Family Tree

One of Stanley's favorite things is to use empty boxes for projects. He likes to color on them, put stickers on them, ride in them, etc. Today, he was taping pieces of paper to an old diaper box. Then he said, "I'm making a family tree. I'm drawing my ancestors." From the top of the picture to the bottom, he drew: mommy, daddy, Grandma Wooty, Grandpa Wooty, Lisa, and himself.

Merry Christmas!

What a magical Christmas morning! Santa arrived, despite the foggy night. We were a little worried he wouldn't be able to find Portland, but his reindeer expertly guided his sleigh. Stanley and Lisa awoke to full stockings and fun presents under the tree. Santa brought Lisa an activity table and Stanley a drum set and guitar.

There were so many presents to open. Lisa got some blocks from Mommy and Daddy, baby keys from Stanley, and a giant bear from Auntie Monica. Stanley got a headlamp from Mimi and Papa, a yeti-catcher toy from Uncle Eric, and an Octo-compass from Mommy and Daddy. (Of course there's so much more: books, games, & more trucks.)

After opening presents we had homemade cinnamon rolls for breakfast. You know a kid is excited to play with his new toys when we doesn't even finish his cinnamon roll! Lisa had goat cheese, bananas, and rice crackers. She was so hungry! I had to wake her up when her brother got up, so she ate breakfast and went back to sleep for a nap.

Glory and Max got new pet beds, and Glory even got a new toy. She got to do her favorite activity on Christmas morning: pulling the stuffing out of a plush toy!

This has been such a special Christmas. Adding Lisa to our family has made our lives filled with even more love. Stanley and Lisa are so full of joy and wonder, it makes Christmas such a magical time.  I know these years of them being small are limited, so I'm trying to soak in every moment. If I could freeze time right now, I would. These are the days I will look back on and remember so fondly.

Merry Christmas to all our friends and family near and far! The only thing that would have made this Christmas any more special would be spending time with you. Sending you all lots of love!

Santa

Stanley and Lisa visited with Santa. Lisa went right to him with no problem. Santa thought that maybe she would want a candy cane pacifier for Christmas.

Stanley was a little slower to warm up. Once he was comfortable, he told Santa everything he wanted for Christmas (drum set, guitar, and remote control lightning McQueen), and he also told him how he's already broken two guitars (and in detail how it happened each time...the kid is a talker! Wonder where he gets that from?!). When we got into the car he said, "Mommy, Santa is just like a person! Just a really, really old person!"

Christmas Card Picture Outtakes

Did you get our Christmas card with the super-cute, perfectly-posed picture of Lisa and Stanley?

It took quite a few pictures to get there! I thought I'd share some of the outtakes. Enjoy!

Peacock Lane

We braved the crowds and went to Peacock Lane to see the Christmas lights. There were bagpipe players, Santa, and two Christmas Star Wars displays. Stanley rode on his daddy's shoulders and had a great time. Lisa was a little trooper and loved looking up at his brother.

The Grinch!

Muppets

Christmas Star Wars

Stanley had the best view in the crowd!

Whoa, Mom! Did you see all these lights?!

7-Months Old

Lisa turned 7 months old yesterday!

It has been a bit of a stressful month. Lisa's chubby little neck got a yeast rash which turned into a bacterial infection. Her neck, chin, and chest was bright red and oozing, which was very scary. Even the doctors were very concerned and had me bring her in to the office every day for 4 days for check-ups. Once she was on an oral antibiotic and topical anti-fungal, her rash dried up. Now, it is totally healed up, with just a little bit of discoloration that is slowly going away. It is so good to see her happy, healthy, and super-smiley.

She also got a visit from her Mimi this month and got one of her top teeth. Now we are looking forward to spending our first Christmas with Lisa!

Since Lisa is so busy these days, I decided to post a series of pictures I captured while trying to get one good one. It definitely captures her personality.

Stanley at Preschool

I was parent-helper at Stanley's preschool, and captured these fun moments:

Playing in the space station

On a space mission

Presenting his "Me Pocket" to his class

Happy Thanksgiving!

We had a great Thanksgiving this year. Mimi came to visit from Indiana. It's her first time meeting Lisa, and they are quite the pair. Lisa loves her grandma, and so does Stanley. We made a big feast today: turkey, stuffing, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, creamed cauliflower, green bean casserole, cranberry sauce, and cherry pie. We finished the evening watching Polar Express. Hope all our family and friends had a happy turkey day!

Eating our feast!

Our first Thanksgiving with Lisa

My turkeys

Thanksgiving snuggles

6-Months Old

I'm a few weeks late with Lisa's 6-month update! She's doing great, and a lot has happened in this last month. She is solidly rolling over from her back to stomach, but she mostly gets stuck there. She went in a swing at the park for the first time. She started eating solid food. She giggles a lot! And she's taken many steps backward in her night sleeping (we're all so tired here!).

Her stats:
20 lbs. 14 oz.
29 in.

6-months old

Lisa's First Food

Lisa started eating food this week! Her first food was bananas. Today she had avocado and bananas. She squished it in her fingers and ate it off her hands. She loved it!

First food: bananas

Avocado and bananas: yummy fingers!

Cute Lisa Moments

Happy girl in her swing

Exersaucer fun!

Playing like a big girl

 

Cutie pie getting ready to go outside

Happy Halloween!

Halloween was very busy this year! Here are a few things we did this year to celebrate.

Costume Party

We went to a costume party at the local community center. It started out really fun, playing games and getting treats. Unfortunately Stanely got scared by the spooky hallway. He was already frightened and then the fire alarm went off and everyone had to evacuate! We think it was because of a fog machine. Stanley was crying and wanted to leave. In the car he said, "Well, mommy, let's not plan to do that again next year!"

Wild Wizard

Playing games

Making a pumpkin craft

Halloween School Fun

Stanley took a field trip with his class to the pumpkin patch. They got to pick out a pumpkin, and then they had a pumpkin-carving party at school to carve it. They also got to wear their costumes to school and trick-or-treat to the offices in the church where their preschool classroom is. 

Getting ready for the field trip

Big Kid ready for his field trip!

Pumpkin-Carving Party

Scary pumpkin carved with daddy

Trick-Or-Treating
Stanley and Lisa were very magical this Halloween--dressing as a wizard and a witch!

Getting ready to trick-or-treat

Trick-or-treating buddies

Sleepy little witch

Mommy and baby witch

Magical crew