Berenstain Bears

I grew up reading the Berenstain Bears, so I am really excited that James really loves them too. We have the whole collection of books and even have little bear figurines to play with. My favorite is James' "bear" names that he has given all of us.

Daddy-Bear, Mama-Bear, Luker-Bear, James-Bear and Puppy-Bear. He giggles every time he uses these silly names, and thinks he is so clever. Too funny. Maybe I should start wearing a blue and white polka-dot dress and hat. What do you think?

Learning New Tricks

Uncle Mowg and Aunt Julia stopped by for a quick visit. James was absolutely distraught this morning when they were loading up their car. He and Uncle Mowg really bonded and he was not about to let him just walk away. First he ran out into the arctic temperatures barefoot to try and convince Aunt Julia to stay. She reported that he turned back to the house, said "Bye bye Mama bear, Bye Bye Luke" and then proceed to run and jump into their back seat. Poor guy, he really misses his Uncle Morgan and Aunt Julia! Come back soon!

Helping Uncle Morgan open a Christmas present.

Reading to Uncle Morgan. It's one of James' favorite books about potty training. I am sure Uncle Morgan learned a lot from that one. =)

Uncle Morgan got to take a turn reading....James thought it was very funny that the Uncle Morgan could read upside down.

Love you Uncle Morgan and Aunt Julia and Clover!

Dressing Up

Little Bunny Luke

James the little prince
(He won't take the crown off at all, and insists on wearing it all day! Auntie Julie you rock!)

Big boy James

Blocks, Chairs and Zion (Oh my!)

The boys had so much fun building a tower with Daddy. Build tower, knock it down, repeat.

Luke figured out how to sit himself in a chair. Lots of balance and precision needed for that job. He thought he was pretty cool figuring all that out!

Zion continues to be such a sweet doggie with the boys. He and James even cuddle on occasion, it is so cute!

Cheese!

Well that is what we did to ring in the new year! Happy New Year!

Dance Off!

That's right it's a dance off....



Alright, let's see your moves!

(Extra prize if you can name the song Luke is dancing to...)

Energy

Today was a cold winter day. Bitter cold. And I had a house full of creatures that were about to go stir crazy. So we did the only thing we could think to do....we ventured outside into the chilly winter air.

Good thing we all bundled up because brrrrrrr was it cold.

But it allowed us to get the dogs outside and give them room to run!

Who are we kidding, it also gave James room to run!

Even Luke got to stretch his legs.
Now everyone is tired and sleeping sound. GREAT Success!

Scenes from Christmas Morning

Zion and Clover, always together, always into mischief.

Luker by the tree. He loved opening presents, but would quickly discard the actual present to play with the wrapping.

Except, he loved one of Daddy's stocking stuffers.

James was busy making sure we had opened all the presents.

Merry Christmas!

Chateau House

We had so much fun creating these snow covered gingerbread houses. James had the best technique. One candy for the house, two for my mouth. Genius really! And Luke could not get enough gum drops. Uncle Robert played Christmas carols, while Auntie Stephanie, Cousins Maggie and Charlie, and Grammy all snacked on candy and decorated the houses. Grammy nicknamed her gingerbread creation the "Chateau Ghetto" because we added candy bars to the windows. Good times!

Thank you so much Auntie Stephanie for bringing all the goodies. We are busily snacking on candy and admiring the beautiful houses! Merry Christmas!

Best Present Ever

Luke got the best present ever...a cardboard box with bubble wrap. Why oh why do we spend money on toys when what they really want is a box?

Family Christmas picture. Uncle Mowg and Auntie Julia joined us for a quick Christmas celebration en route to sunny California. Grammy left the sunny California weather to experience our snow storm. We loved having everyone together, even if it was only for one night!

James is crazy about his present too...a set of the Tarrytown Airport planes. Hooray for Jay Jay! He wants to play with these first thing when he wakes up, and is begging for just a few more minutes to play before bedtime.

Let it Snow!

Ok, who ordered the snow? Oh right, John did. Looks like mother nature gave John his wish for a "white Christmas". We are experiencing blizzard conditions and it is supposed to snow ALL day.

James and John all bundled up.

Our deck has a very nice layer.

Let it snow, let it snow, let it SNOW!

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Update on the snow....yup it is still snowing. Now check out our deck.


Zion had a ball running around our front yard while John shoveled our walk. He bounded from snow drift to snow drift, sometimes all we could see were he ears and the tip of his tail.


John and James in the blizzard, having a grand time!


Ok, I think we have enough. Time for the snow to stop!