A Trip to Iowa for Christmas

Wow! The last two months have flown by so quickly!  So quickly, in fact, that I haven't had a chance to keep the blog updated. I have a lot of fun things to share and the kids have changed so much! 

I'll begin with our amazing Christmas in Iowa! When we arrived, Grandpa Hunter surprised the kids with this wonderful Christmas light display in the backyard. They loved it and took turns turning on and off the lights each day with the remote. Although I don't have a picture of it, Grandpa added a lighted daschund to the display in honor of Frankie, my brother John's family dog.   

The boys loved standing at the sliding door to watch their friends in the backyard. Since it was dark in the morning when they woke up (usually around 5am since they couldn't seem to adjust to the time zone change), the display kept them entertained in the morning and before bedtime.

My Aunt Rose and Uncle Bill generously hosted my mom's side of the family for a pre-Christmas Christmas! It was a great opportunity to see my Aunts, Uncles, Grandma and so many of my cousins. Many of my cousins hadn't even met Liam so it was fun to introduce them to the family. The boys had fun with Cousin Michael.

Dylan relaxed with Cousin Sam.

We were also happy to see Cousin Kate and her husband Chaz. They had finished two years of teaching English in South Korea over the summer and now live in Ames.

And, we got to meet the newest member of the family, Kieran, born in September. Here's Great Grandma with her great grandsons.

The boys loved the baby. It was good practice for them to be gentle with the baby!

A rare family picture!

A belly shot! This picture is taken at 26 weeks.

The boys love their Great Grandma!

It was a fun day filled with lots of good food and catching up with everyone. We played the "left-right" present game and everyone had a good laugh when opening up their white elephant gifts. We got a hand boiler and a weather wood. Since you probably have no idea what those two things are, they were true white elephant gifts. The family also did some caroling. I think Liam especially enjoyed hearing everyone sing The 12 Days of Christmas. Unfortunately, the stomach flu blew through almost the entire family after this gathering but since it was only a 24 hour bug, I have to say that it was worth being able to see everyone. Looking forward to the next visit with everyone and introducing another little one to the family. 

It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas!

The Christmas Season has officially arrived at our house!  And, it began immediately after Thanksgiving ended.

We took a trip to the Holiday Train Show at the NYC Botanical Gardens the weekend after Thanksgiving.  It was a perfect day for walking the gardens.  It didn't even cross my mind to bring sunblock since it's not summer but we left without any sunburns.  The boys loved the huge Christmas tree made out of three, large individual trees!

Me and my boys!

Our family with the gingerbread family.  (This photo is also on our Christmas card so pretend you haven't seen it yet!)

Dylan exploring the gingerbread house.

The boys enjoyed the butterfly chairs.  This is our second visit to the chairs that day because Liam loved them so much.

Dylan wasn't sure what to think of this giant insect made out of pine cones.

Our little rock climber.

After strolling the gardens, we finally made it to the Holiday Train Show.  The boys loved watching all the trains throughout the exhibit but the most excitement we saw from them was when the train Percy from Thomas and Friends came around the corner.  

Here is a close up shot of the little models in the train show.  You can see Radio City Music Hall, the Empire State Building (minus the top) and the Chrysler Building.  They are mostly wooden, made out of different parts of nuts, plants and trees.    

Still loving the trains.

It was a lot of work trying to keep the kids away from the models and train tracks, and from wandering away from us into the crowd.  Everything went well until right near the end of the tour.  We were so excited to find the Van Cortlandt Manor model since it's right in our town so we wanted to take a picture with the kids.  During this photo op, with mom and dad distracted, Dylan took the opportunity to remove a tiny, delicate, stick staircase from Van Cortlandt Manor while Liam decided to put his mouth on the wooden railing and blow bubbles.  We decided it was time to go so we picked them both up and headed for the exit!

Christmas continues... On December 1st, we attended our town's tree lighting with some of our neighbors.  The boys followed around this Toy Soldier on stilts.

The best shot I could get of the boys in front of the tree after the countdown to light it.

Dylan wanted to pull the lights off the tree while I tried to get a quick picture.  He kept touching the bulbs and saying, "Hot".  Since they hadn't been on for too long, thankfully they were really just warm!

Liam's turn to pose with the tree.

On December 2nd, I took the boys to the mall to meet Santa and for the annual picture of the kids on Santa's lap.  While taking the picture, Santa said, "I think they're falling asleep."  I think they were just in shock.  The looks on their faces are the exact same as last year.  When we got home, Neil asked Liam if he told Santa what he wanted for Christmas.  Liam said, "Yes, I told him I wanted a Big Buzz Lightyear and he gave me a snowman ball."  He sounded so disappointed.  We realized that Liam thought he was going to be bringing his gift home that day!  

"Mommy, can we take this giant giraffe home with us?"  Maybe he thought that taking home a big giraffe was close enough to a big Buzz Lightyear and certainly much better than a little snowman ball.

Meeting Santa, eating an Elmo frosted cookie and getting to wear these awesome antlers.  What a great trip to the mall!

On December 3rd, Daddy and Dylan went on a mission to find our Christmas tree and wreath.  Liam and I stayed home since he had a fever.  Here's Dylan proudly posing with his wreath:

These green balls look like lots of fun!

Daddy and Dylan came home with this cute, little Charlie Brown Christmas tree since we won't actually be home for Christmas.  It was the perfect size for the boys to decorate and since it's small, we were able to put it up high.  We knew that if we put it on the floor, Dylan wouldn't be able to keep his hands off of it and so far, we haven't had any ornaments pulled off!

Just making sure the tree skirt is perfect.  (And, a belly shot!)

Dylan got to hang an ornament, too!

Last weekend, Liam and I went to Sunset Park with our friends to meet Santa who arrived on a fire truck.  Here we are posing with Santa in the Park:

With Christmas songs playing in our house and a little countdown to light the tree everyday, the kids are really enjoying this season.  We can't wait to travel to Iowa to see Grandma and Grandpa Hunter for Christmas!  (I hope Santa reads this so he knows where to find Liam & Dylan on Christmas morning!)