my little boys

My boys need their Mama, that's what I'm realizing more and more lately. Talmage sat at the dinner table earlier this week in tears because, in his words, "ever since September we just don't get to spend any time together." September = the start of school and yes, time has been stretched thin since then. Throw in a new sister who is a fussy-pants baby and I can see how he misses me because frankly I miss him too.

And then this morning I had to wipe the tears from Everett's round cheeks as he cried, "I don't want to gwow up. I want to wiv wif you fowevah. I onwy want to get mawwied wif you mommy." This, in response to my playful rule that he wasn't allowed to get bigger. He understood that it was a joke, but the reality of age and time were not lost on him. He spent many years as my baby and I think a part of him will always want that role.

Time is moving at a dizzy-fast pace and all I want is for more alone time with T and for Ev to get his wish of staying little forever. I love these boys till it hurts, and I'm trying everyday to help them feel how special they are.

Left: Our dark selfie from a field trip to the Big Apple Circus. /// Right: Brownie batter licking Ever.

T's class, Where's Waldo anyone?

These two created the grandest of gingerbread villages!

Left: Ev's first snow feelings. /// Right: T's first snow feelings.

They requested a picture next to Paddington in the subway. They can't wait to see this movie!

After months and months of {sometimes} patiently waiting, T was the star name at school. Their class figured out that his name has one word, two syllables and he can spell the words tale, a and age with letters in his name. He was beaming when he came home!

Oh Christmas Tree

 

We've come a long way in the Christmas tree department.  When the delivery man showed up at our door with a gorgeous 6 foot Frasier Fir (from a killer deal we scored on Groupon) I couldn't help but think about all the trees our family has shared since we've been married. We were living in England for Talmage's first Christmas and boy, were we ever poor. We couldn't afford a Christmas tree, we could barely even afford to feed ourselves, so we picked up some branches from the local tree lot, taped them to a lamp shade, and decorated it with a paper chain. I still love the pictures of that "tree." The next year I was pregnant with Everett during the holiday season and sick as a dog. It was black Friday, I had thrown up every ounce of our Thanksgiving dinner and I desperately needed some holiday cheer so we braved Target in the Bronx (which we had nicknamed Armageddon Target on a good day, you can imagine what it was like on black Friday!) and bought the cheapest artificial, pre-lit tree in the place. It was magical when we got that thing set up. It was just last year that we found two mini Christmas trees on the streets in Sayville, New York and called it good in the tree department. Not an ornament could fit on it's branches but our boys were ecstatic! We've had years with fake trees and years with no trees and Christmas has still been magical and full of cheer and amazing, but this year I really, really wanted a real tree. I wanted to smell the pine needles and army crawl under it (like my mom used to do) with a pitcher to water it and I wanted big, full branches to hang all of our precious ornaments. Every year has been great and I always say it was the best yet, and I'm sure this year will be no exception! 

And now, since this is my first year with a real tree and I'm feeling kind of like an adult all of a sudden, here is a little bit of the evolution of our tree (because I know you care, right?!):

The tree came in the morning and I was so worried that it was going to die that I borrowed a saw from our Super, sawed off the branches near the bottom, set up our stand and put the tree inside. I felt like such a pioneer woman after that, let me tell you!

I could barely stand it and started hanging lights immediately. This is the tree with four strands. I made a trip to Bed Bath and Beyond right after this picture was taken because holy Hannah my tree needed two more strands of lights!

We decorated the tree that night with some new baubles that Talmage picked out at the store, plus all of our special family ornaments. The boys asked so many questions about each ornament and it was such a fun, festive night together talking about our Christmas memories. We blasted Christmas music, ate chocolate and popcorn, and when the tree was finished the boys put the star on top.

