Its December Already?

I hope you all had as much fun at Thanksgiving as we did. A house full of people and lots of fun all around ... at least for us, but we did not have to travel 24 hours to get here. Its been a while since we last checked in here, and I am choosing to blog over doing the dishes tonight - I don't want to regret that in the morning, so someone should leave a comment as a reward for choosing the right thing.

Hi Samantha! I heard you just woke up upstairs. Why? Why? Why won't you sleep through the night? Is Daddy going to bring you to me before I can write all these captions? Oh, but you are just so cute and quite a snuggler, you are hard to resist.


Elliot, you can Flamenco dance like no other 2 year old I have ever seen. This dress is going to be making many appearances in the upcoming year. Ami & Papa brought it to you all the way from Spain with a matching one for Zoe. Look out talent show, here we come!


Candle Pin Bowling is a New England thing. And Seanie, you may have great form, but this was nothing like the regular bowling you are so used to and so good at. You played with great enthusiasm and showmanship!

Seanie, that does not look like a bowling ball, it looks like a skeeball. And, Alex, my my, are those Marc Jacobs fingerless gloves you are wearing? Ooh la la, you are quite the fashionista. And thanks to the Improper Bostonian for giving us the tip on the gloves. Our whole crew decked out in them for the weekend. And, bummer, mine got a hole the first time I wore them!

Elliot, you and Seanie keep score like nobody's business. No really it was nobody's business. You blacked out the whole page. Several of them in fact. Seanie, I like your audacity to go and ask the scowling counter-man to sharpen the pencil after you two tore through a deck of score sheets.

The documentarian in me posted this picture because its the only one I have that showcases the candle pins down the lane. The gooey mommy in me posted this picture because it is adorable to watch Ben teach Elliot to roll the ball like that.


Okay, so sue me. We all know that Elliot & Emily are only 5 months apart. (Happy Birthday Emily!!) - but I love to see them next to each other. For 2 year olds, Elliot is in like the 95-100th percentile in size and Emily is in the 5th, so to see these baby dolls together is adorable. Ellie's dress is size 4T, Emmy is in 12 mos...and not pictured here is Samantha, who is 9 mos, but got the 18 month dress...you following this? Why??


Grandma, how did you do it? All that adorable plaid fit in your carry-on? And all those cousins sat for their photo like that? Take that, Sears Portrait Studio!


Really? The turkey is still not done? And you won't let people in the kitchen? And you refuse to put out the boar sausage until the last guest arrives? What is with you people? Who is hosting this shindig?

Ooops! More Candle Pin Bowling. Alex was by far the natural amongst us. He bowled a great game with little effort and Samantha adored his entertaining.


Samantha! my little pookie bear, Daddy needs to lower your crib finally. You have never before attemped to pull yourself up - and look at you. I caught it on film right before you collapsed your are through the slat and your face down in the crib. You look like you are going to be trouble.


What happened? I was just going to read Elliot a story before bed and then Samantha was going to join her. But, what do I find? My adorable others sacked out on the couch waiting for my return. Silly sleepies slept through the whole photo-shoot. When did Sammy J get so big?


Yeah - we are THOSE parents. Everybody looks so cute in sports gear, we couldn't resist. Elliot's cheerleader outfit is a slap in the face to the tomboy look she usually sports, but she's just so darn good in it. And Samantha, Daddy veto'd 2 cheerleader outfits, so you look like a little smiley linebacker. Are you both really wearing matching Boston Red Sox Shoes? It's nice that mommy works with those nice folks at Reebok sometimes. BTW, Elliot is saying "Touchdown" and Sammy is laughing, of course.


Samantha, I have to say you rock those black checkered pants better than Elliot ever did. I declare them yours. Its funny how some of the hand-me-downs seem like she is wearing Elliot's old stuff and others seem like they were meant to be hers all along. And, yes, Samantha is a waving bandit now. And she is waving to you from the comfort of her new big-girl waterbed. Its all the rage for babies to sleep in the natural womb-environment. Well, it might be, but really she is just playing around in the baby pit at the Boston Children's Museum.


How on earth did you fit 17 people for dinner you wondered? Well, there you go. Quite quaintly they say. And those place cards are divine! Thanks to the turkey crew who made them!


And when Chris said to kiss the turkey, I immediately obliged. Then they told me I missed ... and was supposed to kiss the tall turkey next to me. Har har. I did that too.