Happy New Year! We hope that this coming year brings good health and happiness to all of our friends and family. In particular, we are sending our strongest and most positive thoughts to Ray and his family, and wish him the quickest of recoveries!
We're taking Ray's advice and trying to live each day to the fullest. Doug has had the last two weeks off from work and we've spent every bit of that time together. We spent the week around Christmas with Doug's family (his parents and Peter and Kathleen). Since returning, we've gone skating or skiing every day and have had a wonderful time playing with the boys.
We had a great time in Annapolis and enjoyed a White Christmas, the first that Annapolis has had in many years. (Annapolis received 22 inches of snow on the Saturday before we arrived. Within a week it was almost entirely gone.) We all had fun playing in the snow. It was the perfect wetness for making great snowmen and snowballs.
Nicholas helped make Christmas cookies and both boys helped to decorate them. Decorating Christmas cookies typically leads to a short-lived "sugar high" for both boys! Nicholas has improved his ability to decorate cookies (at least when he starts decorating) and hasn't developed an appreciation for Donovan's decoration methods (notice the look on Nicholas' face and the orientation of the jar in Donovan's hand in the third picture below).
Nicholas is very excited about Santa. He sent Santa a note to let him know that he and Donovan weren't in New Hampshire, but were instead at Nana and Bapa's house. Nicholas was also excited to give and receive several very nice gifts.
In the days after Christmas, we took several nice small trips. Peter, Kathleen, Doug, and I went out to dinner and saw the movie Avatar! We all rode the Metro into Washington D.C. to go to the Smithsonian Museum (both boys loved the Metro ride). We also went to an "ice exhibition" (a huge tent filled with beautifully carved ice sculptures and four ice slides). Nicholas really loved the ice slide!
Since returning to Hanover, we've been impressed with how much both boys love the snow. We've had both boys skating on Occom Pond. Donovan has double-bladed ice skates and skated for at least 5 steps on his own (in an hour). Nicholas is great on his ice skates. This is good news since he is terrified of the Zamboni that they use at the ice rink. We were watching a bit of hockey the other night and told him that Uncle Ray used to be a hockey player. This, of course, has him wanting to be a great skater like Uncle Ray. He's got a way to go, but at least he's excited about it again! : )
Since then, we've been out skiing two days in a row. Nicholas is a champ and I think he is ready for the Barnebirkie. I imagine that he's a little like Uncle Donovan was at age three... We play a lot of chasing games! I've been teaching him that the best part of skiing is the downhills, followed by the uphills (because they sometimes bring you to your next downhill). I've been helping him keep his balance on the downhills and he's been giving me his "energy" as he "pulls" me up the hills. (e.g., I ski right behind him and help him keep his balance and keep him from falling down.)
I have a couple of cute videos of the boys skating and Nicholas skiing that I'll try to put up soon.
We're taking Ray's advice and trying to live each day to the fullest. Doug has had the last two weeks off from work and we've spent every bit of that time together. We spent the week around Christmas with Doug's family (his parents and Peter and Kathleen). Since returning, we've gone skating or skiing every day and have had a wonderful time playing with the boys.
We had a great time in Annapolis and enjoyed a White Christmas, the first that Annapolis has had in many years. (Annapolis received 22 inches of snow on the Saturday before we arrived. Within a week it was almost entirely gone.) We all had fun playing in the snow. It was the perfect wetness for making great snowmen and snowballs.
Nicholas helped make Christmas cookies and both boys helped to decorate them. Decorating Christmas cookies typically leads to a short-lived "sugar high" for both boys! Nicholas has improved his ability to decorate cookies (at least when he starts decorating) and hasn't developed an appreciation for Donovan's decoration methods (notice the look on Nicholas' face and the orientation of the jar in Donovan's hand in the third picture below).
Nicholas is very excited about Santa. He sent Santa a note to let him know that he and Donovan weren't in New Hampshire, but were instead at Nana and Bapa's house. Nicholas was also excited to give and receive several very nice gifts.
In the days after Christmas, we took several nice small trips. Peter, Kathleen, Doug, and I went out to dinner and saw the movie Avatar! We all rode the Metro into Washington D.C. to go to the Smithsonian Museum (both boys loved the Metro ride). We also went to an "ice exhibition" (a huge tent filled with beautifully carved ice sculptures and four ice slides). Nicholas really loved the ice slide!
Since returning to Hanover, we've been impressed with how much both boys love the snow. We've had both boys skating on Occom Pond. Donovan has double-bladed ice skates and skated for at least 5 steps on his own (in an hour). Nicholas is great on his ice skates. This is good news since he is terrified of the Zamboni that they use at the ice rink. We were watching a bit of hockey the other night and told him that Uncle Ray used to be a hockey player. This, of course, has him wanting to be a great skater like Uncle Ray. He's got a way to go, but at least he's excited about it again! : )
Since then, we've been out skiing two days in a row. Nicholas is a champ and I think he is ready for the Barnebirkie. I imagine that he's a little like Uncle Donovan was at age three... We play a lot of chasing games! I've been teaching him that the best part of skiing is the downhills, followed by the uphills (because they sometimes bring you to your next downhill). I've been helping him keep his balance on the downhills and he's been giving me his "energy" as he "pulls" me up the hills. (e.g., I ski right behind him and help him keep his balance and keep him from falling down.)
I have a couple of cute videos of the boys skating and Nicholas skiing that I'll try to put up soon.
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