Happy New Year

New Year was spent at home with all the family and Ann's parents and it was a lot more fun than I thought it would be!  This was probably helped by an evening of beer and whisky :)  We let the kids stay up as late as they wanted and here are some pics that document the evening.

 Sam getting into the spirit with tiara and cape

 Dad after a few too many cocktails

 The two proud grandmothers

 The first 'Chris and Melinda' pic of 2013 is a keeper

After everyone else has passed out long ago, Mason keeps the party going!

Snowy

December 29th was our first decent snow of the season and we got about 8 inches.  After shoveling the drive we all went out back to play.  Our backyard slopes away from the house - perfect for sledding.  Here are a few pics and a movie of our exploits.

Skye, looking like Randy from A Christmas Story, before we went out

 Cutest snow bunnies ever!

We held a sweepstake as to how long nana would last in the snow.  I got closest with 17 minutes.

Mason pulling her sister in the snow.  Don't get used to it, Skye.  It won't last long.

Sam looked like he was having so much fun on the sled ...

... that his dad had to try it out too!

Snow angels!

 Even nana got in on the action, although she looked a little scared!

This is the view from outside our house

... and this IS our house.  Looks like a Christmas card, don't you think?

Random pics of the Liebermans and Briggs

Here are a few random pics of when the family were over.

 Papa with the newest addition to the Lieberman family.  She LOVES her papa!

Sam the man

Master Lewis.  He taught the twins a thing or two when he came over

 

We did actually all go out for lunch one day in Winchester.  Here's one half of the table

... and here's the other half

We took the kids to Chuck E Cheese one day.  Here's a great pic of Skye enjoying herself

Papa doing what he does best - thanks for keeping the kids entertained.

Nana doing what she does best

Lewis with his favorite cousin (sorry other cousins but it's true!)

Who wouldn't love a baby like this?

Mason doing her best impression of nana

The Klubhouse

The Klubhouse is a place in Lexington full of bouncy houses, slides and fun things for the kids to play with.  It's pretty cheap and the twins love going there.  There's even a room for Skye to play in.  So when mum, dad, Melinda and Chris said they wanted to go into Boston without the boys Ann and I jumped at the chance to watch all five kids and take them to the Klubhouse.  Everyone had lots of fun, jumping around like crazy.  Afterwards we took the kids home and let them watch a movie (Kung Fu Panda 2) whilst eating popcorn.  That's what aunts and uncles are for!

This is where we keep the naughty kids, Jacob and Sam.

Skye demonstrating her biking skills.  Mommy, when I grow up, can I have a Harley?

Christmas Eve and Christmas Day

Christmas eve we packed up all 11 of us into our two vehicles and drove on up to Jennie and Andy's house for their traditional Christmas eve party.  The highlight was when my mum got drunk and dropped a full glass of red wine over Jennie's new, cream-colored couch.  Jennie was devastated!  Okay, a little poetic license - mum wasn't really drunk and Jennie wasn't really devastated but the wine did spill :)  Here are a couple of pics from the night.

See - it IS easy to get a beautifully posed picture of five kids at once!

Hunter looks on at Skye's new Gucci handbag courtesy of nana.

Christmas day was lots of fun.  We put all the presents out and let the kids run riot through them.  We'd kept the biggest Chanukah presents back so they'd have something to open when Lewis and Sam were here.  Just after, Mason pointed to the fireplace in the basement and asked if that's where santa comes in.  Ann and I are going to have to think about how to tackle the whole Chanukah vs Christmas thing later this year. 

Jacob and Mason busily opening presents.  Jacob's ripping paper off so fast he's blurred!

Lewis gets a present that Melinda clearly approves of

 Even Skye gets in on the act

Attack of the Lieberman and Briggs Families

We had a busy Christmas break.  Yes, I know it's almost March so why didn't we post this before?  Well, it's 'cos we suck.  Anyway, back to the story...
We had a busy Christmas break.  The five of us were joined by Sandra, Ian, Melinda, Chris, Lewis and Sam.  That's 11 people in our house.  For two weeks.  Sounds like a lot of work but it was actually a lot of fun!  The kids, especially, had a blast and it was fun to see all the cousins playing together.  The next few posts will recount some of what went on, with lots of pictures.  Enjoy...

Apologies

I know.  I know.  It's been too long since there's been a posting and now you're all excited 'cos you come to the blog and see there's a new posting only to find it's a post to apologize for not having any posts.  We suck.
But, I'm here to add a few and Ann's got a long list of all the ones she wants to write about.  So there will be some more news coming.  We've just been a little busy.  It's not easy looking after three monsters you know.  Four if you include me!

