End of 2009

The year is ending, and it's a good time to take stock of where we are in life (I usually do that around my birthday -- can't help but do it at New Year's time too). Undoubtedly our best experience was welcoming Miri to the family.

Here are a few pics off the cameras from the last couple of weeks.


Happy swinging girl.


Tentative strolling-in-the-rain girl.


We attempted to go for a walk that would have been a couple of miles. We barely made it to the mailbox, unfortunately. The rain was one thing, but the screaming baby was the real reason for turning back. :(


Aleaha insisted on pushing the Bob....and she nearly went off the road a few times. Hmm, maybe that has something to do with the screaming?


Here's Miss A on the way to PR for Christmas. Nothing like amping up a 3-year-old with chocolate milk and frosted animal crackers, then going for a 300 mile car trip. Ah, but the threat of Santa not visiting naughty kids that night was veeeerrry useful for Mommy and Daddy. We had to come up with something else to use as leverage for the ride home.


Rolling out tart dough while wearing new princess jammies from Aunt Jodi.


Miri helps Mommy with chores at the barn.


"Hey Teddy, let's do some yoga. OK?"


"First, grab your toes, like this."


"Here, maybe I can help you."


"Teddy, that's not a yoga pose!!"


Gramma Patty came over for a Christmas Make-Up Dinner. This is the darling outfit Holly gave Miri -- complete with red bloomers!


What a cute elf!


Made Spanakopita the other day. Miri tested out the basil for us first.


"I'm awful cute."


"Bet y'all wish you could do this!"


Miri enjoys a biter biscuit -- she rubs it very hard across her gums. Sweet relief! Poor thing is teething. We all hate that.


Aleaha, eating the lemon tart. Scratch that --Aleaha, eating whipped cream off the tart.


"What, Mom?"


On New Year's Eve, Holly and Mommy and Miri made a trek to Portland to hit St. Honore Bakery. YUUUUM.

Christmas -- Fun & Family

We had just 2 days in PR with family, but we managed to pack in lots of fun (and food)! Here's the review....


Somebody was very smiley for most of the visit.


Uncle Chris and Tyler show how to play some electrical gizmo game -- Aleaha is raptured.


Miri was excited for the loaner of the exersaucer from Jodi & Chris -- "Hey, this is just like the one at school! I know how to drive this one!"


Mommy & Miri.


Miri loved the "present-paper", as Aleaha calls it.


Uncle Batman was there too. (left the red eyes in on purpose -- they add to the character, no?)

And we went up to the mountains, just for the day.


Aunt Jodi bounced Miri for a nice long while.


Everything goes better with Ritz. Including sweet potatoes.

While in the mountains, we took a little time to go sledding (truth be told, for Miss A, this was the reason to go up there -- SNOW!)


First, a little trotting up and down the road, to warm up.


Then, we find a hill. Not too big a hill, of course. We all know ya gotta climb UP that hill before you can go down it! Here's a great shot of Aunt Jodi.


She really does like sledding.


She especially likes being pulled around.


Hanging on tight.


"Go, Daddy, go!"


"OK, slow down, Daddy!"


Sylvie shows off some style.


Ella says "Weeeeeeeee!"


Aleaha learns why the saucers are hard to steer.


Daddy convinces Aleaha to go down the hill with him. They get prepped.


They were part-way down the hill when they got a little off balance, hit a bump, and rolled a couple of times. Aleaha's face bit the snow, and that was the end of sledding for her. "I wanna go back to the cabin!"


Took some convincing to get her back on that sled -- just to pull her home!


Daddy next to the Christmas tree in the Big House.



Kelly & Mike.


Oh sure, this is the bottle Miri wants!


Sleeping peacefully. Thank you, Chris & Jodi, for the loaner swing and exersaucer!


One babushka and two dadushkas.


Cutie Girl.

Things They Say

Said by Aleaha last night as we cruised around town looking at Christmas lights: "Mom, why do some people not put up a Trissmas Tree? That's not very celebracious. "

'Tis the Season

Precious baby girl.


Oh, this says so much about who she is. (If you can't tell, it says "Thanks for the mammaries.")


Aleaha dancing in her "Butterfly Ballet Dress". She's got the groove of Stop, In The Name of Love going.


We made a gingerbread house the other day, so she was sure to wear her new gingerbread shirt. It says To Grandma's House We Go on it. She is hounding me to wash it in time for her to wear it on Christmas Eve when we drive to EO.


Decorating said house. (Full disclosure: It was from a kit. Mom only has so much time these days. We have to eat dinner and wash clothes too, not just make tookies, ya know!)


Final result. We found some great gummi creatures to put on the roof -- they were leftover from last Christmas. Some santas, angels, penguins, trees, etc. Perfect. And still fresh!



Here's Miri lovin' the prunes. OK, maybe not. More like loving her fingers after the prunes.


We made it over to Storybook Land this year as a family. It was frigidly cold there, so we raced through pretty quickly. Not many photos.


Daddy loves Poobers. And he has to squeeze her tight to get her to hold still!

Miri was...well, she endured it.


Aleaha had written Santa a couple of letters, and she saved them for about a month in readiness to give to him in person. She was pretty happy with the candy cane he gave her. We were surprised she would sit on his lap. She's "three and a half" and completely unpredictable.


Aleaha dials in a call to the North Pole to check on Santa, using Daddy's spectrum analyzer.


Miri catches a snooze. She likes to have her face covered, and if I don't do it for her, she'll do it herself.


Aleaha strikes a pose with a cute backpack from some friends.


Uh, hey there. Shouldn't you be wearing those gloves while you work??