13 years old!!

christopher's 13th birthday was monday, crazy that we now have a teenager in the house!

the kids love it when their birthday falls on a day off school, 

so this year was perfect since monday was a holiday.

he had a fun-filled day:  krispy kreme fresh donuts with his grandma and siblings,

then lunch with his other grandma, grandpa, and uncle,

and a big family dinner with pizza and a ping pong tournament.

one of the gifts we gave him was this game: mancala.

the kids play it at their piano teacher's house and he has been wanting it.

here he is playing it with his great-grandfather - so glad i finally have a picture of him :)

and it makes me so happy that he is still so into legos -
he got a big set he had been eyeing at christmastime...

and here we go with something i have been wanting to do for awhile on the kids birthday:

13 things i love about christopher:

1. you are funny, you really have a great sense of humor
2. you read the comics every single day, and point out some of your favorites to me
3. you are responsible - you juggle so much: band, sports, student council
4. you make your bed every day!
5. you are kind to everyone- you get along with all different kinds of kids at school
6. you never complain when i ask you to do something
7. you are an awesome basketball player
8. you never forget to feed lady and often feed her when it is not your day
10. you laugh a lot with your friends
11. you are very competitive, you always strive to do your best
12. you read the sports every day and are passionate about what's going on
13. you are an awesome oldest brother, and are a great example for your siblings

Happy 13th Birthday Christopher - we LOVE you SO much!

sunday, january 6th

well, last week flew by and i am now just getting back to posting on john's birthday.

we had his party on saturday, so we were able to really enjoy the day with the birthday boy.

we all slept in and then gave john his birthday present...

the darth maul double light saber he has been wanting.

love those morning faces and that morning hair...

then, we got ready to go to breakfast with all the grandparents.

the boys all got the idea of wearing mustaches and hats - 

john had be gifted a set of mustaches from his godparents.  they looked pretty cute...

they were a bit nervous to walk thru the entire restaurant like this.

of course, they sat us in the back room so they literally did walk thru the whole place.

they got lots of smiles and sweet remarks.

we went to mass at the church nearby, where chris and i were married.

then walked across the street to the coffee house we go to every year on john's birthday.

since it was a sunday, all his siblings were able to join him this year.

they tried some italian sodas - it was really warm in there and really cold outside.

they've added a bar outside so we went out there since it was so hot inside.

we watched the trains go by as we have done for years on john's birthday.

then we came home and had a nice warm fire.

we helped john build some of his new legos and played candy land by the fire.

this was his reaction to barely beating me at candy land.

i love that smiling face...

we took down our tree and all the ornaments and lights,

and had planned on getting take out to eat by the fire.

but john wanted to actually go to pei wei, you know that great soda machine they have?

he wore his new shirt from nani and new shoes from uncle matt and almost aunt fallon...

we came home and the kids ran around out back with the light sabers for a long time.

we finally had to call them in since it was back to school the next morning.

the birthday boy lit his own candle as he had done the day before at his party.

and we were entertained by him as we sang to him, he was sure happy.

it was a wonderful day, and a fun weekend.

i have spent many a kids birthday getting ready for a party - rushing, busy to get ready.

and the kids are always so excited for their party but it was so nice to be able to spend the actual day with the birthday boy himself- not cleaning, decorating, baking, for a party.

i had done all that in the days before his birthday-
we had 30 kids here for his party, a fun celebration for him-
glad i decided not to have it on his real birthday though.

he's already asking if he'll be six soon...don't rush it, son:)

happy 5th birthday, john john

john's birthday was sunday.
we had a weekend full of fun celebrations that i will be posting on.
but for now, here is a funny video of his actual birthday night.
it just cracks me up, and i can't stop watching it.

a little christmas surprise

our lovely tree went almost a whole week with no decorations.
there was never a good night for us all do decorate it, and with chris working so much-
it didn't seem like there would ever be a good time for him.

so, on a saturday afternoon i decided we would try tackling the 11 foot tree ourselves.
i told the kids we were going to surprise daddy and put the lights on the tree.
we got out the big ladder and an hour later, after all four kids helping, we had it lit!
i suggested we write daddy a note and john yelled out that he would write it.

i clipped it to the tree, and we left it to surprise our man who has been working so hard.
it was no easy task, lighting that tall tree-
and without all my helpers there's no way i could have gotten it done.

