Merry Christmas to All!

Wishing you all a very merry day!

 

With Love,

 

The Bolger Fam

 

Happy Birthday, Bunster

Ben informed us on Sunday night as he was going to sleep that the following day was Bunster's 4th birthday. For those of you that don't know Bunster, he is Ben's beloved bunny. He made sure to relay from Bunster that the bunny really wanted a cupcake to celebrate. So... it's 10:00pm on a Sunday night and Jeff and I finally get a sick Brody to bed and are trying to come up with some way of decorating so that when Bunster wakes on his birthday, he gets excited. Great plan, we thought, let's go with it.

 

So... a roll of streamers and some impromptu decorations later, we were all set for the big day. Ben and Bunter woke up, we sang, he opened a birthday present and then blew the candle out and made a wish. If this doens't go down in the "going the extra mile to put a smile on your kid's face" hall of fame, then I don't know what does.

 

Happy 4th Birthday to Bunster!

 

Hot Chocolate

We aren't really sure why but Ben has been obsessed with hot chocolate recently. Not that he has had it before but obsessed none-the-less. So, 'tis the season yadda yadda yadda we made hot chocolate this past Sunday. Marshmallow and all. Now for those of you that don't have active, hyper little boys, you won't appreciate this but we were strategic in our timing on the hot chocolate. WELL before bed time because chocolate and sleep don't go hand in hand for 3 year old boys. In fact, hot chocolate was his afternoon snack... he loved it, of course. We may have created a monster with this one...

 

Family Pictures

We did family pictures a month or so ago and happened upon the prettiest sunset. We got some great pics but this is definitely my fav...

 

Brotherly Love

Ben and Brody are starting to get along pretty well. Ben used to pretend Brody didn't exist but now that Ben can make Brody laugh, Ben is pretty into it... sometimes. We got the boys matching PJs and as you can see, Brody is totally digging his big brother. He is always staring at Ben and smiling at him and laughing at his funny sounds. I have a feeling these little boys will grow to be besties.

 

Brody is 5 months old today!

Today is Brody's 5 month birthday and what a 5 months it has been! This little guy is probably the 'smile-iest' most 'giggle-iest' baby in the world. He is very happy and VERY active, we can definitely tell this guy will keep us on our toes once he is mobile. He is rolling over, no problem, these days and the scary thing is that he is trying to crawl when he is on his tummy. He isn't getting too far but a mobile-Brody scares us a bit... in a good way, but still scary.

 

Happy 5 months, Brod-ster!

 

Santa Santa Santa

Brod-ster and I were doing some last minute holiday shopping and ran into Gommie at the mall. The following picture is what happened next... We weren't too fond of this Santa, seemed a little self-medicated, if you catch my drift. Hence, Santa in the background far from the baby...

 

Merry Christmas Eve!

 

Dress Up

For some reason, Ben has been pretty interested in mittens and scarves this past month. We have no clue why. So, not only did he ask Santa for a pair of mittens and a scarf but he found my scarf supply and went to town dressing up with Bunster.

 

Santa, Part 2!

Every December, Santa flys into Carmel Valley in a helicopter. For a little boy obsessed with helicopters, planes and rockets, this is the highlight of his season and this year did not disappoint. Santa landed right in front of Ben and gave Ben a hug. Brody slept thru the whole thing but Ben sure had a great time!

 

Santa is about to touch down...

 

 

Ben waiting patiently...

 

 

Santa in the helicopter about to get out and give Ben a holiday hug!

 

Santa!

This past Saturday, the boys got to visit Santa twice. That Santa sure is a busy man in December. Here is their annual picture with Santa. Ben was jazzed about getting a candy cane if he smiled nicely and told Santa he would like a scarf and mittens. Brody, as you can see in the pic, is warning all of the other kids in line to back off because Santa is his!

 

"Gingerbread" House

Maxine and Leo Bussi came this past weekend and of course, the kids had a great time! Ben and Maxine even decorated a "Gingerbread" house (actually made of rice krispie treats).

 

Big boy!

Brody is now 4 1/2 months and growing like crazy! We went to his 4 month appointment and he is measuring in the 43rd percentile for weight (15lbs, 3.5oz) and the 94th percentile for height (26.5 in). He is the smiliest and happiest baby ever and so darn alert!

 

Best part of Christmas is...

It is totally the cookies!

 

Here we go...

With Thanksgiving complete, we jumped right into the Christmas & Hanukkah decorating. Jeff did an excellent job of lighting up the house. One of these years, we will go Griswold style but we are still trying to make a good impression on the neighbors so maybe next year...

 

Thanksgiving 2012

Thanksgiving sure did come and go quickly and now, somehow, it is the Christmas season. But to recap Turkey Day, 2012, here goes...

 

Jeff challenged me to complete the Toro Park Turkey Trot. It was a 5k (3.1miles) at 8:00am on Thanksgiving morning. He said he would be able to beat me so of course, my competitive side came out. Granted it was a short distance but I still trained like crazy the 2 weeks before because there was NO way I was going to let him win. And you know what... I won! Yep, sure did! It may have only been by a nose, and well, he was pushing the two boys in a 60lb-ish Bob stroller but I totally won!