Shabbat Helpers

As you all know Jacob and Mason go to a Jewish preschool. And every Friday they have "Shabbat Sing" in preparation for Shabbat. They also get the opportunity to be "Shabbat Helpers" twice a year where their family members can come to school and it's just a "special" time for them.

Mason was Shabbat helper first. Along with a girl in her class named Ruti. Jacob was Shabbat helper with a couple other kids who I can't remember their names. Harv, Skye and I attended. The following week it was Jacob's turn. Again, Harvey and I came along with Aunt Jennie and Hunter.

I think their next Shabbat helper times are in April...so if you're available Friday morning, we'd love to have you.

Mason and Ruti about to light the candles.

Shelley joins in and helps the girls. How cute is Mase!?!

Mason passing out Challah to all her friends.

Little Jacob about to light the candles.

Jacob passing out Challah to Aunt Jennie and Hunter.

"Hamotze Lechim Min Haharetz...We give thanks to God for bread"

Jacob enjoying his Chalah...Mmmm...Tasty.

Skye Birdie Boo Boo

Here are some more pics of Skye Maxine. These were taken late November, early December. Crazy girl!


Skye loves shoes. Especially Mason's, princess ones. She has you put them on her and then she stamps her feet in all their glory. And yes, she's only 1.


This is one of Skye's first pony tails...she does kind of look like a water fountain. But so darn cute. She accessorized herself...the beads and the mirror were all her doing. Her bug sweater was a hand me down from Mason. But one of her best. Thanks grandpa.


Boogsie loves her beans. Refried beans. Lots of fiber. Does a body good.

Thanksgiving 2012

We hosted Thanksgiving this year. In our new house. We brined a turkey -- it was an Anne Burrell recipe - Herb Roasted Turkey with and Apple Cider gravy. And made all the sides and fixins and trimmins. Oh yeah, and we totally got into candying our own nuts. We're like, nut masters now. It was slightly stressful - the timing of getting a hot meal on the table - plus looking after 3 kiddos. But we did it! And in the end it was really fun. I didn't take very many pics because we were so busy, but managed to get a couple. Oh yeah, and there were 10 adults, two 4-year-olds and 2 babies. Woo-hoo!
 

This was our table. Fancy, right?!?

Jacob and Mason eating their pre-Thanksgiving lunch before our guests arrived.


 

Little boogs. So sweet. I think she might have eaten more turkey than anyone. Certainly more than Mason and Jacob combined.

Pics I've been meaning to post

So these pics were taken in November. Probably like early November. Right after Skye bird turned 1.

This is one of the first times Skye drank milk out of her sippy cup. Like a big girl. I was so proud of her. She took to her sippy cup the first time I gave it to her. She didn't miss her stupid bottle for 1 second. So different than Mason and Jacob who I slowly had to ween off the bottle...keeping their night bottles in the routine for months. Not Skye. She was ready to move on. And she did.

 

This is boo boo hangin' in the driveway. She's in her snowsuit cause it was pretty cold out. And she scoots. Figured it was the best way for her to not ruin her pants. What a cutie patootie.

This is big brother Jake and little boogs. Big brothers rule!

This was one of our luncheons at Johnny Rockets. Good times.

What's a happenin in Lieberland

Lots! Lots! Lots!
Once again, I'm sorry that I haven't posted for nearly a month. I keep a file of all the stuff I want to blog and I'm clearly backed up. But not like Skye is backed up. Doh! Poor girl is still having poop problems and I have to add Prune Juice now to her milk all of the time. Ha. But that's not the point...

Point is, is that I still have to blog about Thanksgiving! Yes, Thanksgiving. And, ALL of the Liebermans were over here from England and stayed with us for 10 days over Christmas - which was so much fun!! And I have the pics to prove it. My lazy ass just hasn't posted them yet. But they're coming...oh yes. It's been snowing. Skye is growing like nuts. The twins are practically in college now. They can write their names and put their own coats and shoes on blah blah blah. Skye talks. A lot. Tries to sing "twinkle twinkle little star". She says hello - well she says, "Hi!". And tons more. She's still not walking. But closeish.

This pic was taken yesterday. So you can see how big they really are.

I will try and catch up again tonight. That was the plan last night. And the night before. But somehow the couch got the best of me. And now I have to go pick up the twins at preschool so...I'm afraid I'm off.

Thanks for checking in!
XOXO

Wintery Jacob

I knew I should have got him into modeling. But I just couldn't be bothered. He's SO handsome though. Obviously I had to post these pics that were taken in early December. Before I chopped his hair off. Well, it grows fast. Wicked fast. Like within a week. Which reminds me to post that Jacob gets a $30 haircut in Lexington. What!?!

It's almost as fancy as the new salon that Harvey goes to in Arlington.