Scenes from Christmas - delayed by a little virus(of the computer sort:()

I know that it's been over a month since Christmas, but I'm going to share a few pics and stories from the boys' Christmas adventures anyway:). As you can tell by the date, I started this post
some time ago, but we've had a little bug causing difficulties in the technological portion of our lives - no fun!!

The boys had a great time this Christmas. They really got into the present opening, and are well practiced for their upcoming birthday. They have been playing hard with their new toys. So much so that they didn't even notice when I packed up some of the old ones:). We read them a simple version of the Christmas story many times over the holiday, but due to a sighting of Santa at Cub Foods (they were awe-struck by this hairy man in a red suit who gave them candy), they confused Joseph (and the wise men) whose pictures were in the story books, calling them all Santa Claus. Even with much explaining, I'm not sure that we got thru to them, mostly because Joseph was wearing red in their book, and Santa wore a red suit. I guess I would be confused too if I was only 1:).


Here are Brock and Kyle, posing in front of our Christmas tree at home. We went ahead and put up a big tree this year. Last year we just did a little tree on top of a book shelf - you can guess why:), and the year before that I was entirely too pregnant to decorate with much more than a poinsettia:), so it was kind of nice to have a big Christmas tree again. The boys did pretty well with the decorations, considering their curiosity levels. I only had to put the ribbons back on the tree 4 times, put back up the lights on the windows 2 times, and throw away one broken ornament. We were unsuccessful in keeping them from plugging in the lights, despite time-outs and a few spanks, and we eventually gave in and taught them how to do it right and prayed for no shocks:). They survived, and Kyle has been appointed (by himself) as the official Christmas light turner-on-er of the family. It was pure joy for him every single day!!

Cheese balls!! We opened up presents at home on Christmas eve morning, and after naps, headed to P'ville to Grammy and Papa's. While we were upstairs getting ready to leave, the boys got extremely quiet for too long of a time period. Pressed for time, we finished packing - knowing that we were taking a risk, and not knowing what we may find. Daddy finished first, and went down to find both boys, guilty faces covered in chocolate and breath smelling like peanut butter. Rob had made a batch of his famous peanut butter balls that afternoon and they were on the kitchen table drying. We didn't even think about it, but the boys found them and they were entirely too enticing for them to resist. Luckily, we intervened before they were able to start on their second round, and they only ate one each:). Hands and faces were a mess, but their clothes were miraculously clean - these boys don't waist a drop of chocolate!! After we cleaned them up, loaded them in the car, and hit the road, I asked them how the peanut butter balls were. Kyle promptly responded from the back seat "Yummy in my tummy. Have more??" What a funny boy!!

Opening presents at Grammy and Papa's on Christmas eve.

"More pictures, really Grammy?!? Let's get on with the presents!!"

Christmas morning - new bean bags to watch Elmo on:).

After church - delighted to find Elmo laptops in their packages and not just more clothes:).

Kyle trying out his new Elmo backrest.

" Elmo Brock" snuggling with Mommy:). Who knew that you could find so many things "Elmo"!!

Christmas night, we headed to Grandma Leman's house. Here's Brock, practicing his texting skills with cousin Maddy's supervision:). 22 mos and texting?!?! Kids are growing up way too fast theses days:).

Kyle had to have a turn texting, too. Between this and their new "laptops", these boys are already way ahead of their parents!!

Worn out from all of the festivities.

Snuggling with Grandma Leman at the Leman family Christmas on Saturday. It was a fun season, but we were kind of glad to see January come:).

Snow much fun!!!

The boys have been busy enjoying all of the beautiful snow that we have been getting. Their newest phrase is "I love snow", which can be heard many times throughout the day as they look out the windows, despite Daddy's attempts to teach them to say "Snow, phtttt!!".
Here's Kyle, trying out his snow boot legs. "Do you really think that I can walk in these things, Mom??" They were funny to watch on their maiden voyage in all of the snow gear.

Brock takes it all in stride, at least while he's still in the house:).

"They put us out here and give us shovels. Do they really think that we can clear this whole drive??!?? It looks like a big job for little us!!"

"I would rather stand here and watch the snow fall.", says Brock.

"Well, this patch is clear. I think that's good enough for me.", says Kyle.

Brock, still watching the snow fall. This boy never stands still this long any other time. We can't tell if he's just taking it all in, or if it takes too much energy to move with all of his gear on:).

After watching Daddy run the snow blower and Mommy shovel for a while, they decided their time could be better spent. They disappeared into the garage, and returned with their bikes. "Need a push, brother?"

Then, another trip into the garage produced lawn mowers, or mini snow blowers, if your imagination is working well:). Kyle got right to work on the driveway, but Brock decided to work in the garage for a while. I think he was ready for a break from the elements.

"These darn snow drifts!! How's a guy supposed to get anywhere with all of this white stuff to deal with??"

Kyle decided that this path was just the right sized for his bike. He was right, until he tried to turn around:).

Another traffic casualty. Motorcycles weren't built for the snow, you know:).

A nice place to sit and watch.

Kyle showing off his multi-tasker skills, riding and mowing at the same time.

