Merry Christmas!

It's the most WONDERFUL time... of the year!

We love Christmas at our house! This year the season seemed to fly by even faster than usual, but we still found time to fit in quite a bit of celebrating. Christmas morning holds new excitement as our kids are getting old enough to anticipate! Even the little magic of the holidays- Our advent calendar worked wonders at getting Avery to eat her dinner (She couldn't wait to see what her treat would be each night for dessert). We have tried hard to remind Avery that Christmas is truly a celebration of Christ's birth. She has a small nativity that she likes to play with, and we have been reading the nativity story at night. Yet, she still nonchalantly said to Jason a few weeks ago, "Christmas isn't about giving! It's about getting presents!" Hmmm... maybe next year.

The first to wake up...

Running into the living room

Avery received this gift from some of her older cousins. We had it set up in the living room when she came downstairs. It was an excellent idea! She played happily while waiting for Owen to wake up.

What a great dollhouse! Thanks Kiki and Becca!

The baby was the last one up!

Avery helped everyone open their gifts this year.

A happy little elf.

"OOOOOOoooooooo!" Avery's most commonly heard phrase; followed closely behind by, "I love it! I love it!"

Avery showing Owen the socks that she bought for him.

A fun morning was had by all!

After eating cinnamon rolls and hot chocolate for brunch, we spent a few hours playing with new toys. Then we headed over to Grandma and Papa Thompson's for more family fun and dinner. While I do love getting presents, the best part about Christmas is definitely the time with family and friends. We love making these new memories together.

Christmas Eve

Our Christmas Eve was filled with anticipation! Avery was beside herself. This is the first year that she has really understood what Santa is all about. We headed over to Jason's Aunt and Uncle's house for Christmas Eve dinner. It was delicious food! Then we visited, opened up gifts, and ate dessert.

Avery loved this Santa hat that Anna had - it lit up, played music and the top of the hat flipped back and forth in random patterns.

Owen and Oma

Avery opening up a gift from Grunkle Kevin and Graunt Anna. She said, "Oh, I love it! I love it!"

Owen and Grandma Pynn

What a perfect spot for a sleepy baby!

After we got home, the kids got into their Christmas PJ's, and we had to set about getting ready for Santa. We set out the cookies and chocolate milk, and Avery had to make sure he could get in the house. One of my favorite traditions is reading the book Silent Night, Holy Night. We have done it every year since Avery was a baby. With all the excitement of Santa and gifts, it is nice to focus on the real reason we are celebrating. Avery loves the Nativity story.

All ready for bed!

Gingerbread Houses

One of the days I miss most about teaching First Grade at Maple Hills is the Gingerbread House Day. As we taught a unit on shelters, we linked (very loosely, I admit) this fun project to our Social Studies curriculum. This year I realized that Avery would probably enjoy the project just as much as I do.

So, one bright, sunny winter morning, we invited over a bunch of friends to decorate gingerbread houses with us. We had a house full of kids and adults, and it was a ton of fun! Christmas movies playing in the living room, frosting and candy piled high in the kitchen. We actually had to take turns decorating in shifts. A little crazy, but we all ended up with some pretty cute houses. We're totally doing this again next year! We did take the easy way out and used graham crackers instead of gingerbread... but who actually eats the houses anyways?

Our Tree

Our Christmas season began with the ever important hunt for the perfect tree. We love having a live, pine-smelling, grand fir tree. Luckily there is a nice little lot not far from our house. It was quite cold outside - so much so that all of the trees were literally frozen. Avery absolutely loved running up and down all the tree-lined aisles. We found the perfect one quickly and headed home for some tasty hot chocolate to warm ourselves up! Can I just mention, I LOVE my hot chocolate machine! :)

Martha Stewart's Favorite

I LOVE cupcakes! They are delicious. So, when I stumbled upon a news story outlining Martha Stewart's all-time favorite "Top Ten Cupcake Recipes", I was intrigued. It wasn't until I began to peruse the recipes, that I realized I had never made a cupcake from scratch before. Now, it was a challenge! Luckily, a friend of mine was celebrating her birthday, so I had a great excuse to whip a few up. I chose the Boston Creme Cupcake recipe. And.... they were oh-so-tasty! I had not realized that they would take 2 hours to make (who would have thought cupcakes would require boiled milk?), but they were well worth it. MMMMMMMMMM! They disappeared too fast.

Turkey Trot 2009

Yep! I was crazy enough to do this "trot" again. Although it didn't feel much like a trot... My goal was simply to beat my time from last year. After being on bedrest for 3 months this summer (and being told "no exercise" at all since basically last year's trot), I thought my goal was pretty daring. By the first mile marker, I was already thinking to myself, "Am I crazy? Why do I do this?" Anyways, I was so happy to finish, red-faced and panting. It felt much harder than last year! Maybe that's because I ran faster though - 27:45 minute finish! I had beat my personal goal by 3 1/2 minutes. My next goal: a half-marathon in 6 months.

Roommates

Avery and Owen are now roommates! And Avery couldn't be happier!

We had tried to prepare Avery for the fact that she would be sharing her room when the new baby came. We didn't realize how seriously she took this responsibility until that first night home from the hospital. She was happily climbing up the stairs to bed, calling for Owen, when I told her, "Now you realize that Owen will sleep in Mommy and Daddy's room for awhile, right?" Oh, the look of disappointment on her face.
So, you can imagine her elation when the big night finally arrived. They have actually done really well. Owen is usually sleeping for 10 hours straight at night, and on the off nights that he wakes up crying, Avery is good about going back to sleep. I had told her that if Owen cried a lot, then we might have to put him back in our room. So, each time that I have had to go in at 4 AM to take Owen out, Avery has sat up in bed, "Mommy? He did a pretty good job, huh? Let's try again tonight." As long as there is sleeping going on, I'm game for anything!

