{teRRible tWOs}

I think Ayden has officially hit the terrible twos...in the last few weeks, we have seen some SERIOUS tantrums from him...the lay on the floor and kick your legs kind of tantrums! If it doesn't go his way, or he doesn't get what he wants RIGHT NOW, we can pretty much expect to see a tantrum erupt! I guess that is expected at this age and that is why it is called the "terrible twos"! Tonight at dinner, Ayden had a rough time...he was sent to his room twice for throwing a fit at the dinner table for who knows why! So after dinner, everyone left the table and went into the other room...the guys were watching TV and the girls were cleaning up after dinner. I walked back into the dining room and saw Ayden sitting at the head of the table eating dessert all by himself! He was so quiet and so content in there all alone...with his bowl of ice cream. It's a good thing he looked so cute and peaceful...it sure made up for the awful tantrums he made everyone sit through at dinner!

{Christmas Day}

Our Christmas day started at 5:45 am when Ayden woke up for good!! You would've thought it was Christmas morning or something!! =) Luckily we were able to quickly turn on "Diego" before Ayden realized that there were presents under the tree!! Finally around 7:30 am, we told him he better go check his stockings to see if Santa came!! He got really excited then and realized that there were a ton of presents under the tree from Santa!! Zoe almost slept through the festivities! We had a great morning and we didn't miss not having the snow at all...it was cold and rainy so it totally felt like Christmas!!

In the afternoon, we went to Jeremiah's parents house for Christmas Part 2. Ayden was excited to see that Santa came to Grandma and Grandpa's house too to fill his stocking!

I think he was a little overstimulated from all the gifts during the day, so by this time he was opening presents and tossing them to the side to find the next present! He got some cool gifts though...including the VTech video game thing that he can plug into the TV and play video games. He also got this little wizard outfit and wand. I'm not sure what show he learned this from, but he loves to get a stick and run around waving it saying "hocus pocus", so now he has his own magic wand to do this with!!

Zoe made out well also. She got a couple more babies to add to her collection. The babies were not only a hit with her, but Ayden loved them too! He is really into little dolls which I know Jeremiah doesn't love, but I think it's cute. He is so sweet with them and likes to feed them and burp them...he will be a great dad some day!!

Jeremiah's family (minus Brandon, Kammie and Frank)

Christmas jammies!!!

Zoe got this cute activity musical table and I love seeing her stand up against it! This pictures were taken with me VERY close by...waiting for her to fall!! She has fallen a couple times and gotten a couple goose eggs on her head already! She still is very unsteady when she is standing up. She is quite the opposite of Ayden...at this age he was totally cruising along the furniture and walking all the time behind a walker. Zoe has no interest whatsoever of walking...she hates standing up when she is holding on to something and doesn't even like to walk around when she is holding onto our hands! So I like seeing these pictures because I can't wait until she walks!!

Geez Mom....do SOMETHING with my hair, would you???

{Christmas Eve}

Ahhh, Christmas has come and gone! I hate the days after Christmas when all the excitement is over and there is nothing to look forward to! Luckily we had a really great Christmas...Ayden is at such a fun age and he "really got it" this year! He had so much fun waiting for Santa to come and to see if Santa brought him "all things". As Christmas was getting nearer, whenever we asked Ayden what he wanted, he would always say, "a ROCKET and ALL THINGS!!!" So funny! This Christmas was a lot different than last year...we couldn't put ANY presents under the tree before Christmas...the temptation for a 2 year old not to open them is just too much! But once they all came out, he was very patient when opening his presents...he would open one and spend a lot of time playing with it. We would have to tell him that he had more presents to open so he could move on to the next one...the opening process took quite a while this year!

Zoe had a great FIRST Christmas! She had no idea what was going on and was of course more interested in all the wrapping paper and the tags on things! She made out though and got some really great gifts! Luckily she had Ayden around to help her open her presents!

On Christmas Eve day, we went to my parents house with my brother and his family. We hung out all day, ate lots of food and cookies, opened presents, watched "Christmas Vacation" and watched the kids play with their new toys!

Zoe's FIRST Christmas!!!

Forget the toys...these babies are entertained by flipping the noisy door stopper!!

Zoe and Crew entertained each other by taking turns following each other around!

The football player and his cheerleader!!!

The boys taking a break from flying helicopters!!

Cousins....Crew, Carter, Ayden, Cooper and Zoe!!

Ayden's very own golf clubs...perfect gift for when he visits Papa Roger and Grammy Con!!

Grammy Con and Papa Roger

Nobody was out golfing, so all the kids went out on the golf course to play...here they are waiting for Uncle Joe to fly Ayden's new Air Hog airplane!

Ayden and Carter wrestling on the golf course!

Ayden LOVED opening up his presents and he also was so excited to "help" his sister open her presents!! Luckily, she didn't mind having the help...I'm sure next year she won't be as willing to let him help!

Zoe got an adorable fur vest from Aunt Cara! She looked ADORABLE in it! Here she is striking a pose!!

Here is one of the 3 baby dolls that Zoe got for Christmas....this was definitely the year for baby dolls! Good thing because there are way too many boy toys floating around our house! Zoe loves baby Lulu!!

Ayden playing with his mini Cars from his stocking!

Nothing like a good sucker at 8 in the morning!!

Here is the gift of the year for Ayden...the long waited for Little Einsteins ROCKET!!! He was SO EXCITED when he opened it!! And he hasn't stopped playing with it since!! He even sleeps with it!!

Everyone sitting down for dinner...the traditional Clam Chowder that my dad has been making for 30 years now!! Everyone in the family looks forward to this meal every year, but I'm not really a fan of clam chowder! I try it every year hoping that I will like it and it never really happens!! =(

Zoe checking out her stocking!!

Crew and Zoe eating dinner!!

My family...