Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Fluffy Stuff

Well, the snow, it is a-fallin', so that means it's time for the men to get to work again at Camp Scully! Here, Elliott helps Dad clear the sidewalk. (And by "help" I mean: throw-a-bunch-of-snow-at-Dad-and-the-sidewalk-while-he-tries-to-clear-it.)


But oh, the simple and complete pleasure of eating snow! Just in case you forgot, Little Kid Bliss looks like this:


...And this:


Here's a little story for you: With all this snow, Elliott was adament we take a carrot outside. Just as he was getting distracted by visions of the perfect snowman he'd build...


...Patrick got ideas of his own with this cool, unattended toy.


No, no, no, Patrick. [Nice try, you little punk.] The shovel's mine.


Aww, Mama! Elliott stole that thing I just found!


Um, yeah, Mom? While you're happily snappin' pics, Elliott just dumped a shovelful of snow on my head. (But, because he's Patrick, he's still remarkably jovial about the whole misunderstanding!)


In other "fluffy stuff" news, I got to have a little college-roommate-minus-one-reunion this past weekend to coincide with a happy baby shower! Here are Stacie and me with ta-da! Kelly's Belly. Yay!

(Just like old times!)
Here's hoping for snow days where you are!

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Clear Your (New!) Calendar

There's simply no time to apologize for the unintended longest lapse in Scully Space history. On to the photos and news!

First things first: Thanksgiving! (Yes, I've been that delinquent!)


We hosted a lovely affair for just a couple of sets of parents. Here: me, my mom and the mashed potatoes.


After several attempts and two (yes, two) cameras, THIS is our best family portrait:


Funny, Patrick had no trouble turnin' up the cheese a little while later... If only we could arrange for cardboard box rides everytime we try to take happy photos...


Whatever the reason, Elliott's been acting more and more like a big brother, trying to teach, correct, play with and sometimes even show a bit o' brotherly love to Patrick.


We had one ridiculous ice storm, but other than that, it's been pretty mild weather-wise. Still, snow is snow, and shoveling is real, serious man work. Case in point --


Real men also rule the kitchen. The Diego chair is often snug against the cabinets so Dad's helper can totally speed up his every kitchen duty.


No, he can't say "Patrick." And "Patty" comes out more like "Popeye." (Actually, it's exactly like "Popeye"...) BUT feed this boy a line like "ho, ho, ho," and he's all over it!


It all meant we were ready to go visit the Big Man! You know, the one who accompanies Elliott in his annual hilarious holiday photo. Here Elliott relaxes and settles in for a "have-you-been-a-good-boy?" chat.


It wasn't all a loss. There were cookies. (And, although he couldn't see the top of the table, Patrick helped himself to several.)


Taking adorable photos of two boys isn't hard enough, so I tried for three. Here's Elliott with John and Thomas, two friends he sees as often as Santa. (These three were all born within two weeks of each other, so we always plop them down for their annual reunion photo shoot.)


That's two outta three, but you can thank Santa for screwin' it all up.

A fave of the threesome--

On Christmas Eve, we played host again, and this time, I got to meet my new sister-in-law-to-be. Here's Steph helping Patrick with those pesky childproof caps.
I know other photos exist, but I sure didn't take any past my youngest, belly-up at the bar. We had a wonderful time with food, family and friends, and even remembered to read Twas the Night Before Christmas!
A few short hours later, the boys had a fantastic morning, despite the fact that Elliott had to immediately change out of the adorable Christmas-morning PJs I bought just for the occasion. I had fond memories of my dad's scavenger hunts, but I definitely learned that three is WAY too young to care about hints and hidden gifts. At any rate, it (maybe) explains why the boys' big gift (a kitchen!) is wrapped up in the basement bathroom... Here's Elliott, delighted to discover the play kitchen, while Patrick tries to shut the door for a little privacy.


Play kitchens need LOTS of play food, and even though it was all brand new to him, Elliott was able to control exactly how much play food each person could play eat.


Rather than getting yelled at for incorrect play kitchen setup, Patrick opted to entertain Uncle Mike instead.


The whole thing's in several pieces now, but Dad and Uncle Mike helped Elliott with his new Matchbox launch-your-cars-through-a-cardboard-ring-of-fire toy. Coooooooool!

Really, the whole experience was wonderful and overwhelming. We actually have Elliott on video saying he doesn't really want to open any more presents ... about four minutes into the day. (Gratitude, right?) Here's Happy Patrick and Curious George, but you may also notice the Taco Bell camera man back there. (Sorry, ladies. Grandpa's a married man.)

The girls made quick work of their gifts...


... and promptly curled up to try to shut out all this holly-jolly mumbo-jumbo that prevents them from sleeping 22 hours per day.
Hope you had a great one! Happy 2009!
P.S. This blog is more about Elliott and Patrick than their parents, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention my husband's abso-friggin-lutely incredible Christmas morning surprise. I opened an envelope that contained a few Euros, an e-mail string between Pete and Colette (my bestest friend who happens to be married, very pregnant and living all the way in Ireland) and a printed itinerary for an April trip to the Emerald Isle!!! Nonna, PopPop, Grammy and Grandpa are splitting up the babysitting duties, and Pete and I will make the trek across the ocean to explore Ireland!!! The tears came quickly and easily... We are so excited!!!