Funny Things the Boys Do

Now that the boys are getting a bit older and interacting more and more with each other, Chris and I have noticed that they get into a lot of shenanigans. Because of this, we often refer to them as our hooligans or Thing 1 and Thing 2. Grayson also has the nickname Gus Gus, who is a mouse from Cinderella who loves his snacks so the nickname is very fitting for Grayson.

Since the boys do so many things, I’m going to start posting some of the fun ones (or at least fun to us) as a way to remember the small moments that brightened our day.

So here goes:

This past weekend, Joshua got to spend the day with Gramma and Granpa after church. So Gramma (my claustrophobic mom) took Joshua to a large indoor playground that had big enclosed slides and lots of tunnels. Of course, Joshua wanted to share all of the fun he was having with Gramma and insisted she come play with him. When they got to the top of the playground and Gramma was trying to convince Joshua to go down the slide, he thought it would be a great idea that she try it out first and he pushed her down. Now, I found this story hysterical (and I am told that all of the other parents and grandparents at the playground did as well). I can only imagine the shrieks they heard as she was coming down the slide and how proud Joshua must have been when he met her at the bottom.

Now, to make this story even better, Gramma is going to have to take Joshua back because all he talks about now is going to this indoor playground. Case in point, Joshua was sound asleep last night with his sheet pulled over his head. When I pried pulled the sheet out from under him, he woke up and sat straight up and exclaimed “go to indoor playground, mama?” He’s a monkey!

And as for Grayson, the other night, Chris and I were having a late dinner since the boys had already eaten. When I got home with the boys, we let them play for a bit before bed and Chris and I were catching up on our days in the kitchen. Grayson strolled into the kitchen and wanted the fridge opened (which he can sometimes do on his own but he normally tries to open it from the wrong side). I assumed he was just going to grab his sippy cup of milk, but nope, he had grabbed a piece of cooked chicken (it had already been cut in preparation of our dinner) and walked away from the fridge with his snack. He was pretty proud of himself with his discovery. And this is why the nickname Gus Gus is so fitting.

Christmas 2015

I know I’m a little late on this post, but I still want to write about Christmas.

This Christmas has been the most amazing Christmas. I cannot properly describe in words how incredible it was. I’m not just saying this because of our engagement, I’m saying this because weeks before Christmas I couldn’t wait to wrap the boys’ gifts, and the weeks leading up to Christmas and watching Joshua’s excitement build was so sweet.

On Christmas Eve, we spent the late afternoon and evening with Chris’ family. Our town does a Christmas Eve parade which the boys really enjoyed. That evening, once we were home, we got Grayson to bed and wouldn’t you know it, Santa Claus made a special phone call to Joshua! Earlier that day, Chris had changed his parents’ contact in his phone to show Santa so when Chris’ dad called as Santa, Santa’s face appeared on the phone. Joshua was so excited! And every time Santa mentioned he was going to bring gifts for him and Grayson for being so good, Joshua would say “and mama too!” Talk about melting my heart!

On Christmas morning, I woke up at 4:30 and had a really hard time falling back asleep. I was so excited…I hadn’t been that excited for Christmas since I was a child myself. When 7:30 rolled around, Chris and I got up, made coffees, turned on all the lights downstairs, and then woke up the boys. The first thing Joshua exclaimed was “it’s Christmas morning!” We filmed him walking down the stairs so we could capture his reaction to the Christmas tree. He was ecstatic that Santa had brought him and his brother gifts. He knew that that Pirate Jake wrapped gifts were for him from Santa and the Cars were for Grayson from Santa. He was so good at bringing gifts to Grayson and he was so patient.

Excited for his Paw Patrol wall decals

 On a little bit of a side note here, I have to mention a gift I got for Chris. His favourite Christmas movie is A Christmas Story and we watch it every year together (even though I really do not care for it). Chris always jokes around in a serious manner that he wants a leg lamp to proudly display in our front window for his man cave in the basement. Well, being the great girlfriend (now fiancé!!) that I am, I bought him a leg lamp, it just happens to be a travel mug. This is my clever way of saying “sorry dear, but we will not be buying a leg lamp any time soon.”

Needed a break from unwrapping gifts

Playing with their new toy

Later that morning, Chris’ family came over to have breakfast and open gifts and then in the afternoon, my family came over, including our newest nephew Nikos. We enjoyed Christmas dinner with them and Joshua was completely in awe of his baby cousin. He would have held him all day if he had the chance.

This Christmas was magical. I cannot wait to see the excitement in Joshua and Grayson’s eyes next year! 

A Very Special Christmas Eve

I love the holidays. There is something about Christmas time that makes me feel so happy inside, all warm and fuzzy. This year, I could not wait for Christmas. The only thing better than Christmas as a child is Christmas when you have children. 

Last year, Chris and I decided to make wrapping gifts on Christmas Eve a tradition. It's fun to just lounge around in comfy clothes, sit by the fire, sip on wine, and wrap gifts for the people you love. So that's exactly what we did. A Christmas story was on in the background and lucky for me, it got switched out for Christmas music instead. The Christmas music led to dancing while we were putting the wrapped gifts under the tree, which I loved.

As I was putting the last gift under the tree and fixing the gift tag on it, Chris said my name. When I turned around, he was down on one knee with a ring box in his hands. He opened it and asked me to marry him. I was in shock, completely surprised. I let out a surprised gasp and heard Chris say "well?" to which I responded "YES! YES! YES!" 

I am happier than I have ever been before. Chris has shown me what true love is and what true love feels like and I cannot wait to be his bride and future wife. He is my Prince Charming, the one I thought only existed in fairy tales. Chris is my happily ever after!