Family Time

We opened our family gifts Christmas Eve. Here are a few shots.

Abby, in perfect oblivion to everything happening around her.

William, obviously aware that Santa has FINALLY come! Turn around, Big Guy!

We got him two more Duplo sets, to complement the sets he already had.



The panda had to check out the fire station.



Of all the toys he got, he really likes the tea set Aunt Nell got for Abby.


We got Abby a few outfits, but I didn't bother wrapping them, since I'd just have to unwrap them. I will say, though, that they are very cute!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! (Did it go by quickly for you, too?)

More Presents

When we got back from our little trip we opened gifts with J's side of the family. From Aunt Gina and Uncle Andy William got Chuck, a dump truck that says over 40 different things, and comes when you call it. I'm currently training it to bring me my book and M&Ms, as William really doesn't like it yet. Whenever he says "Chuck", the truck charges ahead, right toward him, and he runs the other direction. Ha! I'm sure he'll like it soon enough.


And here's Abby's gift from UA and AG - a womb bear, as I call it. It's actually called a Slumber Bear. It has recorded noises from the inside a womb, and it's supposed to help a baby sleep. I'm SO excited about this gift that I shall devote an entire post on the bear. But it will have to wait. I'm enjoying the quiet that the bear has brought...a sleeping child!



After we skyped with the TN folks, we got on with Grammy and Grandpa Num Num.

The glow worm is Abby's gift, but William has taken it over. Good thing she's little and doesn't mind, because William doesn't let it out of his sight.

Boo! We almost lost Abby in all the wrapping paper!

Thank you all so much!

Yosemite!

Last minute J and I decided to take the kids to Yosemite. I found a great hotel deal, and the weather promised snow. Yeah! The kids did awesome in the car as well as the hotel. I vowed not to freak out if William decided that he didn't want to go to sleep until 11pm, and that made everything much more fun. Very little stress. About an hour into the trip up there we discovered that we forgot the pack n play, as well as his bedtime animals. That was a bit of a bummer once we needed to put him down to bed, but we was cool with having Abby's blankie instead. On the second night William decided on his own, around 9ish, that it was time to go to sleep. Score! The makeshift bed in the dresser drawer worked for Abby for a few hours, but ultimately she slept in the king bed with us.


Yeah! Snow on Christmas! What more could we ask for!?!



William, sporting his new boots that really did nothing in the way of keeping his feet warm. I looked all over, but apparently there aren't any winter boots in our neck of the woods.


On the trail (which was 5 miles round trip, I might add!) from Happy Isles to Vernal Falls. There was lots of ice on the trail which made for rough going.


On the second day we went to Hetch Hetchy and saw the dam and hiked (another 4-5 miles!) to almost the base of the waterfall. A landslide had closed the trail partway.

In the car on the way home everyone was quiet, then suddenly William burst out, "DAM. Dam. Dam." John and I looked at each other and just had to laugh!

So, if you ask William about our "frip", he'll tell you "Watch tv" and "dam". Oh...the things kids remember!

More Christmas

Here are a few shots of the kids opening presents from AJ and UK. I don't want to admit openly that I peeked, but....I knew that I wanted William to open his gift from Aunt Joanie before we left for Yosemite.

Both kids got new sippy cups. William desperately needed some new ones....Abby....well, she was less than thrilled about her new cup, but William sure wanted to try it out! Thank you!

Disney Pancakes

How cute are these things? William absolutely loved these!!

Love this shot...William grabbed one just as I was snapping the picture. Couldn't keep his hands off them!


Yes, our son has his first "laptop". He was in love with our neighbor girl's Barbie laptop that they gave him one for Christmas. Now he's just like Daddy! Thank you!!

2nd Christmas Party

This time via Skype, with my folks in Michigan.


My mom "wonderfully" did the Oma thing, and got him a rather large chocolate snowman, and huge bags of fruit snacks, his absolute favorite snack. Every time we see Oma she gives William those things.

He also got some Duplo and clothes.

Abby got lots of cute clothes, but I opened them for her.

Here she is sporting one of the outfits. It's blurry because I took it with my phone. My camera was nowhere in sight, and I needed to capture the moment immediately.

Thank you for the gifts!

Miss Claus

All dressed up and ready for church. I do realize that going to church dressed as Miss Claus does seem a bit contradictory, but I thought she looked quite cute in the hat and dress! The matching booties simply didn't stay on, so she wore her new black shoes.


She started off in her car seat, then I realized that she was TOO cute and in need of a more "formal" shot...so I took her out and placed her on the couch.


But she was too enamored with her shoe and dress to really pay attention to me or the camera.




After a few failed attempts, I got the perfect shot!

Then I realized that I had TWO kids...I grabbed William for a sibling shot!


But he wasn't really interested in getting his picture taken, and Abby...well, one just never knows with her.


Whew! BOTH kids smiling AND looking at the camera - at the same time!