and we were able to squeeze in putting all the ornaments on together - including dad
in the short time he was home the next day...

oh christmas tree

we bought our christmas tree a few weeks ago.
it is the first time we have bought a fresh one in probably 6 years.
we have room for a pretty tall tree in our new living room.

it was such a fun outing, we went to a local nursery - whitfill, it's been around forever.
to our wonderful surprise they had cookies and hot chocolate - the kids were in heaven!
they also had goats and peacocks that they loved looking at.

and to top it off, santa was there walking around.
perfect, since we hadn't seen him yet this year!

he told the kids some magical stories that brought tears to my eyes as i took pictures.
he was so engaging with them and really talked to each of them about what
they wanted for christmas and the spirit of the season.
seriously, the best santa i have ever been around.

here is the beauty we picked out once we had it set up at home.
it smelled sooo good, instantly put me in a good mood.
and i had a smile plastered on my face for hours because it just made me so happy.
'tis the season...

happy 12/12/12

so, i am late on this - but oh well, that's the way this blog is going lately.
the kids have been talking about 12/12/12 for months now.
actually christopher was the one who started saying we needed to celebrate it.
of course, the others then got into it too.

so, on 12/12/12 we went out to eat after the boys' basketball games to celebrate.
chris could not join us because he has been completely swamped at work.
he has been working crazy hours- we appreciate all he does to provide for us.
of course miss him -unfortunately we are learning december is a very busy time for him.

the boys both had games at the same school at the same time which was great.
it has been such a busy year with both of them playing school sports,
and games almost every day, usually at different schools.

i love basketball - it is my favorite sport to watch.
and i just love that i am able to be there at their games to cheer them on.
it's so nice to see all of their friends mom's at the games too (and some dad's),
really being present for their children.

uncle tim was able to see both boys play since he is on christmas break now.

then, he shot around with the boys for awhile.

i really wish i could keep up with this blog more than i have been able to this year.
it's amazing how much your kids need you as they get older,
and how busy a mom's day is.
the days of diapers, naps and nursing are so busy and exhausting in their own way.
and they need you so much during that precious, critical time.

as they grow, they still need you so much -
and it is still busy and exhausting but in a completely different way.
i am so blessed that i am able to be there for them-
it is also a choice to be a full time mom,
one that i believe is the most important decision a mother can make.
i feel blessed that just about all of their friends' parents also have made it a priority for the mother to be there full-time for their kids too.

thanksgiving 2012

we hosted thanksgiving this year.
i think it's the third year in a row we have done it, and we have really enjoyed it each time.
it was the first one in our new house...so nice to have a little more room for everyone.

i just love how special it feels to get all of our pretty linens and fine china out for the table.

the kids always help set the table, i think it's important they are involved and a part of it.

and they really seem to enjoy doing it, seems to really get them into the spirit of the day.

ella has made the place cards for every one these last few years.

i had grand ideas for a place setting craft we could do together -

but it was too complicated and time consuming.

so, i suggested she draw turkeys on each card- i had seen how well she could draw them.

they turned out adorable...

then, she decided to hand write each guest a personal thanksgiving card.
she thanked each one of them for being such a wonderful grandparent or uncle.
it was so sweet, and completely her own idea.

i realize the silverware settings aren't totally correct,
i didn't supervise the kids too much while they were setting the table - just let them do it!
next year i'll have to teach them the right order in which to place the silverware and napkin.
here are some of the uncles (there are not aunts on this side!) reading their cards.
uncle pat...

and uncle bobby...

we have read the same thanksgiving prayer for years.

my mom cut it out of the newspaper years ago and it has become tradition to read it.

so, nani brought it and the kids took turns reading it...

and i even made a pumpkin roll this year.
i haven't made one in a few years so i was thrilled i found the time to do it this year.

we were able to get a nice group picture out back.
did it right before we ate, before everyone was stuffed and ready to relax.
that's the key, doing it before the meal!

it was a wonderful thanksgiving and so special for us to host in our new house.
we are so thankful for so many things and count our blessings each day.
thank you to everyone for bringing items for the meal,
it makes it so manageable when everyone chips in and so enjoyable for all!
we hope everyone had a happy thanksgiving!