"Maybe this thing does work better if I just walk behind it."

Cute little rosy cheeks!!

Another rosy cheeked cutie!!!

I think Brock's just about finished. Either he's frozen solid, or just bored by it all:).

There's just nothing like a bundled up little 0ne, huh??

"Elmo Brock" and "Elmo Kyle"

Lovin' our new Christmas gifts - Elmo snuggle blankets:).

Crazy Boys

Kyle has a new dance move that I thought I'd share with you. Brock definitely thinks that it's a good move, but it's a Kyle original. I started this post last weekend, but got busy and didn't finish it until today (hence the probably date of last Sunday:(). The boys are both doing and saying such funny things - totally unprompted. Their little personalities are continuing to shine through, and we love every minute of it (although, it keeps us quite busy;).

Here are some of the funny things heard around the Leman household lately. And, might I remind you, these are the ones that they come up with all on their own - not the ones that they are repeating just after we say it. They definitely hear, and remember what we say, which can sometimes be a bit intimidating!!

Here are Brock's:

"Just a minute, Kyle" - I wonder who he's heard say this??

"What are you doing, Kyle?"

"Hello, Ruffie?? Hi!!" - as he picks up the phone for the hundredth time in a day and pretends to talk:).

"I need orange juice!!" - said with great desperation:).

And, then there's Kyle's:

"Mommy, where are you??" - as he randomly walks through the house looking for me. What I think makes this one so cute is the tone of his voice. He phrases it as such an important question:).

"I love you, Mommy." - This one I NEVER grow tired of hearing:).

When asked on the phone by Ruthie - was your dinner good??, Kyle responded "Yummy in my tummy!"

"Good Job, Mom!!" - not sure what I did to deserve this one, but I'm glad to know that they pick up on the praise that we give them, and are willing to give it back.

"I can hear an airplane!" - I think the boy has super sensitive hearing for airplanes, and also fire trucks, police cars, ambulances, etc.

At the dinner table the other night, Kyle turned to his brother and said "Mommy's proud of you, Brock." - Again, glad that they pick up on the praise:).

I'll try and be a better poster and finish up on some catch up pics soon!!

Enjoying the view.........

.......................of Elmo,


.................of more Elmo,



............of the garbage trucks coming down the street,

...............of the big truck picking up the trash, the tractor scooping up the leaves, and the other big truck that carries the leaves away,

..........of the trucks and tractors driving away:(,

............of a sad Kyle wanting to see more "big trucks!!",

............of a mad Kyle when I tell him that they're "all gone",

..................and of a little more Elmo, in case you didn't know that we like Elmo (and Sesame Street, otherwise known around here as "Elmo").

Two very cute cowboys!!

Here are some scenes from our Halloween adventures. I think that the boys thought that we had lost our minds somewhere in the move, as they seemed confused about why they had to wear these hats and carry around their cows which normally stay in their cribs:). You can see the confusion by the looks on their faces. Sorry to torture you with so many shots of the same scene, but their little faces cracked me up, and I couldn't pick just one:). Aunt Kara had bought them cowboy boots to finish off the outfits, but they got stuck in Denver when a foot and a half of snow delayed her trip home by a week:(. Oh well, cowboys are cute with tennis shoes, too!

"Okay, enough with this silly picture thing!! You keep talking about candy and saying "Trick or Treat", so let's get on with it!!"

"Ahhhhhh, this is what they were talking about!! I think I may like this Halloween thing." (note - Kyle got into his bucket, choose, and unwrapped this sucker all by himself. We turned around to find this when we heard paper crinkling in the back of the van.)

Brock didn't dive into his bucket on his own - he was too engrossed watching the Elmo video in between stops:).

Leaves, leaves, and more leaves!!!!

Ahhh, leaves. They are so beautiful when on the trees, give us great shade, are fun to play in when they fall, but they are no fun to rake!! We are excited that there are many mature trees in our new yard, but are learning the with the benefits come the work:). Brock and Kyle are enjoying the fruits of Mom and Dad's labor and have enjoyed jumping and playing in the leaf piles on several different days since we've moved in.

Kyle wasn't too sure about the whole situation in the beginning.

As usual, Brock jumped right in:).

Getting warmed up. "I guess I can sit in these things, but I'm still not going to touch them!!" Kyle doesn't seem to be real adventurous when it comes to getting his hands dirty. During dinner, he routinely wants us to wipe his hands off if they get dirty while he's eating (especially if it's something sticky:). He usually doesn't like to touch grass, and leaves didn't seem to be much better in the beginning.

For some reason, they always seemed to be facing the wrong direction when I took pictures:).

Rolling in the leaves.

"Okay. So maybe I can touch them just a little."

Running through the piles. "You didn't want them to stay all together in that big pile, did you??"

Jumping in the leaves.

More running through the leaves.

"Okay, so if they look this cool when I throw them up in the air, maybe it's worth getting my hands dirty!!!"

And here's a little video clip of the boys in action. The best part of this video was watching the boys' reaction when we watched it on the computer. They just giggled with delight when watching themselves and asked us to play it over and over.