Winter Holiday

I've been cooped up inside with Mom and Dad for over a week now.
Thank goodness for Dad's tent and fort building skills or I would
definitely be insane by now!

B has been a lifesaver too.  He doesn't get most of my jokes
and tends to favor destruction over building, but he tries.

And since it's been pretty warm, I got to head outside to build a
quick snowman with Mom.  We named him "Comet" which turned
out to be pretty appropriate because he melted almost as fast as
we built him!

No I don't wear a helmet to build snowmen!  Santa
brought Daddy and I new bikes.  Somehow he forgot
a cool helmet for Dad, but I still let him hang out with me.

B and I love all of our new toys.  Thanks everyone!

I think it's time to go back to school though.  I'm losing my smarts!

Loved

We finished our Christmas Celebrations with an afternoon at Izzy and Oli's house.
Cole got to check out all their cool new gifts.

While the grown ups and big kids showed off their new gadgets.

I hogged most of the Uncle Scott time.  There's a whole new world
up here!

I may have snuck in a few extra sips.  Uncle Scott isn't
as quick as Mom and Dad are :)

I wasn't able to keep up with Cole and Oli so I kept to myself
and just explored.

Now that there are SIX grandchildren, we have our own table!

We all got sparkling cider as a special treat.  Mine was watered down,
but those bubbles were still pretty cool.

Lucky Shayla and Sue.  We were a little worried they'd get stuck
at the boring grown ups table, but in the end they got
to hang out and make fart noises and silly faces with us.

As usual, the youngest and oldest grandchildren were insperable.
Shayla made sure I was included even when we went outside.

We love our cousins, Aunts, Uncles and Grandparents!
Merry Christmas to you and your family too!
Bryce and Cole

Christmas in Vandyville 2011

Merry Christmas Everyone!  Here in Vandyville, we get to open one gift on Christmas Eve.  I picked the one from B.
It was the best gift ever - The Superhero Squad Helicarrier!  Dad and I put it together.

While B opened his gift from me - more blocks!

B got the Vandy traditional first Christmas chair.
Mom went a little nutty on his... 

We sure do love the holidays and each other!
B couldn't stop showing off the new trick Grandma
taught him - clapping.





Of course we put out our traditional plate of cookies and carrots just before we went to sleep.

Okay so I may have snuck out of bed and camped out in B's
box instead.  I was busted around midnight, but Mom and Dad
decided to let me sleep it off.

And since we didn't make it downtown to mail our letters this year,
we had to leave them out for Santa.

And he came!

Mom was right.  Christmas morning is infinitely better when you have
another kid to share the magic with.

Oh and those leftover cookies and carrots didn't last more than an hour.
Merry Christmas everyone!

B's First Year

Well the big day AND the big guy are here!  I'm officially on the boards and no longer an "infant."  What an eventful first year.  Some of my favorite moments include:



1. Meeting my wonderful family.

2. Playing with all of my new friends.

3. Learning how to crawl, and then how to walk.

4. Playing, talking to and fighting with my best friend Cole.

5. Birthday parties, weddings, holidays and time with family.
6. Reading my friend's blogs.

7. Visits from my SUPER Aunt's and Uncles.

8. Getting over my allergies.

9. My Birthday Party.

10. Visiting my fantastic neighbors.

11. Playing with Boots and Bella - who I love so much.

12. Learning how much I am loved!!


I'm lucky in that after my awful first 5 weeks, I've been a healthy hearty kid.  I can eat whatever I like and I sleep like a champ.  I don't take any guff and it's been said that I make Cole cry far more often than he makes me cry.  Little brothers HAVE to be tough!  Thanks to everyone who has been a part of my first year.  I love this little life I have!

The Gift That Keeps on Giving

Here in Vandyville the record for best gift ever was set last year when
heaven sent us our little man, Bryce.  Time sure has flown by. 
Today, the little dude is no longer a baby - he's ONE!
Life is pretty sweet - especially when you're surrounded
by pretty ladies who love you like he is!

We decided not to take it easy on the candles.  I KNOW the little
man has strong lungs.

Um.. the cake was a hit.

We all enjoyed watching him devour it.
B loved having our best friends around to celebrate him.

Shockingly, Mom was the only one interested in a birthday smooch.

Until after his bath. 
HAPPY FIRST BIRTHDAY BRYCE!
We all love you to bits and pieces.

Tyler

One last shout out to our new friend Tyler. 
Mom asked for our very own Elf from Santa and he came!
Each night he goes home to the North Pole to tell Santa
how good we were and each morning we have to find his new spot.

Our Elf is named Tyler and he is EXCEPTIONAL.  Can you believe
he found us at Grandma's house?!  Then he was already home waiting for
us when we got back.  That's a pretty good elf if you ask us.

Party Animals

Because Dad wasn't with us, Mom got away with dressing us like twins for the party.

We had a blast playing with all of our Uncles (esp. Uncle Scott).

One of us spent a considerable amount of time flirting with a certain
special Aunty.

We took full advantage of the play room and time with our many many
cousins.

B was getting along great with Maisie until he stuck his finger in her eye.
She sure did tell him off!

He also took a gash out of Shayla's neck, but Shayla still
loves him.

Those two are pretty much joined at the hip :)

and can you believe Santa made an appearance!? 
A few kids were a little skeptical and there were even
some conspiracy theorists out there who mumbled that he
looked and sounded a lot like Uncle Adam who was strangely
without an alibi during the time in question, but B and I were not
fazed.  We sat right down on his lap and handed out hugs.

Merry Christmas!  We hope you're enjoying the season as much
as we are.

Cuz

Speaking of great family, we got to see Cousin Owen!

Yeah... we go way back!

From little tykes to rowdy boys in the blink of an eye.

We had a blast being GI-Joes

Mommies make excellent bad guys until one of we good guys
gets a battle wound and then they make much better nurses.

And once again we sprung a surprise sleepover on Grandma and Bugga
when we kidnapped Owen and brought him back with us.

We were R-O-W-D-Y, but of course I made sure to include my best buddy B.

Thanks for spending the night with us Owen!

The Best Part of Christmas...

Is family of course!  This week, Cole and I went up north to Grandmas for the
Haas Family Christmas!  I showed off my extreme eating skills.

And like all good little Vandy's, I'm Bugga's boy.

Oh, and I'm no longer walking.  Who needs that?!  I'm RUNNING now.

Cole let me hang out with him in the basement! 
He gets to be a pirate 4 hrs/day now to strengthen his right eye.

This is where my big brother spends his every waking hour when he's at Grandma's.
I got to check it out, but I didn't last long because I may have been a
little over-determined to eat the legos.

Mom is still slightly faster than I.  Not for long though!

We made a couple of quick Christmas shopping trips and
as usual, people love to see two brothers who get
along so well.  How could you not?!
Here's to being born into a really great family and
a special shout out to the best big brother a guy could ask for.