december 24th - ‘twas the night before

Mommy made special Christmas Eve pancakes for breakfast...the request was trees and a wreath. Daddy took the kids in town to burn off some energy and Gemma needed to refuel on a chocolate croissant from Terra Momo. We had a quiet afternoon of naps and rest before a big night out. Alex and Gemma wanted to go to the Chrismas Pageant at Beeps’ church to watch the children’s choir tell the story of the nativity.  Alex got to hold the candle during Silent Night. He was proud. Mommy cried (gets her every time). 

Then, dinner for 4 1/2 at Blue Point Grill. Made it home in time for the kids to exchange presents with each other. “It’s our tradition on Christmas Eve,” says Gemma. Alex got Gemma a Moana lego set and Gemma got Alex a bear (“just like Honey”) that is dressed in Batman pajamas. Alex named him Bat Bear.  Simple but accurate. Mommy got to read the bedtime story this year. Gemma checked her grammar. 

The excitement in our house is pure magic.  When ‘Alexa’ told us Santa would be in Princeton NJ in two hours, the kids sprinted up the steps so they could be in bed when Santa arrives. 

december 23rd - snail mail

Alex and Daddy drew some pictures today. He decided he wanted to send his eagles picture to his buddy, Kyle, so he wrote him a note and we put it in the mail. He also wrote a letter to Ralph to say thanks for hanging out this year. Such a kind spirit. 

december 22nd - last school day!!!!

Mommy and Daddy got in one last adult lunch before we are joined in this world by another human. Lots of fun eating good Mexican at Two Sevens.  Alex and Gemma both got out of school early today so they got to help Mommy decorate Christmas cookies.  The countdown to Cheistmas is almost complete. 

december 21st - snacks and baby jesus

Alex finished up his “holidays around the world” cultural lesson today with a special feast. Mommy went in to help Miss Sampson and had lots of fun watching the kids and hearing about how Alex is doing in school. We went to Beeps and Grandpa’s house for dinner tonight and learned about the nativity of baby jee. They surprised Beeps with their current baseline knowledge, but Alex says “I read the kids’ bible.”

december 20th - italian night

Mommy went out for girls night so the kids wanted “to go out for dinner at the place with the good garlic knots.”  Alex and Gemma polished off an entire order, split a pizza, and back for more carbs with zeppolis for dessert. It was impressive. At bedtime, they wanted to get married, so they took vows and Gemma planted a wet one on Alex. This is their “wedding picture.”

december 19th - color time

Alex and Gemma broke out their new 10feet long coloring roll they got from Gramps and Grandmum. It is a serious project of coloring, but Alex is determined. 

december 18th - one more monday

The kids got to have breakfast with Gramps and Grandmum tholis morning before heading off to their last week of school before the holiday. We are in the home stretch countdown before Santa visits. Kids are beyond excited. 

december 17th - christmas begins

Gramps and Grandmum came to Princeton for our Christmas celebration. Alex and Gemma were really excited to get their Christmas pajammies, and Gemma loves the hat. We went out to dinner at The Grill and Gemma went for her own dessert...bananas foster bread pudding. She is wise beyond her years. 

december 16th - the force is strong with these two

Alex HAD to set up his gift from the Drebys this morning. He and Daddy played a full contact football game, complete with extra points and field goal attempts. Even GemGem got in on the action. After helping Daddy shovel snow, Alex got to go to lunch and see ‘Star Wars: The Last Jedi’ with Daddy, Uncle Frank, and Cousin Jack. Gemma spent the day with Mommy shopping and doing “all fun stuff that boys can’t do.”

We made gingerbread creations this evening and had lots of fun. Downsized a bit this year, so the were more like Gingerbread Condos than houses. Still just as messy. 

december 15th - ten more days!!!

GemGem’s holiday spirit is infectious. She is not quite abiding by the good behavior clause in Santa’s gifting contract, but she can wear the hell out of some antlers. She even shakes her head around to hear the jingle bells. She is quick to point out to everyone who compliments her antlers that they are not JUST antlers...they also jingle...duh. 

