I heard the Bells on Christmas Day

Santa came to our house this year!  So did the UPS driver baring gifts from 4 grandmas and 3 grandpas. Not to mention gifts from all our neighbors who also treat Berkeley as an adopted grandson.

Berke was OVER STIMULATED by all his presents this year.  He was just so excited to have so many new toys. 

 Here is his new balance bike.  

 DAISY!  He's in love, this doll and his sleeping bag, and his cars, and his race track, and his doctor kit, and his camping play set, and his Wii Carnival game, and..... may be his favorite.  Daisy is the last of his Disney pals that he didn't have; now the family is complete.  Daisy hasn't left his side all day and Berke loves her "cute purple bow."

 No Christmas would be complete without an instrument or two at the Gentry house.  Berkeley got a fun trumpet and a small drum set this year.

Berkeley has been asking for skateboard all year.  I guess Santa listened cause he brought him this cool Spiderman skateboard!  He also got a boogy board for the ocean in the summer too.

Berkeley had such a wonderful Christmas.  

He was very loved and it's clear that his family loves him oodles (and Christian and I for that matter!)

McDuff also got some serious Christmas love this year.  He got a new reversible jacket, a new tag for his collar from his doggy pal across the street, 3 boxes of treats from various neighbors, a fox and a squeaky bone.  He is licking his chops from the delicious raw hide candy cane he just devoured.

Christian was very happy with his new:

Soda machine

Kureg

socks

Bow ties and skinny tie

books

documentary

sleeping bag

hot pads

shirt and jeans

Laci loves her new:

kindle

bras

tea kettle and tea

infinity scarfs

Wii Hip hop dance game (I will play as soon as my broken toe heals!)

sleeping bag

dutch oven

hands towel

pandora charm

We had a wonderful day together as a family.  We opened presents, ate monkey bread and fruit, played with toys, took a nap, ate more, played more, read new books, watched Where the Wild Things Are (I may have cried), skyped with family, talked with family on the phone, cleaned up a bit, watched The Lorax and ate some more.  Great times!

Twas the Night Before Christmas

We hosted our sixth Christmas Eve party last night.  We had 30 people crammed into our small and humble abode; but it was filled with love and nobody spent the night alone, which is really all that matters.  

We had a fun photo booth this year.  Berkeley makes quite a darling Santa, don't you agree?

 The Gentry Family Christmas photo for 2012! 

 A fine looking crew.

 Our Nativity Cast

It's never easy to pull off a show this big with 10 children, only one being older than 4 years.  I think the kids did a terrific job however.  Berkeley was the role of Wise Man this year, he graduated from the shepherd role he held last year.  The play was complete with sheep, narrator and many a Christmas carol being sung by our unphoto'd Heavenly Choir. 

 Mary and Joseph were quite adorable this year.  Mary did throw Baby Jesus down on the ground once and may have been strangling him a bit during the show, but for only being 3 she sat still for quite a long time before saying, "I'm done!"  Joseph was a real trooper; accepted all of the gifts from the Wise Men with much poise.  While he refused to hold baby Jesus (it is after all not really his biological child and he's still getting used to this whole idea of being the father to Jesus), who can blame him?

 Christian always provides nice piano playing while we sing songs during the nativity and then more merriment afterward.

 Merry Christmas from the Ladies

  and the Gents!

 It was quite a fun night and I hope good times were had by all.  Christian had a good time, but still needed a little drink at the end of the night from all the excitement!

It's the most wonderful time...

I love everything leading up to Christmas!  How can you not love the month of December, other than I am completely exhausted from over committing myself to way too many things.?!  

One weekend we traveled downtown to see the lights and light show at Faneuil Hall.  We took a family ride on the train and chilled downtown (literally and figuratively). 

 There were many beautiful Christmas trees and lights everywhere.  It was well worth the trip.

 There was a light show every 30 minutes set to music.  It was great to see all the lights correspond with the music being played.  Berkey was loving it!

 We visited a cute Christmas shop and picked up our yearly ornaments; Berke got a Micky Mouse playing a drum and Christian and I got a cute Country Music one with a guitar and banjo.  The night was basically the best cause I got to hang out with these two gems.

