Side Sleeper

N's been sleeping on his side lately. We put his pacifiers in the same corner of his crib each night, and he's learned to retrieve them himself (he oftentimes falls asleep with one in his mouth and the other in his left hand).

Mohawk Morning

He's had his bath and is ready for anything!

Eat

If you can't see the resemblance, I just can't help you.

Christmas Morning 2009

Our family stayed home for the holiday's this year. It wasn't without stress, but relatively quiet and sweet, especially with our new boy. We woke around 8 this morning, let E open her stocking and a few from Great Grandma & Great Grandpa then headed over to my folks for the rest. E was giddy, and really enjoyed herself (more on that to come), and N was content to pull at the ribbons. My brother and sister and their (growing) families eventually made their way over for a delicious brunch and gifts. It was wonderful to see all the little ones and so great to think that next year there will be 2 more cousins to cuddle!

Under the Tree

This Christmas was easier in so many ways. E is into all sorts of typical little girl things; art supplies, books, movies, games and music. She loves music, she sings all day, she can't help but wiggle, twirl and bounce whenever a tune is playing so we thought it was time to get her own music player. An iPod seemed a little over the top for a 5-year-old (however carefully she tries, things get dropped...). So with a little research we settled on the SweetPea3, a very kid friendly player with a decent built-in speaker and headphone jack.


E has taken an extra special interest in marine animals within the last year, especially dolphins. And has hopes of opening an oceanarium here in our small town when she grows up. So when I came across the nearly 4 foot stuffed dolphin on Melissa & Doug's online store I just knew she'd freak out! She lugs this thing from room to room with her talking to it (she's it's trainer, of course), and requests to snuggle up next to it in bed, which makes for fairly tight sleeping quarters as you can imagine.



N hasn't been able to demonstrate any real affection for any of his gifts, but there are a few things that repeatedly catch his eye:

I found a few reissued Fisher Price toys down at our local shop and couldn't resist the Chatter Phone! And this clever little guy; he has a crank on the bottom instead of using batteries and plays 3 songs that correspond with the 3 blinky push-buttons!
This sweet little picnic basket is full of friendly faces on soft food items that jingle, rattle and crinkle as well!

Another little ingenious guy I found, is this nightlight for his room. It projects a starry sky on his ceiling. E's jealous of this one and often asks to have my put it in her room after N's fallen asleep for the night.

*again shaky camera work as I'm lugging the baby too, sorry.

Produce

Made the trip over to PCC for a few final groceries before the stores close tomorrow. The carrots and radishes were in fine form.

My New Favorite Shoes

My mother-in-law and D's grandmother gave me some $ for my recent birthday, and after spending a month-and-a-half deciding I finally placed my order for my new Dansko's! They arrived on Christmas Eve, so they kinda felt like a Christmas present too! Love them!

* Thanks Vickey & Hilda

So Many Flavors, So Little Time

Molly Moon, you never disappoint.

Alma Mater

D's and my former high school (yes, we're high school sweethearts) and it's rival have been getting a little bit of notoriety this week. Their video production class's made competing 'lip-dub's' on YouTube.

Check out the full story here and watch the 2 videos!

Mabel's Labels

I found this site this morning, and as a relative newbie in the school-mom-world I think this would save me a lot of time. I find myself writing on the labels of her clothes or lunchbox containers each week, so as to not loose her new Sigg or that set of gloves. And something that can hold up in the dishwasher and washing machine is great!

Nelson Mandela lives at my house

I was scrolling through this years Holiday Gift Guide on Babble last week and was delighted to find that you could enter to win a large number of the gifts they were suggesting so...there I went! I was entering left and right; "Have a $72 cashmere baby tank dress sent to me free of charge? Don't mind if I do (who cares that I have a boy)." "Win a $700 litl Webbook? I could live with that." On and on I went scrolling through the pages of gifts that they recommend and entering their giveaways not really believing that I could ever actually win anything...I never win anything. I did though take some of their suggestions from this and last year's lists and purchased a few things for friends and E...