(Don't worry - these were staged photos. Owen does sleep in his own crib.) :)

We did have to redecorate a bit. Although Owen wouldn't realize that the brown and pink flowers covering the walls were not boyish, I knew it. Avery has now had 2 rooms specially decorated for her; I just didn't feel right about not making Owen's first room special for him. And what could be more cool than a Hawaiian/Surfboard decor?

I finally figured it out...

Having only had one girl baby in my life, I had a misconceived notion... You know all those cute baby boy pictures in the bath? The ones with the washcloth covering the little boy's private parts? Well, I unknowingly thought that the washcloth was there for decency measures. And rightly so. What little boy would appreciate a revealing photo in future years. But, with my own little precious boy, I have learned otherwise. No, that washcloth is not there for mere modesty. It has an even more practical purpose. It is there to protect the bather from the bathee. To protect your nice, freshly washed church clothes from being peed on! Owen has done this trick to me more than once. Why have I not learned my lesson, you ask? I always think I've got it covered! And, how am I suppose to clean the diaper area without moving the washcloth? That's always when he gets me...

The innocent Owen, "Why are you shrieking Mom?"

Avery-isms

What does a 3 year old think about?

All summer long, Jason and I kept saying, "We need to write down the funny things that Avery says." Of course we never got around to it, and now I can't remember most of them. But, here are a few that I didn't want to forget...

June 2009 (2 years old) -
(Walking into a grocery store with Jason)
Avery: Daddy, let's get something delicious for me to eat.

July 2009 (2 years old) -
(Riding with Dad in the car. They had been listening to a John Bytheway talk about being philosophically careful at choosing which path you go down in life. The CD had talked about how you wouldn't blindly get in the car and not ask where you were going. Jason didn't realize that Avery had been listening to the audio book as she stared out the window until...)
Avery: Daddy? Which path are we going on today?

August 2009 (2 years old)
(Avery was eating lunch at the table as I cleaned up the kitchen. When I picked up our digital camera, I noticed the memory card was missing. Upon realizing that I had taken it out a few days earlier,...)
Me (frustrated): Great! I think I lost my memory stick.
Avery (helpfully): I think I lost my memory too, Mom!
Sometimes she is more on-target than I would like. :)

October 2009 (3 years old)
(We had just picked up lunch for a friend at McDonalds, and we were now headed to her house to eat our meal together. Avery was in shock because I had bought her a Happy Meal. We never buy her the meal, we always just get a big meal and split it. Today the toy had actually been worth the extra buck, so I splurged on it.)
Avery: Mommy! Why did you spoil me like Grandma does?
Me: I just wanted to. Because you are such a good little girl, today I wanted to spoil you.
Avery (giggling): Oh!! Well, now Mom, you have to spoil me all day!
Me: All day?
Avery: Yes! And Daddy too!
Me: I have to spoil Daddy?
Avery: No, Daddy has to spoil me too. All day!
Why not milk it for all it's worth, right?

October 2009 (3 years old)
(Driving in the car with me. Avery is always planning for the future.)
Avery: And some day Mommy, when I am big, I will get to sit up there (pointing to the front passenger seat)! When my bum bum is too big to fit in my car seat and I am big like Daddy.
I must admit that I began snickering a little, thinking to myself, "Wouldn't Jason like to know that he has a big bum bum?"
Before my thought was complete, however, Avery finished up her thought...
Avery (very excited): And then I will be a Mommy!"
Touche.


These pictures were taken at the Bellingham Marina in August. Avery loves to move it, move it.

Smiles All Around

Our little Owen has learned how to smile! Well, actually he learned at about 9 weeks (a month ago). But he was such a serious/worried looking newborn, it was a relief to see his gummy grin! A baby smile is one of the cutest, sweetest things in the world, I think. He is getting so big too. His chubby little cheeks are so squishy, and he will often laugh when you kiss them. While he doesn't pass out smiles profusely, they are definitely worth the wait. As long as the conditions are right (he has a full tummy, clean diaper, and recent nap), he usually has an easy smile. What a happy little boy! We love you, Mister Owen!

Slightly amused smile

Avery and Owen playing on his mat

Staring at "the baby" in the mirror

What a cute baby!

Just look at those cheeks.


Most recent pictures (Nov. 10th)

A smile for Daddy.

The Puyallup Fair (Part 3)

While I realize that our annual Fall trip to the Fair was 2 months ago, it is such a fun family tradition that I still had to document it. As Jason is not too fond of going on rides, I went once with a friend and then we went back as a family. It was a fun evening! Avery loves everything about the fair - the rides, treats and animals (in that order). Jason and I took turns holding Owen and going on rides with Avery. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I met some interesting people in the fast food restaurant outside the fair, but besides that we had a wonderful time!

Avery practicing for the rides...

After a few rejections for being too short, she was so happy to find the ones she was tall enough to ride.

Avery and Daddy on the carousel.

Avery really enjoyed this helicopter ride - it went pretty high!

Playing in the ball pit while Daddy and Owen watch.

Riding on the Tilt-a-Whirl... this is the first of many big-kid rides that Avery and I will go on together!

Owen was a great little baby all night.

I LOVE these rectangle ice cream bars with nuts and chocolate! You can only find them at the fair.


Avery loves the animals... unfortunately, we didn't get to the fair until the last weekend so the only animals left were sheep.

Sheep + Spandex.... interesting.