Monday, December 27, 2010

Christmas 2010! Celebration of Pictures


Christmas Cutie

The cuteness doesn't stop here...

Just so dang excited by all the family and presents!

Natalie opens just a few Christmas Eve presents...

Grandma Yost gets a thank you hug.

Jameson tries to get a peek at one of Natalie's Christmas Eve gifts...

Natalie scores some fancy dress-up shoes!

Uncle Peter plays princess Barbie with Natalie. What a good sport!

Peter models his new hat and scarf I made, while Toby snoozes...


Natalie plays with her new toys.

Jeramy opens some gifts while modeling his new fleece camo pants!

Jameson shows Sissy his new piano toy (note the blue camo fleece pants he's wearing too!) 

Happy couple getting ready to sit down for a delicious turkey dinner!

Mmmmm, smoked turkey for dinner.
Family feast

Jameson steals Uncle Peter's hat (which used to be Great Great Grandpa Adams' hat)

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

"Santa is coming to town..."

Yes, I know this is the second video in a week where Natalie is dancing in her underwear. Don't ask me. I'm trying not to think about what it means. In this video, Natalie shares her version of a favorite Christmas song while Jameson looks for a way to safely escape off the bed... Enjoy!

Monday, December 20, 2010

What happens when mommy isn't home?


Apparently an underwear dance party with festive country Christmas music.  That's what.

Sunday, December 19, 2010

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

Christmas 2010: Here are the many holiday happenings that are fast becoming family traditions.
  1. The Nutcracker: Natalie, Romy and Mommy saw the most beautiful dancing (Natalie's "ballalet" teacher, Miss Emmy was even in it, as well as her friends Kendra and Lexy). She really enjoyed it, although it took her a while to get used to watching something with no singing or dialougue. The kind people in front of her got an ear full of endless loud whispered questions "Mom, where did the mice go? Is the mouse dead? Did they take him to jail? What's her name? Is that a princess? Where are they going? Why is there smoke? Can I have some gum?" and so on and so on. Afterward, she couldn't stop talking about it and said someday she wanted to be in the Nutcracker. Better keep up those ballalet classes!
  2. Christmas Tree: For the first time this year, I had help with decorating the Christmas tree. Natalie would squeal every time she lifted an ornament out of the box "Oooh, this is a pretty one". And she thoughtfully grouped all of the like ornaments together. For example, the angel ornaments all had to go together because they are a family of course. There is a mommy angel, a sister angel, a grandma angel, etc.) Same with the snowmen. It turned out pretty!
    O Christmas Tree! Most of the ornaments are on the top 2/3 of the tree because little boy hands seem to pull them off!

    3. Santa: I've already posted the Santa picture. A classic keeper! And just for fun, here's a little video of Jameson dancing and playing while we patiently waited for Santa to become available...



    4. Christmas Light Tour: We drove to Eagle Crest Resort to look at the pretty light display. I think Natalie liked riding in the front seat on Daddy's lap more than the actual lights, but she ooohed and ahhhed a lot.

    5. Holiday Brunch: The kids and I hosted a holiday brunch for mommies and kids. We had 10 adults and 10 kids, aged 7 to 12 weeks. It was very fun!
Ivan, Natalie, Dominick, Nolan, ,Cecilia and Owen watching "Frosty the Snowman"


6. Gingerbread House Construction: Mommy got smart this year and used her trusty hot glue gun to keep the house together. Natalie and I had a lot of fun decorating (and eating) and it turned out pretty darn cute. I told her that by the time she's 10, we can start entering gingerbread house building competitions! 




7. Elf on the Shelf: A new addition to our family this year. Snookie (Natalie came up with the name) watches over the children and each night reports back to Santa and hides in a different place each morning. I wish I could say his presence has improved the kids' behavior, but maybe next year. Naughty or nice? Snookie knows...

"Snookie", our Christmas Elf on the Shelf

Only 6 more days...

Friday, December 17, 2010

It's beginning to look a lot like...

Christmas!

Santa's look says it all. Bring on the holidays!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

A full and fabulous week!

This week was nutty and busy and really, really fun! Jeramy went hunting and Katsa came to visit and help with the kids. Then we traveled over the weekend and oh, did I mention Halloween? Here's our week in pictures... 


Big boy haircut!
Jeramy kills Bambi.
Natalie shows Dad up.
Natalie mingles with about 150 butterflies at the High Desert Museum butterfly exhibit. Amazing!
Beautiful!
Natalie dons her new Snow White costume for a special Disney on Ice show in Portland! (We even saw the "real" Snow White!)
Watching the show with Great, Grand Aunt Julie...
What a show!

