And the Winner is...

Wyatt and Malcolm came running out of the bedroom this morning to see if Santa really came. Malcolm's first words on seeing the stack of gift waiting under the tree, "which one is my firetruck?"

The top gifts this year were Wyatt's skateboard and Malcolm's fireman boots. When Malcolm unwrapped his new boots he quickly kicked off his old boots and tossed them aside. He couldn't put the new ones on fast enough! He said, "baby floyd can have those boots now. I hope Santa brings him a fireman hat" to go with them.

And Wyatt was very happy with his brand new skateboard! He had just seen Giggen unwrap a tennis racket in nearly the exact same sized box so when he was opening it he said, a new tennis racket for me? He was delighted when he pulled it out to find a new skateboard instead! He's been riding it in the garage all day. Wyatt said, "I am a lucky boy, aren't I?"

Tomorrow we will write thank you cards to Santa. Very fun Christmas with the boys!

Before and After

The anticipation has been killing the boys this year. Wyatt knows the days of the week now and has been counting them down as patiently as possible with Malcolm asking repeatedly, "When we wake up today will we open presents?" This photo is of the boys before they went to bed on Christmas eve. Wyatt asked many logistical questions about how the whole process works -- "Santa will come down that chimney?" he asked in a skeptical tone followed up with "hows that going to work?" (its a wood burning stove w/ a very narrow pipe). He also wondered "will the reindeers come inside to eat the carrots we left them?" and then worriedly asked "Santa is going to stay out of my bedroom, right?"

In an effort to get the kids to go to bed earlier, Uncle Sean told the boys how he had once seen Santa not come because someone stayed up too late. This was very worrisome for Wyatt. I couldn't figure out why he was repeatedly calling me in his room to tell me that we needed to go to sleep. Eventually he was brought to near tears when he finally disclosed that he was worried that Uncle Sean was going to stay up too late and Santa wasn't going to come. Luckily Sean went in to smooth out the situation and Wyatt finally fell asleep.

Malcolm is much more pragmatic about the whole thing. He says Santa brings presents but no, reindeer can't fly because "they don't even have wings!" He's right and it got Wyatt thinking about the logistics of the whole thing a little more. For now, they are both believers and its so fun! The second photo is obviously after Santa came.

Ready for the Slopes

Maybe next year Moosey! As you can see, he takes it very seriously.

On the Slopes

Getting Ready

Tonight we put up our tree in Tahoe. The boys were so excited they also wanted to wear their Christmas Pjs and hats. They are in the final stretch of a long count down till Santa comes. Last night we even thought we might have heard reindeer on our roof!

Gingerbread House

Making the gingerbread house has become one of our favorite Christmas traditions. This year we bought a kit that had a pre-made house which, we've decided, is the way to go with small kids. Wyatt can't believe that he has unfettered access to any number of sweets during the process. In fact, before he eats any candy he asks, "I'm going to eat one, no two, I mean two M&Ms right now, OK?" And then he looks at me in the process like I'm going to stop him at any moment. Malcolm's approach is much different. He grabs a handful, looks around to see who is watching as if he thinks he is about to do something he is not supposed to, and then he shoves them all in his mouth. It doesn't seem to matter if anyone is watching him, he goes for it anyway. Surprisingly he only choked once during the process. Next year we are planning to up the ante and have a family gingerbread decorating competition.

Pooped After a Full Day on the Slopes

Snowboarding

This weekend, we stopped by REI for some Christmas shopping and came home with an impromptu snowboard purchase for Wyatt. As soon as we brought it home and he tried it on, he had to go try it out. So Papa and Wyatt drove up to Tahoe that night and spent all day Sunday on the slopes.

Fireman!

Malcolm's new obsession - being a fireman. In fact, he no longer wants to be called Malcolm or Moosey, only Fireman. Yesterday he was especially happy to find a fire truck parked out in front of our house. He got to sit inside and even was allowed to ring the bell. To put his obsession in perspective, he actually went and sat on the fireman's lap for the photoshoot...something he refused to do even with Santa Clause!

Drawing Skateboards

Wyatt has been skateboard crazy the past couple of weeks. He's been spending a lot of time learning how to ride with both feet, and doing tricks. Here's a photo of his drawing this morning - there's a tall skateboarder who's 10 years old and a smaller skateboarder who's 4 years old (notice the numbers). There's also a drawing of Wyatt "sliding on a railing" (Papa helped draw the stairs at Wyatt's request).

Jubilee

Here are some cutie pies from Wyatt's school waiting to take a turn on the running trampoline at Acrosports. They are listening very carefully to the rules here, but they definitely did not follow them.

First Snow

Last weekend we headed up to Tahoe for the first big snow of the season. The boys loved sledding and, given that Wyatt was building jumps to go over and trying to stand up on the sled, I'd say he's ready for skiing! It ended up snowing close to three feet. Malcolm not featured in this photo because the snow was so deep he couldn't really stand or walk.

New Deck and Backyard

Seen here from above.

