Family with Yo-Yos

Amelia drew this hilarious picture today of our family playing with yo-yos! The person on top is Mike when he was a little boy. The next person down is me, full grown I'm assuming. Next to me is our Christmas tree. Next down is Colin, then Amelia as a 3 year old (she was very particular about that) and then Jack as a large baby. She's amazing!!

First Sledding Trip

This morning we took the kids sledding with some of our friends. They loved it! We went to a local park and I was shocked to see tons of kids there sledding and even snow boarding! It was really fun!

Getting ready to head out on a borrowed sled. We'll need to buy more snow gear for the next snow day!

Mike dragging the kids all around on the sled to check out the terrain.

Here the kids are going on their first ride together, alone! Mike ran along side them the entire way.

Amelia and Lucy after their ride together.

Snow Day!

Last night it snowed several inches and this morning we woke up in a wonderland! Preschool was cancelled, making this our official "First Snow Day." Mike didn't have school, so he took a studying break to shovel the front walk and driveway.

Here he is, just starting on the walk. About a half hour later I went out to see how it was going and I found him sledding down the driveway on a garbage can lid!

This probably isn't amazing to anyone who has lived in a cold climate before, but to us it's a serious thrill! The tree in our front yard was completely encased in ice. It was beautiful! The kids and I love to spot icicles, like this awesome row of them on our new Mercedes. Just kidding.

Brian and Jack

Ginny just emailed this darling photo of Brian and Jack. Jack had just pooped all over his outfit, and then fell asleep on Brian's chest. How sweet!

Bath Time, Yet Again

I still love bath photos, so here are some that I took over Christmas break at my Mom's house. The bathtub in this house is old and the drain doesn't work properly, so the kids are stuck with daily showers instead. I think that made Grandma's bathtub even better. Their baths were lengthy and always involved large quantities of toys and bubbles.

I like this photo because I love Colin's profile. I think he has an adorable ski jump nose!

Amelia loves her curls as much as I do! Her first order of bath business is to get them wet and check them out.

January Zoo Trip

Yesterday we had an unseasonably warm day- the high was 50 degrees! It was an welcome little break from the freezing cold, and we were totally pumped to get outside and make the most of it. We went back to the zoo with our friends, and it was really fun. Winter must be a good time to go- there were hardly any people there and all of the big cats were out walking around.

We went to the petting zoo again, and Colin got pretty close with this weird looking goat.

Amelia and this lion were separated only by a piece of glass! It was totally awesome.Lucy getting in touch with her inner lion.

Inauguration Day

Today we watched Pres. Barak Obama's inauguration on TV. Amelia was very interested, and very adept at identifying him. She also enjoyed the performance that included Yo-yo Ma (probably because I was very excited about it), and she thought Aretha Franklin's hat was awesome. We talked quite a bit about what the word inauguration means. Colin was not at all interested, and thinks that Lightning McQueen would be the best president of all.

Brotherly Love

Today I found Colin sharing his cars and trains with Jack. If you know Colin, then you know that when he gave Thomas the Tank Engine to Jack, it really meant a lot!

Later, Colin asked me if he could hold Jack, so they got some more bonding in before nap time. I love these guys!

Christmas with the Roberts

Christmas morning was with my family. We all got together in our annual matching pajamas (awesome, hideous, yet strangely liberating caftans for the women this year - see Lauren's blog) for presents, our annual breakfast of German pancakes, our annual Swedish tea ring dessert (that we starting eating before breakfast and eat all day long), and hanging around. It was wonderful as always!

Amelia showing off her new jammies and slippers

Amelia and Molly are becoming great friends!

Colin and Max are becoming great partners in crime!

Jack looking handsome.

The kids being pushed on the swing in my parents' backyard.

Christmas with the Russos

This year, Mike and the kids had Christmas dinner with the Russo clan (Mike's Mom's fam). Sadly, that was one of the many events I missed because Jack wasn't feeling well. Mike told me that Aunt Rina's homemade lasagna was scrumptious, as usual. The big extended family still manages to fit on one long table, with the exception of a small kid table. Quite a sight! It is always really nice, and the food is gourmet. Mike said that Colin clung to G.G. for the entire dinner and most of the party, too.

