Kitchen experiment

I came across the most delicious sounding recipe from Chef Chloe's blog. Roasted apple, butternut squash, and caramelized onion pizza with a garlic spread. Let me tell you it was well worth the effort and time. The pizza was scrumptious!!! Adam and I ate it up and I was surprised at how much Tyler and Matty actually ate too. And I had the last little sliver for lunch and it tastes just as good if not better the next day! Baked in the oven for 20 minutes with Pete's pizza dough and it was a serious taste bud delight!!!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

It's one of my very favorite days of the year! Monday after Thanksgiving is our annual "Szajda Family Christmas Decorating/cookie eating Party"!!! The entire family slept in late today and was well rested and ready to party! Tyler was beyond excited to help this year and decorated the bottom half of the tree all by himself. We first danced to the first song of Christmas "It's beginning to Look a lot like Christmas" and then Adam and I brought down the Christmas tree. That part is a bit anti-climatic for me but not for a three-year-old. The first thing Tyler said was "OH, it's beautiful!" He put the ornaments on wherever he felt they'd fit best and we let it be as it was. He kept saying "yeah, the tree looks beautiful". And "I love Christmas time" and really did help out in a big way this year. We decided to barricade the tree so our little destroyer couldn't pull all the ornaments off and have the tree come tumbling on him. So far, the plan is working but it's only been a short period of time. Keep your fingers crossed.

Throughout the morning decorating, I was baking some sugar cookies and cut out stocking, tree, and gingerbread shapes. We all enjoyed eating some delicious cookies after most of the ornaments were on the tree. It was a bit of a mess and we learned quickly not to put too much frosting on them because it's extremely hard to get off the kids. Oh well! All in all, it was a perfect, joyful morning and one I'll always remember!

It's feeding time!

We've discovered some time in the recent days that Matty much prefers to feed himself. This means we've officially entered the "find more patience" territory. This phase in a child's development can be adorable and provides great opportunity for some sweet photo ops, but generally speaking it makes things dirtier, slower, down right messy. For the moments when I find myself loosing some patience, it's the moments like the ones captured below that makes it all worth it. He's in food heaven!!! (and very proud of himself!)

Gotta love it!

Happy Thanksgiving!

It was a wonderful Thanksgiving and a real Family affair. Everyone contributed something to meal and everything was TF!!! I made soup for lunch, Pawel and Marina did the turkey and stuffing. Marcin did the sweet potatoes, Korina did the cranberries and pie, and the meal was delicious and you'd never guess it was free of all T's allergens.
Tyler got all excited when the turkey was pulled out of the oven and ran over to tell me the turkey was done.

The "kids" table. It was cute seeing all the cousins together.

Matty was a little sad/cranky during Thanksgiving because he had a double ear infection, but nonetheless we all had a good time and he ate plenty of food!

Daddy got into the spirit and proudly wore his "thankful" crown.

Uncle Phil and Dziadzus said some prayers to appropriately start the feast.

One of my highlights from the evening was seeing Tyler and Gabby together. It was one of the first times I witnessed Tyler fully engaging in play with someone besides a family member. The two of them finished dinner and then played very well together for the next hour and a half. It was precious and Gabby was wonderful with him. Tyler kept getting the giggles and they were doing all sorts of make believe and especially loved when the ducks kept jumping up and down?!

We kept him up a bit later than usual (8:00) because he was having so much fun with Gabby. I think it was his first "crush" because he kept asking about her in the days to come. It was a great, relaxing afternoon and evening. There is so much to be thankful for this year, but it was a feast I'll never forgot because of the unity and love everyone displayed in such a concrete manner. Everyone stayed healthy, safe, and it just felt "normal" and that's all I dream of! Life is good and I'm so grateful of the love the Szajda family showed us today.

Cousin Campfire

It was a georgeous Saturday morning.

Wujek visits!