 

 

Then we went to Gommie and Papa's for the feast with my brother and his family. Ben even wore the turkey crown he made. Written on the feathers of the crown were the things he was thankful for... Airplanes (shocker there), popcorn (the boys does love popcorn), teeny tiny airplanes (of course), lettuce (huh??!), travis (double huh??!) and so on...

Quick golf break between turkey and dessert...

 



Yep, he is totally rocking a bow tie, thank you very much! Too cute!

 



Last Soccer Game of the Season

Mid November marked the last Pee Wee soccer game of the season. Who knows if we won or lost, they don't keep score and really, with 3-4 year olds, it is just chaos. But... fun chaos. Ben had a great season and looks forward to next autumn when he will be one of the bigger boys on the team!

 

Nice form, ehe?!

 

 

Half time hug

Brody is an excellent cheerleader for his big brother...

 



Award time!

 



 

Celebration time!

Really?!?

I went to peek on Ben during his nap a few weeks back and found him in this position. Seriously?! He can sleep like this?! Just beyond me so I had to document it...

 

Gilroy Gardens Festivities

We went to Gilroy Gardens the weekend before Halloween with the Goines and Koontz families. The kids dressed up and rode all the rides and had a great time.

 

Here, Ben and Jake are showing off their awesome costumes.

 

 

Mom and Ben got to ride the balloon ride together...

 

Khloe Koontz decided not to go on the balloon ride but watched the boys soar high...

 

It was a hot day which means an ice cream cone is pretty much a requirement.

The boys LITERALLY walked around the whole park holding hands... I am not lying. It was the cutest thing ever. Of course, they will both hate me for posting this in a few years but oh well. It was that cute, I just had to...

 



Halloween Catch Up

It's been a long time since we've updated the blog because November was a bit of a sad month with the passing of Sophie Lou. But, we are feeling better and ready to recount what has gone on the last few weeks.

 

We never did post about Halloween so here goes... talk about a blast from the past... We had a little Halloween party for a few of Ben's friends and their parents because the neighborhood we live in goes bonkers over Halloween and trick or treating. So... we figured why not!?!

 

Ben's Jack o Lantern is the smallest one of the left. He did it himself!

 

 

Skeleton veggie tray for the party...

 

Jack O Lantern pizza...

 

and Mummy dogs!

 

Brody, aka cutest giraffe ever, decided it was bottle time literally as we were walking out the door to trick or treat. So... have bottle, will travel...

 

Ben got to trick or treat with his good buddy, Emerson, and had a great night and scored lots of candy (that Mom and Dad may or may not have eaten while Ben was sleeping...)

The end of an era

It is with heavy hearts that we write this tonight. We wanted to let you know, all who have known and loved Sophie Lou, that she is no longer with us. The day started one way and turned out in a completely different direction than intended and as it turns out, our sweet Sophie Lou had inoperable and incurable cancer on her heart and liver.

 

Our house is beyond words sad tonight since she was our baby before Ben and Brody came into our lives. When we rescued her in December 2005, "Poochie" (as she was named then) was as scrappy and feisty as any dog could be. So, we renamed her Sophia Louise Jacobs Bolger, a dignified name for her new classy and sassy self... but true to her last few minutes, she never ever lost her feistiness.

 

A few of our more memorable times with Sophie was when she was kicked out of obedience school for trying to fight Billie, the 80 pound pit bull... keep in mind that Sophie was 16 pounds at her heaviest fighting weight. She's been known to nip people for interrupting her precious nap time and never met another dog that she liked other than the shi-tzus up the road. Nicknamed 'Cranky Aunt Lou' by neighbors and friends, our house feels a bit empty tonight. Please say a little prayer for our fabulous and feisty Sophie Lou who will be greatly missed but whose memory will always be cherished.

 

Pee Wee Soccer

So, we've posted still pics of Ben's pee wee soccer games but the still pics don't really capture the chaos and total pandemonium on the field. Take a peek at this video from start to finish. It is a smidge long but will give you a good idea of what Ben's pee wee soccer games are like. This is a 2 minute video but for the most part, this is how the entire 20 minute matches go. What this video doesn't show you is that Ben had just gone up to the ref, during play time, to first, give him a feather he found on the field and then a few minutes later, still during play time, to tell the ref that the ball was dirty and needed to be cleaned.

 

Ben is #4 in the turquoise jersey. The little boy in the red fleece is Marco who is also on his team and the girl running in and out of the shot is his friend from KinderJam, Catherine...

 

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!

 

 

(Here are our Bolger Jack-o-lantern masterpieces to celebrate the big day!)

Ben's 1st (Pre) School Pic

 

 

Almost Winter...

There is a pretty good chance that this past weekend was our last weekend of warmth and sun... As of Monday, the rain and wind are supposed to start. So, we packed the boys up and went for a walk on the rec trail to soak up our last bits of sun. The seals were out, the rocks were screaming to be climbed on and the boys (for the most part) were in a great mood.

 

Although we are sad to see summer go, it has been quite the past 3 months!