Anyhow, what should appear in my inbox one cold and rainy morning at the end of last week? A Congratulations e-mail saying I had won a very sweet handmade doll and it would arrive shortly!

I won!

Not something I would have probably purchased, but something that I think is kinda great; A Nelson Mandela doll. Just read about it:

This Nelson Mandela doll isn't just cuddly, it also pays tribute to the anti-Apartheid leader and first elected black president of South Africa. Children are never too young to learn about peace and justice and each purchase provides skill training and employment in post-Apartheid South Africa. Like all Global Goods products, these dolls are fair trade, eco-conscious and individually handcrafted. Global Goods is a not-for-profit working to empower women, alleviate poverty and promote social justice.

He arrived today and I put him up on N's shelf, and if he's as inquisitive as his older sister, we have a conversation coming.



*Thank you Babble, what a lovely early Christmas present!

The Shortest Day of the Year

It only get's better from here on out.

Leavenworth

We decided to try something new this year and crossed over the Cascade Mountains to the very charming Bavarian town of Leavenworth for their 43rd Annual Christmas Lighting Ceremony. But after a relatively lengthy car ride, we needed to stretch our legs and put some wind in our hair. So, down the snowy hills we went. E had a great time in such a huge amount of snow, and repeatedly slid down the hill on her own, as shown above. Then we headed over to the center of town to participate in the huge town lighting ceremony; there were carolers, bonfires, alp horn players, and of course Santa. We all counted down and watched the entire cityscape illuminate! We drive through this town every summer on our way to camping, so it was a nice change of pace to see the streets (although mostly wet today) lined in snowy drifts. It was fun to be with D's sister and her family and I think we had a really successful first family daytrip with N.

Whew! What a Day!

As the previous post would indicate, we had a v-e-r-y busy day. But it was fun and pretty much went off without a hitch, there were even some very sweet and quiet moments thrown in there too. We started off with a long overdue hair cut for E (been meaning to get her in since before school started). Then it was off to wait in the line for 'Ol St. Nick. While we were waiting E delighted N to no end (this is the beautiful thing that comes with having your kids 4 1/2 years apart - entertainment). The pictures were great, and N only started crying after the shots were done. Afterward, I broke it to E that next she and I were to have a super-date, and we were heading downtown to watch a really famous dance group. She and I were oh-so excited! We had excellent seats, and the high-kicks those gals do were just as exciting in person as they were when I first saw them in Annie. D and N were waiting for us as we left the Paramount just in time to drive to the Fisher Pavilion for E's first time ice skating, and a couple trip's 'round the carousel.

Ho Ho Ho!

You Want Christmas? I'll Give You Christmas!

E's out of school for the next 2 weeks...let the holiday season begin!

Today's Schedule:

10AM - Holiday Haircut
11AM - Santa Pictures
1PM - Rockettes Christmas Spectacular
4PM - Ice Skating
5PM - Hot Chocolate & Christmas Carousel

Class Christmas Party

The kids were a buzz, had lot's of fun with games, and cookie/gingerbread house decorating (yes, that is my daughter licking up surplus sprinkles off her plate...)

Winter Concert

E had her first Winter Concert today at school. Her music instructor chose a teddy bear theme for the two songs the Preschool and Jr. Kindergarten performed. E's in the red sweater in the front row...yeah, the distract-o who's giggling with her best friend practically the entire time.



Sorry the camera work is a bit shaky, N was strapped to my chest and he's a bit of a wiggle worm...

Swansons

I love visiting this nursery around Christmas. They have the buildings decked out, there are ornaments and holiday fare to peruse, a model train, and this year they added Curley the camel & Moe the miniature donkey to their livestock for the Reindeer Festival! N and I met up with Eileen and Mini to hang out with the animals and chit-chat while the 2 older kids were in school this morning.


Here's a very sweet series: