Brotherly Love 2

Grant is a hit in our household. Turns out those first couple weeks of indifference have turned into complete infatuation. Calem was the first to come around, and can't get enough of holding [squeezing] him, hugging [tackling] him, and kissing [mauling] him. Isaac has come to care for Grant, too, but in a quieter, more mischievous manner. And through all the in-your-face over-abundance of brotherly love bestowed upon Grant, he absolutely adores his big brothers. As far as he's concerned, the sun rises and sets with those two. No one can elicit the smiles and belly laughs from Grant like Calem and Isaac can. It is so sweet to watch them interact and I just know that the three of them will be best friends for life.

Happy Feet

Grant just has the most precious, most irresistible baby feet on the planet! At birth I couldn't stop looking at them, counting each tiny toe, tickling the soft, wrinkly bottoms of them and wrapping my hands tightly around them. I just adore Grant's feet! So, here is an homage to my littlest baby's wonderful feet.
Look how long and slender his feet and toes are! Seriously, I don't have a foot infatuation or anything, but they are so lovely!
Then he discovered his own feet and was every bit as infatuated with them as I was. There's little that is cuter than watching an infant grab his own feet and stare in wonder as he wiggles little toes and stretches to taste them. And amazingly, he gets not only a lick of the big toe, but manages to stuff the whole darn foot into his mouth!
Grant takes advantage of his lengthy toes and sort of uses them like extra hands. I have seen him grasp a toy with his toes and lift it up a little to be able to reach it with his hands. We've taken to calling him our little monkey. Look at the the photo below, he "claps" with his feet all the time!

Yep, I love many, many things about Grant.
But I really love the little guy's feet. They make me happy.

Isaac Turns 3 - Part 2

Isaac's party cake

A blue-ribbon birthday cake, if I do say so myself! (And don't forget, I have a 3 month old!)

Isaac had a birthday party at home this year with a choo-choo train theme, because he is all about Thomas and all things train. We invited 4 friends, but with siblings included the kid count was 10! So, I decided to create a one-of-a-kind choo-choo train cake with a grand engine and 10 individual cars (one for each child). It was really fun to make, and the kids were really delighted.

The engine is made of one cake made from a loaf pan, one from a mini-loaf pan, and 3 regular cupcakes. I used 3 mini-Twix bars for the coal, peppermint patties for the weals and icing for the rest of the decorations.



I used a mini-loaf pan to make 10 individual train cars and decorated them with mini vanilla wafers for wheels and various treats for "cargo," like Oreos, chocolate chip cookies, red licorice and candy valentine hearts. Surprisingly, there were no fights over who got which car with what cargo.



The birthday boy loved his cake, and it was hard to keep his hands off of it until the party began. I think he looked at it as more of a toy than something to eat. He seemed to really want to play with it, the way he plays with his other trains.

Isaac and his friends enjoyed pizza, veggies and pretzels before indulging in cake. Here they all are at the party table. They are, clockwise, starting in front with the boy in the orange: Aiden, Joey, Maia, Sascha, Maura, Isaac, Calem, and Nathan. And no 3rd birthday party is complete without a pinata. Scott found a Thomas pinata, and you can see how they all waited in rapt anticipation while Scott hung it up. I would say Isaac had a very fun 3rd birthday, and is really lucky to have so many friends. We love you, Isaac-Man! Happy Birthday, and please--can we skip the "terrible three's"?

Isaac Turns 3 - Part 1

Happy 3rd Birthday, Isaac!

It's hard to believe Isaac is 3 years old already! Where has the time gone? My sweet, sensitive little Isaac isn't so little anymore. He is quickly catching up to his big brother and actually outweighs him by a pound, though still a couple inches shorter. He has become quite a character and has about a million expressions that make everyone he meets laugh. He is so expressive and charming, and it's hard to hold a grudge. Isaac's favorite things include cars, trucks, trains and anything he gets to play with his older brother. Isaac loves to read stories and play pretend and snuggle up. I love chatting with Isaac because he is a thinker and he is very creative. He always has a good story to tell. It's crazy that he is 3 already. It seems like just yesterday we were wondering what his little voice would sound like, and how it would be when he and Calem could play together. He is growing up so fast and will even be going to preschool in the fall. Isaac is so easy to have around, and is wonderful company. Happy Birthday sweet boy, I love you very, very much!

