We had about 3 inches of snow at the end of the first week of January, which is far from impressive compared to the rest of the country east of Colorado and north of Dallas.  Still, it was enough to play in, even though the temperature was so cold that playtime was never very lengthy.

 
Yep, they're ready to go outside.  Very ready.

Isaac was a little uncertain about the snow at first, but he warmed up to it after a few minutes.  "Warmed up" does not seem like a good way to put it.

Throwing snow from the playground is okay.  Throwing snow in Brother's or Mommy's eyes is not okay.

Isaac's version of extreme sports involves the slide and snow.

A video of Isaac's approach to snowsliding:

In love with his footprints.  Weren't we all at that age?

Projects to do, things to dig, places to be...

A digging video:

Isaac experimenting with footprints and general wandering in the snowy yard.

Still digging.

His hands were freezing, but he didn't want to go inside.  It was a quandary.

PaPa R and Grandma R came by later, and Calvin was happy to help shovel the drive.

Happy New Year from the Vaders!

We had the Mortons visit for New Year's Eve and beyond.  Moses celebrated his 4th Birthday at our house, in the event that we would not be able to attend his official party later in the month due to weather or health issues.  I have neglected to mention thus far how much I appreciate the prayers for our family.  My dad continues to receive chemotherapy treatments to address a small tumor that has recurred, compromising a ureter.  We are very thankful for all of the comfort the prayers bring, and there are some good signs that the treatment is working well so far.  Thanks again!

Okay, back to the Vaders:

Emerald "Red" Vader.

Red caught unmasked with Isaac, also wearing red.

Silas "Babyface" Vader.

Birthday festivities:

Moses was delighted with the sprinkle cake made by his mommy.

Opening a doctor kit.  The small pieces were wisely preserved until they could arrive home.

Buzz Lightyear and Woody!  Cool!

Alright, we're ready for our close-ups:

 

The last week of the year, we went to visit Jason's brother, Josh, in Killeen, TX.  He is stationed at Ft. Hood and just bought a new house when he returned from Iraq last summer.  We enjoyed his hospitality as we stayed with him along with Jason/Josh's parents.

Our first dinner there was at BJs, a restaurant we'd previously enjoyed in San Diego.  They are famous for their deep-dish pizza, house-brewed root beer, and the pizookie, a pizza-sized melty cookie with ice cream on top.

Back at the ranch, we spent a lot of time relaxing.  We played board games (of course), charades, trivia, and video games.  We accompanied the boys while playing outside (in their jackets) or walking around the block.  The time really went by quickly.  The boys enjoyed Uncle Josh's jacuzzi tub:

Water softeners lead to large amounts of suds.

Lots of giggles!

Other scenes around the house:

 
Winding down early at the house.

Nap-in-a-box.  He really was asleep.

It's not unusual to hang out with military personnel around Killeen.  (GI Joes gifts to the boys from their uncle.)

Never leave home without your favorite blanket!

I think that pile of decimation used to be Calvin's barbeque pork sandwich.

The boys liked climbing on and off the high stools a little too much.  We were glad neither of them cracked their heads on the tile during the trip.

Saying goodbye to Uncle Josh at IHOP (he had to go into work earlier that morning).  He ended up leaving an hour after us for New Years' in Illinois after finding reasonable airfare home, so, we got to see him again Saturday.

At the hotel we stayed at on our way home.  We still have leftover rewards points from 5 years ago!  It was a challenge to keep Calvin in the pool and out of the hot tub.  He didn't understand why something that felt so relaxing could be bad for him.

Isaac loved, loved, loved the water.  The pictures don't do it justice.  We should probably get him in swim lessons before his courage and enthusiasm wane.

Hanging out by the hot tub again.

I am now officially within 15 days of being caught up on blogging!

Isaac had a train-themed 2nd Birthday party.  He is really into anything that goes, especially airplanes, trains, and motorcycles.  One of his favorite phrases while we're out and about is "COOL CAR!!".

Isaac is an incredibly charming 2 year-old, although some destructive tendencies do emerge once in a while.  He loves books even more than Calvin did at that age, but he is also my first to damage so many books and photo albums when his passion gets a little out of hand.  He loves to draw and scribble, but of course, the other side of the coin is all the things he's marked on, compared to Calvin who showed little interest in crayons or markers or pencils at that age (or now).  Isaac and Calvin still fight quite a bit, but they're starting to cooperate more, too, to where pretty much every day I hear peals of laughter as they goof around in the basement or another room.  Isaac counts, and counts backward to "Blastoff!" (his preferred direction).  He mimics words for fun, and now asks to say the prayer along with Calvin every night, even though Isaac's version still requires the "repeat after me" approach.  He knows most shapes and usually his colors.  He even recognizes a few letters from playing with his fridge magnets; he seems to take on a lot of knowledge that we don't realize he knows until he surprises us later.  He is a climber.  He's able to get out of cribs and pack n plays, but not gracefully in the case of his crib.  Isaac still gives out huge bear hugs regularly, and is very possessive of his time with Mommy every evening, as we rock and read and sing and pray.  He is also a regular user of the Extreme PoutyLip.  We've dabbled in pottytraining, and I have a good feeling he'll be ready this spring.  He really wants to wear underwear and sit on the potty, and he's frustrated that he can't make himself go yet.  That will come, though.