I feel like all I have done since the tree has been up is take pictures of the tree. I'm obsessed! I want pictures in every light and from every angle. I want close-ups of ornaments and close-ups of the pine needles and you wouldn't believe how fast your phone can fill up with Christmas tree pictures when you really love your Christmas tree. And I do, in fact, REALLY love this tree. For your viewing pleasure, there are two pictures of my tree above: by day and by night. If you want sunrise, dusk or any other camera angle just let me know and I'll text it right over!

Radio City Christmas SPECTACULAR!!!

Seeing the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall has been holding the top spot on my NYC Christmas Bucket List for ages, and this year we decided to splurge and go to the show. When they say spectacular, they are not kidding. The show was phenomenal. We scored buy one get one free tickets, so it was the price of a date night for the best double date imagined--me and all three of my boys! There is nothing like Christmas in New York City and this show was the absolute perfect way to kick off the season.

We had four chairs, but the boys ended up sitting on our laps for most of the show so that we could all be snug and together--it was nice to be able to give them so much attention. Every detail of the show was holiday perfection, but I must admit that watching Everett's face light up and hearing T's squeals of delight were the best parts of the show for me. Even some of the people sitting around us were chuckling over T saying, "Whoa! Those Rockettes must practice so much because they are perfect!" or Everett saying, "Dis is da best show I ever saw. Fanks Mom and Dad!" The curtain had barely closed after the last number and the boys were thanking us and planning the next time we'd be attending the show (which if it were up to them would be tomorrow!)

We took a few more pictures and grabbed a Jamba Juice before heading home, taking back the Quinny reins, and putting those chickens to bed WAY after bedtime. Such a great night!

Thanksgiving and Stuff...

I left the house today sans winter coat as straight-up freezing rain was falling in sheets outside our window and didn't realize I was in nothing but a tee until we left our apartment, took the elevator down five floors, raced through the lobby and squeezed through two sets of double doors at the entrance of our building. And then I was all, "Brrrr!" Does that clue you in to my mental status as of late? But surprise surprise I was running late for school pick-up so on I went and frozen I was as a screaming Quinn and a whining Ever Knight accompanied me in the stroller. That I was pushing. In freezing rain. With no coat. (Seems like maybe those were my tears they were shedding?)

Mostly I'm feeling good about my life these days: I eat a lot of chocolate Cheerio's to mask my sleep deprivation, I nurse Netflix at night--eh hem--I nurse and watch Netflix at night (you name it, I've watched it friends) and every time I hear Everett say, "I just wuv you my Quenny Guhl" I think my heart might burst. Oh, and it's Christmastime which straight up rocks in NYC. The best, I tell ya! We are scheduled silly every day this month and I'm giddy as an elf...were an elf to be giddy. But that darn pick-up that coincides with nap time and the whole mean mom "Put on your shoes before leaving the house for pick-up because it's actually freezing outside" thing, that's not one of the hottest moments of my day. Suggestions to make that stink less are welcome.

And now, for the real reason Quinny and I sat down to blog today (did you really think she was out of my arms? Not a chance!): our Thanksgiving week in California recap!!! Each day of our trip was filled to the brim with meaningful, miraculous, beautiful moments that deserve posts upon posts of their own but alas, I've got Cheerio's to eat, Netflix to watch and oh yeah, a baby to nurse so this post right here is our one-stop shop for all things Thanksgiving.

Let's start this little stroll down memory's lane by painting a picture of two little boys in construction paper turkey hats and one sweet baby girl (first flight, what! what!) boarding a plane with cheesy smiles on their faces. Cute, right? Right! Maybe I should just trick ya'll into thinking that it ended there and my kids weren't the ones screaming bloody murder for 5 of the 6 hour flight. No, I wasn't the mom walking the plane isle with a hysterical 3-year-old; nor was I the mom begging anyone (ANYONE!) for Children's tylenol because mine was packed away. My baby Quinn is known for her calm and quiet demeanor you know, so she surely was not fussing, fussing, FUSSING and through it all, that was not my 5-year-old yelling, "You two are being so annoying!" The people sitting by us on the plane you might ask? They definitely weren't getting drunk on Vodka (bring me another! and another!) to drown out the commotion we were causing. Nope. Boys in homemade hats and a grinning Quinn--that's what we're going to remember!