 I attended my sixth annual wreath making party put on by the Cambridge first ward.  I cannot believe this was my sixth Christmas in Boston!

I took two of my sweet neighbors with me and they had a great time.  I am truly blessed to have the BEST neighbors in the WORLD!! Gotta love Charlotte and Sis.

 Our finished products!  

 This year my brother is Afganistan for Christmas.  I had an overwhelming amount of support from friends who donated food and money to send to him and his officer friends.  My brother got the loot a few days before Christmas; it made me miss him so badly.  

I also was privileged to attend the Boston Ballet's Nutcracker with some friends this year as well.  It was the best performance I have seen of the Nutcracker; truly amazing.  Berkey has been obsessed with the Nutcracker this year and has informed me that I must take him next year.  I'll admit the little girls in dresses with their mommies where adorable; I'm thinking dressing up Berke fancy pants next year could be equally as cool.  I also decided my skinny little man could def be a ballerina; he has the body type for sure and he loves to dance.   

Thirty two

My birthday was a week long event this year.  Falling on a Tuesday apparently gives you all week to celebrate! My actual birthday was a long work day that was brightened by my husband sending me flowers, coming home from work early to bring me dinner and a Just Dance Party on my new Wii with some of my gal pals.  

 Friday Night my friend Kate and I had a joint birthday celebration with some of our closest friends.  We went to a fabulous restaurant right out of the '20's called Cuchi Cuchi.  Everyone was able to get drinks (they have a large assortment of virgin cocktails) and dessert.  It was fun to see everyone get dressed up and go out for a really fun and special girls night out.

 Bonnie, Laci, Megan

 Kate, Gwen, Leslie

 Lisa, Marci, Aubrey

 Girly time

 Courtney and Elizabeth

 The next morning I was forced able to run with my ladies in the snow, on a cold yet enchanting jont along the Charles River.  I love this run, but am sad it is getting cold and am not sure how much longer I will be running outdoors.

 Saturday night we went on a double date with G and Stef to a fun place called Trina's Starlight Lounge which had some of the most delicious food my mouth has experienced in some time.  We had a fun night full of laughing and dancing (on the Wii).

Thirty two feels old; older than I felt at thirty one, but I feel happy with life and blessed to have my life full of so many rich and wonderful relationships.

A Christmas Story

I am always getting told that Berkeley looks like "The boy from A Christmas Story" or "The boy from Jerry McGuire." I always figure it is because he has blond hair and glasses, but never felt there was any real resemblance.  

I came across some wrapping paper I have with Ralphy from A Christmas Story a couple weeks back; I was shocked at what a resemblance there was between Ralphy and Berkey; I did a side by side, and as you can see it is a dead ringer!

We decided to watch this show as a family last weekend to introduce Berkeley to his dopple ganger; every time Ralphy came on screen, Berke would ask, "Is that me?"

It was all fun and games, until Raphy started beating up the bully in the movie and Berkeley asked, "Is he killing that bad guy?"I did my best to explain to a three year old the complex dynamics in that scene that he could not possibly understand.  I'm not sure that he got the right message, so I can chalk that one up as a parenting fail, but other than that part, he appeared to enjoy the movie.

The next morning Berke was playing with the tape dispenser and Christian asked him to give it to him. Berke's response was priceless, "No way, Old Man!"  Clearly we have a little Ralphy in the making.

Now we just have to find a huge sexy leg lamp and our family will be complete (minus the little brother, but I am sure John could fit that role).

Beacon Hill Holiday Stroll

Thursday evening we headed to Beacon Hill in Boston; one of the most adorable places on earth. They were having their annual holiday stroll and I wanted to start feeling some Christmas magic.  All the shops had the most decadent and lavish Christmas windows, it was fun to walk by and just enjoy it. The old fashion gas lights also added an extra special touch.  

They had Victorian Carolers, a strolling brass quartet, a hand bell choir and horse and buggy rides.  

Clearly Santa made an appearance on this special night.  Berkeley and Jonas were afraid yet intrigued by the jolly ole fellow.