Holiday Parade

This morning I was able to run my first 10K. The annual Give Thanks to Lebanon Run was held this morning with a start at the Farmers Market and Finish at Lebanon High School. Almost the entire run was on a part of the rail trail that I've never run before and it was beautiful. There was a good number of runners and everyone was in a great, friendly mood. I took it out at a nice, comfortable pace and just enjoyed the event. As soon as I finished, I rushed home so we could go to the Holiday Parade. We figured the weather was great and Tyler heard advertisements on the radio and has been talking about it ever since. We packed up the car and took the boys for our first Lebanon Parade.
We arrived at the intersection of 8th and Cumberland Street and ran into Mrs. Kalbach and her family. They were sweet enough to let our wagon in front and had a perfect view of the entire parade. It was a very nice gesture.

The boys sat in the wagon for most of the parade. Tyler was sitting in such a way that he could see down the road and kept giving us the play by play of what was about to come next. He kept pointing and getting so excited about everything. Mrs. Kalbach was laughing and got such enjoyment out of hearing him because he literally kept talking the entire time about everything he was seeing and what was happening around him.

Of course, T loved all the firetrucks!

Adam's favorite part was the tractors and the horses.

Matthews favorite part was probably all the yummy snacks I brought along for them to munch on while we watched the parade. And no doubt my favorite part was sitting next to the boys, watching their precious faces with all the excitement, and hearing Tyler commentate the entire parade. It was great morning and hopefully a new tradition for our family. Adam said he hopes the Szajda family can put together a float some day and walk in the parade too! Can you imagine??!!

Classroom Helper

I'm not sure what my deal was but I was so giddy when I woke up this morning. I couldn't wait to help volunteer in Tyler's classroom. I've been wanting to be a fly on the wall since the first day of school and this is about as close as it gets. The students were making turkey cookies for Thanksgiving, so I volunteered to make the batter and be one of the three Mommies to help the kids make their own cookie. I was a little nervous about the batter because it's very crumbly, but it all worked out just fine. Tyler kept saying on the way to school "Mommy, I can't wait to see you in my classroom. I can't wait to see you at Jack and Jill!" It was sweet and made me happy. He was very good about showing me things but also doing what he was supposed to do while I had to help some of the other kids. He played in the kitchen with some of the girls and played with this car mountain on the floor with some boys. We also got the opportunity to see the morning routine and how all the kids behave during circle time. It did seem like the kids were a bit rammy this morning with some extra energy. I think that's what happens when there's new faces in the classroom AND they're making cookies. Hilarious! In groups of three the kiddos came over to make their cookies. Tyler was my last kiddo and it was particularly special to be doing this food related activity with him just like all the other boys and girls. It was a very "normal" moment and I loved every minute of it (and do did he!)! While we baked the cookies, the boys and girls went outside for their recess. Upon their return, surprise...cookie for snack time. They got to decorate the cookies with icing, sprinkles, and candy corn. The kids were loud all morning but as soon as they sat down for cookie eating, it was silent. I got such a kick out of it. At one point, Tyler looked over at me and said "Mommy, these cookies are so good, thank you!" The other two moms looked at me with those eyes and were like "seriously, that was the sweetest thing." My heart melted...and he kept sitting there making his sound effects "ummm, yummy, ummm delicious". I LOVE YOU, TYLER. Honestly, it was a perfect morning. I chose to stay home so I could experience moments like this and it was a moment of perfection. Honest, pure, loving, unforgettable moments like this make being a Mommy the best thing in the world.

We drove back to Grammy's house after class to have lunch with Matty and Grammy. It was also lots of fun eating white chicken chili and listening to the nutcracker (and a surprise visit from Baca!). Tyler topped off a perfect morning with a tea party. The two of them got a serious case of the giggles having something to do with dancing candlesticks and cups. Matty and I were in the other room and hearing Grammy and Tyler giggle like that is another sound that I can't get enough of!!! We returned home and everyone had a good, long nap! Life is good!

Whack it

Matty opened up the last of his birthday presents this morning. THANK YOU Uncle Peter, Aunt Lauren, Zach, and Julia because it's literally a hit!!! Within about 1 minute of playing with his new toy, Matty figured it out. Every time he'd hit the ball threw the hole, he'd let out a big chuckle and want us to clap for him. Too funny and glad to see such a strong reaction to a gift.

Hockey Player??!!

