WARNING: This will be a long, all-over-the-place post as I attempt to cover the last few months of Raban living for our family. Here are some items worth mentioning:

Snow-- we didn't see a whole lot of snow, but we enjoyed it while it lasted for a few days mid-November:

Hunter's snow suit reminded me of the little boy from 'A Christmas Story' who couldn't put his arms down; it was fun to see him meet snow for the first time.

Christmas-- we had a great Christmas season. Even though Rusty and I kept our gifts simple for the boys (they each got 3 gifts), they were spoiled still as both sets of grandparents and other family members were in town. It was great to see many of our siblings and cousins, and the boys loved all the excitement of the season-- the tree, lights and decorations, and waiting for Santa.

Our tradition-- opening jammies on C-mas eve; me with 2 of my sisters

Hunter, the C-mas grump (after being scolded by g-ma); still sulking much later with daddy (he does the "mean look" really well)

Mason's Birthday- hard to believe, but this guy turned 4 on Jan. 8th. Can't imagine life without him! He is so happy and upbeat all the time (except for this one time I can remember). His favorite things to do are to put together puzzles and hang out with Cole. With only 17 months age difference, they are close, and I love that! Usually he loves to be around Cole (except for this one time that I can remember):

Here is the "one time I can remember"; Dressing up as Peter Pan around Christmas-time. Mason likes costumes.

Rusty's Birthday- Rusty turned the big "32" on Jan. 29th. What an old man! Actually, I'm 3 months older than him, so I guess I can't talk about age. The boys and I had a surprise planned for him that he'd briefly hinted at months before-- wanting his truck windows tinted. I had it all figured out, but getting it done was quite the challenge. To make a long story short, our 12:00 appointment that was supposed to take 2 hours (and was planned perfectly as we'd play with friends during that time), ended up taking until about 6pm. Fortunately, Rusty's parents were in the area and came to get the boys from me as I was stuck in the tinting place's lobby with the 3 boys (and their carseats and gear). It was much easier to wait alone, without trying to occupy my boys in a waiting room for 4 hours. I was unhappy with the waiting game and the unexpected changes, but Rusty had to work late that night so we still made it home before him and he was surprised, so our crazy day was worth it. We enjoyed dinner with his parents and brothers the next night. Low key and perfect. Happy Birthday to a great husband and father!

I should have done a before/after picture of his truck, but I forgot and only managed to capture this one a few days later.

Feeding baby cows- Rusty's mom helps distribute bread to some needy families and often ends up with more than she can handle. With them living out in Enumclaw, there are plenty of farm animals and farmers who take the left-overs. Jan 31st, we went with her to give some to a farmer, who in turn had us help him feed the newborn cows their bottles. The boys loved the animals we got to see. Cole and Mason wanted baby cow #10 to be theirs. "Why can't we have a cow?" Ummm, how do you explain to a 4 year old why a cow can't live at your house? They weren't buying any of the reasons I gave.

Mason gets glasses- Cole needed his '1 year since getting glasses' check up, so I just lumped on an appointment for Mason since we'd already be there. I didn't expect it, but Mason's eyes are very similar to Cole's-- they even have the same prescription, just Mason has a slight astigmatism. While Cole was at school, Mason and I went to choose out his glasses. I showed him the whole wall of children's frames and said he could choose any that he wanted. He quickly pointed at one saying, "I want that one!" I didn't care what he chose, as long as he liked them. I remember thinking that they looked similar to Cole's, but it wasn't until we picked them up a week later and got home, that we saw that they are the exact same. And with the same prescription, we've already had to color-code them for the boys. They really look like twins most days-- both so darn cute when they put on their glasses in the morning!

And luckily, we've ordered some back-up pairs. Their glasses sometimes take quite the beating from their rough-housing episodes.

Busy Body Hunter- I wanted to add a bit about Hunter. I can't believe that he will be 2 very soon. He is talking more, loves playing with his brothers, and is a lot of fun for us. But he is one busy kid, as anyone will tell you. He keeps me on my toes! We gave up naps months ago because he's been climbing out of his bed for that long, so unless he falls asleep while in the car... let's just say we have some long, rough days and just do the best we can 'til he crashes!

Before/During/After
I promise, Hunter was not harmed during this (despite the desperate look on his face). He recently got his first haircut/buzz. Sad to see the baby hair go, but it was all over the place and driving me crazy how I'd snip at all the little fly-away pieces whenever he wasn't looking. I'm hoping it grows back soon and a little more evenly this time.

A little about this kid's daily activities-- which mostly include climbing (on what, it doesn't matter) but usually pushing a chair to the counter and playing in the kitchen sink or cupboards. I know the sound of a chair going across the floor well, and headed to the kitchen the other day when I heard it. I was too late, and found a powdery mess. He'd found a box of doughnuts and was helping himself. When I grabbed the camera, he looked at me and stopped mid-bite to say "cheese". Funny kid-- always the entertainer!

Another thing Hunter likes to do is be in just his diaper, like many little kids. But the first thing he usually does without clothes is crawl in someone's bed and get under the covers, or grab a blanket and pillow and snuggle up with them on the floor somewhere. It's really cute to see, just wish somedays he would get sleepy while doing it-- say, around nap time!

Hey, I can wish, right?