Happy New Year!

Back to Tennis

Freddy was excited to try out his new Christmas racket and tennis shoes. Finding these shoes for him was the true Christmas miracle for us this year. I had almost given up. While his current shoes were springing new holes every day, we were running out of options when we decided to go back to the original place we had already tried. He took the first pair he tried on and one week later, he still likes them. 

 Seb loves messing up all of the equipment while I go around behind him putting it all back.

 

His burn shows up in the cold, but it looks like a darling rosey cheek, not a burn scar. Thank goodness for that. 

 He watches Freddy longingly as if he knows it's more exciting to be playing on the court, swinging a racket around, than it is to be stuck in the stands shifting cones around.

 A few more years and he'll be out there too.

Big Brother, Little Brother

Cabo da Roca

 It's been packed and non stop since my mom arrived. No time for long updates, but I just got a little time on the computer to get a few photos up.

Yesterday we visited Cabo da Roca for the first time since my parent's visit to Portugal back in 2001.

 It's still beautiful, and still windy! Can you see the two little people looking over the top of the cliff?

 

We've done Lisbon, Sintra, Guincho, Cascais, eating out, walks, movie night, date night, charades, Just Dance, lots of baking, and much more.

Seb is in love with having my mom here and will suffer a lot when she leaves. We all will :(

Christmas

We had a wonderful Christmas.

 

My mom and Zita snuck out like elves and bought a new, still little but at least alive Christmas tree.

 Sebby crawled all over the presents on Christmas morning, clamouring for the tree and so happy with what he was seeing.  He was just as hapy to carry presents around and take tags off as he was to have anything new.

These little shorts with suspenders are pretty much a requirement of little boys in Portugal. I only put my (baby) boys in these shorts for Christmas, but when I do, we can never stop remarking how cute they look.

 These are all so ridiculously blurry because Sebby never stops moving.

There are lots and lots more photos, but I'm in my new cozy robe, and soft fleecy jammies, and there are two little boys who are up and ready for some Boxing Day fun.

A Boy and His a Train

Sebby is warming to the Christmas train. He used to be terrified of it, and now it seems to fascinate him. 

Mooj is more swollen in his face than before and still uncomfortable even with the anti inflammatories. He always knows when it's getting time to take the next pill. 

Sebby is still miserable at night and has generously passed his conjunctivitis to his sister :-) 

This will be remembered as the Christmas when I went around the house barking at everyone to wash their hands and keep their hands away from their eyes/face. 

Shopping is essentially finished except for three cousin gifts on Pai's side. The big grocery delivery will arrive today, and my mom is operating a central command present station in her room that puts Santa to shame. We are ready! 

Freddy's Cello Recital

Here's Freddy before his recital in front of our faithful old olive tree.

His teacher is doing some last minute tuning before he begins. 

He started taking lessons in the begining of October, so a little over two months ago, and really just knows the basics. There was no pressure to be perfect and he wasn't nervous at all in the lead up.  We the parents, siblings, and grandmother were dying of nerves. 

He stood up when finished We Wish You a Merry Christmas and beamed a smie as the audience clapped. He then gave what is now my favorite bow in the history of bows- quick and humble- which prompted more applause from the audience. 

My mother's heart was already bursting with love and pride for shy Freddy, so when the musical director got on the mic and said "Freddy has only just started taking lessons so let's give him another round of applause!" that I had to focus all energy on keeping the tears IN. 

After the recital, he got lots of congratulatory praise from his siblings and firm man-pats on his shoulders and back.

 The sun was too bright for his eyes; he isn't refusing to look at the camera. 

First musical recital is one of my favorite milestones to watch as a parent. These are cherished moments for sure. 

December Days

Patches the cat spends all sunny hours in this flower pot. We are beyond delighted with this fluffy flower visual. 

Seb tries to feed her everything, and she is never all that pleased with what he comes up with. 

I liken these steps to the steps from "227" for the simple fact that they are a gathering magnet. 

