And the festivities continue...

 Christmas Eve was spent with Mike's family, we had Christmas morning to ourselves, then went to my parent's house for the rest of the day with my side of the family...the ENTIRE rest of my family :)  All 12 adults and 15 children - I wouldn't want it any other way.

Nico (and paci, which helped him get through a long few days) opened up presents while his cousins eagerly waited for their own.

 All knowing Albert and Levi looked on while Luca inspects his gift..."is it? could it be? my very own video game????  Mom told me I had to be 6!"

Courtney, Becca, Olivia, Sarah, and Kaileigh strike a pose (which they are very good at these days).  Is it me or are they getting way too old?

Below is a shirt my dad got as a gift from, who else?  My brother.  Aside from the Bala name on the back, nothing about this shirt was appropriate...not even the size...which made it all the more hilarious!

 Papa and his girls.  We are all holding gorgeous jewelry boxes that he hand made.  They were a labor of love for him, I'm sure, but a gift we will all treasure more than he knows.

Daddy showing Luca how to use his new video game.  After this gift, there was no need for any more.  Thanks Nonnie and Papa for this wonderful gift and an extraordinaryday.

Well, I tried

Blogspot.com is really making me mad. Immediately after I posted last, I attempted again, and after 2 attempts and 1 hour of waiting, I gave up. Come on blogspot - get it together! Stay tuned...

Santa did good!

Pardon my lack of posts, but every time I get on the blog, the picture downloads take forever, and I don't have *forever* with 2 busy boys. So....since today it's working, I will bring you up to speed as much as possible!

Christmas was, as expected, a HUGE success! Nico was thrilled with the kitchen Santa brought him (as obvious by the look on his face in this picture)...
...and how did Santa know Luca wanted a drum pad?
Notice the presents still under the tree that took a backseat once Luca opened the drums.

On top of his "moo" with a whisk in hand, Nico was one happy camper!

Seeing Christmas through their eyes made it so magical :)

A star is born!

Luca was quite the performer at his Christmas concert at school. Check out his glow at the end when the audience applauses. I always knew he was a ham!

Check out this wonderful new trick....ugh!

Moving on up!

Nico's newest past time is climbing..everything...all the time. He doesn't want to sit in a highchair, but he wants to climb it. all. day. long. So we have officially put it away and Nico's taken over Luca's booster for the time being (until an identical one comes in the mail. That way there will be no fighting over color!) Doesn't he look so proud?

Fancy Footwork

First off I want to say how brilliant "Aqua Doodle" is...art with water? A neat mother's dream! And as an added bonus, the mat is big enough for both boys to doodle at the same time.

On this day, the artwork got a little sidetracked and the boys decided to paint their feet...what makes it even better was that, again, it's just water! Look at their concentration!