On Call

One weekend when Rolf was on call, he jokingly told Liam that he could answer all of his pages for the night. Well as you can tell from the pictures, Liam took the job very seriously. Whenever Rolf's pager would go off he would walk over to me and say "phone please mommy... I call doctor back." This little guys has such a sweet and kind heart he would do absolutely anything to help out his daddy. He also pays attention to everything you say and rarely misses a beat. We really do have to watch what we say around him these days.  

Fireside

We absolutely love having a wood burning fireplace in our house. It has been so cold recently that we have been using it every chance we get. Liam is daddy's best helper and loves to do everything Rolf does when it comes to the fire. He loves to help break up all of the small sticks for the kindling, ball up the newspaper, and attempts to help with the firewood. One night Liam asked if we could roast marshmallows in the fire, something that he learned about in a Curious George story and well I was very happy to oblige. 

Yummy, yummy!

Snow Days

During the month of January we had several snowy days. Our first true snow came in early January and was just enough to cover the ground.  A few weeks later it snowed again and this time we got 9 inches.  Both times I was certain Rolf would at least have a delay but not luck given his status as an essential employee according to the federal government.  This means as long as the hospital is open and accepting patients Rolf has to be there.  This is of course very fortunate for his patients and very unfortunate for Liam and I who wanted him home to play.

Waiting...

Pool float by summer, snow sled by winter!!

Snowman #1

Snowman #2

The story of our day....

...the end.

Christmas at Mimi & Papa's

Christmas morning sure was an exciting one. We knew that Liam was well aware that "Santy Claus" was coming but didn't know if he was quite old enough to wake up with that "can't wait to get downstairs" excitement. Well he mostly certainly did and I found him jumping and dancing on the bed upstairs after I double checked to "make sure" that Santa Claus came (aka: got the video camera ready, put the battery back in the camera, started a pot of coffee, etc.) This was a tactic used every year by my father to drive us kids absolutely crazy! 

Peaking down the stairs at the crowd actually awaiting his arrival! I don't know who was more excited.

We were all making such a fuss over him he got a little nervous.

Leftover cookie and a note from "Santy Claus"

Trying to figure out how best to get all of the loot out of his stocking. I think if the hole had been a little bigger he might have climbed right in. 

In awe of Mimi's Christmas tree and especially excited that Mommy was asking him to touch the ornaments. 

Christmas Traditions

Last year we started the tradition with Liam of opening one special present on Christmas Eve, a tradition carried down from my family. My mom always gives matching pajamas on Christmas Eve and still does! Now for the "big" kids who will not let her out of it and the little kids who actually look cute in matching pajamas. Not wanting to steal her tradition, we started one of our own which is opening a special Christmas book. This year given our fascination with trains, we thought it appropriate for Liam to get the Polar Express and he absolutely loved it.

A Graning Family Christmas

This year Rolf was able to take a week of leave for Christmas and we took advantage of that week by heading to North Carolina to spend some much needed time with family. We spent the first part of the week in Sylva with Rolf's entire family we celebrated an early Christmas with us on the Tuesday before Christmas. I did a horrible job of taking pictures while we were in Sylva so here are just a few from our time there.  

Liam absolutely loves his Uncle Charlie. They both share a fascination with trains!

Don't let this picture fool you, these two can definitely cause some trouble. 

Christmas on the Farm

This year we tried to take advantage of the many Christmas festivities that the DC area has to offer. Early in December we headed out to a community farm in Derwood, Maryland, for a Christmas hayride and open house. Liam had a great time going on the hayride, climbing on the tractor, and checking out all of the farm animals. I was even able to talk my boys into posing for a little Christmas card picture!

Merry Christmas from the Graning Family!