BFFs

We just wrapped up a 4-day visit from Erin and Sarah - check out The Pigbear for some of the stories, and of course for the beautiful pictures. As always, it was a wonderful visit. The girls just click so nicely and had an absolute blast playing non-stop. Erin and I had lots of time to drink tea and catch up in a way that just isn't possible over the phone. We had some yummy meals, explored more of Boston, and watched some trashy TV.

William desperately missed Ephraim, but he was easily won over by the wonders of Miss Erin's iPhone:

These two became pretty good buddies on this visit. Of course Erin spent most of it trying to convince William to give her "passion" (William's word for kisses) and he denied her every time. :)

We love you, Cobbs. Can't wait to be together soon.

Thank you, Brent and Ephraim, for sharing your girls with us. It wasn't the same without you.

Breaking Up Is Hard To Do

I'm breaking up with my cell phone.

Yep, that's right. I'm committing to no longer talking on my cell phone while driving. And I'm hoping that by posting it here the extra accountability I'm creating by making my pledge public will make me stick to it.

So why now? I've been talking on my phone while driving for years. Well some of you may have seen Oprah this week - she is leading a movement to make cars "no phone zones" and her show this week about talking and texting while driving was shocking and horrifying. But I'll tell you a secret - it wasn't anything I didn't already know. There's been a little voice in the back of my head for years telling me it's not really safe to talk when I'm driving. Seeing all of those moms, dads, brothers, sisters, sons ,and daughters talking about how impaired drivers (that's right - talking on a cell phone is equivalent to being legally drunk and texting is twice as bad) ruined their lives on Oprah this week finally convinced me it's time to stop. I know that if I ever hurt somebody because I was talking and driving I would never forgive myself for making such a careless choice, and I also know that if another driver hurt someone I love because he or she was talking or texting I would agonize over the pointlessness of that mistake. Plus, I know that I usually have two little monkeys in my back seat who see everything I do, and I want to set the right example for them; after all, it really won't be that many years until they are on the road (big sigh). So now, finally, I'm quitting. Truthfully it's not that easy but I'm going to stick to it because I know in my heart it's the right thing to do.

Won't you join me?

A Face Only a Mother Could Love

Daddy and Caroline are at "work" today. I use that term extremely loosely since Steve keeps emailing me pictures of them ice skating at the frog pond and looking out the top of the Prudential Center. I've always suspected that Steve spends most of his days in the city riding the Duck Tours and shopping on Newbury Street. For all of you who are wondering if Steve is, in fact, the most fun Daddy ever, the answer is decidedly "yes."

William and I are having an equally fun-filled day. I took the kid to the gym, the grocery store, AND to get his haircut. Super fun, right???

William decided he had to amuse himself with some of his sister's accessories.

I can already see his future in gangsta rap.

And then he finished our photo shoot up with this lovely mug:

Poor William

My son really should live in a warm climate. Or at least have a mother who enjoys being outside in the cold, wet winter months.

For the last couple of weeks, every time we drive by the turn to the park where we spend countless hours in the warm weather, William points and screams "park! park!" And every day he makes me hold him up to the back door or to a large window that overlooks our yard. He looks sadly out at his swing set and asks me "pay? ouside? bagyad?" in the sweetest, most hopeful voice. I'm just not all that interested in being outside in single digit or teen temperatures, so we've been an indoor family all month.

William's luck changed yesterday, however, when Steve offhandedly asked him if he wanted to go shovel. William screamed "yes!" and ran as fast as his little feet could carry him to find his coat, boots, and hat.

Pure joy, using the new shovel Santa brought:



And then Sissy came outside, and thanks to the hard, icy snow, they were able to sled down the tiniest of inclines in our yard:

How cute are my snow babies???

It's a good thing at least one parent in this family isn't a wimp. :)

Drivin' That Train

We have officially become a Thomas family. As you can see, the little man is enthralled. And what better way to plays "tanes!" than by sitting on top of the train table Daddy built you for Christmas?



As I was snapping these photos this morning, I also learned that my son has developed a "picture face" complete with shouting "cheese!" Not sure where he learned that.

Wanna see it close up?

Nice, right?

Christmas Wrap Up

Here's one thing I know to be true about myself: if I don't edit pictures within a day or two of taking them, I lose my mojo and can't get motivated. Every time I've thought about looking through the hundreds of pictures I took during our 2-week trip to Chicago, I've just felt overwhelmed. Plus, I'm just tired of the holidays, aren't you? However, at the (not very polite) insistence of my mom and sister, I managed to look through the pictures and edit a few. So here they are, a few of the highlights of Christmas in Chicago, 2009.

We went to American Girl (this is literally the only picture on my camera that includes me):



We celebrated Penny's 1st Birthday:



We decorated cookies and did lots of fun projects:



We spent lots of time with the cousins (in matching jammies!):

Hope your holidays were as wonderful as ours! Thanks to our amazing families for hosting, feeding, and entertaining us in such gracious style for 2 weeks!