The Car Show

Every year, Papa and the boys head to the annual car show at Moscone Center. Today we took the N Judah train downtown and met up with Uncle Sean to look at cars, eat burgers and drink milkshakes.

Max

On Tues, Wed. and Thursdays for the past few months now Malcolm and Wyatt have had the pleasure of sharing their sitter Lisa with a little boy named Max. I wasn't quite sure how they'd welcome another little boy in to their space but so far it has been working out great - they love him! In fact, Wyatt has been saying at night that his favorite part of the day is hanging out with Max. And Malcolm is no longer so sad about his big brother going off to school in the morning, now that he has another little guy to play with.

Nemo

Grumpy and Jean gave Wyatt and Malcolm stuffed Nemo's after learning durning our Pawley's Island visit how much they like the little clown fish. Needless to say, they've been a huge hit. Malcolm is especially obsessed and insists on carrying his everywhere his parents will let him. Turns out their little buddy, Allistair, also has the same stuffed Nemo. One recent afternoon he brought his over to show off and it turned in to a giant Nemo party complete with an "Ocean" and all.

Halloween Party Part II

Land Shark



Wyatt's preschool, Jubilee Montessori School, had a little Halloween potluck this year to gather all the families together. The kids had a blast dressing up in their costumes. Malcolm, of course, thinks he goes to this school already and fits right in hanging out with Wyatt and all his friends. In fact, Malcolm had so much fun that after the potluck he was insisting that he "NEEDED" to go to another Halloween party.

Halloween 2010

This year we stuck close to our new home and went trick-or-treating on Belvedere Street. We weren't sure exactly what to expect because we'd heard so much about the experience and we were certainly not disappointed! I think it was slightly overwhelming for the kids but they loved it. It was basically a giant street party with the road closed off to traffic. There were tons of trick-or-treaters out -- both kids and adults in costume -- and many of the houses were decked out in themes such as Star Wars or Shrek. There was even a live band set up on one of the street corners. Overall, a very fun and festive experience. One of my favorite parts was the cookie monster house who was handing out cold beers to adults and candy to the kids. We'll definitely be back next year, though perhaps slightly earlier in the day to avoid some of the crowds.

Gearing Up

Here are some photos of Moosey and I preparing for the big day - Halloween - while Wyatt is at school. Wyatt was very surprised to come home and see that a Halloween spider had visited our house.

Halloween Party Part I

Wyatt and Malcolm's little buddy Allistair will be out of town for Halloween this year. His parents wanted to make sure he had an opportunity to play in costume with some of his friends before he left so they had a couple of his friends over for a little pre-Halloween party. Here is the gang: Mason (Lincecum), Charlotte, Iris (Alice in Wonderland), Moosey (Roar!), Allistair (Borg) and Wyatt (shark).

Kissing Cousins

Moosey loves his baby cousin Floyd. They were hysterical in during a recent shopping trip in the double stroller. Floyd kept grabbing Malcolm's baby from him and Malcolm was laughing and asking Floyd if he needed someone to get his baby. It was cute. Malcolm is also very fond of kissing and hugging baby Floyd and I'm sure is going to be nothing but a positive influence on him.

Look! She Knocked Her Baby Over!

The rains have started in San Francisco so I think we will be relying heavily on our Academy of Sciences membership in the next few months. We visited the Academy this Friday with baby Floyd and all three boys had a great time. We spent a lot of time looking for Nemo and Dory and, Malcolm's favorite fish, the scuba. (Wyatt pronounces it "Scuva") Sadly, Malcolm was one very disappointed little boy after finding out there was no scuba in the tank this visit. Wyatt noticed immediately that the large shark was missing from the shark and stingray tank. Turns out, after tracking down a scientist to get an answer, he was moved to Mandalay Bay in Vegas because he wasn't doing well in the habitat at the Academy. Maybe we'll have to take a trip to Vegas to check on him - for Wyatt's sake, of course.

Every time we visit the Academy I wonder when I will have to explain prey vs. predator. Luckily, not this time as boys are still innocent about how the world really works. Upon looking at this exhibit Malcolm started cracking up and exclaimed, "Ha! She knocked her baby over!" I waited for a second to see if Wyatt knew better but instead he just started cracking up and pointed to the knocked over baby too. Of course this resulted in a mini "knock your baby over" wrestling match. Fun day!

Talking about the weather...

While Malcolm naps weekend days away, Wyatt and Mama sometimes head across the street to the Boulangerie for some "coffee" (hot chocolate in his case) and cookies. He likes to sit quietly and look around and I try and find interesting things that he might want to talk about. Today it was the weather but usually its sharks and whales.

Benihana Birthday Dinner

Here is the whole family on an outing to Benihana to celebrate my birthday and Sean and TIff's two year anniversary. The three boys had a great time and watching the food being prepared on the table kept everyone's attention during a very long meal. Malcolm's favorite part was the throwing of the knife at the beginning. Wyatt liked flipping the shrimp tails in to the hat and the volcano of onions. Floyd, he appeared to like the whole show. We'll be back for more!