Jeramy and I cheer as the Beavers kill the Bears (violent week, huh?)

Snow White & Lil Cowpoke celebrate Halloween (and they scored BIG!)

A huge thank you to Katsa (couldn't have dressed Snow White without your help; thanks for spoiling us all week!), Julie (we had such a fun night with you, thanks for everything!), and Grandma & Grandpa (for letting us escape for the game and dinner). Whew, no wonder I'm exhausted (although, I just came across some peanut butter M&Ms from the kids' stash so the sugar is helping! (Shhhh!)





Sunday, October 17, 2010

Belknap Weekend

This weekend we took a quick trip just over an hour away to Belknap Hot Springs. Such a fun place! We set off with Hazel and enjoyed some warm pool time and exploring the beautiful grounds.

Natalie strikes a pose in the "Secret Garden"

Relaxing in one of the hot spring-fed pools...

Natalie sends her love from Belknap!

Nat & Dad

Mommy & the kiddos 

Happy Fall from our family!



Thursday, October 14, 2010

Catching up...

So much to report, I just haven't had the time... Here's the Reader's Digest version:

Natalie and Cecilia before their first dance class.
Natalie:

  • She's loving preschool and seems to be learning a lot. They're focusing on the alphabet and she's very interested in know what letters different words start with. Today on our way to Amanda's after school, she asked me "what does tree start with?", "what does cup start with?", "what does Jameson start with?", etc. She picked out one of her Barbies to take to show and tell for letter "B" day. She was so excited! So far, the school thing seems to be going great, despite her difficulty with using words instead of her hands (according to Miss Molly) and the fact that she's usually outnumbered by boys 4 to 1 (and "they don't like playing dress up").
  • Natalie is completing her 6-week swimming lessons this week and she's done great. She's getting more comfortable getting her face/head wet and has even jumped in the pool without being caught by her teacher (the pool they are in is only a couple feet deep)
  • And despite my pre-conceived notion that I would not be one of those parents who overschedules their kids with activities and lessons, we also started her in "pre-Ballet" class for 3-year olds. She has always loved dancing and has talked about "ballalet" for a while now. So when her friend Cecilia wanted to sign up for dance class, Natalie just had to join in on the fun. They look so cute in their little leotards! She's only been once so far, so I can't wait to see if she takes to it. I'm hoping it will make her a little more graceful and less clumsy (maybe I should take "ballalet" too!)
  • She still abuses her brother. And then the next minute, she's hugging and smothering him with kisses. Go figure.
  • She's going to be Snow White for Halloween this year--the most complicated garment I've ever tackled (of course, this is only my 3rd real garment I've sewed, so we'll see how it turns out. Good thing trick-or-treating takes place at night, in the dark...
Jameson:

  • Most notably, he started WALKING for reals last week!!! It started out as a stagger like a drunken sailor, but now he's getting tricky and pivoting and walking like an expert (with the occasional loss of balance of course!). He loves the freedom of walking and always has a wide smile on his face when he knows he's walking by himself. Pretty hot stuff for a little man! I'll try to post a video soon...
  • Despite the big-boy achievements, he's STILL not ready to wean from nursing, even though mommy is! 
  • But he's trying more table foods (non-dairy of course) and we're trying to transition him from soy formula to soy milk. He's got 6 pretty little teeth and loves to use them!
  • He's not talking too much yet. His only recognizable words are "Wassat?" He'll point to something and ask "whassat"? It's cute. But I'd love to start hearing "mommy" and "daddy" and "sissy" soon! I guess Sissy talks enough for the both of them.
  • And speaking of his big sister, he's still being abused, but he's not taking it lying down anymore. He'll fight back or at least scream when Natalie does something he doesn't like. I can't wait until he's bigger than her and she'll learn she can't pick on her little brother anymore! 
  • Wiggly and constantly on the move, except when he's strapped in a stroller! 
Bonus: Pics from our recent trip to the Pumpkin Patch, one of our favorite fall traditions (both kids have been every year!). This time, Natalie got close and personal with a lot of animals, while Jameson, yep, you guessed it... was confined to the stroller and (thankfully) content to be along for the ride. He's such a great kid!

Smile, llama!

Hey, which one of you made that mess I almost stepped in?

The CUTEST baby lambs! 

See what I mean? And his stroller totally goes with the pumpkin theme!

Daddy and Natalie ride in the animal train.

Mom, can we get a pony?

Hey, it's hay!

Natalie and Daddy pick out some pretty pumpkins to take home.

A couple of punkins