Christmas There-Up North

Ben was relentless about asking to open more presents...PLEASE!!!!



And just when he thought he'd have to ask again next year for "his own tickathitar (you'll see)", a Christmas miracle occurred.





After a brief inspection, Ben gave us his best first guitar solo.



It sounded magical and not at all annoying. Yup the blue knob is volume, but Kawasaki forgot an On/Off button but I'll blame Santa.





Take it Nana! Get on down.





Thanks again for a great Christmas morning.

Christmas Here, There, and Everywhere

Christmas started at our place under our tree as Santa came early. It was very exciting to see Ben really react to the gifts. Very excited.



Unwrapping was fun this year and he was fully committed.





The gifts at home weren't super huge but there were many. We left a lot of the spoiling to the grandparents which took place on Christmas day up North. It was very nice spending this morning at home though and showing what Christmas is all about to Tyler.

The Original Charest Family Holidays

I debuted this movie from Christmas past at my mom's Christmas party, which has been going on for quite a long time. It has a familiar character to introduce the footage.

Happy Holidays to our friends and family.

The Original Charest Holidays from Mark Charest on Vimeo.

Tree Trimming Action Figures

We are all getting very excited for Christmas around here! Although we'll be spending time up North, we did get a tree and decorated it together. It was fun and Ben really got into it. Some of the ornaments he claimed as his own and still remain missing. But it should get you in a good spirit if you aren't quite there.

See you soon.

Tree Trimming from Mark Charest on Vimeo.

Meeting the man in red!

Sarah and the boys braved the mall crowds to get some face time with the big guy with a few days to go! Tyler is also 3 months old today! Merry Christmas everyone!

You Gotta Have a Baby (for Tyler)

Wow, Tyler is twelve weeks old (that's three months if you don't usually count in weeks like I have for the last two years). He has grown so much since those first few days. It was a very special time when we were wondering, 'how's Ben going to take his little brother?'; 'are we going to be able to afford two kids?'; 'where are the pee pee teepees?'; 'will it ever be quiet in this house?'

So happens that I've been working on his special video that captures this short time in our lives and it's ready for you to see. Enjoy!

Gotta Have a Baby (for Tyler) from Mark Charest on Vimeo.

Christmas Raabing: A Holiday Party

We had a fun filled get together at the Raab's house over the weekend. Good kids, great friends, and something new-chicken parmesan calzones. Oh and check out Ben's hair. Something was up. He also had to borrow some special jammies after a mishap. A very fun night.

Christmas Raabing from Mark Charest on Vimeo.