Daddy got to volunteer at Alex’s school today for gingerbread house creations. Mommy got off easy with reading day. Big mess, but worth the smile on Alex’s face when he saw Daddy come into his classroom. We finished fast and got to read ‘Pete the Cat Saves Christmas’ before Spanish class. Daddy got to witness the Spanish lesson...pretty amazing. 

december 14th - ‘tis the season

Gemma had her school holiday celebration today and she had so much fun. The class did a book exchange and she got some cool Peppa Pig books from her friend Miranda. She was very studious reading them after she unwrapped. Gemma bought Blaze books for her friend Nathan. 

We celebrated Christmas with the Dreby clan tonight, which was followed by a slow drive through the Shady Brook light show. Uncle Todd rented a minivan so we could all pile in and experience the pure joy together. Alex was so fired up and he was pointing everything out to Gemma. He proactively identified the eiffel tower, the statue of liberty, and “that place he just learned about in india”...the taj mahal. Gemma was very excited to see the mermaid. 

december 13th - alex the author

Mommy went to Alex’s school today tfor writing day celebration. Alex has been writing his own story for the last few weeks and today he got to read it to Mommy. He was very proud and got to bring it home to read again since Daddy missed out. 

december 12th - astronomological stuff

Alex is missing Carson. Gemma has been learning about space this week. She has been educating us on cold stars and hot stars, the moon, and rockets. 

december 11th - development

Gemma is getting better every day in her writing and she sometimes will tell us things she does at school that we were just “supposed to know.”  Her brain is amazing. 

Alex is loving school and today he did some math exercise using dice. Daddy and Alex spend 20 minutes at bedtime every night doing math problems. He is determined. 

december 10th - SANTA!!!!!!!!!

The weekend fun continues with Breakfast at the Nassau Inn...special guest, Old St Nick. Santa showed up playing a ukulele and spent a lot of time singing christmas songs to all the kids. After the performance we got to spend some one on one time with the big guy (first in line...nice work mommy). Alex told Santa he wants a foosball table and Gemma a makeup table. The deed is done and now we wait to see if Santa comes through.

Tonight, Gemma got to go to a special performance of The Nutcracker at the high school with Mommy and Beeps. She came home and told Daddy “I loved it...it was aMAZING!”  Daddy and Alex took a nap and watched the Eagles beat the Rams in a tight game. Carson Wentz got injured and Alex is not taking it well. 

december 9th - quite a day

Awesome action packed day.  We started out with a special showing of Polar Express at the old Princeton Theater in town. Free hot chocolate and POPCORN at 10:30 in the morning. The kids loved it. Pure magic. 

After the movie, Mommy dropped of Daddy and Alex in Palmer Square and we had a dudes only lunch at A&B. Lots of fun, but not as much as when we had to run in the snowstorm to his friend Laurette’s birthday party. It was Alex’s first “drop-off” party. When we went back to get him, he was still there, alive, and smiling. 

Next, it was off to Newtown to celebrate Sienna’s birthday. Can you tell Gemma and Alex were excited?

december 8th - reserved excitment

Gemma has been loving dino week at school. Her excitement is not overt, but she will randomly interject dinosaur wisdom into our conversation to demonstrate her knowledge. 

Daddy: Gemma eat your dinner, including your vegetables. 

Gemma: some dinosaurs only eat vegetables...they are called plant-eaters...shoulder shrug

Daddy: what did you do at school today gemma?

Gemma: nothing...I don’t remember. ROAR!!!!

Daddy: what was that

Gemma: that’s what a T-rex says when he is mad

Enlightened. 

december 7th - pure joy

Miss Sampson’s ‘donorschoose’ project was fully funded last week, so the classroom’s new materials showed up today. Is it worth donating money for kindergartners to get games....uh, yeah. Surprise, surprise, Alex has his clutches on ‘Sorry.’  He is currently making us play five games a night.  

december 6th - he got game

We located the box of santa hats and reindeer ears. So excited that we are wearing both at the same time. Gemma got in on the action of Alex and Daddy’s current ConnectFour race to 100. The current tally is Alex 51 and Daddy 42. He is starting to get pretty good and super cocky. Mommy picked him up from his after school program where he plays C4 (what they call it on the streets) and destroys 2nd graders. He’s crafting his game and also ruining these kids chances of getting a date to prom.  

december 5th - crafting continues

The kids are pumping out an iron-bead ornament a day with the efficiency of high performing christmas elves. We may need to increase their bonuses if they keep up this pace. Mommy made the most creative pineapple for Alex’s teacher consisting of champagne, chocolates, and twelve sticks of hot glue. The present may lead to disciplinary action for Ms. Sampson, but Mommy knocked it out of the park and is walking tall. 

