These "guys" are a big hit with the boys. Gee, the playroom looks pretty well picked up here. I'll have to see if I have any pictures from later in the day. I bet it didn't last long.
(Here are a few more pictures of the playroom when it was all picked up!)
(And here's a link to the company that makes the football guys, in case you're interested.)
Christmas feels way, way over... The tree is still up but the ornaments are all put away. Even the snow is melting away outside.
Because some of my family was here it felt like Christmas was already mostly over when they left, and the 25th was still four days away at that point. We've been "hanging out" here at home a lot. Beloved and Sparkle have been watching Blue Planet. We've played games and played outside a lot.
I know Christmas is long over in blog land, but I want to document a few things for my own sake, just to remember.
This is the biggest tree we've ever had. It looked smaller out in the middle of the nowhere under an open sky.
See? You can't even tell which one it was.
There's Beloved cutting it down. He had plenty of "help."
This is one of their favorite gifts this year. It's a goalpost! It was from my sister and her husband, and it was hard to convince Pumpkin that he did need to wear a hat and coat and boots outside to try it out. He wanted to wear a football jersey.
Speaking of football jerseys... Pumpkin did not take this off for days. He has it on right this very minute.
They both got plenty of books. We've been reading a lot the last few days!
Least favorite gift? A doll. I keep trying with the dolls every once in a while, but I think I'm done now... I thought this one might hold their attention because she says phrases if you push on her hands or belly just right. She even burps! Burping is funny, right? Well they still haven't really played with her at all.
Of course, the best gift is time with family! Here's my sweet sister Hwang out sledding with Sparkle. I'm really grateful to my parents and my sister and her husband for coming to celebrate with us!
Look at that focus!
He's got great style!
What an entry!
He'll be ready in 2016 for sure!
Do you know what this blog desperately needs right now? A Cute Infusion!
We bought this outfit for Sparkle when we were in South Africa. This spring he's finally grown into it! When I bought it, I could just barely imagine having a five year old. He was just over five months old at the time! The Blue Bulls are a South African rugby team from Pretoria. We don't follow them closely, but apparently they've had a rough few years, though things are looking up.
Sparkle is one tough dude.
Pumpkin is inspecting and smelling all the flowers in the park.
Here are the brothers, running off to find adventure!
And... running back again!
Ah, yes, brotherhood...
Wait, that's a tackle, not a hug...
That's brotherhood for sure!
Sparkle is playing on a local 4 and 5 year olds soccer team this summer. In this picture, he was making sure his shoes and shin guards were going to work okay before the first practice.
He asked me, "Mama, what if I score a goal?" and I told him, "I'll be on the sidelines and I'll cheer extra loud for you when you score a goal!"
He thought about that and smiled a little, and asked, "Mama, what if I score all the goals?"
I love that kind of confidence, the ability to see himself as unstoppable!
I hope we can help him hang on to that confidence for a long, long time.
