Merry Christmas!

Polar Express Train

 Oh my goodness, you can see the wrinkles on my forehead in pics now - I guess I need to do something about that!

We took a ride to the North Pole on the Polar Express, where we picked up Santa for the ride home.  Anthony had a great time and loved riding on a train.  It was a *really* long ride though.  An hour and a half that could easily have been cut in half and been a little more enjoyable for the parents!  Ha!  Definitely not something we can force ourselves to do every year - J says maybe once per child!  Santa gave Anthony a bell from his sleigh and we had cookies and cocoa on the train while they read the book to us.

Sugar Cookies

A's masterpieces

Garden D'Lights at Bellevue Botanical Garden

Advent Activities

Decorating the Christmas Tree

In case you were wondering, the top 1' or so of our tree is zip tied on.  You read that right.  Apparently Jared snapped the top off when he pulled it off the car.  He only mentioned it when I asked why there was a zip tie on the tree - thought he would sneak that one by me.  My husband is so funny!

First Night in the Big Boy Bed

Jared built a beautiful bed for Anthony - I need to get some pics of the bed on here soon!  Anthony is so proud of his new bed and everyone who comes over has to go see it.

Macy's Day After Thanksgiving Parade

Uncle Steve manages the traffic/street shut down for the Macy's parade and was able to score us a great spot to watch the parade.  We had our own little VIP lounge in the middle of an intersection.  The boys had a really great time - it was a fun way to kick off the Christmas season!

Pregnant and paralyzed

Today I am 28 weeks pregnant. The time has gone by so quickly and so far everything has gone smoothly. I am to the point now where I'm starting to feel huge and can't imagine getting any bigger. My face is even starting to show the weight gain - Ah! I noticed a few days ago that Jared was pulling me up the stairs more slowly than usual; apparently he notices the weight gain too. ;) When I transfer myself now I can definitely tell a difference - I don't know how much weight I've gained, but I'm glad I'm not this heavy all the time.

I get tired pretty easily and by the end of the day I am so exhausted, but that's no different from any other pregnant lady! Pulling my wheelchair in/out of the car really wears me out, so I'm trying to limit trips as much as possible. So hard to do though during this busy holiday season.

We are still planning on a scheduled c-section the last week of February, about a week before she is due. Jared is really pushing for a leap year baby but I am totally against it! We have had a few concerns as my cervix has been thinning a bit, so I've been trying to take it easy and avoid bed rest. Quite ironic really given that half of my body is basically on bed rest all the time! I would guess that I internally feel only about 20% of the baby's movements. From the outside I can feel and see that she is almost constantly moving.

Only 11 weeks to go until we get to meet our precious baby girl. We still haven't chosen a name and the nursery isn't ready yet...we seem to be so unprepared this time, but also so not concerned about it. I think our perspective on life has changed so much in the past three years. Things that used to seem so important and that we'd obsess over were really not important at all. We've learned to expect the unexpected and be comfortable living in the unknown. It will all work out in the end, so there is no need for me to worry about it in the mean time. We are looking forward to meeting our sweet little girl soon, whatever her name may be!

Our 2.5 year old Boy

As I work on my 2010 photobook (I know, so behind!) I've been thankful that I wrote things down, because a year later there is so much I don't remember.  I haven't done much writing this year but hope to get back to that in the near future....

Two and half has been my favorite age so far.  Anthony is old enough to start understanding more and he listens so well for his age.  He still wants to be just like his dad and will copy everything Jared does.  He wants to be a big helper and tries so hard to be independent with everything he does. When we go out together, whether it's play dates or errands or church, he is very obedient and easy to manage.  I love being able to spend so much time with him - he is mom's little buddy, and gets a little nervous when I'm not around.

Anthony's personality is fun.  He loves to be the center of attention and in a room full of people you'll usually find him showing off and entertaining.  He is a happy kid, but also very stubborn (just like Dad!).  We are still learning how to best interact with him to allow him to develop into the person he is supposed to be.  He is loud most of the time - whether playing or talking.  If it's quiet in the house I get nervous, usually for good reason.

At 33 months he is athletic and coordinated.  He runs everywhere and rarely slows down to relax.  He climbs, jumps, and isn't afraid to try things he hasn't done before.  His first soccer class was a success and we are looking forward to many more sporting events in the future.  We received several comments from strangers (so totally unbiased, not like us!) about his athleticism at soccer, so we think we've got a superstar on our hands.

His eating habits leave something to be desired.  Dinner veggies are a struggle every night.  He loves all things dairy and sweet.  He loves to sing songs and to be tickled.  He loves hot wheels and blocks and jumping. 

Anthony has just entered a whining stage which I'm hoping passes quickly.  He is so excited about all things Christmas this year and we are looking forward to this season with him. For the most part he is potty trained - a few accidents every now and then, and he still wears a diaper at night.  The potty training process was pretty easy as he took to the candy bribes well. 

I've tried working with Anthony on his letters but he just really isn't interested at this point.  He knows his ABCs (the song, not by sight) and can count to twenty.  He just recently started sitting still for a nightly story, and that's the most he sits still all day.  He knows most of his shapes and colors.

He is very independent and has an opinion on everything.  Communicating with him is fun because he understands everything we say and can answer back in complete sentences.  His vocabulary is excellent at this age, and his Sunday School teachers often comment on how articulate he is. What this really means is he talks non-stop all day long. It is never quiet in this house! He is very polite, and says please, thank you, and excuse me without being prompted.

Anthony talks daily about "little sister" and loves babies.  We can't wait to see him as a big brother because we just know he'll be great.

Sneak Pic of Christmas Pics

Kaitlyn of course had the perfect smile in every picture...

the other kids were a little more challenging to photograph!

Tis the Season

To play the harmonica....

Working on the Big Boy Bed with Dad

Snowflake Lane

We had so much fun at Snowflake Lane this year - it is such a treat to watch the kids enjoy something so much!  Luke turned out to be a great dancer and was SO fun to watch - he loved dancing along with the animals and drummers and had all of us laughing so hard.  Anthony loved meeting Rudolph - his whole face lit up.  Kaitlyn liked dancing too, and Caleb was more into observing.  And Brooke had a sucker, so she was happy!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I am so fortunate that I get to spend thanksgiving day with both my side of the family and my in-laws at the same time.  So blessed that they all enjoy each others company - lucky me!

Play Time

Story Time

Anthony loves to read Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel, and would read it every night if we obliged.  It's a really great book, but it's quite boring reading the same one night after night...he also regularly asks for the Wheedle on the Needle, which I usually hide because the story rambles on and on.

Winter