The Photojournalist's Soapbox!

Christmas in Kentucky

After a few days at home, we were off to Kentucky for Christmas with Shan's Mom and Step-Dad.

The boys got more presents and we had a nice time hanging out.

Shan even got in on the cooking and helped cook dinner. Isn't he stunning in his lovely apron?!?

I laid down on the couch to take a little snooze and I guess Christian decided to snooze with me. While I was sleeping, he climbed up on me and fell asleep. I woke up to see him fast asleep sitting on me. It was very sweet.

Merry Christmas!

We got to enjoy a nice Christmas at home for a few days. The boys enjoyed opening their presents and had a great time playing with them.

Christian got a percussion set from my Mom and Dad and he loved the little cymbals. He reminded me of one of those little monkey's with the cymbals! LOL

Ian got his very own guitar and enjoyed spending some time with his Daddy playing music.

Even Sofie, our cat, enjoyed a Christmas morning feast thanks to Ian. He bought her a cat bowl with a can of cat food at the Christmas Shop at his school. He bought everyone presents this year. I got a beautiful Mom bracelet and Shan got a "Greatest Dad" hat.

Then, in true cat form, she took a nap in a shopping bag. It was the perfect Christmas for Sofie!

The day after Christmas, Christian decided to do some "work" on his laptop while Opa did some work on his laptop.

Then later that night, Ian and Christian performed for us with the puppet theater. Christian just keep "singing" (aka..shouting) into his echo microphone. It was very entertaining.

Off to Santaland!

It has become a yearly tradition since Ian was a baby to go see Santa at Macy's in New York City. And this year was no exception.

The train ride into the city is always one of the highlights of our trip.

The boys always like Santaland. They do a fantastic job at Macy's and their Santaland is really amazing.

The boys got to see Santa and Ian asked for what he wanted. Christian on the other hand had no interest in Santa, but LOVED jumping off his foot stool! LOL Santa suggested that he bring Christian something to jump off of. LOL

Our trip was cut a little short this year due to both boys being grumpier than usual, so we didn't get to see the window displays or the tree at Rockefeller Center. Hopefully next year, we can see those things as well.

Christmas in New Jersey

This year's holiday schedule was quite hectic, but we were able to enjoy a few days at my Mom and Dad's in New Jersey.

This is their Christmas tree. (Remember, they hauled it from Ohio on the top of their car! LOL) Dad had set up a train underneath the tree and the boys were quite fascinated with it.

I just liked this image of Christian with his sippy.

My very inventive 5 year old figured out a way to keep his nose from running all down his face. Nothing like a Kleenex and tape!

Ian and my Dad spent some time creating a snow fort in the snow bank out front. It was so freezing cold, I don't know how they could stand being outside for as long as they were. They also did a little sledding in the backyard.

We had a very nice visit and wished it could have lasted longer.

And now...Cooking with Christian!

Cooking with Christian can take on so many meanings.

Example #1: Good Cooking with Christian
I made a Tres Leche Cake (which was delicious, by the way) and Christian really enjoyed licking the beater after I made the whipped cream frosting.

Example #2: Bad Cooking with Christian
While I was on the phone with a very important person, Christian had used the stool to climb up to the microwave. No longer happy to just open and close the door, he put a pair of scissors in the microwave and started it!

Shan came downstairs to the smell of burning plastic and a microwave that was very full of black smoke. (It was no longer running by the way. And never ran again after this episode!)

This is what scissors look like that have been Nuked! LOL

Thank the Lord it didn't catch the house on fire! We used the control lock out quite often, but Christian, being the smart boy he is, figured out that if he turned off the power strip that it was plugged into, it would reset and it would work again.

Needless to say, we have moved where the new microwave is plugged in so that he can't reach it and we use the control lock all the time now.

And of course, at the end of a very busy day of licking beaters and trying to melt scissors in the microwave, a nap on top of his bunny and the lids to the bins for his clothes was in order! LOL

What am I going to do with this boy!

Congratulations Kirsten and Jason!

Get ready for some image overload!!!

Kirsten and Jason were married in Tortola, British Virgin Islands in December and Shan and I were honored to be there for it. We had such a great time there! (As some of you kept commenting since that was the last thing I had blogged in a LONG time...but as I replied...I didn't want to come home!)

It was amazingly beautiful and Kirsten and Jason were the most wonderful hosts. We had a great time hanging out with them and their families. We truly felt like a part of the family by the end of the trip.

So here you go!

This following series all happened in less than 3 seconds! And they didn't even see it coming! They were such great sports and really got into the artistic side of the photography!