Magic House

Thank you cyber Monday deals.  The Magic House ran a special for half off their family memberships.  We took advantage of our new membership yesterday when all nine cousins met up for some fun.

The kids had so much fun exploring the exhibits and running around like kids should. 

The store was a big hit as was the explorers cove.  The kids loved this boat made from a tree trunk and they thought the tents were pretty neat too.

 

Max loves visiting the library, so I wasn't at all surprised when he played librarian.  I think the highlight of the trip was the bean stalk.  Max and his cousins must have climbed up and down that thing 100 times.  It was fun to watch.

 

Eight Months Old

And a couple days :)  We have been so busy having fun with all the cousins in town that I didn't get a chance to post Jack's eight month update. 

Jack loved all the attention of his aunts, uncles, and cousins.  He just ate it up and smiled at anyone willing to look his way. 

So let's see. . . what is new for Jack at eight months?  He is up to seven teeth - and I think the eight might be working it's way through the gum soon.  I don't think there could possibly be a happier baby in all the world.  Jack is content to play on his own, but loves it when one of his brothers joins him.  His favorite toy at this point is little people.  They are just the right size for his baby hands to hold and I think chewing on them is as good as any teether a baby could ask for. 

Jack is also a master roller.  He moves all over the room just by rolling.  Little by little his adding some scooching to his bag of tricks.  I've noticed that he seems to be very flexible and he has several different sitting positions that allow him to get what he wants without falling over.  I think soon he will be able to go from laying down to sitting up on his own - we aren't quite there yet.  I'm content for my baby to stay a baby just a little bit longer.  After all I remember just all the fun, and the not so much fun, that a crawling baby brings.  If Brian thinks I'm obsessive about sweeping the floors now, he hasn't seen anything yet!

Cousin Fun

What a fun evening!  We hosted dinner for all of Brian's family - which means all of the cousins came over!  All of the cousins is quite the feat considering one set of cousins lives on one coast and another lives clear across the country. 

The kids played outside in the yard for an hour or so before dinner.  Between the playset, swing, and the wagon all nine kiddos looked like they were having a great time.  Will was too funny.  He doesn't seem to mind that he is three years younger than all the other kids.  Whatever they were doing he was going to be right there in the thick of it.
 

Grandma and Grandpa were all excite to have all nine of their grandkids in one place, so of course we had to get a picture - or 50 - to document the occasion.  Can't to see what kind of cousin fun the kids have tomorrow!

Christmas Day

 Christmas Day was amazing!   We sang happy birhtday to Jesus - even though he is missing.  Max hid him somewhere and we can't find him. 

The boys woke up to this note from Santa.

 Max was so excited that he got what he asked for - a Lego train!  We spent an hour and a half putting the big engine together only to find out that the battery pack doesn't work.  A new one is being mailed from Denmark and will be here in 10 days.  Very frustrating!

 Will was all excited about his Pete the cat puppets and his four groovy buttons.  Pete is a favorite in our house.  If you ask Will if Pete cried he says 'oodness no' and it is so stinking cute!

 Jack thought his first Christmas morning was pretty great.  He loved all of his new books and his new puzzle was pretty great too.

 It doesn't get any better than spending Christmas morning with these four!

Jack was in great spirtits when we went to celebrate Christmas with the Dull's.  He was all smiles!

 Will loves hiding.  He thinks that if he can't see you, you can't see him.  He and daddy looked too cute playing their hiding game together.

 Of course there were more presents and lots of fun time with the cousins.

 And even more Pete!

Another amazing holiday spent with even better company.  I mean how does it get any cuter than this picture of our sweet nephew?  That look of pure joy is just priceless. 

Christmas Eve

Tuesday night we celebrated Christmas Eve with the Corso's.  Of course a great time was had by all - and we have lots of pictures to prove it!

 I love this little grin!!  Which is pretty good considering Jack was not a happy man most of the night.  He was one tired little guy and he really just wanted momma.

 The little boys did pose with Nonna, Uncle Mason, and Aunt Josie for a bit.  Jack was showing off just how much he wanted to go to bed.

 It cracks me up just how independent Will is.  He just makes himself right at home and if he needs anything he takes care of it himself - or he finds someone like sweet soon-to-be-cousin Marichu to help him get it.

 Just like the past three years we had to make sure Santa arrived to see us.  How would his reindeer know where to go unless we left them some food?  So Will and Max headed outside with Nonna to spread some reindeer food - AKA oatmeal - on the grass.  Will just dumped his all in one place and Max very carefully sprinkled his all over the grass.

 Sure enough before he knew it there was a knock at hte door!  It was Santa!  Max had no fear and was all excited to go see Santa and even more excited to see what Santa pulled out of his sack.

 Jack was pretty intrigued by the big guy.  He wasn't quite sure what to do with the present Santa gave him, so Max was more than willing to help him out.

Will wanted nothing to do with the whole thing.  At least he didn't cry the whole time he could see Santa.  He was one tired little man!  Once the celebration came to an end we put all three boys in their jammies and headed home. Yet another wonderful and memorable Corso Christmas!

Oh, Christmas Tree

I love Christmas trees.  They smell so homey and they light up the room so beautifully.  I would keep it up all year long if it was socially acceptable, if I didn't have three kids - and a cat - that keep playing with it, and if I didn't have to sweep up needles and water it each day.  Okay, maybe I am ready for the tree to leave my home, but I sure have enjoyed it.  The boys have loved it too!

