Over the River and Through the Woods...

Well, we survived six hours each way (mind you, it should only take about four and half hours) with two kiddos (and, thankfully, two grandparents) to spend Thanksgiving at Noni and Papi's house. Despite our hesitations about making such a long trip, we are so happy we did. It was a fantastic weekend, filled with food, family, food, fun, and food. We have so much to be thankful for this year, and were especially thankful to be able to spend the holiday with both our families. Some highlights from the trip...

Uncle Pauly scaring Adam with his Movember Moustache:

(he seemed ok with it a little later in the weekend)...Noni and Uncle Pauly wondering if Adam will keep his blue eyes, therefore looking a little more like a Magyar than a Stockwell:
Ethan putting his bib on well before dinner, to be sure we didn't forget him come turkey time:
Ethan and the grandpas raking (well, actually, it looks to me like Ethan was doing most of the work and the grandpas were standing around posing for pictures): Ethan and Mommy before our Thanksgiving feast: Adam looking quite stuffed and happy after his Thanksgiving feast:

Saturday Morning Snuggles

Visitors

With the yucky weather and two little ones, we've been pretty housebound this weekend. Luckily, we had lots of visitors to keep us busy. Friday night, Aaron and Lauren came over with their new daughter Helen, who was born just 38 hours before Adam. We celebrated the kiddos' 3-week birthdays with a cake and Chinese takeout. Although Helen and Adam were about the same size at birth, Helen is now a hefty 11+ pounds and would clearly beat Adam in a baby wrestling match. We tried to pose the two newbies for a photo, but this is the best we could do (before they both woke up and started screaming).

Just over a month ago, we took a similar shot, with babies still inside tummies.

Katie, Davis, and Oliver came to visit yesterday. Ethan had a great time playing with Davis, who should become a full-time "manny" if/when he decides to retire from being a nuclear physicist. Playtime included dressing Ethan up in his Halloween costume from last year (which now looks like a too-tight 70s leisure suit) and flying him around the house like an airplane. Ethan even gave his buddy Oliver a few actual kisses (rather than Ethan's usual version of kisses, which involve teethmarks).

Adam continues to be a mellow and happy baby, who likes to sleep amid the chaos of visitors and his older brother's antics. Ethan thinks he's a little boring, and hopes he will wake up and play with him soon.

Brothers

Ethan and Adam are getting to know each other, and seem quite happy in their roles as big and little brother. Ben and I are also enjoying the fun chaos that two little boys bring to our home. We got out for a family walk in the woods yesterday. It started as a relaxing stroll until we realized we were walking in the woods in the middle of hunting season - that realization quickened our pace!
In other news, Ethan has decided to adopt the persona of "Ethan the Plumber" since Joe's time in the spotlight appears to have passed.

Adam's First Week (and a Half) at Home

I have a very snoozy baby (must be the rainy weather) and a toddler off at "school", so I've had a chance to catch up on pictures a bit today. Here are some of my favorites from Adam's first week at home.

History

We stayed up to watch history unfold last night. Well, Ben and I did; Adam didn't seem to understand the significance of the event...Luna, however, was quite excited with the outcome.

Happy Belated Halloween!

I have a feeling our posts are going to be a little less timely (and probably a little less frequent) these days, but here are some shots from our first Halloween as a foursome. Ethan loved his first true trick-or-treating experience, and got the hang of the ritual after a few practice runs at our door. Adam came along for the ride, but slept through most of his first Halloween.

Today is our first day without Noni, who has been our cook, housecleaner, laundress, nanny, baby-snuggler, personal errand girl, and general Gal Friday for the past week. She is already sorely missed, especially since Ben also returned to work today, leaving me alone with the two boys! So far so good, but too early to declare victory...