Saturday was my baby brother's wedding and let me tell you, nothing makes you feel older than seeing your baby brother tie the knot. In my mind Chase might be 11 for life and an 11-year-old getting hitched? Well now can't you see why it was so weird for me?! My new sister-in-law Meghan is adorable, their wedding was wonderful and I'm just really grateful that I could be there to share it with these two baby lovebirds!

Sunday was the prettiest of fall days in Sacramento and it turned out to be the perfect day to bless baby Quinn. James gave her a beautiful blessing and it was so special to have so many family members there to celebrate her life. It was made even more memorable because her cousin Lincoln was blessed on the same day.

Our little family of five. FIVE!

All the attendee's except for Jord, Mad and Lucy (left early to make the long drive back to Utah), Papa (meetings), Pepa (meetings) and Noni and Grandpa (where did they go and why aren't they in my picture?!)

James joked that this might be the most righteous weekend of our lives. Saturday a wedding, Sunday a blessing and Tuesday a baptism!!! We were so very, very excited when Jim's mom decided she wanted to be baptized and asked James to baptize her while we were home for Thanksgiving. James and Carolyn gave beautiful talks, the treats were delish (Nothing Bundt Cupcakes for the win!) and the fact that his mom is now a member of our church is amazing. I'm so grateful that she has found a happy, comfortable and peaceful place in the church. We love her!

It's a McKee family tradition to go to Apple Hill the day after Thanksgiving every year. BUUTTT...it turns out tickets to and from New York are outrageous and the little Wig's had to peace out on Thanksgiving night (red eye, don't feel bad, we ate LOTS of turkey) so we went to Apple Hill the day before Thanksgiving. Other than not having our traditional turkey sandwich picnic the day was a rousing success. Photo dump here:

This post has turned out to be WAY longer than expected and let's just say that my Quinny arm is falling asleep and my typing fingers are not so far behind. So...here are the 3 lonesome pictures I took on Thanksgiving. Dinner at both families homes were fabulous, mostly because we were surrounded by so many people that we love.

Papa with Quinn and Honey with Quinn

 

Uncle Buck deserves his own post. Shoot, Uncle Buck deserves the world! And the world (and us Wig's) are lucky, blessed and so grateful to have an Uncle Buck! Let me tell ya,Uncle Buck made who knows how many different kinds and batches of homemade ice cream because he wanted everyone to feel special and have the flavor they loved the most; this included green mint chip for Talmage and spiderman ice cream for Everett. Uncle Buck visited three ice cream stores, did hours of research and ended up making my boys think they were the most special people in the world by giving them their own batch of ice cream. And that spiderman ice cream was incredible--blue and red vanilla with chocolate swirls and pop rocks. And with that, happy Thanksgiving! 

Winter Quinny

 Perhaps the only redeeming factor of the recent arctic blast is seeing Quinn dressed like this:

Thursday Thoughts because I wanted to write on Monday

I really wanted to write on Monday, like really, really. I didn't have anything especially important to say, except that I was having a wild craving for crepes with Nutella and ordered a whole lot of peanut butter from Costco, but still I wanted my fingers touching the keys something fierce. But that Miss Quinn, have I mentioned she's a little, er, sensitive? I was telling my Super, who seems to only see her when she's screaming at the top of her little lungs, that she is very particular about things and he said, "She's a woman, what do you expect?" (Make sure you go back and read that quote in your best Polish accent for good measure.) I hate to think it's a girl thing, but Quinn, we have got to figure this out girlfriend! If I put her in a pack she wants to be coddled in my arms, but boy if I try to coddle her and she wants to be lying flat on my legs she's going to pitch a heck of a fit. And don't EVER try to put her down. EVER. I made that mistake yesterday when I was trying to help T and his friend Rohan make turkey hats (pinterest for the win) and I thought that baby's eyes might bug out of her head. Rohan's the baby of his family and he told T, "Your sister cries a lot!" and T replied, "You haven't even heard the worst of it!" That's the truth, because you haven't heard crying until you've heard a bathing Quinn. Wow!

