Tree Hunt 2010

I forgot the camera for Tree Hunt 2010! Thank goodness for camera phones! We took our annual trek to White's Tree Farm in Jericho, VT--our favorite place to cut down a Christmas tree. It was Patrick's first tree hunt, so we took him out of the car for the occasion, although it was COLD! Will was more into it this year than ever, and he kept saying, "Christmas tree and lights!? Go get a tree!?" So that made it all the more exciting. Due to the lack of camera, I took photos of Justin/Will on my phone and Justin took photos of me/Patrick on his. Here's the first batch of photos...

Oh, I should mention that the tree is in the house with lights on it but it's not decorated. Patrick doesn't seem too interested in it, which is a good sign. I hope he will admire it from afar! :-)

Patrick's First Thanksgiving

My mom and dad (Grandma and Grandpa) drove from Michigan the Thursday before Thanksgiving. It was a wonderful visit, and I was happy to have time to spend together before the actual holiday. Patrick, being the easygoing guy that he is, stole their hearts. He had a cold the whole time, yet he always seemed to be in a good mood. Thank goodness for that, because Will had some very cranky moments/days. Patrick has not been sleeping well at night due to his stuffed up nose, so I'm a sleepy mommy. Happy, but tired. I did not take a lot of pictures, but I did manage to capture some sweet moments...

It has been such a great Thanksgiving break! It will be hard to get back to reality on Monday. It was, of course, Patrick's first Thanksgiving. I was surprised to discover that Patrick fits into the same turkey onesie that Will wore for Thanksgiving. Very handy.

We have so much to be thankful for, so how could it NOT be a great Thanksgiving? Sometimes I think that Thanksgiving and Christmas are too close together. Right now, I think that's a very good thing. It was hard to see my parents leave, but not as hard as it could have been, knowing that we'll all be together again in one month! We definitely missed seeing Justin's side of the family, but we'll all be together again at Christmas. Happy belated Thanksgiving, everyone!

There was lots of playtime on the floor with Grandma and Grandpa!

Will loves his Thomas train set (thanks, Cousin Jack!)

Will loves to pretend. This is his "boat."

Grandpa showed Will YouTube videos of trains and motorcycles. 

Grandma and Grandpa gave Will a remote control  motorcycle!

Patrick is wearing the same onesie Will wore on his first Thanksgiving!

Patrick has them wrapped around his little finger. :-)

Happy 1st Thanksgiving, Patrick!

Aww!

Mom loaned me some fall table decor. Here's the view from above!

Just another angle.

Checking the turkey.

A little pre-dinner silliness!

Hooray--a big smile from Mr. Cranky! 

Will is infatuated with the headphones.

Justin, Will, and I braved the cold for a pre-dinner walk.

Just proving I was there. Will would not cooperate!

Warm and cozy in our down jackets!

Daddy's getting a workout!

Will is practicing his cutting skills. 

Dinner is coming...

We are thankful...

Yep, I was there too.

About to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa. :-(

Patrick managed to crawl UNDER the Exersaucer, so Will had to try it too!

I think I see a resemblance!

Boys are from Mars...and Patrick is 8 months old!!!!

Last Thursday (Nov. 11th) marked Patrick's 8-month birthday (and Veteran's Day). I found this sleeper deep in his drawer that I bought way back in May. I realize it's a bit funny looking, but I just loved the color and thought it was silly in a good way. Justin really doesn't like the hat, but since Patrick's adorable, he can get away with it. The sleeper says, "Boys are from Mars," just in case it's hard to read in the picture. I'm starting to think maybe girls and boys really are from different planets. I see lots of "boy" type behaviors with Will already. Some of the differences certainly are inborn! So far, Patrick's just a baby...not boyish or girlish...just sweet! Enjoy the photos and a little update on our sweet second-born!

Patrick sits up very well now and has for a couple months. He likes the vantage point from sitting up better than from lying down, I think. 

Patrick is a smiley guy. He smiles at just about everyone, although lately he seems to be a bit more tentative around new people. He doesn't cry, but he doesn't smile as quickly...he watches to see what the person in like, then offers the smile. It doesn't usually take long! :-) Well, unless the person is a grump!

Patrick likes to gaze at people. He really studies faces and expressions. He imitates expressions too and tries to talk like we do.

If Patrick sees something he wants, he gets down onto all fours and just goes for it! He's not quite crawling yet, but he scoots like a champ. In this picture, he decided he wanted to touch the camera and was working very hard to get it! 

A beautiful weekend!

I tried REALLY hard not to work all weekend (it's parent-teacher conference week for me), and it was a beautiful weekend weather wise. So, we took advantage of the sunshine as much as we could. In the late afternoon today, we took a walk in our neighborhood...one of our favorite things to do on a Sunday afternoon. Will went between walking and riding in the stroller. He definitely has a mind of his own!

I want to walk, Mama!

He checks out every little thing on the sidewalk. So curious

Big smiles in the sunshine. I love toothy smiles!

My boys...all smiling!!!!

High five!

Now a fist bump!

We broke out Will's old "Prom Suit." OK, it's a pram suit, I guess, but we like to call it a prom suit. :-) Patrick's small size is working in our favor as far as hand-me-downs are concerned! 

What's down there?!

A few more from our walk...

It's hard not to fall in love with Patrick!

I think Will looks like a little tough guy here!

The way the sun is shining on Justin makes him look kinda god-like!

Happy boys! Will is now 27-1/2 months old and Patrick just turned 8 months old. Crazy.