Sunday, December 28, 2008

Sick, sick, sick

I took the kids to the doctor on Saturday to make sure that they didn't have an ear infection before we fly out on Monday. The doctor said that Costas has a double ear infection and they both have pneumonia. Pneumonia?!?! I didn't see that one coming. It is relatively mild so they are both on antibiotics and we have been cleared to travel. Should be a fun trip.

Friday, December 26, 2008

Christmas



Ready to open presents!



Santa brought Actaeos a sports climber so he can have some fun at home.



Costas opened all of the presents. Actaeos wasn't interested.



Costas is now ready for a 16" bike. It was raining on Christmas day so he had to wait to ride it.



Costas loved his new digital camera. He is always borrowing mine so now he has his own. The present that he plays with the most is the Moon Sand.



Actaeos isn't thrilled with Cookie Monster.



Hanging out in the sports climber.



Santa didn't bring Actaeos any candy, but he sure would like some.

Wednesday, December 24, 2008

Go Tell It On The Mountain


Our church Christmas pageant. Once again, my kid is the goofy one.

Monday, December 22, 2008

Santa



This year, Costas really believes in Santa. We saw Santa at church and I'm pretty sure that Costas thought he was the real deal. Someone else took the picture and I'm disappointed in how it turned out, since Costas' eyes weren't open all the way. Actaeos was ready for a nap and not happy to be sitting with some strange guy.

Chrismas Cookies




We made 3 kinds of Christmas cookies this year: sugar cookies, Russian tea cakes, and Peanut Butter Cup cookies. Costas is a great baker and does all of the measuring and mixing with just a little help. We gave cookies to neighbors, the mail carrier, and the fire station. The fire station gave us a tour of the fire engine as a thank you as well as some hats for the kids.

Christmas Songs

Here's a song from the Christmas program that they do at school. Costas is always extra goofy when he knows there is an audience.

Saturday, December 13, 2008

Christmas Fun



We volunteer every year to ring the bell for the Salvation Army.


Making our gingerbread house is another annual tradition.



Costa was anxiously awaiting a float at the electric parade.

Friday, December 12, 2008

Random Pictures



Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Baby Walking

I was finally able to get a good clip of Actaeos walking.

Back to School

I learned on Friday that I was accepted to graduate school. Yippee!

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

More Shaking

Shake us!

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Christmas Survey

Welcome to the Christmas Edition of Getting To Know Your Family and Friends!
You know the drill. Get to bloggin'.
1. Wrapping paper or gift bags? I only like wrapping paper for Christmas,; bags are OK for birthdays, etc.
2. Real tree or Artificial? Prefer real but we now have artificial.
3. When do you put up the tree? It's already up.
4. When do you take the tree down? After New Years Day
5. Do you like eggnog? Sometimes
6. Favorite gift received as a child? Belle stuffed dog (Snoopy's girlfriend)
7. Hardest person to buy for? All adults
8. Easiest person to buy for? Kids
9. Do you have a nativity scene? Yes
10. Mail or email Christmas cards? Mail
11. Worst Christmas gift you ever received? Any and all knickknacks.
12. Favorite Christmas Movie? Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
13. When do you start shopping for Christmas? Early November
14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present? Yes
15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas? Cookies
16. Lights on the tree? White
17. Favorite Christmas song? I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas (never had one).
18. Travel at Christmas or stay home? Stay home. The only time I wasn't home for Christmas was on my honeymoon
19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeer's? Yes
20. Angel on the tree top or a star? A star
21. Presents on Christmas Eve or morning? Christmas morning with a present of new pajamas on Christmas Eve to be worn that night.
22. Most annoying thing about this time of the year? Not enough time to everthing I want to do.
23. Favorite Ornament theme or color? None
24. Favorite for Christmas dinner? Love my sweet potatoes.
25. What do you want for Christmas this year? I want every child to have a present to open on Christmas morning.

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Thanksgiving Songs

At Costas' school the kids sang some Thanksgiving songs. Here is video of one song.

Metropolitan Museum


We went to the re-opening of The Metropolitan Museum of Art. There were some nice exhibits, but it was a little small to me. I snagged a picture of Costas in front of this cool feathered dinosaur before being told that there were no pictures allowed in the museum. I can take pictures at the Louvre, but not at our local art museum. Umm, OK.

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

A Day At The Park



Tuesday, November 4, 2008

VOTE


If you haven't already, go vote now!!! I waited in line for less tan 3 minutes and I took the kids with me. It was so quick and easy.

Monday, November 3, 2008

Trick or Treat



We had a great time trick-or-treating. Costas was a king, and then he changed his mind and became a knight (the costume was reversible). He did a good job saying "trick-or-treat" and "thank you," although one time he said, "I don't like this candy" to the people who gave it to him. We quickly had a lesson in saying thank you even if you don't like what was given to you. After that, he did fine. Actaeos enjoyed looking at the decorations and later fell asleep in his stroller.

Sunday, November 2, 2008

Random Photo Tag

Open your photo program and choose the 6th file and then the 6th picture and see what you get.
This is what I got:



It's from December 2005.

New Background

I was so tired of the purple background but I didn't want to change it because it is a hassle to save all the settings. I found this the website The Cutest Blog On The Block and it was so easy to change the layout. Now I change it for holidays too!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Jack-O-Lanterns

Costas and I carved our jack-o-lanterns. He told me how to make the face and I carved it to his specifications. He took the picture of the completed jack-o-lanterns himself.

First Steps

Actaeos took his first steps yesterday. First 2, then 3, then 4 steps in a row. He tried it a few more times during the day. He took more steps today. Yea!

Ranting

We went for a walk tonight and a couple was walking while they were pulling their 2 year old (guessing age) behind in a wagon. Their daughter was watching a video on a portable DVD player. I couldn't believe it. How hard is it to interact with your child while taking a walk?

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Baptism


Into the baptismal font three times.


Oil is placed on his body.


His hair is cut three times.


More prayers.


His first Communion.



We had Actaeos' baptism on Sunday. It was a beautiful day and a beautiful ceremony. The godparents are friends of ours, Selene and Alex. We had a few friends from church in attendance and lots of children. It was small which was nice. The priest explained parts of the ceremony as he went along. Costas was able to stand right at the font when Actaeos was put into the water, which was sweet to see. Actaeos cried most of the time. Mostly it's because he has lots of stranger anxiety right now and doesn't want to be held by other people. The ceremony has many parts. For those of you who haven't been to a Greek Orthodox baptism (that would be most of you), I'll summarize the ceremony.

We walk into the church from the back while some prayers are said. We then take off the baby's clothes and immerse him (not his head) three time in the baptismal font. He is then anointed with olive oil that is applied to his hands, feet, ears, and mouth. Then the godparents put oil on his entire body. Three locks of hair are cut from his head. Then his new white clothes are put on him. He then receives Holy Communion for the first time. Next, we all walk around the font to celebrate. Each component of the ceremony has meaning and is rich with symbolism. I am so happy that he is finally baptized!

Sunday, October 19, 2008

JC Penney Pics









Zoo Boo





The zoo has a fun event for Halloween. It is trick-or-treating at the zoo. Costas enjoyed getting lots of candy by saying, "Trick or treat, smell my feet." He learned that phrase from a book last year and has been waiting to use it. Actaeos enjoyed watching all of the kids dressed up. Costas won a ticket to a baseball game for hitting a baseball through a hole at the carnival section. We had a great time.