First family ski trip

What an awesome life we have! Baba is the best...he is so full of energy and adventure and has brought so much joy to our lives. He's wanted to take the boys skiing for a couple of years now, and we were finally able to manage it for the first time yesterday. Andrew was really stuck on wanting to learn to snowboard, but after trying on Baba's boots and board the night before, he realized that maybe skiing would make for an easier start!

 

Here's a video showing the struggle he could have had if he'd chosen snowboarding instead of skiing! It's not easy maneuvering that huge board, even when NOT on the slippery slopes. :)

 

 

So we bundled up on Sunday, packed a picnic lunch and headed up to Mt. Hood's Ski Bowl for an adventure!

We had to wait about three hours before an instructor was available for the boys' private lesson - in the meantime, we got their skis, had lunch, walked into the woods for a snowball fight and stopped for a Rice Krispie treat break. The boys were SO patient with the wait.

I love this photo - Baba asked the boys to come over and listen. They kept chattering and he said, "Shhh - listen!" They were confused until he explained that he wanted them to hear the quiet of the mountain. They weren't impressed. More proof that we're getting old...

 

I even have a video of this comical moment. Nice try, Baba. They'll get it someday. :)

 

Snowball fight!

 

Rice Krispie treats made by Baba late last night, enjoyed by our ski bums while they watched skiers on the slopes waaaaaay up high! (That was before the sun disappeared and it got super foggy!)

 

Finally, it was lesson time! The boys had a fantastic instructor, who had them skiing for real within an hour! Amazing! Both boys picked it up so quickly - they are so brave to try something new. I loved watching them go from struggling to stay up on even one ski to flying down the hill. Amazing!

 

Here are some videos...there are many, I know...but I can't choose just one! They're all incredible to this proud mama. :)

 

First 20 minutes of lessons...

 

Within an hour of ever being on skis!

 

 

 

And a few from Baba's perspective at the top of the hill:

 

Here's a video of Andrew coming up the rope tow and Matthew hiking back up the hill with his skis in hand - he was a little intimidated by the rope tow, so Baba and him walked the hill over and over and over and over and over. :)

 

 

 

 

 

Proudest dad on the mountain, hands down!

 

I think they were a little bit exhausted after all of that. What do you think? :)

 

Can't wait to do it again! Best day EVER! (We have a lot of those around here.)

Trampoline

Pop and Grandma Margaret gifted the boys a HUGE trampoline for Christmas - and Grandpa and Baba set it up this weekend for the kiddos. When the boys got home from school today, they had no idea it was set up and were surprised to see Baba jumping away...giggles ensued, and they made it into the backyard immediately to check out their new toy. :)

Here are some videos and photos so everyone who was involved can enjoy their first moments of fun on the trampoline!

Here's the first few seconds out of the car when they realized Baba was jumping on something massive in the backyard!

 

The boys first time on their new (and awesome!) toy...

 

And a couple more...

 

Aikido

Matthew started taking martial arts a few weeks ago. He had to take a long break due to his rough 10 day flu, but turns out Sensei was out for the same illness anyhow so he didn't miss much!

Our boy LOVES this class. We are thrilled with AikidoNW. The instructors here are beyond incredible with the kids. This style of martial arts is also much more peaceful than others we've tried, which makes mom happy. :)

Here's a video of the little man being tossed around. I know I said it was a peaceful form of martial arts - and it generally is. Sensei is demonstrating how to break free from a bully's hold here. Matthew is the bully in this clip, by the way. :) Sensei says, "Grab me, kid!"....

 

Oh...and an even better video...Matthew does this thing with his feet EVERY single time he's not doing something else. It cracks us up!

 

Baby Girl - 20 week ultrasound

We got some amazing shots of our little girl today at our anatomy scan. Best news of the day is that she is perfectly healthy - all her parts are working right, and things couldn't be going smoother!

Like the ultrasound tech said, they don't call it the fetal position for nothing...

 

Some call these shots creepy - I think they're amazing. Straight on face shot, with her little left arm up on her head as if her morning started off so rough (which it very well may have, given the amount of fussing and arguing went on getting the boys to school today. Oy.) This baby has had her hands up by her face during both of our last ultrasounds.

 

 Daddy won't have to do any toe counting when she's born. They're all there. (And yes, they count fingers and toes during this ultrasound!)

 

 Even if you aren't a sonographer, I'm sure you can count her fingers for yourself in this shot...

 

And in case there's still any concern that our little girl isn't a girl (for some reason, we get that comment/concern a lot from people) - this shot is SO very clear. Our tech said 100% girl. So yes, Thomas boys do indeed make baby girls. :)

 

If you're still not convinced, Google 'girl ultrasound' and see what you come up with. No doubt here, people. :)

 

Next time we see that sweet face (and bum) - she'll be in our arms! 19 weeks to go...

 

Gender Reveal Ultrasound

What an exciting day! We visited Ultrasona Fetal Fotos on Powell to get a sneak peek at Cletus and to see if he/she would show us the goods! We had also arranged to have a 3d/4d ultrasound to get a better look at things, but baby wasn't cooperative. We'll go back in a couple of weeks to try again.

 

In the meantime, here are a few pictures from our special day. We took all of our parents and our boys with us to see. Matthew was handed a camera and told to have at it - take any pictures he wanted. Here are some of his best shots:

 

 

 Mom fills out paperwork while everyone waits excitedly...

Mom gets set up and the tech takes a peek at Cletus...

