A Very Belated Merry Christmas

So I was joking with a friend that it would probably be February before I got my Christmas pictures up on the blog. That was supposed to be a joke, and yet here I am sneaking them in under the wire. It is not entirely my fault! Really. We have been having some issues with the internet after moving the computer to a wireless connection. And it seems that it hated Blogger the most. And I have better things to do than battle with this contraption, so therefore that is why it took a month to get these pictures up. Enjoy, especially those of you who kindly harassed me for them :).

"Mine" A new favorite word that can mean both Matthew and the truest sense of that evil word, mine.

Our Christmas snow storm and the fabulous Daddy who will go out and play for hours.

This is the safest way that Matthew decided he should touch snow: through the glass or on a plate. He was not keen of having any more to do with it up close and personal.

Grace and "Snowy" that she and Daddy made. Quite creative, I thought (the decorations, not the name).

If only he always kept the crayons on the paper, this would be such a sweet activity... but alas, I have found his artistic evidence on my wall, closet door, the inside of the play kitchen...

On Christmas Eve we sang carols in a room lit only by candles, and read a Christmas book while eating cookies. Is it not clear why this is every kid's favorite holiday? This includes big kids.

One who looks like she is going on twelve. And another who is in the "cheesey smile" phase.

Easter

"The Uncles" came for a visit over Easter weekend. Only Crazy Mommy tells a 3 year old when someone is coming before they are actually here. A point that was proved yet again when Peter's afternoon flight was late and he didn't get to our house until after bedtime (Erik took Peter and Stefan out for a little male bonding time after they both got in).

So on Saturday morning when she woke up, I went into her room and said "Grace, I have a surprise for you! Your Uncles are here for a visit!" Her answer was, "REALLY?!? I love my Uncles! They do silly things!"

Silly must run in the family. Check out my little man's hair. And Grace's reaction to discovering there was candy inside those eggs she was finding.

We tried telling her there were surprises inside those eggs. But she was more intent on finding them... that is until we showed little-miss-never-gets-candy what exactly I was talking about. :)

Next year she will have a little competition for all that stash! (I have no idea what we are talking about- I'm quite sure it was nothing as serious as it looks.)

What I did on my Christmas vacation

If I were writing this for school, I would have received an "F" if for the sheer fact that it was so tardy. But I'm sure that if it had been on time, I would have been given an A+ for how cute my kids are! :)

This is for those family members who have been asking for pictures (and rightly so). I apologize profusely if it seems a little obnoxious. There were so many great pictures (thanks, hubby!) from our Christmas at the Lake House in Minnesota that I had an awful time choosing which ones to use. Shocking, I know. I am certainly not an indecisive person! ;) It wouldn't be Grandma's house if there wasn't a baby in the bathtub! No comments on the flab, please. :)

The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming! (There was a request made for a family picture in traditional Russian boots and hats- for those of you who don't know, my in-laws live in Moscow.)

Making peanut butter pine cones for the birds

Snowy fun! A little cautious at first, Grace learned to love sledding down the sled run that Daddy and her uncles made. We found the driveway just as fun- fast, but wide. We also got to do some snow shoeing through the woods that I am sure Robert Frost had in mind when he wrote his famous poem.

I see glimpses of this sweet child as a grown up girl. She looks so precious in her new hat from her uncle!

And in that same vein, does that mean Matthew is going to be the class clown? Check out this hilarious face he was making.