Moving Out and Welcoming In

Adam and I have a lot to do in the next month and a half--from moving out of our apartment to welcoming in a new baby to our home. Sandwiched in between the move (this week) and the baby (end of March) will be a little job planning, home organizing, baby prepping, life living, and car buying. We'd like to find a new car to transport our soon-to-be family of five--the escort just won't safely fit three car seats in the back row. So, we are looking forward to and preparing for some big changes.

It seems that at least for us, changes like to keep each other company.

Living on the Edge

The other day, I was importing some photos from our camera onto the computer and I discovered this one among them. I was pretty surprised to see it--I didn't take the photo, so I guess Adam did. He didn't really remember it, but unless Emily took it he's the only other possibility. Makes me wonder just exactly what was going on at that moment. He's looking in the spot where the milk is kept.
If I sometimes feel like the kids are running the show around here, with Mom and Dad in charge of crowd control and maintaining some level of sanity, this is my evidence. There are moments like this one when, on the verge of possible disaster, we are able to avoid or prevent it. Can't you just see the possibility for disaster in the photo? A pitcher of orange juice could have spilled--the egg carton by Mike's feet could have been used as a foot stool, etc.
Our kids have so much to learn . . . and we have so much to learn from them.

Michael's Baking Class

Michael had his first Baking 101 class with Emily and me the other morning. We worked together to bake a dozen applesauce muffins. Before starting, Emily taught Michael the importance of wearing an apron and scooting a chair from the table to the counter. That way, they can really get in on all the action!



They both relished the hands-on work, helping with the measuring, pouring, and mixing.

Mikey had fun for the most part. He did get a little upset when I insisted he couldn't sample the mixture consisting of raw eggs and milk. That's the hardest part of baking with kids--keeping their fingers out of the food, and the food out of their mouths before it's done.

The cooking time gave us just enough clean up time, before we finally got to the best part--gobbling up the muffins. The finished product was very tasty!

Christmas Sampler

I am late getting this up, but I thought the family might enjoy seeing some photos from our Christmas in Port Angeles. It was a very exciting and busy holiday. Adam and I especially loved seeing Emily able to anticipate Christmas morning and really experience the season for the first time as a curious 3-yr old.

Emily playing Mary, strawberry shortcake doll as the baby Jesus. Because she'd been playing Mary off and on all month before Christmas, Emi was happy to act out the story for us. Mikey had no interest in playing the role of Joseph, so he pretended to be one of the the animals at the manger, which is fitting since Mikey loves pretending to be a dog or kitty.

Stockings and new PJ's--Christmas morning was the first and probably only morning the kids slept in during our 7- day trip. They loved seeing the tree and presents. Stockings entertained them while everyone else slowly awoke.

Some Christmas presents-- Emi's "treasure chest" and Mikey's "twain!"

Marta and Abe bought Mom and Dad this awesome "motion activated trash can" from Costco. Definitely the coolest gift ever!

Santa gave Peter and Scott dart guns, and they had a blast with them. We really should have had them open these gifts last, they were such a distraction! Adam and I got these for my brothers in honor of boyhood Christmases, and they certainly had the right effect.

Adam's new apron--aint it beautiful?! Not at all your typical floral apron--what's more manly than race car flames!

When I was young, I dreaded the thought of someday growing up and being the parent at Christmastime; I just couldn't see the fun in that. Having a little Emily and Mike to celebrate Christmas with made it a lot more fun for Adam and me.

Quiet morning's . . .

Are quite unusual around here, but it is 9 AM, and I just heard the first peep from my sleeping angels. (They are usually up by 7:30. Whenever they sleep later, I begin to wonder if they are still alive!)

I've had time to bake a dozen muffins, bake and prepare Christmas plates with "peanut butter blossom" cookies, and do some reading.

If only every morning were this way!!!

The Latest from Emily

Late one afternoon, I asked Emily if she needed to use the bathroom. She replied, "No, I already did last night." Another time, I reminded her to wash her hands as she headed out of the bathroom. Again, she looked at me and innocently said, "I don't need to, I already washed my hands last night." The same has been the case with most things I've recently asked her to do that she'd rather not--she already did it last night so there's no need to bother doing it again.

Last night must mean the other day, because it was only yesterday that she told me about all the fun she'd had at Disneyland with Grandpa and Dani last night. . . .

Emily Decorates the Tree

Emily has been looking forward to putting the tree up this year. She was so sad to say goodbye to her cousins after having spent a fun Thanksgiving weekend with them, but when I told her that we needed to go home to put up the Christmas tree, she said, "Okay!" and was ready to leave without even giving any goodbye hugs. When we did put the tree up, we didn't yet have many ornaments to decorate it, so Emily (and Michael) got a little creative. Can you see some of the odd decor?

Michael added this tree. Other odd items from Emily: headband, children's books, sippy cup lid, notebook, candy wrapper, store receipts...but she has since redecorated.