As you can see, we were all very much entertained.
I believe there were 8 cousins all together and they managed to play so well together. 
They even worked up quite an appetite and all the kids managed to eat a little something. My kids opted to eat dessert, of course! 
We are so glad you were all able to visit and we hope you had as much fun as we did. 
February 9th - Connor was so happy to go to school on his birthday. He brought in munchkins to share with his classmates and even brought in Oreo cookies for his extended day friends. He was so excited and felt so special the whole day. They made him the special crown below, sang Happy Birthday and enjoyed all his treats for snack time. Five months of preschool and Connor has blossomed into a confident and caring young man.
The weekend before his birthday we spent some time baking which of course the kids love - although I am starting to think I could just give them the scoops of frosting instead of an actual cupcake. My two little sweet tooths were so ready for the birthday celebration.
Garrett sat attentively at the table waiting for a cupcake...nothing has changed over the past year - he loves his sweets. Although he missed using Uncle Scott as his napkin to wipe his hands on.
The gifts just kept on coming. Connor received so many presents it was unbelievable.
I think Grandma bought out the whole toy store. He was so happy because it was exactly what he wanted.
Then, Brian and I gave him some presents - the hit was his Star Wars swords. This is what began our nightly Star Wars battles complete with light sabers and swords. It didn't take them long to figure out how to skillfully sword fight and somehow we have escaped any injuries...knock on wood.
The weekend went so fast it was truly amazing. Blink and it was over. To be honest, you can imagine how busy we were when I didn't even get many pictures taken. No matter what - this mistake will never occur again. When everyone was packing up to leave, we made sure we took some parting pictures. The boys just love Isobelli and can't wait till she is running around with them. 
Somehow Isobel slept through getting kissed multiple times and big hugs. It is amazing to see the warmth and love from little children. I am proud of how gentle and sweet my boys are with little Isobel. 
As always the boys had so much fun making the cupcakes and couldn't wait to dive in. 
There are certain moments you look back and realize how special you feel for having such great kids. Other than making Daddy a birthday cake, the boys had one other priority - to buy Daddy a birthday present. So, they requested that we bring them to the toy store. After walking around the toy store for about an hour, they picked out some Star Wars action figures. I think Daddy had a great low key birthday because what is better than the love of your children.
It took Garrett a long time to make himself feel at home - a little less than five minutes.
The boys love Isobel - they were so gentle and loving.
As you can see, Isobel brought smiles to all of our faces.
Uncle Scott and Aunt Laura were prepared for the boys. It was like a second Christmas with so many presents under the tree just for them. Well, don't get me wrong - there were tons of presents for all of us. They were so excited to receive their remote control cars - we brought them downstairs so we didn't torture Graham. Not only did we open presents but we also had Christmas dinner which was delicious. 
The Winter Festival on the Navy Pier was in full swing so we decided to give Scott and Laura a break/some peace and quiet. When we arrived, we couldn't imagine the enormous event we were walking into. First of all, the Navy Pier is an event in itself - the stain glass is absolutely beautiful.
The Winter Festival was a gigantic indoor winter experience - ice skating, bouncy houses, Ferris wheels, slides, trains and rides. We couldn't believe they fit all of this indoors, plus the decorations were phenomenal. 
Garrett took a liking to a particular slide. The only issue was that I took him to the top and he went right down by himself. However, there was a maze which brought you to the slide and it was the only way to get back down. Since there was no one at the bottom of the slide and I didn't think my plan out, I went running through the maze to get back to Garrett. I basically ran over little kids and parents and when I was almost to the end - here comes Garrett walking up the ramp with a huge smile on his face. I was so thankful he was so smart and couldn't believe how dumb I had been - lesson learned. As you can see, he loved the slide!
Connor was fascinated by all the different rides and decided he had to go on the train. Daddy waited in line with him and he went on the ride all by himself. He loved the train as it went through tunnels and past Christmas trees and bears.
As you can see there was even a full size skating rink indoors and the kids loved watching everyone skate around. 
The carousel and the ball pit was some of their favorites. Here are my boys after they got off the carousel and they wanted to pose for Grandma. 
Another day Uncle Scott brought us to the Goodman Theatre to show Connor a run through of the sets, lights and music of the Christmas Carol. It was also Isobel's first trip to her daddy's work. The kids loved the theater and took everything in - of course, there were lots of questions to follow.
I am sure I have forgotten something along the way. It was a really fun visit and it was really hard to leave because I wasn't sure when we would see Isobel next. 
They headed straight for the train table and immediately started playing.
When they turned around, they finally noticed all the presents under the tree. It didn't take them long to start tearing all the wrapping paper off their presents.
There was no stopping their progress and as we all know watching their faces light up and listening to them speak with excitement was enough for us.
A new train for the new tracks. Garrett really was excited about everything.
Before going to bed, Connor set out some snacks for Santa and his reindeer. In case they had some spare time, he set up a small game of memory for them to play. As you can see, Santa even found some matches before he went back to work.
The boys played for hours in the family room and it was so much fun to watch them enjoying all their new toys. While they were playing, I was trying to navigate how to make Christmas dinner. Well, that is a bit of an exaggeration. We purchased an already made Christmas dinner but I had a lot of heating up to do including the turkey. I am happy to report I didn't burn anything and it actually came out quite good. It was our first Christmas at home and we definitely had a blast. Thank you boys for always being the life of the party and to Daddy who did all the leg work. 
All the kids were so attentive and were so excited.
Garrett's name was called first. Santa knew all about him going to Gymboree and Garrett just stared up at him speechless.
When Connor was called, Santa told him that Zachey (our Christmas elf) told him that he had been such a good boy. Connor couldn't believe that Santa knew about Zachey. If you are thinking I have gone mad, please refer to the book Elf on the Shelf.
Since there was so much going on, it was difficult getting the boys to stand together for a picture but I tried very hard because how often do kids get dressed up. They looked so cute and were such little men throughout the party and during the Boston Symphony performance which we attended after the party. They are growing up so fast. It is moments like this where you wish you could freeze time for a little while.