 Max loved helping to decorate and he takes his job of putting on the star on the top very seriously.  He was also very excited to find all of the presents with his name on them.

 Our sweet little man in the middle couldn't get enough of the Christmas tree.  Or more accurately he couldn't get enough of hiding behind the tree.  We called Nonna and Nonno yesterday and he took the phone and hid behind the tree and refused to come out.  The longer the tree was out the fewer ornaments were on the lower third.  Will really liked checking out the ornaments up close.  Luckily Max was there to help and he would take the ornaments and relocate them a little bit higher on the tree.

This little sweetie also loved the tree.  He rolled over there every opportunity he had.  I couldn't leave him alone because he would disappear under the three and come out covered in needles.  Jack quickly realized that they didn't taste too yummy.  There weren't any ornaments within Jack's reach, but he sure did like grabbing that lowest  strand of lights.

Santa Take Two

We wanted to do something fun and festive with the boys so we headed to one of our very favorite places - the Transportation Museum.  What could be better than Santa and trains in one place!?

We were much more impressed with the trains this year.  All three boys were pretty impressed.

Max is an old pro at visiting with Santa at this point.  He walks right up, has a seat, and smiles for the picture.  He made sure to tell Santa that he would like a Lego train for Christmas. 

Will, not so into it.  Poor guy started crying as soon as he saw Santa sitting in his chair about 25 feet away.  Daddy held him the whole time just so we could get a quick picture.  Hopefully he will do better next year.

Jack was really intrigued by Santa's gloves and furry suit.  He tried taking a bite out of Santa's beard.  Silly boy.
 

 We were able to visit the Creation Station too.  Will cracked us up.  He loves their little kitchen.  His pretend play skills have really taken off lately and he was all excited to cook for us.  He found a tray of cookies so he put them in the oven.  Once he decided they were done, he took them out of the oven.  Daddy and Mommy asked if we could have a cookie and Will insisted that they were too hot.  He put them in the freezer and they were still too hot 30 minutes later.

Jack enjoyed playing on the floor too.  He modeled their cute little Santa hats and he loved the little bells.  Such a fun day with our boys!

Fun in the Snow

Yesterday morning we woke up to several inches of beautiful, fluffy white snow.  The kids couldn't wait to get out there to play in it.  Daddy was a trooper and shoveled and played with them outside for almost an hour and a half!  Luckily it really wasn't too cold, so everyone enjoyed themselves.  We bought sleds to give the boys for Christmas, but we couldn't help letting them enjoy their present just a tad bit early. 

They looked too cute all bundled up - Will in snow pants that are still way too big for him and Max in a pair that are way too small.  Didn't seem to faze them one bit.

Max loved sledding.  He must have gone down the hill in the back yard fifty times.  Will wasn't so wild about it.  In fact, he flat out refused to try it.  He did have a great time wandering around the yard in his snow boots.  He likes them so much that he hasn't worn any other shoes for the past two days.  These two just crack me up.

Breakfast with Santa

We headed to our old parish on Sunday morning to enjoy mass and breakfast with Santa.  Nonna and Nonno joined us for mass and it was crazy how good Will was throughout the whole thing.  Although I do think that the 40 minute mass helped in that regard. 

Aunt Carm and Uncle Mike joined us for breakfast, along with some cousins.  Can you tell that Max was just a tiny bit excited to see the man in the big red suit - and Chase and Jacob of course!

These boys just looked so darn cute together!

Will was all excited to wear his big boy shirt and sweater vest.  He is just looking so old lately.  I can't belive the changes in him in just the last few months.  Since Max had big boys to play with Will was able to monopolize the Nonna - and he loved it.

Jack was his typical, happy little self.  He just smiled and smiled - even when he was on Santas lap.  I can't believe how lucky we are!

And here it is, the yearly picture with Santa.  I seem to remember the same little guy crying in Nonna's arms last year too.  I love this picture - although I do have to say that Santa was a bit of a dud.  He didn't say a word to the boys and I had to actually prompt him to ask Max what he wanted for Christmas - a Lego train.  We will see!

Snow Day

This past Friday we got our first bit of snow for the season.  There wasn't too much out there, but Max was the lucky recipient of an official snow day.  Momma wasn't quite sure what she was going to do with three kiddos stuck in the house all day.  Max's first request was that we make it a pajama day.  That's easy enough, so the boys hung out in their jammies which seemed to make the day all the more special. 

Will cracked me up with this roll of wrapping paper.  He carried it around all morning.  He put it between his legs and 'neighed' all over the house.  He was the happiest little horse anyone could ever possibly ask for.

Jack was all excited to have not one, but two big brothers to play with.  They are just so much more fun that momma.

 
Max and Will wore Jack out which meant that he took a nice long morning nap.  Which gave the big boys and I time to make some salt dough ornaments.  We made little Santas last year and it was really fun, so I was looking forward to making some again this year.  Max was in charge of measuring and pouring.  Will supervised.

Any excuse to get out the mixer makes Will's day.  He gives me this super cheesy little grin whenever he is super excited.  So darn cute!

They both got to roll out their dough and cut out several ornaments with cookie cutters.  They had so much fun!  So far each ornament has one coat of paint and they are turning out pretty cute if I do say so myself.