Merry Christmas

Brody and Chase had a very Merry Christmas. We started the fun a few days early by visiting with Uncle Tom and Grandma Moran. Grandma Moran is always a gracious hostess. Now we know where Mimi and Mommy get it.

The weekend before Christmas, Grandma and Grandpa Sheffer came down to visit and stayed with us. They are always a big help and it is fun to stay up and chat with the night owls.

On Christmas Eve, Grandma Thomas came over for breakfast and to open presents. We enjoyed Laura's World Famous Baked French Toast (at least it should be world famous). She loves to see the boys open their presents. Brody is so polite. He is even happy and thankful when he is opening clothes that she has bought him.

We went to Christmas Eve Mass at St Anthony's then on to The Costa's for dinner. The boys had a great time playing with Dylan. They are eagerly awaiting his little brother's arrival.

After the boys opened their gifts from Santa Claus, Laura's family came over and we had another batch of her World Famous Baked French Toast. It was a great time. Christmas Afternoon we went over to the Melnicoff House for the Annual Beef Tenderloin Feast which hit the spot as always!

Thanksgiving

We took our annual trip up to visit the rest of the Melnicoff Family in Port St. Lucie for Thanksgiving. We have wonderful tradition of visiting with family on Wednesday night at the Residence Inn where we stay (great hotel, terrific happy hour buffet), playing golf on Thursday morning with the guys, and enjoying Grandma's feast and watching football with family Thursday afternoon. It is always a highlight of the year.

Also, the week before Thanksgiving, Brody's class had a wonderful lunch celebration. It was a really fun time that gave us an opportunity to visit with Brody's classmates and their parents.

Halloween

Brody and Chase had a great Halloween night. Brody was a doctor and Chase was Derek Jeter. They went Trick or Treating in Coral Ridge with Jack and James.

Disney World

This past weekend we took a trip to Disney World. This time it was a big family trip with Laura's family. We were actually able to hit all four major Disney parks. The added bonus for the adults was the Epcot Food and Wine Festival (although Epcot also has the best meet and greet with Mickey and his friends).

We started off on Thursday night at Epcot listening to Gin Blossoms and enjoying the lamp chops in Australia and the filet in South Africa while also fitting in a trip to see Mickey. Friday, we went to Magic Kingdom and managed to fit in another trip to Epcot on Friday night. Saturday morning, we went to Animal Kingdom which was terrific. The safari is one of the highlights in all of Disney World. Saturday afternoon, we watched the Gators beat up on the Gamecocks followed by some Uno pizza and the Canes-Seminoles game. Sunday morning, we finished up the weekend by going to Hollywood Studios which is also one of our favorites. The boys love the Disney Junior live show. We had a great weekend and really lucked out with the weather.

Brody and Chase Update

Quick update on the boys. Brody is doing really well in his PK3 class. His number recognition is terrific and he grasps the idea of addition and subtraction (he is funny when he is using his fingers to add and subtract). We are working on his drawing and coloring. We have been trying to correct the way he holds the crayon and improve the strength in his fingers to grip the crayon. No surprise that he isn't the best with drawing or coloring since neither of his parents are all that artistic.

Chase recently moved up to the toddler room at his school and has made great strides. Its funny because we remember Brody developing very quickly when he finally moved up with the big boys in the toddler room and it seems that Chase is going along the same path. Chase is doing a great job of using a fork and spoon (makes me think he will do better with drawing and coloring). He also is sitting in the chair at the table to eat in his toddler room.

Brody had lots of fun making his first paper airplane with Daddy. Now, when he is done coloring he asks if we can make an airplane with the paper we colored on. There are also some pictures and a video of Brody with his stethoscope checking on Chase and Mommy.

Chase Finally Walking

Much like his older brother, Chase has been a little slow to walk. He took some steps about a month ago, but has never really extended it by more than a few steps. He stands up on his own, but won't take steps. Whereas, Brody never would stand up in the middle of the room on his own.

Last night, we had a bit of a breakthrough. Chase took quite a few steps. He also stood up on his own and kept walking rather than going down to his knees and to crawl like usual.