A New Family Member (Temporary)

Meet our new family member.


















Simon and Daddy did a great job constructing him.


















Here is another way to make a snowman.

We Got A Little Snow

This is our street.


















I love this one- look carefully at the cars Will is passing- can you find them?


















Simon did have fun- lots and lots. Climbing in the snow, sledding in the park, getting pulled by Mama and Daddy, but by the end it had been a bit much. (Wind gusts were pretty brutal- they were predicted to be up to 40 mph.)

Cookie Tutorial

And in the Morning...

Presents!!!!























And wearing stockings.























Some toys were so much fun everyone wanted to play!
















Merry Christmas everyone. We hope your Christmas was as much fun as ours. Thanks over and over to Aunt Lisi and Uncle Robert.

And

And you play candyland with Ariana and James.
















Make a puzzle with help from Grandma jean and Papa Don.
















Take a nap! (OK- Simon didn't do this, just Daddy and Papa Don.)
















And go out to a delicious dinner. Aunt Lisi and Uncle Robert picked a great place!

Really, 'Twas

What do you do the night before Christmas? If you're Simon you read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas!























Make shadows with your Aunt Lisi.
















Decorate the Christmas tree.























Make cookies for Santa.

A GIft to Treasure

I know that some of you are slightly jealous that you do not have such easy access to original, authenticated, Simon Garland works. But this is not going to stop me from bragging about our newest acquisition. This was Simon's gift to me and Will for the holidays, it is a barn, farmer, and horse with clouds and sun in the background.

We Love the New Yorker

For anyone who's seen the recent New Yorker covers. After this one came, SIon was intrigued by the statue and Daddy told him we could go see the statue when we went to see the big tree. Simon was very excited to do that- so I couldn't resist taking a photo.

A Very Big Tree (and then a very, very small tree)

We took our annual trip to Rockefeller center to see the tree. Grandma Jean and Papa Don are back from the ranch so it was a real celebration. In this picture you can see Simon is taking in the size of the tree.























And here Simon is wondering why on earth Mama has laid down on the ground!


















And finally he is wondering how they got that huge tree to turn so small and spin in a ball of glitter.

It's Early, Very Very Early

This is what happened yesterday morning-























So this is what happened today. Sorry the quality of the pictures isn't great but Mama and Daddy were tired. Very, very tired. Simon woke up at 2:30 and could not seem to get back to sleep. He said he was frightened, but at 4:00 (when Mama took over from Daddy) we asked him about the tree, and yes, he thought that might have something to do with it. He finally went back to sleep at 5:00. And there was fitful rest until 8:00. And then we decorated. Somewhat in good cheer.
























If you go back to the post from December 14th, 2009 you'll see that there is a precedent for this kind of behavior. When does the magic of Christmas wear off? Are we doomed until he's 14?

Who's On Your Door?

Simon and Mama made the top Santa together, Mama made outlines that Simon filled in with paint and Simon put the glue around for the hair and beard. After we finished Simon then did the Santa on the bottom entirely by himslef. Please notice the embellishment on Santa's cheek- it is a worm and 'decoration'. Why does Santa have a worm on his cheek? According to Simon there was "extra space that just needed filling."

Ice Skating For the First Time This Year

When you get cool ice skates for Chanukah- you need to go ice skating right away. We all had a great time at a very cute rink in Staten Island.























And even though this is our action shot- there was a lot more staying upright then falling. Simon was super happy to be out on the ice and got much much better each time we went round the rink. We predict a super skater by the end of winter.

So Much for Chanukah- Now We Celebrate Christmas!

At the Kwiatkowski's annual Christmas party SImon and Aidan kept time while


















Mama and Daddy (and lots of other people) sang carols.

Happy Chanukah!

Chanukah!

We had our annual Chanukah party at Peter and Erica's last night. The presents were plentiful and very exciting.























Ice Skates for Simon- Wow!
















The Menorah was lit accompanied by appropriate youthful wonderment.
















We hope you and yours have a happy Chanukah too.

Fun Even If It Is Freezing

We were in Minneapolis for Thanksgiving this year and it was COLD!
But that didn't stop some people from having fun outside!
















And having fun eating cheese. Lots and lots of cheese.
















The food was terrific- Thank you Uncle Joel and Aunt Barbara for being such wonderful hosts.


















Hugs were a big part of the day too.