Joyeux Noel

Two brothers, dressed in red, early Christmas morning, ready to open presents. Nico, as you can see, is already chomping on his monkey castanet.

Spencer loved having his Aunt Bobbi there to share the special day with him. He wanted to open the majority of his presents sitting in her lap.

Speaking of unwrapping, that was Nico's favorite part of the day. He seemed so pleased with himself whenever he succeeded in tearing off some paper. What a satisfying noise, the sound of ripping paper!

Spencer for his part thoroughly enjoyed popping the bubble wrap, almost as much as he liked his etch-a-sketch and Bruder trucks. Now the question is where to stash all this Christmas booty!

As you can see, all of Nico's gifts must pass the taste test. I think this book is going to pass with flying colors! Merry Christmas to all!

Santa Claus Comes to Town

Santa rode his sleigh through our neighborhood escorted by the Culver City Police Department. Spencer told Santa he was still thinking about what he wants for Christmas. I hope he decides soon so that Santa has time to prepare his gift. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Spencer's 4th Birthday

Spencer's 4th birthday began with one of his favorite breakfasts: chocolate-filled croissants (in case you're wondering, THIS is where the chocolate is in the croissant).

After breakfast, Spencer was chomping at the bit for the party to start. He was given permission to open one present ahead of time. Grandpa graciously agreed to assemble the 100+ piece marble run. The marbles were already running when it was time to head over to Sophia's house -- the new location for the party because our backyard was rained out.

Spencer and Sophia get ready to take a whack at their birthday pinata bravely held by Sophia's dad, Damien.

Spencer's cake, keeping with the royal birthday theme, had towers of ice cream cones on all sides. Hats off to Anna and Damien for their cake-decorating prowess!

The birthday boy and birthday girl get ready to blow out their candles as all their family and friends sing "Happy Birthday." Everyone got their choice of either yellow cake (birthday boy) or chocolate cake (birthday girl) and some sampled both.

Spencer told Grandpa that this was the best birthday cake ever.

While the kids all had a great time, there's no denying that changing the venue at the last minute was a tough decision. Sophia's parents, Anna and Damien, opened their home to almost twenty kids, their parents, and all our family and friends. We can't thank them enough for doing so much in so little time to make Sophia and Spencer's birthday so wonderful. They are good friends, great artists, and know how to (kid's birthday) party! And thanks to everyone for checking email and finding the new venue on the day of the party. The bouncy house will have to wait till next year!

Boink, Boink, Boink

Grandpa found a new way to make Nico laugh. Enjoy!

Holiday Elves

This December we were very fortunate to have a special visit from some magical holiday elves. The boys refer to them as Grandma and Grandpa. While they were here, our house was filled with the delicious smell of sugar cookies baking. Spencer and Grandma decorated each cookie with love. Spencer even volunteered to taste a few for quality control. Now that's the Christmas spirit!

The elves helped decorate our Christmas tree. It looked especially beautiful at night when the lights sparkled.

Spencer clearly had a marvelous time with Grandma reading, baking and telling the story of the unreadable ticket every morning.

Nico loved spending one on one time with Grandma and Grandpa every chance he got.

The holiday elves with Spencer and Nico. We can't wait for their next visit in spring.

Toothy Grins

Look who's happy to have four teeth! He's using them these days to devour teething biscuits, table food and fingers.

Trip the Holiday Lights

Unfortunately, this was the holiday tree lighting that got away. Rather than singing carols and speeches at the opening, the ceremony began with the tree lighting itself...and we were walking up just as the tree came to life. Spencer may not have seen the lights turn on but he definitely enjoyed the complimentary popcorn provided by the nearby movie theater. Spencer took a break from eating popcorn to pose with Nico in front of the 2009 Culver City Christmas tree.

Baby Mozart

Nico plays an original composition, the first of many to come we hope.

The First Swing

Nico recently had a grand time being pushed by his big brother in a swing for the first time. Although Spencer may just be learning the gentle art of "swing-pushing," he clearly enjoyed the responsibility of pushing Nico and the fun of hearing his baby brother laugh and squeal.