Happy New Year

We rang in the new year in wild crazy fashion...with nana, bampaw, and aunt mal-mal! In all seriousness we did have a great night. We made pizza and had some appetizers. Mom and I had a couple glasses of champagne and Ben drank almost an entire bottle of sparkling grape juice...it is little wonder that he complained of hiccups and a horrible stomachache later in the evening!

The big hit of the night was the wii fit and guitar hero! We all enjoyed watching Ben and Nana show off their skills!!

My parents and Mal left around 10:30 and Ben passed out shortly thereafter. Dean and I barely made it awake to midnight and shared a quick kiss before passing out! Happy New Year!

Dean has been off work several days over the past week and we have spent lots of time together as a family. Ben has loved having his daddy home so much and asked him earlier in the week why he ever has to go back to work?

2008 was a good year for the Heavilands but we eagerly anticipate what 2009 has in store for us. I have several personal resolutions. For starters I (like everyone else in the world) want to be more healthy in 2009 and started by giving up all pop...I am on day 3 without my diet coke fix and despite horrible headaches accompanying the lack of caffeine I am hanging in there. My other big resolution is to be more present in my daily activities...meaning when I am with the boys, I want to be with the boys, totally focused on them and not on the laundry and housework that needs to be done or how much work there is to do. I sometimes lose focus on where my treasure lies and there is no doubt that the boys are my treasure and in 2009 I hope to remember that and refocus some of my energy on them.

Here are some pics showing what the monsters, I mean boys, have been up to this week.

Mom and Dad bought Joe this train for Christmas, which he LOVES. His new favorite thing to do is "push" Ben around the house. He often has pants on when doing this, but not here--

Joe's new favorite trick is cleaning out my kitchen cabinets while I make dinner. This would really get on my nerves...if he wasn't so flippin cute while he did it. He literally throws all my tupperware over his shoulder and laughs with glee at the destruction he causes. What a monster.

Speaking of the train and Joe being a monster...the other day he pushed his train over to Dean's chair, climbed on top of the train, climbed on top of the chair, and attempted to climb on top of the coffee table before I intercepted him. I told Dean that I fear our sweet little Joe is going to be our troublemaker. The kid has NO fear and is very determined and stubborn. Watch out for Joe Joe!

The Chaplin's bought Benny a transformers sleeping bag and tent for Christmas and it has been a big hit with both boys. If ever I cannot find one of them, I just check out the tent and they are usually huddled inside giggling and plotting mischief no doubt!