Alex’s class is currently learning about “holidays around the world.”  So far, they have been to India learning about Diwali and Mexico. He is really excited they are making homemade piñatas tomorrow. 

december 4th - what you can’t teach

“I’m a mom,” says Gemma. She was born with Daddy’s attitude but somehow came genetically pre-wired with tons of maternal instinct. The daily email from her school with this picture posted made us smile. Right now, Gemma could care less about learning her ABC’s, but her mind works on overdrive. 

december 3rd - getting crafty

Mommy has tons of crafts in the works and a long list of activities to keep the kids inspired. Today, daddy got awesome bagels from Olives and we did crafts by the fire. We are now out of cotton balls. Mommy is feeling horrible with a really bad cold, so Daddy took the kids shopping in town. We got mommy some presents from Alex and Gemma...shhhhhh!  We had hot chocolate, they ran in circles around a tree for 30 minutes, and Alex eventually requested lunch at The Grill. 

december 2nd - holiday decor

A trip to Home Depot and a little yard work to get the house on Santa’s radar. The kids love Home Depot because of the wide aisles and ability to run around like maniacs. It didn’t help that one of the workers gave them free hot chocolate filled with sugar. He thought it was funny. Mommy and Daddy not so much. Daddy could only hold one kid up to the snowman cut-out at a time. 

Uncle Frank and Aunt Amy came over for dinner, and Gemma had a chance to clarify her Christmas list. She wants “an ariel mermaid outfit with a tail, that can go in water, and has the boobie things.”

december 1st - he’s back

Ralph the Elf is back in action and being used and abused by Mommy and Daddy as a tool to influence good behavior. Alex got to move the Christmas countdown calendar and got a lesson in odd vs. even numbers. He picked it up immediately. It was awesome. 

GemGem can now sign in her name at school all by herself. Daddy is so proud of her!

november 30th - peer pressure

Daddy and GemGem had our weekly coffee date today. She is growing up so fast and she even went for a health conscious yogurt today. So many pastries to choose from, but she is saving her cheat day for the weekend:). Grandmom Burger came over for dinner. With all of our illnesses and vacations, the kids haven’t seen her since before Halloween. They were beyond excited...they know she always shows up with cookies!

Alex came home from school this week and asked Mommy if she could pick him up some hair gel at the store.  Every day he makes us smile with the things that come out of his mouth. Sometimes we wish we could see where/how he comes up with this stuff.  

november 29th - always be prepared

Mommy and Daddy went for a quick tour of Princeton Hospital tonight. Went for an hour tour all so Mommy could find out which door we go on when she is in labor.  Well balanced use of time. Beeps hung out with Alex and Gemma and they made some cool Christmas crafts. Alex was bursting with excitement when we got home because he wanted us to go upstairs and see the creation. 

november 28th - god bless jeff bezos

It’s that time of year when we try to figure out how much we are obligated to tip our UPS driver.  This was 1 of 3 deliveries today. 

november 27th - star of the week

Alex got to spend four whole days with Honey, the class pet, this past weekend. This week, he is the star of the week. That means every day there is a special time that is a focus on Alex. Today he brings in his poster to present to his class. He also gets to bring a bag of his favorite things, bring his favorite book to be read to the class, and bring in photos and a family keepsake over the next few days. It is a really cool way for all the kids to get to know each other. He is very excited!  Mommy and Daddy scrambling to find photos!

november 26th - football sunday

A day of recovery, mentally preparing to go back to work, and watching the Eagles hit 10 wins. After being cooped up in the house all day, we had to get Alex outside. He literally went outside and sprinted laps around the house. Daddy started a fire so we could play ball on the patio and stay warm. The fire was enough to get Gemma out of her ‘pajammies’ and get outside.