The tree lighting was a bit anticlimactic; anyone can put some white lights on a tree and light it up.

We strolled along with our friends Rich and Leslie and their children.  

Then we had a nice horse and buggy ride.  Berke was very excited to go on horse and buggy...until he saw how gigantic the horse was. I talked him into it anyhow, and he loved it.  Charlie the big white horse instantly became his friend and he talked about him all the next day.

Brooke, our dear friend, was here on a business trip and made it just in time for the buggy ride.

I just love this time of year.

John

Upon our return from New York we put up our Christmas tree.  Berkeley has been asking to put up the Christmas tree for nearly two weeks, so he was thrilled to put it up finally.  It was exciting to see how excited he was about all things Christmas; I honestly have lived for these days!  I love the magic of Santa, Christmas trees, angels and Baby Jesus.  It is fun to see my sweet son get so excited as he learns about each of these things.  

This year not only did Berkeley help us put up our Christmas tree, but also his imaginary friend John.  John has been around for a few months; what I know about him is that he is a "worker," "has time" to play with Berkeley and likes to play soccer.  He generally comes with us when we travel and has always been friendly, although he often gives Berke permission to do things that his parents tell him he cannot do.

Berkeley often asks us questions on John's behalf, as he too has an inquisitive mind.

Last night we experienced Berkeley "become" John during the tree decorating.  He informed us that Berkeley was at hockey practice, so he was going to help us put ornaments on the tree.  John was a great helper, and overall, very friendly.  He appeared to share the Christmas excitement with Berkeley.  When Berkeley came back from playing hockey, he informed me that John really loves our "beautiful home" and would like to stay with us.  I agreed to let John stay since he has proven to be such a pleasant young man.  Berkeley often talks to John as he is falling asleep at night; they giggle and sing together.  Berke is a bit bossy to John, telling him what he can and cannot do. 

It is quite simply adorable.

It really has been fun and interesting to see Berkeley's imagination run wild.  I try to be in the world he is in, to encourage this play.  He seems to enjoy it so much that just last week he got a new imaginary friend named Hawkeye.  He is clearly an Avenger and is not a good listener; when I tell he cannot come to daycare with us, he jumps in the car with us, when I tell him not to walk on the ceiling he does so anyway.  (This makes Berke laugh for hours (aka eggs him on)).  Hawkeye, as Berke puts it, is a "nice, bad guy." I'm still out as to if I am a fan of Hawkeye or not.  It really is hard to keep up with all these imaginary friends, yet amazing as to how I like some of them so much more than others.

Do your kids have imaginary friends?  I don't remember ever having one, but I sort of love that my son has one (or two).

Give Thanks

Over the summer our friends moved to Wisconsin.  We were not happy about this move AT ALL, however had decided at that time we would all meet up at Ryan's parents house in New York for Thanksgiving. 

We drove to Queensbury, NY on Tuesday evening and were welcomed graciously by Bonnie and Rue to stay at their home so we could spend time with our lovely friends! Bonnie & Rue were the best!  They fed us, housed us, laughed with us, and watched our kid so we could shop, and date.

The gang

Nikki and RyRy gave Berke this awesome puzzle as an early Christmas present; we had a lot of fun putting it together.

We all ran the Saratoga Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving morning.  It was a chilly 5k that started out 1.5 miles uphill and ended 1 mile downhill.  It was fun to run a race with Christian again, something we haven't done for 2 years!

Berkeley and Eloise played just like siblings.  Sometimes they loved each other and other times they refused to share their precious toys with one another.  Eloise grew so much since we last saw her, she is walking and talking so much.  She has very good speech for her age and went around asking for "Berka B"  it was pretty adorable.

Thanksgiving day warmed up to 55 degrees and was beautifully sunny.  We ventured out to the huge backyard to play in the leaves.  We loved throwing and rolling in the leaves, especially the kiddos.

The feast itself was naturally delicious.  Berkeley loved the rolls (and only the rolls).  We, like the rest of America, ate too much food and then shoveled some pie in just (what felt like) moments after.