 

Our adorable photographer:

 

Here's a 3d shot - of the brain, basically. Baby was all snuggled into the placenta, face first, so there wasn't much to see. Maybe next time!

Jill, our ultrasound tech, takes a peek between the legs. I told her that I didn't see anything there, but I was POSITIVE it was a boy. She kind of smiled and I said, "No way....it's a girl? But I don't see the three lines." She adjusted a little and I said, "Oh my god - it's a girl!" She smiled and nodded and I turned to the family and told them...everyone started repeating me, laughing, smiling huge and hugging. Matthew happened to catch some of the magic just seconds after Baba found out he was going to have a little princess....

Loving the hug in the background between Papa Robin and Nana Dee...

More smiles...

Baba and his Matthew...

Baba and his boys - everyone is so happy!

Our little family...best day ever!

Our little princess is a girl, indeed! No doubting things with this shot...

 

Here's a video of her, taken two weeks later, so that you can see her sweet little face in 3d/4d technology.

 

The whole gang, ready to go home and celebrate...

So super grateful we did this with our kiddos and parents by our side. It was a magical moment, for sure! This little girl is going to be amazingly loved, protected and probably spoiled. I'm a little jealous. :)

 

5 days of Christmas

Whew! What an amazing week we had. It started off with an "adult" family Christmas...not X rated (well, not quite)....but definitely not one that was appropriate if the kids had been home!

We had a white elephant gift exchange that ended up containing mostly bathroom humor gifts. Kevin's toilet mug was a favorite, as was the fanny bank. The abundance of Flarp created an environment of gut laughter that lasted for days (and it even travelled with us to Grandma June and Grandma Jean's houses!)

Kevin's toilet mug, complete with a serving of Pabst...classy Christmas...

It's an Emma sized toilet!

Dad played Santa Christmas morning for all of us big kids - we had a wonderful, relaxing morning of gift opening and more laughter. Kevin made an amazing brunch, and we spent the rest of the day lounging, watching movies in front of a fire and then finally getting ready to head to Grandma June's for Christmas Eve #2.

Santa Dad

 

Homemade gifts for the parents...just like when we were little!

 

 

Christmas Eve at Mom's/Grandma June's house (kids are back with us!)

Matthew loves Flarp...and not just for the noises it makes!

 

Grandma June, however, thinks Flarp is gross and should only be played with in the bathroom. We turned her around by the end of the night, though:

More big kid inappropriateness ensued at Grandma June's house.

This is Mel's version of 50 Shades of Legos:

The next morning was technically Christmas Day, but we decided to ask Santa to wait one more day to visit the boys, so we could get an early start at Nana Dee and Grandpa's house for Christmas with the cousins. It was a very Lego Christmas for all four boys!

Baba has since spent substantial time every day helping the boys put together all of their new Lego sets...

...with a little time thrown in for some Magic...

This Lego building is serious business!

After a wonderful Christmas Day with family, we headed back home for Christmas Eve #3 - the "real" Christmas Eve for the kiddos. Here's Baba doing his annual Night Before Christmas reading before bed. (It only took Andrew 3 hours to fall asleep. That's right. Three hours.)

 

We all woke up to the excitement of knowing Santa had visited - so excited to see what he left for us! Matthew had slept with his fingers and toes crossed, praying he'd get his Ninjago Encyclopedia. "I hope Santa didn't forget me," he said. Of course he wasn't forgotten! I'll never forget the look on his face as he opened his most wished for gift. So precious.

It's tradition for the "kids" to be barricaded with chairs in the hallway before making an exit into the living room. The parents always go out first to turn on the tree lights, start a fire and get coffee and tea. The kids bounce around excitedly, begging for it to be time to rush their gifts!

 

Matthew was posing with a roll for this shot (Mom's attempt to feed the beast before he got wrapped up in all of the new toys)...

 

Pop signaled the boys with a "Ready, Set, Go!" and they rushed the living room....very politely. We have some seriously sweet kids here. :)

 

Present opening was so much fun. So many special gifts from Santa this year!

My boys got me nail polish! They did good :)

Mel got an awesome scarf from Dad and Margaret - big enough to share!

We ended our Christmas Day by visiting Grandma Jean and Grandpa OB - just like when I was little!

Emma got decorated...

 

And everyone put in their gender guesses for tomorrow's ultrasound! Boy guesses were more popular - Pop, Grandma Jean, Margaret and Baba guessed girl, though!

 

Margaret used my wedding ring and hair and got 'girl' results with this old wive's tale...

Andrew's Snap Circuits were a huge hit, as were ALL of the Ninjago treasures that Matthew received...

Thursday was baby day - we had an awesome family day - more in another post (click here to read about our gender reveal ultrasound experience).

 

Pop and Grandma Margaret packed up after spending over a week with us all. It was sad to see them go. The four of us decided to hit the Lego store at the mall and let the boys spend their gift certificates and Christmas money.

So, of course, there's more for Baba to help build...

We also had a lunch date - Red Robin....yum!

Andrew got some bath crayons from Pop and Grandma Margaret - he wrote the entire Pledge of Allegiance on the shower wall (and later learned that they are not face paints!)

We finally had a "normal" bedtime routine and decent bedtime hour last night. These two are the best of friends - they take turns inviting each other into their bed for reading time.

 

I'd say that was our best Christmas ever. From the dinner Mike and I had with Dad and Margaret the night before it all started (Chang's - yum!) to the last day of quiet family time with my guys - it was simple, special, cozy and just absolutely perfect. Counting my blessings that we're all healthy and together this holiday season!