While Mommy's Making Dinner...

...Talmage is making messes.

BIG messes.

Oh the weather outside is FRIGHTFUL, and kinda fun!

We left California wearing short sleeves, and returned to NYC in the middle of a blizzard! The first few days (as we were still trying to catch up from the crazy flight) we pretty much were hermits. But, eventually I decided that Talmage needed to have his first fun snowday!

The poor people who scrape the sidewalks at our building would have had heart failure if they had seen Tornado Talmage make his way down the walk. He was SO interested in the snow, that he would hit it as hard as he could and watch it topple down. He was VERY proud of himself!

Walking through the snow was hilarious! It was fresh and powdery and Mr. T was always at least 1/2 covered. He took a few steps and then he'd yell, "Mommy, hold you."

His favorite part...eating the snow. He ate SO MUCH! I figured it was fine since we were the only ones at the park in the very fresh snow...but now that it's been a few days (and the snow is either black or yellow) I have to continally remind him that eating it is not ok. Poor kid!

Here we are, all bundled up in the snow. I'm sportin' my Canada beanie courtesy of Unco Jodan!

The next day we told Daddy how much fun we had had playing in the snow and begged him to come play with us for a few minutes. We decided to go sledding on a huge hill by our house. I took pictures while the two of them played. It was so sweet. Jim would make the long trek uphill with that heavy baby of ours and in point two seconds they were at the bottom and T would say, "Again. Again." They ended up sledding until the sled (AKA a piece of cardboard we found on our way to the hill...we're so Bronx!) gave up the ghost.

I have to admit, snow is most definitely not my favorite weather condition and most of the time, I think it's oh-so frightful, but sometimes it is kind of fun!

Chase was right again!

My little brother Chase is ALWAYS right when it comes to guessing the gender of sweet little fetuses! Mad skills...that's all I've gotta say! He's 3 for 3 with the McKee sisters, and you know what he guessed our newest bundle would be?

IT'S A BOY!!!

Yep, the three little Wiggy's will soon be four...and I will be even more outnumbered! My mom joked that when my sister and I left their home she was a rose among thorns (the only girl with three boys) and I think I'll have the same feelings soon ;) We are so thrilled to see our boys play, learn, and grow together...and, basicially we are just THRILLED to be having another boy.

We celebrated tonight with ice cream bars and a family home evening lesson about families (we're trying to help T be excited about his soon-to-be BFF). One things for sure, he was darn excited about the ice cream!

And it got everywhere!

This little one was a mover and shaker during the whole ultrasound. He definitely put the ultrasound tech to work and it took FOREVER to gather all of the measurements. BUT...he stopped long enough for me to get a sweet little footprint. I love it and I love him already. I can't wait to meet him!

That's Why Cookie Monster's Blue

Now I get it.

FIREWORKS 2011!

I took off the month of January. And most of the month of December as well. Ok, ok, so the end of November wasn't that hot either. I had a bad case of bloggers-block, and an even worse case of bloggers-apathy. I guess that's what severe, ridiculous, should-never-happen-to-anyone-or their-dog pregnancy sickness will do to you, mixed, not to mention, with major parental guilt for being sick all day and allowing my one-year-old to watch 12 hours of TV a day for weeks at a time.

Not that I'm complaining at all. After trying to get pregnant for months on end, I took an anti-complaining oath when I saw those precious two lines. I may have been sick, but I sure was happy to be sick.

WE'RE HAVING ANOTHER BABY. HOORAY!!!

Luckily, after a long trip home for the holidays (which was extended to five weeks so we could welcome my little brother Jordan home from his mission) and some major TLC from family (to all three of us Wiggy's) the ball is rolling again and I am feeling much better. I ridiculously came back to New York with a completely empty camera so I have nothing to show for the amazing time we had...but believe me, it was good! And you know what else is good? New babies. YEAH!

Anyway, cheers to February 1st. Cheers to blogging again.

And cheers to the 4th of July...the newest Wiggy should be here to share it with us!

Twas the night before Christmas

Twas the night before Christmas (in our house at least)

We ate all our veggies, we carved a roast beast.

We decorated cookies for Santa and T

He said, "One cookie for him, and then a few for me!"

We read Christmas stories, we sang Christmas songs

And then it was bedtime, yep bedtime 'fore long.

And then in the morning the magic was found

Santa had come and left presents; a mound!

Mr. T was in heaven, he squealed with delight

The train table, the bikes all lit by Christmas lights.

He opened the gifts and each brought a new smile

And that smile it stayed, for a very long while.

Our house was a mess for at least a few days

But it was all worth it in so many ways.

Our first Christmas this year was a wonderful time,

And we are sure looking forward to Christmases two through nine.

Merry Christmas to you, from the Wiggy Three

Hope you enjoy the total picture spree!

MIRACULOUS on 34th Street

With only 12 days until Christmas, T and I decided to head downtown to Macy's, board the Polar Express, land in the North Pole and spend an afternoon dancing with bears, oohing and ahing over toy trains and whispering secrets in Santa's ear. It was such a blast and my heart was bursting with holiday cheer. AND, more importantly, Mr. Talmage LOVED it. It was so fun to watch the magic in his eyes!

He is beyond obsessed with trains, and couldn't take his eyes off of them the whole time we were in Santa Land (not even for a picture...and this was after multiple attempts!) There were big trains, little trains, real trains, murals of trains and T yelled, no, YELLED "Yamas! Yamas!" (Translation: Thomas! Thomas!) We were surrounded by older children who started our adventure not quite in the holiday spirit, but quickly started pointing out trains to T and laughing with him in excitement. It was beautiful.


The place was swarming with Santa's elves, and Talmage made sure that everyone of them was pointed out! He would point and scream "ELF!" He loved it, and all the elves loved him! He was picked up, hugged and talked to by all of 'em!

Entering the North Pole. Talmage was mostly excited, but kind of dissapointed that we had to get off the train...of course!!!

LOVE<> LOVE this mural.

Santa's sleigh was getting prepped by elves for the big day. It was full of toys, candy and everything fun and magical you can think of. Of course, T saw a car on top of the pile and grabbed it before I could grab him! We put it back, of course!

It wasn't long before T had the honor of meeting Santa himself. He tightened up when I first put him on Santa's lap, but he quickly warmed up. He made everyone laugh out loud (including Santa) when he started screaming "Duck! Duck!" as loud as he could. We looked around the room, and it was Santa who finally realized he was talking about a penguin! He told Santa Merry Christmas (we've been working on it) and we left the North Pole.

We ended the adventure with an ice cream cone and french fries from McDonald's. Even that was magical to the little mister, especially because there were pictures of Santa EVERYWHERE! He pointed them all out to me...and everyone else in the restaurant! He also discovered that dipping fries in ice cream is delicious. He is so my child!

I loved spending such quality time with Talmage. It was magical for him, and it was magical for me. As I watched his eyes dance at every new sight, sound and taste I realized that I was, in a small part, helping Christmas become alive for him. I was, in some ways, responsible for the magic of his Christmas. And in that realization, Christmas became more joyful, more exciting, and more magical for me than it has been in a long time. Being a Mom is the best, especially to a kid as cute, crazy and hilarious as mine ;)