'Tis the Season!

The dusting of snow has put the Nashua Pouliots into the holiday spirit. We passed the morning today with Christmas music blaring and decking the halls...well the toy room anyway. 

Someone is just a tad excited for Santa to come this year!

On the Mend

AJ is on the mend. Thank God for modern medicine. After a few rounds of antibiotics for the early stages of pneumonia and a double ear infection, he seems to be doing just fine and his back to his normal self. Who can resist this face?

Say "CHEESE"!!

October was a "picture perfect" month.  The boys had LOTS of practice working their smiles in front of the camera.  The boys endured their first ever school picture sessions and another family photo shoot with Auntie Renee.  I'm definitely one happy momma right now as I love looking at pictures of my family.

 

I cannot for the life of me figure out how this photographer got him 1) to sit still and 2) to SMILE!

This one cracks me up because this is NOT Robert at all...Robert ALWAYS smiles.  I guess every kid has to have one "awkward" school picture ;)

 

Again...notice the miracle of AJ smiling...for a total stranger!

 

Pictures of the family are so important to me.  I always told Adam that if the house caught fire, he better grab the framed family portrait that is hanging on our living room wall (after the kids and the dogs of course!).  I take a lot of time to coordinate the outfits, style the accessories, make sure everyone is freshly coiffed and that runny noses are not apparent.  I want everything to be just...perfect.  But...if there's one thing that the boys have taught me over the last two and a half years, is that life is not perfect.  For us, it's actually total, utter chaos! And I love it.  (Granted I would love a bit more sleep while enduring the chaos, but I love it nonetheless.)  Our family photo shoot with Renee was no exception.  AJ wanted no part of it, Robert was tired of AJ's attitude, Adam looked defeated (or more like constipated) in most of the poses, and I was reduced to tears.  I have NO idea how Renee captured these photos....but after seeing them tonight, I was again shedding tears....of happiness.  I love them.  My heart is singing at the images of my beautiful family.  I can't tell Renee enough how much her gift means to me...that she managed to capture my family.  And we look HAPPY!!!! :)

 

Do you see how "perfect" it was going to be?!  This coordinated ensemble was no accident, I assure you! ;)

 

 



I had no idea Renee was even taking pictures at this moment.  Adam was busy chasing AJ through the apple orchard...trying to convince him to come take a picture.  I'm forever grateful to her for capturing a sweet moment with my littlest munchkin.



 



Despicable Me Halloween!

Halloween is almost here.  I finished the boys' costumes last night...just in time for their school Halloween party.  AJ was VERY excited when I pulled out his costume to show him.  A HUGE smile spread across his face and he shouted...A MINIOOOOOOONNNNN!!!!!  He LOVES the Despicable Me movie (or as he calls it, "the minion movie").  So he was delighted to LOOK like one too.  I have to say...I'm pretty proud of myself.  They looked ADORABLE tonight!

Costumes were ready and waiting for the perfect "minions" to wear them!

I don't know if you can tell, but AJ is SUPER excited to be a minion.

 

Minion #1 and Minion #2

 

This is pretty much what Robert thought of the costume all along :)

 



AJ is a BIG Boy Now!

Time is flying faster than I realize.  The boys are growing so fast; it's crazy!  AJ has learned so much since he moved up to his new classroom.  His independence is obvious.  He's 95% potty trained. And now he's declared himself a "BIG BOY"!!  Being a big boy though comes with lots of new territory...like his brand new big boy bed!

 

 

And while AJ was "distracted" with his new big boy room, we made the decision to ditch his nasty habit too.  It was time to say goodbye to "the sucker".  That pacifier was (and still is) the bane of my existence.  It has controlled our lives from the moment AJ learned of its sweet soothing delight.  But I couldn't stand when AJ would talk to me with it hanging out the corner of his mouth.  Or that he DEMANDED it as soon as he walked through the door from school (even though he knew he was only allowed to have it at bed time.)  So, we made a big deal of becoming a big boy...that big boys don't use suckers, and we would get him a "big boy bear" that he could make all by himself. 

 

On the day we decided to go to Build-a-Bear, AJ and I had a very special day together at the mall.  We arrived early and got to play on the choo-choo train.  AJ made sure to sit in EVERY car of the train and on every seat.  We played on all of the "rides" and jumped, climbed, and slid at the indoor playground.

 

Finally it was time to say goodbye to his old friend and make a new one.  AJ picked out a floppy stuffie from the bins.  We brought it over to the stuffing machine, where we brought his friend to life!  Before stitching him up, AJ put both of his suckers inside, along with a heart and a special wish.  He kissed the heart, tucked it inside, and his Monkey sprung to life!  We brushed him togehter, picked out big boy underwear and clothes for his new friend, and gave him a name.  AJ has appropriately named his friend "Monkey".  AJ was VERY proud of his new friend.  He didn't seem to mind at all that his suckers were tucked inside...

 

 

....Until later that night when he HURLED Monkey at me, shook him by the tail and demanded that I "Get [his] sucker!" He told me "Rip it...out.  RIP. IT. OUTTTTT!!!"  It's a work in progress.  But...we've made it one whole week without the suckers.  Let's hope the reality that it's not coming back sets in soon.

Even Robert digs Monkey ;)

 

Our Handsome Big Boy!



Happy Fall from the Pouliots!