A couple of days later we drove up to Ginny's beautiful cabin with Mike's brother Frank. Despite the fact that it is only a brief drive, around an hour, it was much cooler there with snow on the ground. It was one of the rare times during our visit that we had to break out the coats! We went for a walk and checked out the pretty scenery, and the kids made tiny snowballs with their tiny hands and threw them at us! It was a really nice day.

Another photo of G.G. and Grandpa Jim with very squirmy children.

Uncle Frank giving Amelia what she deserves after tiny snowball throwing.

Christmas with the Chins

This year all of Mike's Dad's family met in Arizona for Christmas, a rare event since they live in North Carolina and Georgia. We had a wonderful Chrismas Eve celebration complete with: a fancy Prime Rib dinner; a "Dirty Santa" game where Grandma Chin fought for, and went home with, a funky sleeveless sweatshirt with the words, "holla" and "word" written on it; a visit from Santa that elicited shock and delight from the kids; and many great gifts including a special tribute to Grandpa Chin and his arrival to the US on Ellis Island from Debi to Grandma Chin and each of her kids. It was a really memorable and wonderful day.

A couple of days later the group converged on the Train Park and Chuck E. Cheese. Sadly I had to stay home with Jack, who had a fever for days over the Christmas holiday (double ear infections, it turned out). Mike took a few photos at the train park.

Grandma Debi and the Colinator

Aunt Mary Ellen and Cousin Christopher

Disneyland

We spent New Years Day at Disneyland with my family. We had two whole days at the park, and it was pretty darn fun, considering that 6 of the 7 kids were 2 and under! We rode lots of rides for the little guys, and a few for the adults, too. Amelia's favorite was Soarin' Over California and Colin's favorites were Small World and Autopia (or course!). They both agreed that Pirates of the Caribbean was too scary, and they both cried on the ride. Here are some shots from our adventure.

Amelia and Molly killing time while some parents ride Splash Mountain. Similar scenes played out in front of Space Mountain and the Haunted Mansion.

All the kids got a special Disney treat while in line for Small World. I enjoyed spending the time in line more than the ride (not my fave).

No, Jack was not permitted to eat this. Mike likes to torment infants and small children!

Amelia trying to enlarge her mouth.

Jack was awesome during the trip. Even the cold tram ride back to the car at the end of the day couldn't dampen his spirits!

Amelia was thrilled to meet the Fairy Godmother!Colin was out of his mind when we saw Lightning McQueen. He didn't even stop running long enough to smile for a photo.
Colin, after having too much fun on the first day.

Colin's souvenir was this killer Lightning hat. He was pretty exhausted and kind of delirious after the second day, but he wouldn't stop "racing," even when we got to the hotel.

Overall, a fantastic trip. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Jack the Chow Hound

Yesterday we gave Jack his first meal (of sorts), rice cereal. With both of my other kids, the first meal was just basically an exercise in spitting, but Jack was different. He was an EXPERT! He didn't spit any out until he was getting tired at the end. He actually lunged for many of the bites. I was shocked and impressed. I think Jack inherited the Chin eating abilities!

We're Home!

We finally returned to PA tonight! After three weeks of flip flops, coats gathering dust, and sunny skies in AZ, the cold was a bit of a shock to our systems! We had a wonderful Christmas visit and are already feeling a little lonely for our loved ones. I have some blogging to catch up on, but I thought I'd start small by documenting our awesome flight home. No, I'm not being sarcastic, it actually was awesome! The airport was a ghost town and our flight was half empty! We were lucky enough to be allowed to take Jack's carseat on the plane, and we got two whole rows to ourselves. We even arrived in Philly a half hour early- how is that even possible!? The best part was when our flight attendant invited Amelia and another little girl to hand out peanuts. Amelia looked really cute carrying her basket down the aisle! After she had accomplished her task, the attendant gave her some stick-on wings, which she was very proud of. We're glad to be home, but I'm feeling a little sick to my stomach every time I look over at the mountain of luggage yet to be unpacked.