So...that's why I didn't write on Monday. Because bouncing that baby is an all-consuming job and turns out I'm pretty good at it. What I'm not pretty good at? Writing while I'm bouncing. But holla! Quinn fell asleep on our way home from picking up T at school and as soon as we busted through our front door and hot chocolated the children (because hello again Winter, you uninvited guest, you) I pulled out the computer and started typing this nonsense. Therapy. Keyboard therapy. She squawked and I binky-ed her and she took it. Hallelujah choir folks!

Maybe if I would've written on Monday things would've sounded a little more interesting around these parts. But alas, I have Thursday brain and I know that in no time I'll be simultaneously nursing a baby and frying some rice (and rocking both, mind you) so I better start writing. Here we go...

***Kindergarten is gross. The stories of sickness that come home with T are unreal. "My friend "A" went to the bathroom and then he came out and said, 'Whoa, that came out really fast' and then he went to the nurse and she sent him home. It's called diarrhea Mom." Oh, and another favorite. "My friend "L" was coughing so hard today he couldn't breathe. He sounded like a duck 'quack-cough quack-cough' and he had to go to the nurse. She told him his throat was really red and he had to go home. I know because he told me all about it before he left." Great T, just breathe in all those nasty germs. I hate winter.

***Let's talk about winter for a second here, since it's my most favorite thing to talk about from about mid-November until April (NOT! Well, kind of). I know it's technically not winter yet, but I dislike fall and it's cold weather just as much. New York's spring has a pretty bad rap in my book too. Anyway, so I was watching the news last night and the weather lady said, "The weather is going to warm up and tomorrow it'll be about 30 degrees." I'm just sayin, 30 degrees and warm should never be in the same sentence.

***Talmage, on the way home today: "We had a substitute for music. His name was Mr., well, Mr. Something and he's so cool! He plays the cello and he can play 5 Beatles songs AND Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." Good to know that Beatles songs and Twinkle, Twinkle are in the same category of coolness. He did say he was disappointed that Mr. Something couldn't play any Killers songs, I would've loved to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.

***And lest you think Talmage is the only one saying clever things, Everett tells me, "You are the mainest Mom in the world. That means you are the goodest cooker of hot dogs!" And also, "Do you know how much I love you Mom? 2 plus 10!" In preschool today they were learning about making amends after making mistakes and Everett yells out, "I NEVER make mistakes!" This from the kid who hit his friend in the face with a baseball bat because she's a girl. Yes, one of our finer moments from that spicy boy.

***But now let's go back to T, who recently told me that vegetables were his favorite type of protein. In the same conversation he told me that when he grows up he wants to be a construction worker, writer and crayon factory worker. This is a change because for the longest time he wanted to work at Trader Joe's so he could organize things! And when his friend Grace told him that she wanted to marry him someday he responded matter-of-factly, "No, I'm pretty sure we have to marry our line partner."

Well, there you go. The boys are in their room singing, "We are family, I don't know my sister Denise!" (AKA I've got all my sisters and me...) and I better go get things ready because, squeal, California here we come! Commencing cute Quinny photo dump now:

 How I live for Quinn's smiles. I love that girl so, so, so much. Screams and all!

 But keepin' it real.

Quinn in Pink.

My friend is an incredible photographer here in the city and offered to teach me a thing or two about my new DSLR camera. She came to my place so that we could snap a few pictures of Miss Quinn, and as luck would have it our little lady was having a REALLY fussy day and she screamed the whole time (minus about five minutes, no joke). I think I learned a thing or two, and luckily we got a few good pictures of the babe. Thanks Maria, you're the best!

And the picture below I did all on my own. Maybe I did learn something...or maybe my model's just making me look good!