Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Penguin Surprise











Poppa always gives the best stuffed animals. Always. Although one year they weren't technically animals, they were infectious diseases and bacteria, but I think my Chlamydia is really cute! This year, Zachary got to partake in the close your eyes, and hold out your hands tradition...he was thrilled! Can't wait to see what animals are in store for us next year. 

P.S. If you've seen my ant-eater, I'd very much appreciate a heads up. He hasn't resurfaced since Christmas. Now, I admittedly haven't finished unpacking all our bags yet, so he could just be burrowed somewhere...not to mention we're in the process of packing for the move...but please, dear ant-eater, come out of hiding, I miss you!

Monday, January 30, 2012

Just a Few More...













Remember that post about how stockings are a big part of our celebrations? It was just yesterday, but I know you all are busy important people; and it was, after all, a weekend post. Back to the point, our stockings took so long this year to open, that when we had to put Z down for his (later-than-normal) afternoon nap, he still had at least 10 presents left to open! And that doesn't even include the bonus present from Auntie M! It was partly because the stockings take so long, but also because Zachary is too interested in playing with the toy he just opened to care about opening the next one. I know, I know, my sweet child is spoiled rotten!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Z's attempt at a birthday song..



Happy Birthday Auntie CriCri!

Apologies for my lovely singing voice in the background. =)

It's a Wrap















What a year! It's a good thing we're moving to a bigger house, we're going to need it to store all of Z's new presents! 

Okay, so there are a lot of good reasons--and plenty of them are my stuff gathered in giant piles through our entire house. Can't put all the blame on Z-man! But, I CAN give most of the credit to our awesome families for taking such great care of us!

Stuffed!













Stockings are a big deal at my family's house. It's not because the presents are expensive, much the opposite in fact.  It's little bits and pieces, from nerf guns to lip balm. I know Z got squeezies, books, a singing toothbrush, and cool cars with dinosaurs on them. Stockings are always the first thing to be opened on Christmas morning. I can remember we used to open the stockings when we were too impatient to wait for Grandma and Grandpa and Mame to come the 15 minutes across the river in the morning. There would be one present to open (usually slippers, or fuzzy jammy pants) and then if we were desperate, we could dig into the stockings. Now that we're all a bit older, the rules have changed a little bit, and we always wait for everyone to come over. Then we spend the morning opening stockings, because of course, there are stockings from my parents (with help from the kids!), AND stockings from Grandma and Grandpa. Plus there are almost always overflow bags for the stuff that just wouldn't fit!

Saturday, January 28, 2012

M&Ms with Memere



Sadly, I forgot my camera for our visit to Memere's between Thanksgiving and Christmas, but my phone does the trick in a pinch. Zachary spent the entire visit grazing on a bowl of green and red peanut M&Ms. He still mentions Memere and M&Ms as a pair! Can't wait for the next visit--keep the bowl full (but not too full!)

Friday, January 27, 2012

Best Friend Jilly, Video Edition!

Best Friend Jilly





Jill has the great honor of being the first person I ever heard Zachary refer to as his best friend. He asked for his best friend Jilly to come over and play. He's had a lot of "best friends" since them, but isn't there always a soft spot for the first one? 

Thursday, January 26, 2012

It's okay to be Elfish, sometimes!















A BIG thanks to the O'Neils for the great presents. I am especially grateful for the awesome hats, this made for a lot of fun and even more laughing! The hats continued to be a great source of amusement throughout the holidays. Merry Christmas Eve!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

No, really, EAT THE (cup)CAKE!













Thanks Uncle Ben for bringing Z a christmas tree shaped cake! 
I had so much fun cleaning the frosting out of both of our hair. 
Next time--he sits in your lap!!

Eat the (cup)CAKE













Mame's purple tree has lots of fun stuff decorating it; everything from purple hippos and little birdies to purple cupcakes so cute they MUST be delicious!