So, here are some pictures from the birthday party:

Isaac makes his grand biker entrance on his motorcycle from Aunt Candace, received the previous day due to Candace's work schedule preventing her from attending the party.

The (Thomas the) Train Cake, creatively assembled by Grandpa and Grandma Woody that morning.

Singing/blowing out the candles.

The youngest attendee at the birthday soiree, Mr. Silas (I) A.M.

Grandma R helping Isaac enjoy his birthday cake and ice cream.

Opening his gift from SpringsTruth, a much loved froggie.

Isaac has mastered propelling and steering his Plasma Car, but sometimes he pushes it with his feet instead to better avoid a brother who seems bent on colliding with him.

A present from Uncle Sam.  Isaac Bumblebee.

Someone was very tired at the end of the party.

Let's see if I can do an entire month run-down in a single post.  Here goes--

Meeting Silas

At the beginning of November, we set off to meet the newborn Silas Alonzo, dear nephew and cousin and future Jayhawk fan.  He was not one for paparazzi, but had lots of interest in being held and receiving love.

Some pictures from that visit:

Meeting our new nephew.  We admired his blonde hair and good looks. 

A couple of pictures from the rest of the weekend:

Yep, he's a doll.

I think I have a video to go with this, too.  Ah, here it is:

Back at the ranch, here is Calvin in his two "uniforms" as he calls them.  Usually, Isaac tramps around in the fireman gear and Calvin picks the full-bodied Transformer suit.  It still makes me smile seeing them running around in the outfits, going about their day as if they don't realize they're in costume.  I should look into getting him more boy costumes next time Halloween clearance rolls around (the Transformers costume was only $2):

Calvin is showing me his friend "Joey" who can be dressed as a fireman, knight, policeman, and a few other things.  That would make a good Kindergarten Social Studies tool, now that I think about it.

Hello, Calvinoptimus Prime.

Fun with Blake and Alexandria at Monkey Joe's:

Because it was my 31st Birthday, we had been shut in as Daddy battled swine flu all week, Kelly had posted on Facebook she was headed there that day, and Calvin and Isaac were more than restless, we headed to Monkey Joe's on the 3rd Friday of November.  Alexandria was there, but I didn't manage to get any pictures of her, even though she would have been the easiest since she stayed in one place longer than the boys:

It was our first visit there ever, and we had a lot of fun!  Isaac did break down crying a couple of times out of not being able to do things he deemed himself big enough for but his body said otherwise.  We've been back once since then, but plan a few more visits before winter is up.  It's a great place for active little ones!  Here is a video of Blake and Calvin bouncing to finish out this segment:

Thanksgiving 2009:

We were very pleased to get to stay in town for Thanksgiving this year on both sides of the family.  However, I did not take many pictures.  I have no pictures to show for the gathering with Jason's family, and not many more for getting together with my side.  This had to do with getting the house ready, hostessing, and just not being where I needed to be for good pictures.

Isaac models on the Thanksgiving table setting.  It's not okay to crawl out of your seat and lie on the table after a meal, buddy.

Calvin's Preschool had a Thanksgiving meal that we attended.  You can see how thrilled he was with everything.  He does like Preschool, but he doesn't really enjoy singing with the entire Preschool assembled.

Avaryn at church Wednesday night.  If you haven't yet, you should meet this little charmer!

4:55 a.m. on Black Friday at Target.  I could have taken better pictures if I wasn't jogging around to the back of the store to get in line.  I came away with what I intended to buy:  a 700 threadcount King sheet set for $30.  Our other sheet set was badly shrunken; this one is great!  Anyway, I was back in bed by 6:30 a.m., so I didn't miss that much sleep, either.

Photos from Thanksgiving on Saturday (that don't have a lot to do with Thanksgiving):

Moses, Wii-master.

Mr. (Mashed) Potato Head.

The bossing, deliberations, whining, conniving, and overthinking going into what should be a simple game of soccer.  They'll get it eventually, and they did enjoy their fresh air and playtime outside overall.

Silas got lots of exercise, too.  Going into January, he probably gained more holiday weight than the rest of us.  Oh, wait, he's supposed to gain lots of weight at this age.

Okay, Isaac's birthday party will have to be a separate post.  This was pretty much all of November except for that, though.