Adam discovered that little Matty LOVES playing hockey. For the last month or so, Adam would help Matty hold the stick and walk with him. Now that he can walk on his own, hockey is becoming a favorite outdoor past time for him. It's great because it's also getting Tyler more interested in playing too! How cool that they're teaching each other some things already!!!

And yes, our Little one-year-old can already slam dunk the ball too!!!

Dinner and Tea Time

Mom and Dad called early this afternoon and invited our family to their house for dinner. Pat, Willa, and Bea came too and we celebrated their check-up with the doctor and seeing the heart beat of number two. Willa is about 13 weeks along and we got the green light to tell whomever we want! We had some fun play time, a delicious chicken and pasta dinner, and yummy apple cake for dessert. Tyler was doing some honking at the table because he gets such a kick out the way Baca sneezes and some birthday singing. Bumble said my name for the first time and I loved the way it sounded!!! Tyler overheard Mom ask any of the adults if we wanted coffee or tea and immediately requested a tea party. He picked the Peter Rabbit set and Mom even agreed to read one of the little books while the kids enjoyed "tea" (water) and cake. She was so sweet with them all and it ended up being a great, last minute night together. Glad they called.

walking

Ever since the trip to Baltimore, Matty has really decided walking is his new mode of transportation. I get such a kick out of it because I hear his stomping around the house. Pitter patter, pitter patter, stomp stomp. I love the noises. The most adorable thing is the way he's walking. He almost always walks with his right hand up in the air like he's still holding my hand for support. It's so freaking cute, I can't stand it. Sometimes if he's feeling really confident then the arms lower and off he goes. Of course, with this new skill comes plenty of falls but he gets himself back into the squat position and lifts himself back up to standing. He's been doing circles around the house and sometimes looks at me with a big smile on his face like he's so proud of himself. And I love when Tyler cheers him on. Since he's been so good about walking tonight was the first time we had naked walking/dinosaur train time. Those two little hinnies have to be the most adorable little things on this earth!!! I love my boys!

Baltimore Aquarium

We all woke up early this morning and have been talking about what kinds of fish we will see at the aquarium all morning long. It felt like 9:00 couldn't come fast enough, especially because the 'fall back' time change just happened, so the boys were up a hour earlier this morning. The walk to the aquarium was slightly windy and cool. Tyler was on top of Adam's shoulders and had a single tear running down his face and he said "Mommy I have happy tears. I am so happy right now!" It was precious! Adam and I squeezed each other's hand and knew it's hard to beat moments like this. We walked up to the ticket counter around 8:55 armed with our coupons and ready to have some fun and we were greeted with emptiness. Adam and I looked at each other and went from the ticket window to the main entrance and it was clear that everything was shut down and closed. CLOSED??!! What?? Coming to the aquarium was our driving force for staying in Baltimore for two nights and make this particular trip fun. How could they be closed? At first, Adam realized it was Veterans Day (I felt bad because I completely over looked this detail) and thought this was probably the reason. Then he spotted a worker and basically followed her into the building and learned that they have just changed to winter hours (and the website has not been updated) and the place didn't open until 10:00. Whew! Okay, no problem. We had about 45 minutes to kill and discovered the Barnes and Noble around the corner was open and even had a train table! Jackpot!

When we returned to the aquarium just before 10:00, it was clear the building was open and we weren't the only ones with the idea. Tyler was so excited and was going from the one spot to the next with vigor and enthusiasm. He would ooh and aah loudly and other parents would look at us and smile and one said "looks like he's enjoying himself". Um, yep he sure is and he sure deserves it! I'm just so glad that it seemed to surpass the anticipation he had for the day because we had really been talking it all up, but he couldn't have been any more well behaved or happier than he was during the entire morning. Based on his enthusiastic reaction, I'd say his favorite moments were seeing Nemo, the huge octopus, the sharks, and the dolphin show. Both of the boys were clapping during the entire dolphin show. Matthew was especially animated and obviously enjoying himself. We left after the 11:30 dolphin show and met Grammy and Baca outside of the exit and had a great lunch together. I don't know how the day could get any better than it's already been and it's only 1:00.