Merry Christmas!

 Ben could barely contain his excitement Christmas morning. He ran into our room and pounced on our bed and begged to go downstairs. Unfortunately, he had to wait rather impatiently for us to wake up Cole and change his bum.

 But finally the time came!

Lucky for him Santa came!!

 Looks like Santa and the Reindeer enjoyed their midnight snack!

 Our elf, Eddy, left the boys a special surprise.

 Ben was trying to be such a great older brother and show Cole how Christmas worked: you rip everything open as fast as you possibly can and then ask for more! Sadly, Cole just wanted to lounge in his new man chair and enjoy each gift before moving onto the next.

 Ben is a bit pushy and made sure Cole did it his way.

 Lucky for Cole, Ben eventually went back to his gifts.

So Cole got to just sit and enjoy for a bit. 

 I think Cole's favorite part of the morning was the M&Ms Eddy left for him.

 What is that? A VERY special surprise from Santa. It was carefully wrapped and hidden in the entry.

 TA - DA!! Most exciting Christmas present ever for two little boys! We knew Ben would be stoked because he has been begging for one since April, but we were shocked at Cole's level of excitement. He literally did not want to get out of it. Ever.

 Cole eventually drooled too much M&M all over his shirt and smeared crepes everywhere. So he got stripped down. That little belly is always so full and hanging over his pants. So adorable.

Ben made sure all of Cole's toys worked properly.

The house was trashed. Our bellies were full. The boys were spoiled rotten. What a great day.

Thanksgiving

 Happy Thanksgiving!

How can you not be thankful for this spread? Nobody cooks a home-cooked meal quite like my grandmother. Holy Moly. I savored every single bite.

 Cole of course found an old chair that my grandpa made for me and my cousins when we were little. It has seen a lot of love over the years and cracked under the pressure of great grandchildren.

 Really. The reinforced PVC pipe broke. Gramps is a handy man and rushed to the rescue. He glued the chair back together in no time.

Cole found a replacement chair to sit in while the other was under repair.

Ben loves going to grandma and grandpa Richen's house because they have "way cool toys."

They are the same toys I played with when I was little. But they are still awesome!!!

DIY Family Pictures

 I really wanted some cute pictures of the boys that I could send out for Christmas cards this year. So the plan was to get the boys dressed and take them over to Soda Row, but then I thought. Why not do the whole family? Scott and I have clothes to match the boys! But then who to take a photo of all of us? Que my awesome neighbor Tahnie Roska! She came over with only five minutes notice and took some cute ones of all of us which was so lucky because a cute shot of the boys together was SO not happening today!

 This is what the reset of the pictures that I didn't post look like. Seriously.

Happy Halloween!

 Happy Halloween from the Bruderer Bunch!! We had another awesome party this year thanks to all of these great folks. They all pitched in so I didn't have to do it all on my birthday!

 Ghostie treats and monster mouth appetizers. I am finding that I am taking fewer and fewer pictures at this party every year. I think I my hands are a bit full these days!

 Oh  my darling boys . . .

 Ben desperately wanted to be a "ghost wife." No, that is not a typo. He wanted to be the "ghost light" like on the Mater Cartoon Short on the Cars Movie. But he is convinced it is the "ghost wife" and not the "ghost light." The cars in the movie play a trick on Mater and hang a lantern on his tow hook and convince him it is the "ghost light." Lucky for me Ben thinks it looks like a regular ghost. So all I had to do was whip out and old sheet and cut it up!

 Cole was an itsy bitsy spider . . .

 and I was his web!! Aren't we so cute together?

The biggest news is that Cole is officially walking!! Today was the first day that he started to prefer walking to crawling. It's so fun to watch him learn something new, but so sad to know that my baby is growing up!

 Ben did a costume change before his cousins came. He wanted to be a firefighter before he wanted to be a "ghost wife." So he had two costumes!

 Cousins!!

 Calvin and Weston were fearsomely adorable pirates.

 Sally came as Rapunzel. This is the absolute perfect costume for this girl! Check out her frying pan! LOVE IT!

 Watch out Cougars!! Adri is ready to take the field with the next generation of cheerleaders!

From left to right we have April: Halloween Diva, Halloween Marilyn or a wild Aunt Sheryl. The choice is yours. Jason as Wolverine and Amber as the Magic 8 Ball. She was legit. You could ask her questions and she pulled the answers out of her necklace!

 The softer side of Wolverine. Awwww.

 Pirate Daddy Scott Bruderer. When we went trick or treating all of the kids kept getting so excited about seeing the "real" Captain Jack Sparrow. Scott loved every minute of  it.

Farewell Halloween! We are already anxiously awaiting your return!