 Who remembers "227?" 

The best part is that the stone warms in the sun and I can oversee everyone on my rocker like a happy old lady. 

Poor Moojie had a wisdom tooth out today and Seb is sicker still. Thank goodness my mom is here helping me. We have the white board set up with the meds schedule and a fridge full of liquid diet goodies. 

Weekend Update

What a fantastic weekend! Sometimes Sunday night rolls around and Pai and I lament how quickly the weekend passes without any real time to spend together as a family. It feels like we are on such a tight schedule with so many activities, that there is no time to catch up on anything. This weekend was different.

Saturday started with 7:30 cookie baking, a sunny rugby game and a relaxed afternoon getting ready for my mom's arrival. The kids do the best job on welcome signs and decorating the bed for visitors. There's nothing better than a warm welcome. 

My mom arrived Sunday morning on a 6am flight and came into a sleeping house. The kids woke up and one by one gave her the best welcome hugs. 

For us, my mom's arrival signals the begining of the Christmas season. 

The warm weather meant that the boys made great progress in the never ending garden clear out and  Sebby got to circle the house until his little legs could walk no more. 

The other big event of the weekend was Freddy's first cello recital. As soon as I upload the photos, I'll do a whole cello post. Here follow a few more rugby pictures. 

 

The kid's last day of school is tomorrow and we already have a full month break from music lessons. What will we do with so much time? 

A Boy and His Dog

I absolutely treasure my mornings with Seb. When everyone has left for school, we make our rounds and visit Pipocas ( the dog), chase the cats, and play on all the unsightly but oh-so-fun fisher price play equipment. 

Pipocas is the most tolerant gentle dog. 

Now on to chase the cats around. 

 These were taken last week before Seb got sick. He's wiped out with a bad cold turning into a bad cough. It keeps the three of us up all night, and zombie like during the day. 

I've stopped listing all of his words because he repeats after us like a little parrot. His siblings keep remarking that he's a person now, and not a baby at all. The absolute biggest change however, and yes you can all laugh, is that we have gone two weeks without screaming in the car. 

So Ugly It's Cute?

This year's tree is our ugliest yet. I compare it to those hairless, speckled dogs that look so ugly, they are actually cute in a pitying sort of way. In my defense, the tree was wrapped in plastic net and of the four trees available, this was the tallest. The biggest problem is that it's completely dead. I think they cut it sometime in July, and left it in a sunny field until last week when it was delivered to the grocery store. 

I've long since gotten over having a nice tree so this doesn't phase me or the children. I just hope we have one or two needles still on it by Christmas morning. 

Freddy and Pai put lights on it in all of 10 seconds, and it does look decent (ish) at night. 

We have our reliable stair garland up, the Christmas train running, and a mini tree upstairs all giving the house a fresh breath of holiday spirit. 

13 Months

And still cute as a button! 

On Motherhood and Martyrdom

I have a post all written up on cookies, but today just doesn't feel like the day to publish it. Martyrdom is on my mind. Martyrdom and motherhood go hand in hand, and that is especially true in the lead up to Chrismtas. There are so many expectations to do a million things that it's easy to try to do everything. 

I always fall into the trap of thinking that I have to do so many things, but the truth is, almost none of it falls into the have to category. Tonight for example, I don't feel like making dinner. I spent 80% of my day in the kitchen and I'm done. I know that everyone will be fine- a night of cereal or scrambled eggs, or whatever they decide to make will keep them alive until morning. Not only that, it's good for everyone when moms have a break. I use the term break loosely here, by the way. 

On that note, I'm going to enjoy my time spent not making dinner by cuddling up here with my two little boys and the good stack of books we have on the nightstand. 

**update: Zita made the family spinach and ricotta omelettes and left a sweet note in the entry for Pai. I loved and savored every bite of my cereal that night.**

Recent Rugby Photos

In practice last week, there was a broken nose, and stitches required on the inside of the mouth of one of Moojie's teammates. 

Mothers do not need to hear about these things.