Nicole is one of my best shopping partners, so we did lot of that.  We hit the outlets nearby and shopped and dined in the adorable city of Saratoga.  We even got to go on a double date and see the movie Lincoln (which was wonderful, but not a great movie to watch at 10:00 at night).  We played the Wii and even sat on Santa's lap.

It was so great to spend time with some our favorite friends.  We had such an amazing time. 

We are thankful for the many family and friends that we are blessed to have.

More Kid Stories

Berkeley has been saying the cutest things lately. I just want to write some of them down so I don't forget:

  Yesterday, Berke was really looking forward to his friend Lily coming over for a play date.  He has been talking about her for weeks and clearly misses her a lot.  We set it up and he was really excited.  I got a call in the morning from Lily's mom stating she was sick with the flu and wouldn't be able to come over.  I knew this was going to break my little boys heart; I told him the news in the sweetest way I could, explaining that Lily was really sick and didn't want to get him sick.  He had tears in his eyes and was completely devastated.
  Flash forward a few minutes later; Christian was telling me about how in his country music class at NEC they analyzed Tim McGraw's Don't Take the Girl.   Christian started singing the song and then turned to Berkeley and said, "Berke, Don't take the girl!" Berkeley looked at him in disgust and said, "I wont take the girl; she's sick!"

Tonight we brought our friend's dinner.  It was Berkeley's friend Q and when we got home he asked if Q had a baby.  We said yes he had a baby sister named Madeline.  He then asked if Owen had a baby sister, we answered yes and her name is Evie.  He then said, Jonas has one too, what's her name.  We told him the name and then asked if Lily had a baby sister and we said, yes, her name is Cali.  I said, not everyone has a baby sister, like his friend Soren didn't have one.  He asked why.  I told him, "well, he is like you and doesn't have a baby sister.  He doesn't have a baby either." Berkeley then said, "Mom! We got to get one!"  I told him we'd think about it.
It was a sweet moment, where he is clearly seeing a trend with all of his friends having baby sisters; he must feel left out.

The other day I asked Berkey what he did at Daycare that day.  He responded, "Well, I had lovely dreams."

After visiting our neighbors Sis and Larry tonight. They gave B a card with $5 and more Halloween candy, lot of attention and hugs and kisses.  As we were walking home he said to me, "Mom, I love Sis and Larry.........they give me a lot of candy."

Hilly Half

Recently I talked Courtney into running another 1/2 Marathon with me, after all 2 1/2 marathon's equal a whole right?  She went along with my silly plan and we found ourselves 3 weeks after the last one, in Manchester, NH running another.  This time we talked two more fabulous friends into running with us!  

Elizabeth and Leslie joined us for their first 1/2 Marathon EVER!  Elizabeth did almost all the training by herself and did AMAZING, she finished first in our group!  Leslie, yea, she just had a baby 4 months ago, started training 7 weeks ago and was AWESOME during the race.  I am in awe of these wonderful women I get to run with!

Elizabeth and Sporty Courty

Leslie and I both spotted our husbands on opposite sides of the road; clearly we were pleasantly surprised and happy to see our families!

This 1/2 Marathon was the HARDEST I have ever run.  They said on the website it was hilly and challenging and it did not lie!  There were something like 10 steep hills and many gradual inclines; it was so hard!  I felt pretty good, but have been battling a pretty awful blister on the inside of my big toe since my last long run.  It started being pretty painful around mile 2, but I somehow pushed through the pain to finish this beast!

We all finished!  I did not get a PR with this bad boy, but I was happy to finish the whole thing and only stopped for a potty break.  We didn't let those hills stop us!

I am so proud of these girls; I love them all so much!

What would I do without the most amazing fans ever?  So thankful for the support of these oh so adorable boys.  It was a really really cold day with some serious wind, and these boys stayed outside and cheered me on from two different spots.  

I cannot believe I have run 5 Half Marathons!  That pretty much puts me in Rock Star Status ya know.

Each one is so emotional, because each one is so hard in different ways.  It is such a mental game and I always have to push myself.  Elizabeth found me at the finish line and we both just started sobbing; it is such an amazing accomplishment!