The Sweetest Thing

Christmas 2009

Merry Christmas

wishing you all a

Merry Christmas

full of love, laughter, joy,

& Christ

Baum Christmas Trees

We ventured out to Baum's in the cold last Thursday to pick out our Christmas tree.

After very quickly browsing the lot, Katie took charge and picked out a good one.
McKenna helped her hawl it to the car.
Notice the steam coming from their little bodies.
It was so cold!

Dave loaded it on the car while we all warmed up in the heated car.

We then had a great night decorating the tree.

That's a lot of lights for that little guy.

It might be a little tree, but we love it!

Sisters

Our Family

sweet, friendly, angelic, squishy, happy,
can't-get-enough-of-those-cheeks
BROOKE

hilarious, light-hearted, creative, playful, caring,
so-fun-to-be-around
MCKENNA

outgoing, fun, energetic, thoughtful, smart,

more-confident-than-anyone-I-know

KATIE

so-happy-to-have-each-other

best buds

BAXTER & BOWSER

might-be-going-a-little-crazy

but loving our family

DAD & MOM

Baby Brooke's Latest Tricks

If you can't tell - I'm a very proud mama.

Katie's Thanksgiving Recipe

Katie LOVES preschool.
And we LOVE Katie's preschool teacher.
Today she sent home Thanksgiving Recipes that the kids made up.
She writes down what the kids say, word for word, and doesn't persuade them to say certain things.

Here is Katie's:

At what store would your Mom buy a turkey?
Katie: She would just make her own turkey

How much would it cost?
Katie: Miss Cathy, she made it, so she doesn't have to buy it!

What would your recipe be for fixing a Thanksgiving turkey?
Katie: One cup salt, and one cup pepper. One pan of chicken gravy, of course. And then you could try to make it look like a real turkey, but it's cooked. Put real feathers in it, and of course take them out before you eat it. Put some gravy inside the turkey too.

How hot is the oven to bake the turkey?
Katie: You cook it on the stove.

How long do you cook it?
Katie: For 20 minutes, and then put it on the table and say it's ready! And don't forget the prayer!

What's the best thing your mommy cookes you?
Katie: It depends

What's the best thing your daddy cooks for you?
Katie: Cookies

On Our Walls

My sister-inlaw took pictures of our family in August when we were in MA.
They turned out great!

I don't have digital copies of them to share, but this way you can visualize them hanging on the walls in our kitchen. That is, if you've ever been in our kitchen. If you haven't, you should come visit us. We would love it.

Big Blankie

Big Blankie

I lay down beside you
for your afternoon nap.
It's the only way you will stay
in your bed.
It's a bad habit I want to keep
because soon you'll grow up
and sleep on your own.
I tuck you in.
First, your little blankie
with butterflies.
Then your big blankie.
You ask for your "M"
and giggle when I find it.
I lay down beside you.
I watch you drink your milk
and fight your tired eyes
that roll back behind
your extra long blinks.
I scratch your tummy
like I always have
and then your back.
It's time to sleep now
so I roll away.
"You want some
of my big blankie?" you ask,
as you cover my shoulder
with a corner.
Your tiny body snuggles in my back.
"Mom, can you cuddle?"
Ecah time I smile
and I always say, "Yes."
Soon I hear your long, deep,
sleeping breaths.

Revised version here

Halloween

Katie as a spider

McKenna as a bat

Brooke as a butterfly

Mom as a witch

(before the YW Mother/Daughter Halloween party)

Technically the Wicked Witch of the East who gets Dorothy's house dropped on her.

The "ruby slippers" aren't seen in this picture.

What's a witch without a bat and spider by her side?

McKenna and the Great Pumpkin

She drew some eyes, and lots of zig-zags for the mouth.
She definitley has the concept down.

It was this conversation though that made tonight memorable:

McKenna: Dad, what are you doing?

Dave: I'm carving your pumpkin. I'm carving all of your drawings

And he did:

we have named McKenna's pumpkin the Dinosaur Egg

Thank you Scott & Nancy for raising such a wonderful Dad that takes the time to carve all the drawings.

Eyes and Cheeks

Cruise Pictures (finally!)

Sorry for the delay of cruise pictures.

Here we are - on our cruise to Mexico!
Notice what's missing from these pictures?

No kids!

Ahh.

I can hear the silence just looking at these pictures.

Cabo, San Lucas

When we woke up on Wedneday morning of our cruise, this was the view from our room:

We were in Cabo, San Lucas!




for how huge the waves were, and how drunk the man was who took this picture, I think it turned out pretty good!



We spent the day cruising around the town on scooters, had amazing tacos (our one goal for our trip), and took a glass-bottom boat tour out to the "world famous" arch and Lovers' Beach.

Ensenada

The first thing we saw in Ensenada was this GINORMOUS flag.
It was quite impressive and quite gorgeous.


by the end of the day I was feeling very patriotic. Viva Mexico!


These palm trees looked like huge pineapples.
This shot was for the girls.



seagull.


HUGE shipping yard. We waited all afternoon to watch these babies in action, but had no luck. A ship pulled in right after we pulled out. Bummer.


Dave got to watch the crew test the lifeboats, which made him very happy.


view of Ensenada from the boat. Foggy shipping town.


this sea lion was very close to our ship. Dave & I sat and watching this guy for about an hour. We tried to get off the boat and get close to him, but we got busted by security.

Katie Noticed

Z's kinda look like sideways N's. The N could walk over to the Z and say "Hi Z!"

Little Y's kinda look like little G's

This is the song that never ends...

There's a little "I Know You and You Know Me" (hands motions included), a little 12 Dancing Princesses action, and some fancy foot work.

These girls should go on the road.

Katie's First Workshop

Katie is starting to take music lessons.
We trade off between piano and violin.
She chose to perform a piano song for her first workshop.
She did great!
Not only did she practice hard and perform well, she gave the other students very thoughtful, positive comments after their performances as well.
We are so proud of her!

Here is her performance of "Ebeneezer Sneezer":

Among His Many Talents

Katie's hands inside the giant bubble Dave made (with his bare hands) using baby soap

and McKenna is quite impressed.