Sledding

The day after Christmas Uncle Mark called to see if we wanted to take the boys sledding with him. I, of course, didn't go. I am a three season mom. I don't do winter. Joe took them and they had a blast.

It is probably better that I didn't go. When Joe told me that he went down the hill on his stomach with my baby clinging to my back, I almost had a heart attack. Matthew loved it.

The boys got sleds from Grandma and Grandpa Metzger and were very excited to try them out.

Peter brought his son Anders. He's such a cutie.

Just look at that face.

Holden isn't a real big fan of the cold. He was ready to go before anyone else.

Thanks for the invite Uncle Mark!

Santa Came

Believe it or not, the Metzger boys were good enough to merit a visit from Santa. Shocking, I know. Nicholas got a Bakugan set.

Holden got a big transformer, that really transforms.
Matthew got a Little People ride along toy.
The boys got a Playstation from mom and dad. Nicholas and Holden opened it and the reaction wasn't what we had imagined. Nicholas just stared at the box and then asked, "Is it really a playstation?" When I confirmed that it was in deed a playstation, he got so excited. He stood up and proclaimed that this was the best day of his whole life. Joe said something very fatherly about how it was just a thing and it wasn't that great. Nicholas then responded, "Then it's the best day of my life, SO FAR." Needless to say they spent a whole lot of Christmas playing the games they got. Even Matthew wanted in on the fun. Dolores made an amazing Christmas dinner. Of course. Before we ate, Matthew and Sarah had to inspect the turkey. Aren't they cute?

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is so full of magical moments. It's as if there are only endless possibilities and happy dreams in the world. Here are some of the Christmas Eve traditions of the Metzger family.

The kids writing their letters to Santa. They leave their letters next to Santa's cookies.

Mom reads the Night Before Christmas and Daddy reads Luke 2

The first present of Christmas is opened. It is always pajamas and the kids are always a little disappointed. (You'd think they'd catch on.)

And then it's off to Ronnie and Lisa's for a traditional seafood dinner. Joe waits all year for this meal. Some of the dishes are an anchovies with a white sauce and macaroni, squid with a red sauce and macaroni, and salmon. They also served prime rib.

Of course there were some amazing desserts. Nicholas was in heaven because Grandma made cream puffs.

And finally with full bellies and wide eyes it's off to bed.

Stockings

The first Christmas we were married Joe had a wonderful idea. And this ideas has spawned a uniquely Metzger Christmas tradition. Every year we go to the fabric store and pick out material to make new stockings. Then the next year we fill them and give them away. It's been so fun to see what the kids have picked out as their interests change. Here are this years stockings. (Obviously, we didn't make the Rudolph stocking. That one belongs to Grandma and Grandpa.) Mine is next to Rudolph. I always choose such a nice Christmas print. Very traditional. Matthew's is the ball stocking. Holden has Transformers. Joe's is the butterflies and the non matching stripped top. Joe's stockings are always unique. Nicholas chose Teenage Mutant Turtles with a camouflage top.

So if you ever receive a Star Wars stocking with a Superman top, know that you have been a part of our family tradition.

O Christmas Tree

Every year we get a real tree. I'm not sure anything means Christmas more than the smell of pine. I know that they make a mess, but it is totally worth it. This year we went to Home Depot. I walked in to the Garden Center, the air was heavy with pine and instantly I was in a holiday mood. Joe and the boys picked out a very big tree. It was so big that it touched our ceiling and took up a big chunk of our living room. It took us a couple of weeks to get it completely decorated, but it was so nice. I love to spend time with our tree.

Matthew was a big help setting up the tree.

And a big help decorating it.

Nicholas and Holden helped too.

And here are some shots Joe took of the decorated tree.

Janine's Shower

My friend Janine is going to have another baby. This makes 5, for all of you who are counting. She is pretty impressive. I had a shower for her at my house and crammed a bunch of people in.

She got a lot of really neat things. Everyone loves to shop for a baby.
Her kids came with her and stayed upstairs with Joe and my boys. (That made my boys very happy!) Poor little Justus is about to loose his baby status. He's not quite sure what he thinks of this yet.

Happy Birthday Anders!

While we were in Schenectady, Anders had his first birthday. For those of you who didn't know, I am a Great Aunt. At least to one little son of my nephew I am.



Peter invited us over for a little birthday party for Anders. Here are Grandpa Mark, Aunt Alicia, Great Aunt Noel, and Matthew all watching how cute Anders is while eating pizza.

Here is the birthday boy with his cake.

He wasn't a big fan of the ice cream. It was just too cold!

Karen is not grandma. It is Mimi.

Ron and Dolores are Great Grandparents now. Isn't that unbelievable? They have always been great to our boys. I love this picture of Ron helping Matthew eat his cake. So cute.

Thanksgiving

I love that we have a national holiday set aside to remember how blessed we all are. Our family has been blessed in so many ways this year. Here is a few of our favorites. Matthew is thankful for Elmo. Holden is thankful for Jesus. Nicholas is thankful for the house and computer. I am thankful for my four wonderful boys. (I counted Joe of course.) And Joe is thankful for sandals.

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We always do. It was smaller than usual because the Scotts weren't there. But the food was amazing and the company even better. Aren't David and Leah cute?

Grandma made a special birthday cake for Matthew and we all sang Happy Birthday to him again.

He got a new Elmo. Look how excited he was.

Here is the evidence that it was a great Thanksgiving, Holden's very dirty face.

Ice Skating

Nicholas and Holden are taking ice skating lessons.
They are both doing very well.







Holden has passed off Tot 1 & 2 levels. Nicholas passed off alpha.
(Those levels don't mean anything to me either, but the boys were excited to get their certificates.)
They only have a few more skills to master before they can start to play hockey and they are very excited about that.

Matthew is 2!

How is it possible that my baby turned 2 on November 14th? When did this happen?We celebrated with just our family and it was very nice.
Earlier, Melisa had brought over an Elmo balloon which he loved. The Butters kids and the Ackermans also gave him presents. They are so thoughtful.
See that lopsided cake in front of him? I spent HOURS making that stupid thing. I picked out this really fancy recipe and it did not turn out. What a waste of time. Matthew would have been happy with a cupcake and a candle. Someday, I will be wise with my time.

Matthew's Two Year Old Pictures

Since Joe has expanded to doing a lot of portrait work, I decided I would let him take Matthew's yearly picture.

Storytime

We love the Springfield library system. They always have such wonderful programs going on FOR FREE! We've been going to storytime for many years now. First with Nicholas and then with Holden. Now it is Matthew's turn. He did pretty well, considering he is one. The librarian, Miss Sharon, was really good with all the little ones.

They started off by rolling the ball back and forth. Of course this was Matthew's favorite part. (The boy loves any and all balls.)

Then they passed out cheese crackers to keep the kids quiet while she read a few books.

And finally they all did a craft. Matthew made a cute little bear that he was very proud of. He carried it around and when Joe got home ran up to show it to him. My baby is so cute!

Nicholas and Holden waited very patiently playing on the computers and looking at books until Matthew was done. What good supportive big brothers they are.