House

Gotta love this gift, from Uncle Kenny and Aunt Joanie. I can't wait to make this! Thanks!! We're holding off until another day or so to open the rest.

1st Christmas Party

Here are some photos of this past Sunday, when Deckers and Aunt Debbie came over. Our church had their last Christmas concert that night, that we enjoyed. Obviously, this is Abby's first Christmas, and first presents, too!





Thank you for all the wonderful gifts!

The Wrap

Here's Abby's favorite hangout - in the Moby! I like this wrap, however she likes it even more!

Christmas Photo

Here's the kids' Christmas photo.

Quote

I love this quote:

Your mission, dear mother, is not to make your children happy, but to prepare them for eternity…You must relentlessly evangelize their never-dying souls.” (Womanly Dominion p. 127-128)

Wow.

Phone Photos

I just uploaded these photos from my phone...it's been a few weeks since I've done it, so here are a few "outdated" pictures. (Actually just a few weeks old!)


William's first candy cane. He LOVED it!


And this one is from yesterday, shortly after laughing!

Laughing and Mine

Yesterday, Abby did the cutest thing - she laughed! For the first time, actually. Yeah, she sort of laughed a little in her sleep, I called it more of a chortle than laugh, but yesterday, as I bounced her on my knees, she outright laughed. She's getting such a personality. She SO wants to roll over, and is almost there, but can't quite get it. I'm not sure if it has something to do with her fluffy bum, due to her cloth diaper, or if she just needs a bit more humph to get over, but either way, she's trying very hard.

Oh, and the other day William discovered a "new" word - mine. Everything is "mine" now. When I tell him to stop messing with the DVDs, he says "No, mine." Lovely.

Christmas

We have been getting our Christmas things out since Thanksgiving...a little at a time. Yesterday we got out tiny, 32 inch light-up tree out and William fell in love. He'll sit in front of it and say, "Christmas tree....Christmas tree..." and want me to sit next to him to "watch it". (It's one of those trees where the lights change colors.) Even Abby is pretty mesmerized by it. We put out lights on our porch, as well as candy canes at the bottom of the stairs. Each night, or when it gets dark, William reminds me: "Candy canes on...lights on." He never forgets.

He's not a huge fan of Santa, as one time, when we went into the Do-It Center, I suggested we look at the trees and lights. There was this tall, stationary Santa...well, I unknowingly parked the cart by it, and suddenly the thing sprang to life, moving this way and that, singing Feliz Navidad. William freaked out. Big time. We couldn't leave the store fast enough. So now when we go into the stores he always panics a little, saying "No Santa, no Santa."

A neighbor down the way a little bit also put up lights...and a HUGE blow up penguin. (I didn't know penguins were Christmasy, but whatever.) William, Abby, and I had walked to Sophia's house to drop off some Knoor (chicken seasoning) and exactly as we were walking out the door the neighbor girl plugged in the penguin and the thing sprang up on her porch, lighting up and everything. William completely lost it, screaming. Huge tears ran down his cheaks. He was so scared I had to run Abby home so I could come back to carry William. (The girl felt bad, so she unplugged it so we could walk by in relative peace.)

Other than that, it's been fun watching William enjoy Christmas this year! I'm hoping we'll be able to get out sometime soon to look for other lights in the neigborhood...as long as there are no singing Santas or inflatable penguins!

Stuff

My neighbor watched William tonight so John and I (and Abby) could go on a date. It was nice only having to deal with one child, fussy as she was. She just hates to sit in her seat - she wants to see everything!

Abby's new headband she got from my neighbor. So cute!


I got this great idea from a blogging friend and William absolutely loves it! I put little bits of all sorts of goodies in the compartments. He thinks it's great!

Oh....and a shot from yesterday. This was the adorable outfit that she wore for her 4 month pictures. She fussed while getting her pictures taken, but was ALL smiles as soon as we got home. Grrrr.....

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a wonderfully blessed Thanksgiving, and I hope you all did too! We all "slept in" this morning...well, till about 8, since we were out late last night shopping. John put our turkey on the rotisserie, and I made sweet potato souffle, mashed potatoes & gravy, green bean casserole, stuffing, rolls & butter, and sparkling cider. This year the food was timed impeccably, with everything being cooked and finished at the same time. With two small children that's not an easy task.
William really liked the sweet potatoes.




Then again....




Abby enjoyed being held the entire dinner. She likes being in the middle of the action!


Our two kids, for whom we are very thankful! (The stork is completely incidental.)

Shopping

I wiped out William's shopping cart (he played outside with it this summer) and brought it in the house for him to play with. He loves shopping for his nummies with Herbie, his doll. (Mom, we all want to know where the name "Herbie" came from!) This morning I put Abby in his cart. My intention was to put her in it when she was first home from the hospital, as she was SO small, but I never got around to it.
Giving Abby kisses. They both adore each other!