Not All Handmedowns

Little man Grant. Our third Nagy boy. Destined for a life full of "used" things. However, he does have a couple outfits all his own that must be documented. This super cute romper, compliments of Aunt Julie, is so soft and cuddly I wish I had one to wear. It is the most adorable outfit I've seen for a boy in a long time and sports a picture of a friendly walrus ice fishing--it's become a favorite and he wears it about once a week! Thank you, Aunt Juju for something new!
And then there is the warm and fuzzy animal sleeper that Gramma Martin sent. How nice it is to add something other than blue to the repetoire. Thank you for helping Grant feel welcome and for letting him start life with a few things he can call his own, because it isn't likely he'll have a whole lot of that as time goes by.

'sno fun becomes Snow Fun!

So, last year's attempts to play in the snow didn't go over so well. But this year has been a whole different story! The boys now stay out and frolic in the cold whiteness for a longer period of time than it took to don all the snow gear--and that makes it worthwhile. Besides, they now know that playing out for a while is a means to acquiring hot cocoa with marshmallows, and that makes it worthwhile! I enjoy standing inside the warmth of my cozy kitchen snuggling my baby boy, watching and smiling out the window.

Calem has learned to make snow angels. Here he is making a beautiful one.

The hill in our back yard has been in full use this winter, thanks also to Gramma and Grampa Nagy for the saucer sleds for Christmas. How nice it is to have our own private sledding hill out back!

We even enjoyed a crisp winter day at the zoo where the boys had a snowball fight with Daddy. Calem could really pack 'em and got Scott good a few times!


And of course no winter fun would be complete without building a friendly snowman. Isaac was more interested in sabotaging our efforts and knocking the heads off, but eventually Calem and I were able to complete our frosty friend. We had so much cold and snow for a while that the guy stayed with us for quite some time! Even after his face had long been eaten by various critters.

We also put Calem to work, and he is finally pulling his weight around here! He enthusiastically helped Scott shovel the sidewalk out front. Will he still have the same enthusiasm when he's 16??

Christmas Time 2009

We had a lovely holiday that went by in a blur, what with a newborn who cries way more than his fair share, and two very excited little boys anticipating the arrival of Santa. It was a no-muss, no-fuss kind of Christmas around here and we all enjoyed it immensely. (Except maybe Grant, who just is having a bad day all the time--poor guy.) Below are some photos from Christmas day for the Nagy family. Calem was very serious about leaving cookies and milk for Santa, and took great consideration in which cookies to choose and exactly how many. Santa really liked them, and ate them all.

A Christmas tradition that stems from my childhood, Santa left Christmas Crunch cereal on the fireplace hearth. A treat for the boys, for sure--but not as much of a treat as it was for me as a kid living in a home where sugared cereals were forbidden!

Isaac is excited about checking out all the fun packages in his stocking.

After the morning spent in the quiet (except for Grant's wailing) of our own home, sharing our own family holiday, we made the trek to Gramma and Grampa Nagy's house. And, yes, I take responsibility for forcing the boys to wear the silly Christmas vests. But don't they look cute?? It's only so few years I can force them to dress like this, and I do it so seldom. Hopefully they won't hold it against me later in life.

This was the "year of the Tonka truck" for the Nagy boys, and nothing could have made them happier. They recieved two large cranes and one giant dump truck! In the interest of my walls, cupboards and wood floors, I have decided they will be outdoor trucks.

But the best Christmas present of all was that we got to share the holiday (albeit briefly) with my mom and dad, and that they got to meet Grant for the first time. (Have I mentioned he cried pretty much the entire day!?) We were all very glad that my parents were able to come for a short visit and share Christmas day with us. Despite a terribly fussy newborn, we couldn't have asked for a happier Christmas altogether.