy's hand & talking to him about the decorated houses. The boys would walk up to the house holding daddy's hand & say their bit & then walk away. Please take note of the scary guy they collected candy from. Afterwards Johnnie commented that he didn't like that man. I didn't either. Our baby dinosaur refused to wear his hood but he enjoyed the rest of his costume. After collecting candy he would try unwrapping each piece & put it in his mouth before we could stop him. After awhile he didn't hold out his bag anymore but rather just his hand & say "treat".

Our little pumpkin was such a trooper & stayed up an hour past his bedtime. Isn't he the cutest little pumpkin you have ever seen? He was carried most of the night by Auntie Kim & occasionally by his princess mama (Johnnie kept asking me to be a princess so I obliged by wearing my wedding tiara- don't get me wrong... I love to pull it out & wear it!) And after 3 attempts at a family photo (with no luck) we decided to call it a night & head home to put the boys to bed & get some dinner.

Hope your evening was full of candy, tricks & treats & lots of smiles!

Our Local Pumpkin Patch

There was no petting zoo, no hay maze, no corn pit & no extras, but it was a great day. The boys didn't even notice that all these extras were missing. They were only aware of the fact they were allowed to run around the entire pumpkin patch without a parent telling them to stay close & slow down. They had free run of the entire patch for an entire hour. Everywhere Johnnie went & everything Johnnie did, his baby brother Joey went & did as well. And Jimmy joined in when he could.

Johnnie took choosing a pumpkin very seriously. Just look at the concentration of those pursed lips. He must have looked at every pumpkin 3 or 4 times & in the end daddy needed to push him to choose one. And once he moved on to the next area to look at pumpkins Joey would come along & touch the same pumpkins & mimic his big brother's actions. But he did get a little distracted by the hay. They discovered this wagon & had daddy pull them all through the patch. After a little while they asked for Jimmy to join in who happily obliged. And then once they were bored with this they moved on to a wheelbarrow. Jimmy found this little pumpkin to entertain him once his brothers ran away again. And of course no outing is complete without the attempt at getting a family photo. Again no easy feat with three little ones who would rather be doing anything else but I'm glad we do it. I love the idea of looking back at these photos when the boys are all grown up & seeing what our family looked like all those years ago!